"Catch the Reading Bug" kicked off it's first performance this week with Animal Encounters. They brought cockroaches, a centipede, a baby crocodile, tarantula, and other small bugs. The children loved the performance, especially when they got to touch the spider web the tarantula was weaving!
Our next performance is Tuesday, July 8th with Kevin Kammeraad. We have two performances at 11am and 1pm. Make sure if you cannot make it to inform us so we can call people on our waiting list!
"Poetry, Puppetry, Music - Catch the bug with poetry and music! This fun and lively show encourages imagination and creativity through a variety of interactive music, poems, puppetry, singing, and laughing."
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DVDs
"The Backyardigans: High Flying Adventures"
"The Big Comfy Couch"
"Bob the Builder: The Three Musketrucks"
"Go Diego Go! Great Gorilla!"
"Madeline: Next Stop, America"
"Care Bears: Sharing in the Sunshine"
"VeggieTales: Lessons From the Sock Drawer"
"Horton Hears a Who!"
"Garfield and Friends: A Cat and His Nerd"
"Curious George Takes a Vacation and Discovers New Things!"
ADULT FICTION
“The Hollow” Nora Roberts
The New York Times bestselling author of Blood Brothers continues the thrilling trilogy of a town plagued by evil—and the three men and three women brought together by fate to fight it.
“December” Elizabeth Hartle Winthrop
Like her 2006 debut, Fireworks, Winthrop's second novel focuses on the turmoil wrought by the loss of a child. Although Wilson and Ruth Carter's 11-year-old daughter, Isabelle, is very much alive, she hasn't spoken in nine months, an elective muteness brought on by no known trauma. Her silence confounds her parents, a series of psychiatrists and her Manhattan private school, which, by December, is losing patience with her. Ruth, a successful lawyer, pores over Isabelle's past actions and sketchbooks for hidden meanings; Wilson, a well-meaning but often bumbling father who still views his preteen daughter as a little girl, is convinced that action, not analysis, will cure Isabelle. Isabelle herself, whom Winthrop introduces skillfully through a shifting third-person omniscient narrative, is most intriguing: keenly self-aware but unable to help herself, alternating between resentment and adoration for her parents, Isabelle is in many ways simply a preadolescent to the nth degree. Like budding artist Isabelle, Winthrop is a master of observation, and her ability to crystallize themes in particular vignettes (fixing a broken phonograph, buying Christmas presents) brings this affecting family drama vividly to life.
“The Beach House” Jane Green
Jane Green is one of the preeminent authors of women’s fiction today, and with each new novel, her audience grows. Green’s avid and loyal fans follow her because she writes about the true-to-life dilemmas of women—and The Beach House will not disappoint.
Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn’t care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn’t she skinny dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes.
So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside-down.
“My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, and Shakespeare” Jess Winfield
The two narratives in Winfield's whimsical debut are unified by their shared irreverence, humor and literary gusto. The first tale is of Willie Shakespeare Greenberg, a grad student trying to prove in his hastily conceived thesis that Shakespeare was a closeted Catholic. Short on cash, stoner Willie agrees to mule a superpsychedelic mushroom and a pound of weed to a couple of Renaissance Faire enthusiasts, all the while nursing his infatuation with Dashka Demitra, his sexy thesis adviser. Willie's journey is interspersed with accounts of the other Shakespeare as he, in the months leading up to his wedding, has run-ins with hallucinatory substances and comely women while delivering a secret package to a Catholic dissident. Willie's a lovable schlemiel whose clumsy strides toward attaining a genuine understanding of Shakespeare's work mirror in many ways the Bard's quest to become the great playwright we now study. Winfield uses his deep understanding of Shakespeare's work and times (he is a founding member of the Reduced Shakespeare Company) to great effect, and his affection for the material shines throughout.
“Candle in the Darkness” Lynn N. Austin
From the time she was 12, Caroline Fletcher, daughter of a wealthy Richmond, VA, slave-holding family, knew she was different, for she knew that the household slaves were human beings, not mere property. When her mother commits suicide, Caroline is sent first to the Fletcher plantation and then to relatives in Philadelphia. Three years later, as the nation teeters on the brink of civil war, her father brings her home. Caroline is now a determined abolitionist, and she struggles to live in a culture where people believe that slavery is ordained by God. With her fianc‚, father, and cousin off fighting in the war, Caroline embarks on a dangerous path of spying and intrigue that tests her faith and demands risk and sacrifice. Unfortunately, Caroline is the only fully developed character in this work, and the African American characters are all too good to be true; despite these flaws, Austin (Hidden Places; Eve's Daughters; Wings of Refuge) has written a thoroughly engrossing and exciting tale that will appeal to fans of Virginia Gaffney's "Richmond Chronicles" and historical romances. Purchase where historical novels and Austin's other books are in demand.
“The Other” David Guterson
When John William Barry and Neil Countryman meet at a high school track meet in the early 1970s, they are two sides of the same coin: John is a trust fund baby and student of a prestigious private school while Neil is solidly working class, but they share an affinity for the outdoors and apprehension over impending changes in their lives. After an unintentionally challenging week lost in the wilds of the North Cascades, John is compelled to an ascetic path: life in a remote river valley in the Olympic Peninsula rainforest, where he chips a shelter from a granite wall and immerses himself in the esoterica of Gnostic dualism --a philosophy that holds that the material world is illusional and destructive. Neil meanwhile chooses a traditional path as a father and school teacher, despite his troubled friend's exhortations to eschew "hamburger world" and find truth in a simpler, stripped-down existence. Nothing is that simple, of course, and The Other compellingly explores the compromises we make to balance meaning and security in our lives through the choices (and their subsequent consequences) of these two men.
The New York Times bestselling author of Blood Brothers continues the thrilling trilogy of a town plagued by evil—and the three men and three women brought together by fate to fight it.
“December” Elizabeth Hartle Winthrop
Like her 2006 debut, Fireworks, Winthrop's second novel focuses on the turmoil wrought by the loss of a child. Although Wilson and Ruth Carter's 11-year-old daughter, Isabelle, is very much alive, she hasn't spoken in nine months, an elective muteness brought on by no known trauma. Her silence confounds her parents, a series of psychiatrists and her Manhattan private school, which, by December, is losing patience with her. Ruth, a successful lawyer, pores over Isabelle's past actions and sketchbooks for hidden meanings; Wilson, a well-meaning but often bumbling father who still views his preteen daughter as a little girl, is convinced that action, not analysis, will cure Isabelle. Isabelle herself, whom Winthrop introduces skillfully through a shifting third-person omniscient narrative, is most intriguing: keenly self-aware but unable to help herself, alternating between resentment and adoration for her parents, Isabelle is in many ways simply a preadolescent to the nth degree. Like budding artist Isabelle, Winthrop is a master of observation, and her ability to crystallize themes in particular vignettes (fixing a broken phonograph, buying Christmas presents) brings this affecting family drama vividly to life.
“The Beach House” Jane Green
Jane Green is one of the preeminent authors of women’s fiction today, and with each new novel, her audience grows. Green’s avid and loyal fans follow her because she writes about the true-to-life dilemmas of women—and The Beach House will not disappoint.
Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn’t care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn’t she skinny dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes.
So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside-down.
“My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, and Shakespeare” Jess Winfield
The two narratives in Winfield's whimsical debut are unified by their shared irreverence, humor and literary gusto. The first tale is of Willie Shakespeare Greenberg, a grad student trying to prove in his hastily conceived thesis that Shakespeare was a closeted Catholic. Short on cash, stoner Willie agrees to mule a superpsychedelic mushroom and a pound of weed to a couple of Renaissance Faire enthusiasts, all the while nursing his infatuation with Dashka Demitra, his sexy thesis adviser. Willie's journey is interspersed with accounts of the other Shakespeare as he, in the months leading up to his wedding, has run-ins with hallucinatory substances and comely women while delivering a secret package to a Catholic dissident. Willie's a lovable schlemiel whose clumsy strides toward attaining a genuine understanding of Shakespeare's work mirror in many ways the Bard's quest to become the great playwright we now study. Winfield uses his deep understanding of Shakespeare's work and times (he is a founding member of the Reduced Shakespeare Company) to great effect, and his affection for the material shines throughout.
“Candle in the Darkness” Lynn N. Austin
From the time she was 12, Caroline Fletcher, daughter of a wealthy Richmond, VA, slave-holding family, knew she was different, for she knew that the household slaves were human beings, not mere property. When her mother commits suicide, Caroline is sent first to the Fletcher plantation and then to relatives in Philadelphia. Three years later, as the nation teeters on the brink of civil war, her father brings her home. Caroline is now a determined abolitionist, and she struggles to live in a culture where people believe that slavery is ordained by God. With her fianc‚, father, and cousin off fighting in the war, Caroline embarks on a dangerous path of spying and intrigue that tests her faith and demands risk and sacrifice. Unfortunately, Caroline is the only fully developed character in this work, and the African American characters are all too good to be true; despite these flaws, Austin (Hidden Places; Eve's Daughters; Wings of Refuge) has written a thoroughly engrossing and exciting tale that will appeal to fans of Virginia Gaffney's "Richmond Chronicles" and historical romances. Purchase where historical novels and Austin's other books are in demand.
“The Other” David Guterson
When John William Barry and Neil Countryman meet at a high school track meet in the early 1970s, they are two sides of the same coin: John is a trust fund baby and student of a prestigious private school while Neil is solidly working class, but they share an affinity for the outdoors and apprehension over impending changes in their lives. After an unintentionally challenging week lost in the wilds of the North Cascades, John is compelled to an ascetic path: life in a remote river valley in the Olympic Peninsula rainforest, where he chips a shelter from a granite wall and immerses himself in the esoterica of Gnostic dualism --a philosophy that holds that the material world is illusional and destructive. Neil meanwhile chooses a traditional path as a father and school teacher, despite his troubled friend's exhortations to eschew "hamburger world" and find truth in a simpler, stripped-down existence. Nothing is that simple, of course, and The Other compellingly explores the compromises we make to balance meaning and security in our lives through the choices (and their subsequent consequences) of these two men.
“July and August” Nancy Clark
From the acclaimed author of The Hills at Home comes this funny, bittersweet, wonderfully peopled family saga of beginnings and endings, couplings and uncouplings, of new friendships and old alliances.
Great-aunt Lily’s gracious pile of a house in Towne, Massachusetts, is the gathering place for her far-flung Yankee clan of grandnieces and grandnephews--all in town for the months of July and August--and with their arrival comes a high summer of comedy and drama. Brooks and Rollins, the uncommonly successful software entrepreneur brothers, turn the heads of the locals with their supermodel dates. Lily herself has made an unexpected success of a new business venture. Sally, the youngest of the clan, is having the time of her life with Cam, a charismatic Towne kid; between them they prove that in some corners of the world, children can still go out to play gloriously unsupervised and come home safely. Cousin Julie announces her wedding to a man no one has met, whose delayed arrival gives rise to a mystery. And in the single developing sorrow, the family faces the possibility of a final leave-taking by the once fiery Aunt Ginger, who continues to dish up crucial life wisdom (whether it’s sought or not) while reclining on a lawn chair in the sun.
As July and August unfurls, the cousins scheme and new romances and confidences bloom. Even Aunt Lily, who presides over it all with her hard-won equanimity, has secrets to divulge before the season is done. Throughout, Nancy Clark gives us a beautiful exploration of the ways that a family evolves over time--and the ways in which it remains the same--in this rich summer story of love lost and found.
ADULT NON-FICTION
“The Official Price Guide to Collecting Books” Marie Tedford
Book collecting has long been a popular hobby, and it continues to grow in popularity. This revised and updated edition of The Official Price Guide to Books has everything a book collector needs. It features black-and-white photographs and includes an eight-page color insert of exceptional book covers.
The Official Price Guide to Books also includes:
· A history of the book trade
· Current market review and forecast
· Thousands of price listings covering hundreds of years of first editions
· Information about genre-collecting
· Advice on maintaining your collection
· Expert instruction on how to profit from bibliophilia
· A handy glossary and recommended reading list
“A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America” James Webb
Jim Webb—the bestselling author and now the celebrated, outspoken U.S. Senator from Virginia—presents a clear-eyed, hard-hitting plan of attack for putting government to work for the people, rather than special interests, and for restoring the country's standing around the world. Infused with the intelligence, force, and firebrand style that has earned Senator Jim Webb enormous national attention from his earlest days in office, A Time to Fight offers a thorough and provocative assessment of the thorniest issues Americans face today, along with cogent solutions drawn from Webb's lifetime of experience as a much-decorated Marine, a widely traveled, award-winning journalist and novelist, a highly placed member of the Reagan administration, a Senator with a son who fought as a Marine in Iraq and, perhaps most important, a proud scion of America's vast but frequently ignored working class. Webb exposes how America has entered a dangerous, unprecedented cycle of seemingly unsolvable unknowns. Our economic policies, particularly in this age of globalization, have produced widely divergent results leading to a country calcifying along class lines. Our demographic makeup has been altered dramatically and is set to keep on changing, through both legal and illegal immigration. Our editorialists and politicians talk about the American dream, and some urge us to bring democracy to the rest of the world. But more than two million Americans are now in prison, by far the highest incarceration rate in the so-called advanced world. Our foreign policy is confused, without clear direction; increasingly vulnerable to such largely unexamined long-term threats as China's emerging power while it has become bogged down in the never-ending struggles of the Middle East. As this drift toward societal regression has taken place, America's leadership has largely been paralyzed, unable or unwilling to stop the slide. "Where are the leaders?" Webb asks. "Has our political process become so compromised by powerful interest groups and the threat of character assassination that even the best among us will not dare to speak honestly about the solutions that might bring us back to common sense and fundamental fairness?" Through vivid personal narratives of the struggles members of his family faced, and citing the courageous actions of presidents ranging from Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt to Dwight Eisenhower, A Time to Fight provides specific, viable ideas for restoring fairness to our economic system, correcting the direction of national security efforts, ending America's military occupation of Iraq, and developing greater government accountability. Webb brings a fresh perspective to political dynamics that have shaped our country. His stirring, populist manifesto calls upon voters to make the choices that will change America for the better in this election season.
“Simplexity” Jeffrey Kruger
Frustrated by the traffic on narrow bridges? Stunned by the number of buttons on a remote control? Saddened by the lack of basic medical care in the developing world? Kluger (Splendid Solutions) makes the modern world comprehensible, analyzing social and technological systems to reveal that things that seem complicated can be preposterously simple; things that seem simple can be dizzyingly complex. He compares cells to cities to stock markets, renders quarks and fractals accessible and draws parallels between Wal-Mart and AIDS clinics in Tanzania. Although Kluger is prone to hyperbole, his astonishing discoveries require no exaggeration: the book describes how even the most technologically advanced manufacturing plant is infinitely simpler than a humble houseplant with its microhydraulics and fine-tuned metabolism and dense schematic of nucleic acids—and baseball fans will be dismayed to discover that football is, in fact, the more complex of the two games: the possible number of starting configurations before the play even begins is... 31.4 billion. Kluger's findings are likely to incite controversy, confirming his contention that explaining simplicity and complexity is never as straightforward as it seems.
“Amish Grace” Donald B. Kraybill
When a gunman killed five Amish children and injured five others last fall in a Nickel Mines, Pa., schoolhouse, media attention rapidly turned from the tragic events to the extraordinary forgiveness demonstrated by the Amish community. The authors, who teach at small colleges with Anabaptist roots and have published books on the Amish, were contacted repeatedly by the media after the shootings to interpret this subculture. In response to the questions why—and how—did they forgive? Kraybill and his colleagues present a compelling study of Amish grace. After describing the heartbreaking attack and its aftermath, the authors establish that forgiveness is embedded in Amish society through five centuries of Anabaptist tradition, and grounded in the firm belief that forgiveness is required by the New Testament. The community's acts of forgiveness were not isolated decisions by saintly individuals but hard-won countercultural practices supported by all aspects of Amish life. Common objections to Amish forgiveness are addressed in a chapter entitled, What About Shunning? The authors carefully distinguish between forgiveness, pardon and reconciliation, as well as analyzethe complexities of mainstream America's response and the extent to which the Amish example can be applied elsewhere. This intelligent, compassionate and hopeful book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on forgiveness.
“Cracking the SAT 2009”
Cracking the SAT brings you proven techniques from the test prep experts! The 2009 edition includes full-length practices tests and exclusive free access to further review online. In Cracking the SAT, we’ll teach you how to think like the test writers and
· Master specific strategies for answering every question type
· Boost your vocabulary with our exclusive “Hit Parade”— a list of words that appear most frequently on the SAT
· Practice online with an additional full-length test, lessons, and drills
· Get the most out of your prep time with the study plan that’s right for you
We give you plenty of practice problems to help you master our proven techniques. In addition, this book contains 3 full-length, “paper and pencil” SAT practice tests. Our practice questions are just like those you’ll see on the real SAT—but with detailed answers and explanations for every question.
“Grow Organic”
A simpler, fresher look at the organic approach in the whole garden-not just fruit and vegetables but also herbs, flowers, shrubs, trees, as well as composting and recycling, attracting beneficial wildlife and preventing and managing pests and diseases-all organically, and all without the use of chemicals. This book is aimed more at the beginner than the original Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
“Outstanding in the Field” Jim Denevan
Instead of bringing food to guests in a traditional restaurant setting, Jim Denevan brings diners to their food, creating what Alice Waters has called “the restaurant I always imagined.” His innovative organization, Outstanding in the Field, sets up dinner tables in fields, ranches, dairies, vineyards, and community gardens across the country for alfresco meals that truly reconnect us with the land and people that produce our food.
In Outstanding in the Field, Denevan presents a cookbook full of seasonally inspired dishes from his farm-fresh dinners, sharing more than one hundred recipes with home cooks and food lovers everywhere. Celebrating local ingredients at their height of freshness, favorites include Haricot Vert and Early Girl Tomato Salad with Summer Savory; Burrata Cheese with Nectarines, Mâche, and Hazelnuts; Sea Scallops with Sugar Snap Peas and Chervil; Pure Maple Syrup–Braised Short Ribs; Green Tomato Marmalade; and Upside-Down Fresh Fig Cake. All of the recipes present opportunities to use the most flavorful produce, meats, and cheeses in the area where you live—and suggestions for substitutions when necessary.
America’s appetite for organic and local food has never been stronger and there is no better guide to this growing movement than Jim Denevan. With inspiring recipes, beautiful photographs throughout of farms and food across the country, and information on finding local ingredients and helping Community Supported Agriculture and community gardens, Outstanding in the Field is a cookbook that celebrates the pleasures of raising, preparing, and enjoying good food.
Book collecting has long been a popular hobby, and it continues to grow in popularity. This revised and updated edition of The Official Price Guide to Books has everything a book collector needs. It features black-and-white photographs and includes an eight-page color insert of exceptional book covers.
The Official Price Guide to Books also includes:
· A history of the book trade
· Current market review and forecast
· Thousands of price listings covering hundreds of years of first editions
· Information about genre-collecting
· Advice on maintaining your collection
· Expert instruction on how to profit from bibliophilia
· A handy glossary and recommended reading list
“A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America” James Webb
Jim Webb—the bestselling author and now the celebrated, outspoken U.S. Senator from Virginia—presents a clear-eyed, hard-hitting plan of attack for putting government to work for the people, rather than special interests, and for restoring the country's standing around the world. Infused with the intelligence, force, and firebrand style that has earned Senator Jim Webb enormous national attention from his earlest days in office, A Time to Fight offers a thorough and provocative assessment of the thorniest issues Americans face today, along with cogent solutions drawn from Webb's lifetime of experience as a much-decorated Marine, a widely traveled, award-winning journalist and novelist, a highly placed member of the Reagan administration, a Senator with a son who fought as a Marine in Iraq and, perhaps most important, a proud scion of America's vast but frequently ignored working class. Webb exposes how America has entered a dangerous, unprecedented cycle of seemingly unsolvable unknowns. Our economic policies, particularly in this age of globalization, have produced widely divergent results leading to a country calcifying along class lines. Our demographic makeup has been altered dramatically and is set to keep on changing, through both legal and illegal immigration. Our editorialists and politicians talk about the American dream, and some urge us to bring democracy to the rest of the world. But more than two million Americans are now in prison, by far the highest incarceration rate in the so-called advanced world. Our foreign policy is confused, without clear direction; increasingly vulnerable to such largely unexamined long-term threats as China's emerging power while it has become bogged down in the never-ending struggles of the Middle East. As this drift toward societal regression has taken place, America's leadership has largely been paralyzed, unable or unwilling to stop the slide. "Where are the leaders?" Webb asks. "Has our political process become so compromised by powerful interest groups and the threat of character assassination that even the best among us will not dare to speak honestly about the solutions that might bring us back to common sense and fundamental fairness?" Through vivid personal narratives of the struggles members of his family faced, and citing the courageous actions of presidents ranging from Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt to Dwight Eisenhower, A Time to Fight provides specific, viable ideas for restoring fairness to our economic system, correcting the direction of national security efforts, ending America's military occupation of Iraq, and developing greater government accountability. Webb brings a fresh perspective to political dynamics that have shaped our country. His stirring, populist manifesto calls upon voters to make the choices that will change America for the better in this election season.
“Simplexity” Jeffrey Kruger
Frustrated by the traffic on narrow bridges? Stunned by the number of buttons on a remote control? Saddened by the lack of basic medical care in the developing world? Kluger (Splendid Solutions) makes the modern world comprehensible, analyzing social and technological systems to reveal that things that seem complicated can be preposterously simple; things that seem simple can be dizzyingly complex. He compares cells to cities to stock markets, renders quarks and fractals accessible and draws parallels between Wal-Mart and AIDS clinics in Tanzania. Although Kluger is prone to hyperbole, his astonishing discoveries require no exaggeration: the book describes how even the most technologically advanced manufacturing plant is infinitely simpler than a humble houseplant with its microhydraulics and fine-tuned metabolism and dense schematic of nucleic acids—and baseball fans will be dismayed to discover that football is, in fact, the more complex of the two games: the possible number of starting configurations before the play even begins is... 31.4 billion. Kluger's findings are likely to incite controversy, confirming his contention that explaining simplicity and complexity is never as straightforward as it seems.
“Amish Grace” Donald B. Kraybill
When a gunman killed five Amish children and injured five others last fall in a Nickel Mines, Pa., schoolhouse, media attention rapidly turned from the tragic events to the extraordinary forgiveness demonstrated by the Amish community. The authors, who teach at small colleges with Anabaptist roots and have published books on the Amish, were contacted repeatedly by the media after the shootings to interpret this subculture. In response to the questions why—and how—did they forgive? Kraybill and his colleagues present a compelling study of Amish grace. After describing the heartbreaking attack and its aftermath, the authors establish that forgiveness is embedded in Amish society through five centuries of Anabaptist tradition, and grounded in the firm belief that forgiveness is required by the New Testament. The community's acts of forgiveness were not isolated decisions by saintly individuals but hard-won countercultural practices supported by all aspects of Amish life. Common objections to Amish forgiveness are addressed in a chapter entitled, What About Shunning? The authors carefully distinguish between forgiveness, pardon and reconciliation, as well as analyzethe complexities of mainstream America's response and the extent to which the Amish example can be applied elsewhere. This intelligent, compassionate and hopeful book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on forgiveness.
“Cracking the SAT 2009”
Cracking the SAT brings you proven techniques from the test prep experts! The 2009 edition includes full-length practices tests and exclusive free access to further review online. In Cracking the SAT, we’ll teach you how to think like the test writers and
· Master specific strategies for answering every question type
· Boost your vocabulary with our exclusive “Hit Parade”— a list of words that appear most frequently on the SAT
· Practice online with an additional full-length test, lessons, and drills
· Get the most out of your prep time with the study plan that’s right for you
We give you plenty of practice problems to help you master our proven techniques. In addition, this book contains 3 full-length, “paper and pencil” SAT practice tests. Our practice questions are just like those you’ll see on the real SAT—but with detailed answers and explanations for every question.
“Grow Organic”
A simpler, fresher look at the organic approach in the whole garden-not just fruit and vegetables but also herbs, flowers, shrubs, trees, as well as composting and recycling, attracting beneficial wildlife and preventing and managing pests and diseases-all organically, and all without the use of chemicals. This book is aimed more at the beginner than the original Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
“Outstanding in the Field” Jim Denevan
Instead of bringing food to guests in a traditional restaurant setting, Jim Denevan brings diners to their food, creating what Alice Waters has called “the restaurant I always imagined.” His innovative organization, Outstanding in the Field, sets up dinner tables in fields, ranches, dairies, vineyards, and community gardens across the country for alfresco meals that truly reconnect us with the land and people that produce our food.
In Outstanding in the Field, Denevan presents a cookbook full of seasonally inspired dishes from his farm-fresh dinners, sharing more than one hundred recipes with home cooks and food lovers everywhere. Celebrating local ingredients at their height of freshness, favorites include Haricot Vert and Early Girl Tomato Salad with Summer Savory; Burrata Cheese with Nectarines, Mâche, and Hazelnuts; Sea Scallops with Sugar Snap Peas and Chervil; Pure Maple Syrup–Braised Short Ribs; Green Tomato Marmalade; and Upside-Down Fresh Fig Cake. All of the recipes present opportunities to use the most flavorful produce, meats, and cheeses in the area where you live—and suggestions for substitutions when necessary.
America’s appetite for organic and local food has never been stronger and there is no better guide to this growing movement than Jim Denevan. With inspiring recipes, beautiful photographs throughout of farms and food across the country, and information on finding local ingredients and helping Community Supported Agriculture and community gardens, Outstanding in the Field is a cookbook that celebrates the pleasures of raising, preparing, and enjoying good food.
BOOK ON CDs
“The Other” David Guterson
When John William Barry and Neil Countryman meet at a high school track meet in the early 1970s, they are two sides of the same coin: John is a trust fund baby and student of a prestigious private school while Neil is solidly working class, but they share an affinity for the outdoors and apprehension over impending changes in their lives. After an unintentionally challenging week lost in the wilds of the North Cascades, John is compelled to an ascetic path: life in a remote river valley in the Olympic Peninsula rainforest, where he chips a shelter from a granite wall and immerses himself in the esoterica of Gnostic dualism --a philosophy that holds that the material world is illusional and destructive. Neil meanwhile chooses a traditional path as a father and school teacher, despite his troubled friend's exhortations to eschew "hamburger world" and find truth in a simpler, stripped-down existence. Nothing is that simple, of course, and The Other compellingly explores the compromises we make to balance meaning and security in our lives through the choices (and their subsequent consequences) of these two men.
“Fearless Fourteen” Janet Evanovich
Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.
The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars
Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn’t be more proud. He always was the smart one.
The Cousin: Joe Morelli
Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi, and Dom’s sister, Loretta, are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all-American family.
The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux
Less than a week after Dom’s release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He’s getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.
The Catastrophe: Moonman
Morelli hires Walter “Mooner” Dunphy, stoner and “inventor” turned crime fighter, to protect his house. Morelli can’t afford a lot on a cop’s salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.
The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum
Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection, and driving each other nuts. She’s a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she’s involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.
The Crisis: A favor for Ranger
Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie’s evening activities.
The Conclusion: Only the fearless should read Fourteen.
Thrills, chills, and incontinence may result.
When John William Barry and Neil Countryman meet at a high school track meet in the early 1970s, they are two sides of the same coin: John is a trust fund baby and student of a prestigious private school while Neil is solidly working class, but they share an affinity for the outdoors and apprehension over impending changes in their lives. After an unintentionally challenging week lost in the wilds of the North Cascades, John is compelled to an ascetic path: life in a remote river valley in the Olympic Peninsula rainforest, where he chips a shelter from a granite wall and immerses himself in the esoterica of Gnostic dualism --a philosophy that holds that the material world is illusional and destructive. Neil meanwhile chooses a traditional path as a father and school teacher, despite his troubled friend's exhortations to eschew "hamburger world" and find truth in a simpler, stripped-down existence. Nothing is that simple, of course, and The Other compellingly explores the compromises we make to balance meaning and security in our lives through the choices (and their subsequent consequences) of these two men.
“Fearless Fourteen” Janet Evanovich
Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.
The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars
Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn’t be more proud. He always was the smart one.
The Cousin: Joe Morelli
Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi, and Dom’s sister, Loretta, are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all-American family.
The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux
Less than a week after Dom’s release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He’s getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.
The Catastrophe: Moonman
Morelli hires Walter “Mooner” Dunphy, stoner and “inventor” turned crime fighter, to protect his house. Morelli can’t afford a lot on a cop’s salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.
The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum
Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection, and driving each other nuts. She’s a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she’s involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.
The Crisis: A favor for Ranger
Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie’s evening activities.
The Conclusion: Only the fearless should read Fourteen.
Thrills, chills, and incontinence may result.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
“Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location” Jen Calonita
It seems like the summer of dreams come true for Hollywood princess Kaitlin Burke: the media loves her (again), super-cute and funny Austin Meyers is finally her boyfriend, and she's starring in a movie by her all-time favorite director Hutch Adams. What could be sweeter? But life on set is not as perfect as the makeup and costumes. And with an old love and a scheming new publicist on the scene, it's about to get a whole lot messier.
Combining the vicarious glamour of the New York Times bestselling A-List series with the innocence of The Princess Diaries, this commercial and appealing sequel offers another captivating glimpse behind the velvet ropes of stardom.
Tantalizing new Hollywood secrets appear throughout.
“The Humming of Numbers” Joni Sensel
Aidan is poised to take his monastic vows—until a girl enters the abbey, one who hums of the number eleven. Aidan has the ability to hear the humming of numbers, a buzzing energy given off by living things. He is captivated and tormented by the mysterious girl, Lana, who has some unusual abilities of her own. How can he become a monk when his mind is filled with impure thoughts?
Before he can begin to sort his feelings out, the Vikings raid. Only Aidan and Lana can save the village from certain, violent death—and only if they learn to trust in their mysterious talents.
Joni Sensel’s richly imagined new novel is a compelling blend of fantasy and adventure.
“Almost Alice” Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Is it possible to be too good a friend -- too understanding, too always there, too much like a doormat? Alice has always been a good friend to Pamela and Liz, a best friend to Pamela and Liz. But she's starting to wonder where that leaves her: What am I? An ear for listening? An arm around the shoulder? And then there's Patrick -- after ending their relationship two years ago, he's suddenly calling again, and wants to take her to his senior prom. What does that mean? As Alice tries to figure out who she is in relation to her friends, she learns one thing -- sometimes friends need you more than they let on...especially when the unthinkable happens.
Always honest, brave, and true, the Alice series never flinches from big issues, and never discounts the small ones.
“Gone” Michael Grant
In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.
Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.
Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.
It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...
It seems like the summer of dreams come true for Hollywood princess Kaitlin Burke: the media loves her (again), super-cute and funny Austin Meyers is finally her boyfriend, and she's starring in a movie by her all-time favorite director Hutch Adams. What could be sweeter? But life on set is not as perfect as the makeup and costumes. And with an old love and a scheming new publicist on the scene, it's about to get a whole lot messier.
Combining the vicarious glamour of the New York Times bestselling A-List series with the innocence of The Princess Diaries, this commercial and appealing sequel offers another captivating glimpse behind the velvet ropes of stardom.
Tantalizing new Hollywood secrets appear throughout.
“The Humming of Numbers” Joni Sensel
Aidan is poised to take his monastic vows—until a girl enters the abbey, one who hums of the number eleven. Aidan has the ability to hear the humming of numbers, a buzzing energy given off by living things. He is captivated and tormented by the mysterious girl, Lana, who has some unusual abilities of her own. How can he become a monk when his mind is filled with impure thoughts?
Before he can begin to sort his feelings out, the Vikings raid. Only Aidan and Lana can save the village from certain, violent death—and only if they learn to trust in their mysterious talents.
Joni Sensel’s richly imagined new novel is a compelling blend of fantasy and adventure.
“Almost Alice” Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Is it possible to be too good a friend -- too understanding, too always there, too much like a doormat? Alice has always been a good friend to Pamela and Liz, a best friend to Pamela and Liz. But she's starting to wonder where that leaves her: What am I? An ear for listening? An arm around the shoulder? And then there's Patrick -- after ending their relationship two years ago, he's suddenly calling again, and wants to take her to his senior prom. What does that mean? As Alice tries to figure out who she is in relation to her friends, she learns one thing -- sometimes friends need you more than they let on...especially when the unthinkable happens.
Always honest, brave, and true, the Alice series never flinches from big issues, and never discounts the small ones.
“Gone” Michael Grant
In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.
Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.
Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.
It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...
YOUNG ADULT NON-FICTION
“The Surrender Tree” Margarita Engle
It is 1896. Cuba has fought three wars for independence and still is not tree. People have been rounded up in reconcentration camps with too little food and too much illness. Rosa is a nurse, but she dares not go to the camps. So she turns hidden caves into hospitals for those who know how to find her.
Black, white, Cuban, Spanish—Rosa does her best for everyone. Yet who can heal a country so torn apart by war? Acclaimed poet Margarita Engle has created another breathtaking portrait of Cuba.
It is 1896. Cuba has fought three wars for independence and still is not tree. People have been rounded up in reconcentration camps with too little food and too much illness. Rosa is a nurse, but she dares not go to the camps. So she turns hidden caves into hospitals for those who know how to find her.
Black, white, Cuban, Spanish—Rosa does her best for everyone. Yet who can heal a country so torn apart by war? Acclaimed poet Margarita Engle has created another breathtaking portrait of Cuba.
JUVENILE FICTION
“The Dragon’s Child” Laurence Yep
Historian Kathleen S. Yep teams with her uncle Laurence to craft a compelling tale based on transcripts of his father's 1922 immigration interview. The Yeps relate the harrowing experiences of ten-year-old Gim Lew, who, after crossing the Pacific with his father, is interned on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, where he must submit to lengthy detailed interviews about his home, village and neighbors, in order to prove he is who he claims to be. To pass this detailed interrogation, he has conscientiously studied a family book containing specifics about his home: How many windows in your house? How many steps? How are the houses in your village arranged?, etc. To enter "The Golden Mountain," he must answer the questions perfectly, leaving no room for doubt by the immigration officers. The boy's frustration and anxiety rise from the page, as does this particularly xenophobic and unjust moment in U.S. history. Fiction based on facts and the authors' smooth narration vividly evoke the past and its inhabitants.
Historian Kathleen S. Yep teams with her uncle Laurence to craft a compelling tale based on transcripts of his father's 1922 immigration interview. The Yeps relate the harrowing experiences of ten-year-old Gim Lew, who, after crossing the Pacific with his father, is interned on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, where he must submit to lengthy detailed interviews about his home, village and neighbors, in order to prove he is who he claims to be. To pass this detailed interrogation, he has conscientiously studied a family book containing specifics about his home: How many windows in your house? How many steps? How are the houses in your village arranged?, etc. To enter "The Golden Mountain," he must answer the questions perfectly, leaving no room for doubt by the immigration officers. The boy's frustration and anxiety rise from the page, as does this particularly xenophobic and unjust moment in U.S. history. Fiction based on facts and the authors' smooth narration vividly evoke the past and its inhabitants.
JUVENILE NON-FICTION
“Gymnastics Training and Fitness” Jen Jones
“See How They Run” Susan E. Goodman
Using witty anecdotes and clear explanations, acclaimed writer Susan E. Goodman takes readers from the birth of democracy to the Electoral College; from front porch campaigning to hanging chads. It’s all here, spiced up with Elwood Smith’s witty illustrations, hilarious sidebars, photographs, and solid back matter. It’s a landslide victory: See How They Run stands above the rest as the most accessible, informative, and enjoyable election book on the market.
“Monarch and Milkweed” Helen Frost
Every spring the monarch butterfly migrates thousands of miles in search of the ideal milkweed plant. When she finds it, she lays her eggs on the plant, so when each egg hatches, the baby caterpillar can feed on the milkweed leaves. The milkweed plant then provides the perfect protection as the caterpillar turns into one of nature's wonders, a chrysalis, before transforming into an even greater wonder: a monarch butterfly. And once the newborn butterfly soars away, the milkweed seeds fly away on the wind and start this cycle over again.
The exacting prose and jewel-toned illustrations echo the harmony of monarch and milkweed in this carefully researched book, explaining one of nature's most spectacular displays in a refreshingly simple manner.
“Grow it, Cook it”
Grow It, Cook It is the children's cookbook that starts with the seed of a good idea. More than a cookbook, this innovative book offers a fresh approach to healthy eating by getting children involved in food right from the start. Children will learn that when they eat a carrot, they're biting into a root; salads are made up of leaves; and berries are the fruit and seeds of plants, encouraging an early appreciation of food and its origins.
The recipes in the book take the homegrown fruits, vegetables, and herbs and use a variety of cooking methods and store-bought ingredients to transform them into truly homemade meals. All the "crops" can be grown in pots, so young chefs don't even need a large garden to enjoy Grow It, Cook It.
“Earth Matters” David Rothschild
With a biome-by-biome structure that mirrors Mother Nature's own design, Our Earth Matters is a celebration of our fragile Earth, a warning to protect it, and an inspiring source book full of ideas for making a positive change.
The book begins with a brief history of our planet's birth and development, revealing how an astonishingly unlikely series of accidents made Earth the only planet in the universe known to be suitable for life. As life flourished and spread, it changed the planet and created the "biosphere." Scientists divide the biosphere into global ecosystems, or "biomes," such as Desert, Ocean, Tropical Forest, and Grassland.
Earth's delicate ecology is the unifying theme. Each section explores the unique ecological structure of a biome and reveals how human interference can upset the balance and damage the life-support systems upon which our existence depends Reference pages make up the first part of each section, with maps showing the extent of the biome, and spreads on climate, natural history, and ecology explaining how the biome works. Subsequent spreads explore the threats arising from human activity and show how positive efforts can often overcome the threats and preserve the biome. Throughout the book, spectacular and intimate photography showcases the living world's endless diversity and beauty, providing a compelling visual argument to support the book's core message.
CHILDREN'S FICTION
“See How They Run” Susan E. Goodman
Using witty anecdotes and clear explanations, acclaimed writer Susan E. Goodman takes readers from the birth of democracy to the Electoral College; from front porch campaigning to hanging chads. It’s all here, spiced up with Elwood Smith’s witty illustrations, hilarious sidebars, photographs, and solid back matter. It’s a landslide victory: See How They Run stands above the rest as the most accessible, informative, and enjoyable election book on the market.
“Monarch and Milkweed” Helen Frost
Every spring the monarch butterfly migrates thousands of miles in search of the ideal milkweed plant. When she finds it, she lays her eggs on the plant, so when each egg hatches, the baby caterpillar can feed on the milkweed leaves. The milkweed plant then provides the perfect protection as the caterpillar turns into one of nature's wonders, a chrysalis, before transforming into an even greater wonder: a monarch butterfly. And once the newborn butterfly soars away, the milkweed seeds fly away on the wind and start this cycle over again.
The exacting prose and jewel-toned illustrations echo the harmony of monarch and milkweed in this carefully researched book, explaining one of nature's most spectacular displays in a refreshingly simple manner.
“Grow it, Cook it”
Grow It, Cook It is the children's cookbook that starts with the seed of a good idea. More than a cookbook, this innovative book offers a fresh approach to healthy eating by getting children involved in food right from the start. Children will learn that when they eat a carrot, they're biting into a root; salads are made up of leaves; and berries are the fruit and seeds of plants, encouraging an early appreciation of food and its origins.
The recipes in the book take the homegrown fruits, vegetables, and herbs and use a variety of cooking methods and store-bought ingredients to transform them into truly homemade meals. All the "crops" can be grown in pots, so young chefs don't even need a large garden to enjoy Grow It, Cook It.
“Earth Matters” David Rothschild
With a biome-by-biome structure that mirrors Mother Nature's own design, Our Earth Matters is a celebration of our fragile Earth, a warning to protect it, and an inspiring source book full of ideas for making a positive change.
The book begins with a brief history of our planet's birth and development, revealing how an astonishingly unlikely series of accidents made Earth the only planet in the universe known to be suitable for life. As life flourished and spread, it changed the planet and created the "biosphere." Scientists divide the biosphere into global ecosystems, or "biomes," such as Desert, Ocean, Tropical Forest, and Grassland.
Earth's delicate ecology is the unifying theme. Each section explores the unique ecological structure of a biome and reveals how human interference can upset the balance and damage the life-support systems upon which our existence depends Reference pages make up the first part of each section, with maps showing the extent of the biome, and spreads on climate, natural history, and ecology explaining how the biome works. Subsequent spreads explore the threats arising from human activity and show how positive efforts can often overcome the threats and preserve the biome. Throughout the book, spectacular and intimate photography showcases the living world's endless diversity and beauty, providing a compelling visual argument to support the book's core message.
CHILDREN'S FICTION
“Horse” Malachy Doyle
Follow one little foal as he grows into a magnificent horse! From learning to stand on wobbly legs to napping in the sunshine and trotting around the field with his mother, he changes as the seasons pass. By springtime he has grown big and strong.
Set against lush green fields and picturesque skies, this touching portrait of a mare and her foal is perfect for all horse fans!
“The Sandman” Ralph J. Fletcher
Where did that little piece of sand in the corner of your eye come from? That’s easy—the Sandman.
It all started a long time ago when a tiny man named Tor discovered that a dragon’s scale held magical powers. Ground dragon scales make magic sand that Tor sprinkles in the eyes of children to help them fall asleep. But how does he get the scales to make the special sand? He has to venture into the lair of a dragon, and that’s no easy feat!
This imaginative telling of the legend of the Sandman combined with fantastical, illuminating pictures will be enjoyed by the whole family.
“Mermaid Sister” Mary Ann Fraser
Shelly is tired of her brother, Gordy. She’d much prefer a sister. So when Coral catches a wave to shore, they are instant friends, even if one of them has flippers instead of feet. They dance and play and eat peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches. It’s great having a mermaid sister!
But when Shelly and Coral get in their first fight, Shelly wonders if Coral might be happier back at sea. Life with a sister can have its ups and downs, but it’s nothing another day at the beach can’t fix.
“Melrose and Croc: an Adventure to Remember” Emma Chichester Clark
Melrose has planned a wonderful birthday for his best friend, Croc: a vacation at a villa right by the ocean! Melrose wants everything to be perfect, especially the gift, so he decides to take a boat out on the sea to catch Croc a birthday fish. But when a blustery storm rolls in, Melrose is in danger. It’s up to his loyal friend Croc to come to the rescue—but can he get there in time?
“Sheep Blast Off!” Nancy Shaw
When a mysterious spacecraft lands in a nearby pasture, the lovable, blundering sheep get in gear for the ride of their lives! Unfortunately, these sheep don't know the first thing about piloting a spaceship . . . but there may be someone else on board who does! Readers will have a blast with Nancy Shaw's clever rhymes and Margot Apple's hilarious illustrations in this latest Sheep adventure.
“Litte Rabbit and the Night Mare” Kate Klise
One night, while Little Rabbit is sleeping, a very scary creature appears in his dream. Little Rabbit is so worried about the "night mare" that he can't eat or sleep--and he certainly can't work on his school report that's due at the end of the week. He makes signs. He builds traps. But nothing keeps that night mare away . . . until Little Rabbit dreams up a brave and brilliant solution.
Kate and Sarah Klise have created a heart-meltingly sweet story that will empower kids everywhere to face their fears.
“Twenty Heartbeats” Dennis Haseley
A wealthy man engages a great painter to create an image of the faithful horse that runs to him in 20 heartbeats. He waits for
word that his painting is ready. Years slip by, and both man and horse grow old. Finally, livid, the man returns to demand the picture he commissioned so very long ago. And in 20 heartbeats, the artist puts brush to paper to produce a piece of genius. But “[t]he man did not look at the painting. All he could see were the years that had gone by.” There are many ways to read this story: as a treatise on the nature of art and the value of product versus process; as an allegory about faith and another Great Painter; as a reminder to look beyond the obvious. These messages may elude younger readers, but no one will miss the point of Young’s arresting limited-color collage work, in which dreams are veiled in a layered rice-paper mist, and texture, curve and line, along with the compelling and considered placement of pigment, guide the eye along the narrative path.
“In a Blue Room” Jim Averbeck
Alice is wide, wide awake. Mama brings flowers, tea, a quilt, even lullaby bells to help her sleep. But none of these things are blue, and Alice can sleep only in a blue room. Yet when the light goes out, a bit of magic is stirred up. Pale blue moonlight swirls into her bedroom window. Then the night swirls out, around the moon and into the universe, leaving Alice fast alseep in a most celestial blue room.
Follow one little foal as he grows into a magnificent horse! From learning to stand on wobbly legs to napping in the sunshine and trotting around the field with his mother, he changes as the seasons pass. By springtime he has grown big and strong.
Set against lush green fields and picturesque skies, this touching portrait of a mare and her foal is perfect for all horse fans!
“The Sandman” Ralph J. Fletcher
Where did that little piece of sand in the corner of your eye come from? That’s easy—the Sandman.
It all started a long time ago when a tiny man named Tor discovered that a dragon’s scale held magical powers. Ground dragon scales make magic sand that Tor sprinkles in the eyes of children to help them fall asleep. But how does he get the scales to make the special sand? He has to venture into the lair of a dragon, and that’s no easy feat!
This imaginative telling of the legend of the Sandman combined with fantastical, illuminating pictures will be enjoyed by the whole family.
“Mermaid Sister” Mary Ann Fraser
Shelly is tired of her brother, Gordy. She’d much prefer a sister. So when Coral catches a wave to shore, they are instant friends, even if one of them has flippers instead of feet. They dance and play and eat peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches. It’s great having a mermaid sister!
But when Shelly and Coral get in their first fight, Shelly wonders if Coral might be happier back at sea. Life with a sister can have its ups and downs, but it’s nothing another day at the beach can’t fix.
“Melrose and Croc: an Adventure to Remember” Emma Chichester Clark
Melrose has planned a wonderful birthday for his best friend, Croc: a vacation at a villa right by the ocean! Melrose wants everything to be perfect, especially the gift, so he decides to take a boat out on the sea to catch Croc a birthday fish. But when a blustery storm rolls in, Melrose is in danger. It’s up to his loyal friend Croc to come to the rescue—but can he get there in time?
“Sheep Blast Off!” Nancy Shaw
When a mysterious spacecraft lands in a nearby pasture, the lovable, blundering sheep get in gear for the ride of their lives! Unfortunately, these sheep don't know the first thing about piloting a spaceship . . . but there may be someone else on board who does! Readers will have a blast with Nancy Shaw's clever rhymes and Margot Apple's hilarious illustrations in this latest Sheep adventure.
“Litte Rabbit and the Night Mare” Kate Klise
One night, while Little Rabbit is sleeping, a very scary creature appears in his dream. Little Rabbit is so worried about the "night mare" that he can't eat or sleep--and he certainly can't work on his school report that's due at the end of the week. He makes signs. He builds traps. But nothing keeps that night mare away . . . until Little Rabbit dreams up a brave and brilliant solution.
Kate and Sarah Klise have created a heart-meltingly sweet story that will empower kids everywhere to face their fears.
“Twenty Heartbeats” Dennis Haseley
A wealthy man engages a great painter to create an image of the faithful horse that runs to him in 20 heartbeats. He waits for
word that his painting is ready. Years slip by, and both man and horse grow old. Finally, livid, the man returns to demand the picture he commissioned so very long ago. And in 20 heartbeats, the artist puts brush to paper to produce a piece of genius. But “[t]he man did not look at the painting. All he could see were the years that had gone by.” There are many ways to read this story: as a treatise on the nature of art and the value of product versus process; as an allegory about faith and another Great Painter; as a reminder to look beyond the obvious. These messages may elude younger readers, but no one will miss the point of Young’s arresting limited-color collage work, in which dreams are veiled in a layered rice-paper mist, and texture, curve and line, along with the compelling and considered placement of pigment, guide the eye along the narrative path.
“In a Blue Room” Jim Averbeck
Alice is wide, wide awake. Mama brings flowers, tea, a quilt, even lullaby bells to help her sleep. But none of these things are blue, and Alice can sleep only in a blue room. Yet when the light goes out, a bit of magic is stirred up. Pale blue moonlight swirls into her bedroom window. Then the night swirls out, around the moon and into the universe, leaving Alice fast alseep in a most celestial blue room.
