She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple, Beauty and the Beast.

    After experiencing several inexplicable incidents, lonely Nora receives a strangely lifelike doll, which leads her to discover long-hidden secrets about her family.

    Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, one thing's for sure: Sam Westing may be dead ... but that won't stop him from playing one last game!

    A French girl's brush with death while trying to secure a cherished doll from a ledge surrounding the top of a bell tower leads to the revelation of an evil spell on the doll and the identity of its victims.

    There he encounters a silent, aggressive stranger as well as an animal presence, luring him towards the unknown. Robert Westall has won the Carnegie Medal twice and the 1989 Smarties Award.

    Now available as an ebook for the first time, Anne Digby's debut novel is a childhood favourite both with English-speaking readers and with readers of various editions in translation. Other Straw Hat ebook titles for lovers of classic horse stories include Anne Digby's THE QUICKSILVER HORSE and Alan Davidson's QUEEN RIDER.

    

    Feeling neglected by her innkeeper mother, Rosie reveals her feelings and dreams in a fantasy world called the Land of Three Roses which she and her bartender friend create together.

    To both wealthy Andrea and Fran, daughter of a cook, the carousel horse symbolizes their budding and unusual friendship.

    Right from the start, Melanie knew there was going to be trouble. Getting stuck with the six-year-old Tadpoles in the beginners' swim class was downright embarrassing. So was her horse's decision to take a trot in the lake--with Melanie aboard! Now, to top things off, Melanie finds herself falling in love with Steve, the cutest boy in camp. Of course, she's not the only girl to feel this way. Can she keep her archrival, Erica Stone, from breaking things up between her and Steve before they even get started? This just might turn out to be Melanie's best summer ever!

    Because Meg is blind, they worry that she will not be able to keep up with her classwork or find her way through the halls. They tell her she can try it for a semester; if it doesn't work out, she can go to the Institute for the Blind.Meg finds herself under pressure to succeed academically, to show her parents that she can handle regular school. But the hardest part for her is the social scene. Meg longs to be part of the "in crowd," and works hard not to appear different from her peers. A group of unconventional friends and a memorable teacher help Meg discover who she really is. During a tumultuous few months Meg learns that it is not her blindness, but her sense of herself that makes her unique.

    In fact, she has just about everything a girl could ask for: looks, brains, popularity, a happy home and plenty of spending money. So why does she dream of murdering her mother?The nightmare is always the same. And it's so strong it holds her in its grip throughout the next day until she is driven to steal something - one special item that attracts her irresistibly. But why?Now her eccentric aunt Kat, a relative Sarah has never met, has come for a visit. And suddenly the nightmares get worse. Sarah starts sleepwalking, she feels herself losing control. That's when her extra-brainy friend Josie steps in...and together they discover the amazing, tormenting secret locked in Sarah's past.

    A princess whose radiant beauty blinds her and all who look upon her finds only one man willing to submit to her test for suitors--the court fool.

    When her family moves into a Shaker settlement, sixteen-year-old Damaris finds it difficult to adjust to her new way of life.

    Following her mother's death, Elena and her father relocate in a remote valley that brings tranquility and happiness to her father and loneliness and a sense of foreboding to Elena.

    Cook award winning story. City-Kid Farmer is a story of a boy who leaves the city to live in the country. With this move he gains new role models who teach him the importance of depending on God for everything.

    Fifteen-year-old Kenny's involvement with the mentally retarded youth on his block brings out the best and the worst in him.

    

    While vacationing on a California ranch, three boys decide to investigate strange wails that come from a mysterious cave where a famous outlaw disappeared.

    Sent to North Woods School in Vermont by a juvenile court judge, 14-year-old Thelma struggles to define her identity and meaning in life.

    Seventeen-year-old Kim has her heart set on joining the United States Equestrian Team, but finds she must make alternative plans for her future.

    

    Frederick Neumann, himself a violinist and conductor, questions the validity of the rigid principles applied to their performance. In this controversial work, available for the first time in paperback, he argues that strict constraints are inconsistent with the freedom enjoyed by musicians of the period.The author takes an entirely new look at ornamentation, and particularly that of J. S. Bach. He draws on extensive research in England, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States to show that prevailing interpretations are based on inadequate evidence. These restrictive interpretations have been far-reaching in their effect on style. By questioning them, this work continues to stimulate a reorientation in our understandiing of Baroque and post-Baroque music.

    

    But the Dorys belonged at Pippenhay, and the house and the country welcomed them back. Charlotte and Vincent soon discovered aunts and friends who were very ready to put them in the picture by telling them about places around them.