Book excerpt: The Last Firehawk series has it all: an exciting fantasy world, powerful dark magic, and epic animal battles! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! In the third book in this page-turning series, Tag, Skyla, and Blaze journey to the Whispering Oak in search of the next piece of the Ember Stone. There, they find strange creatures called grumblebees. But where is the magical stone? Thorn's dark magic continues to spread. If Tag and his friends don't find all of the pieces soon, Perodia will be destroyed! This action-packed series makes a great introduction to fantasy and quest stories for younger readers. Realistic black-and-white artwork appears on every page!