How Oakley Lost His Spots (Oakley and Bella Book 1)


D.C. Swain - 2013
    Convinced by his friend Rover that he has lost them, he sets off to find his spots, only to find out that Dalmatians aren’t born with spots and that they all develop at different times. A vividly illustrated picture book, this story is perfect for showing children how everyone develops at different rates. ***Check out the other books in the "Oakley and Bella" series: -When Oakley Met Bella -Oakley and Bella Meet Puss -Oakley and Bella on Holiday

Jim Harrison: The Essential Poems


Jim Harrison - 2019
    Here is a poet talking to you instead of around himself, while doing absolutely brilliant and outrageous things with language."--Publishers WeeklyStarred Review in Booklist "[C]hoices of poems from each of Harrison's books are passionate and sharp... Of special note is a section from Letters to Yesenin, a book-length poem, and the title poem from The Theory and Practice of Rivers , which contains these echoing lines, 'I forgot where I heard that poems / are designed to waken sleeping gods.' Reading this essential volume, one might imagine that the gods are, indeed, staying up late, reading lights on, turning the pages."Jim Harrison: The Essential Poems is distilled from fourteen volumes--from visionary lyrics and meditative suites to shape-shifting ghazals and prose-poem letters. Teeming throughout these pages are Harrison's legendary passions and appetites, his meditations, rages, and love-songs to the natural world.The New York Times concluded a review from early in Harrison's career with a provocative quote: "This is poetry worth loving, hating, and fighting over, a subjective mirror of our American days and needs." That sentiment still holds true, as Jim Harrison's essential poems continue to call for our fiercest attention.Also included are full-color images of poem drafts--both typescripts and holographs--as well as the letter Denise Levertov sent to publisher W.W. Norton in the early 1960s, advocating for Harrison's debut collection.In his essay "Poetry as Survival," Jim Harrison wrote, "Poetry, at its best, is the language your soul would speak if you could teach your soul to speak." The Essential Poems is proof positive that Jim Harrison taught his soul to speak."In this unforgiving literary moment, we must deal honestly with [Harrison's] life and work, as they are inextricable in a way that is not true of other poets...These poems bear-crawl gorgeously after a genuine connection to being, thrashing in giant leaps through the underbrush to find consolation, purpose, and redemption. In his raw, original keening he ambushes moments of unimaginable beauty, one after another, line after line...The Essential Poems demonstrates perfectly why we should turn to Harrison again. He lived and breathed an American confrontation with the physical earth, married himself to a universe of bodies and stumps and birds, did not try to shuck his grotesque masculinity and stared hard with his one good eye (the left was blinded when he was seven) at the inescapable, beckoning finger of death." --Dean Kuipers, LitHub"The Essential Poems provides a good introduction--or reintroduction--to the work of this singular writer... these pieces illustrate Harrison's range and his ease with various formats, from lyric poems to meditative suites to prose poems. They also spotlight his deep, rugged kinship with rural landscapes and the natural world, where 'the cost of flight is landing.'" --The Washington Post"Jim Harrison's latest collection, The Essential Poems, contains...engaging and enlightening poems [that] should be taught, learned, and loved. Remember this."--New York Journal of Books"Had he been a chef, all the other foodies would have talked about how Jim Harrison dealt with big flavors. In his poems, they're all there -- love and death, remorse and longing, the rocket contrails of living. There's not a lot of small talk in The Essential Poems... this book grabs you by the collar and tells you in eleven hundred ways to wake up."--John Freeman, Executive Editor, "Recommended Reading from Lit Hub Staff""Jim Harrison had an appetite. He devoured the natural world with gusto and wrote about it with wild energy and sweetly caustic wit...Harrison was also a prodigious poet, and this thoughtfully curated collection [The Essential Poems] showcases him at his best. Like his fiction, the poems observe the collision between civilization and the wildness outside our cities; they act like geocaches both harrowing and beautiful... Organized chronologically, the material here becomes a time line distilling Harrison's signature concerns."--Alta"It is hard-boiled poetry, some of the best of its kind, and one is not surprised to know that Harrison has written very tough novels... His poetic vision is at the heart of it all."--Harper's

The Golden Acorn


Catherine Cooper - 2009
    Just an ordinary boy, Jack has been chosen for a hugely important task, and enters a world he believed only existed in legend. Full of twists and turns and featuring characters such as talking ravens and mischievous Spriggans, The Golden Acorn is a hugely entertaining and exciting tale from a very talented new author.

What Matters


Alison Hughes - 2016
    From the miniscule to the universal, What Matters sensitively explores nature's connections and traces the ripple effects of one child's good deed to show how we can all make a big difference.

Dancing Through the Snow


Jean Little - 2007
    No mother. No birth certificate. Not even a real birthday. Now, after four different foster families, Min's not surprised when she's dumped back with Children's Aid the week before Christmas. Still, a small part of her can't help aching for a miracle... and now she has an injured dog that needs a miracle too.

Puppy Come Home


Laura Yirak - 2012
    He dreams of the past and how he got under that silly bush! Find out what happens to him. Will he make it home?This is a cute fully illustrated eBook for ages 2 and up.

Steering Toward Normal


Rebecca Petruck - 2014
    But everything changes when classmate Wayne Graf’s mother dies, which brings to light the secret that Pop is Wayne’s father, too. Suddenly, Diggy has a half brother, who moves in and messes up his life. Wayne threatens Diggy’s chances at the State Fair, horns in on his girl, and rattles his easy relationship with Pop. What started out great quickly turns into the worst year ever, filled with jealousy, fighting, and several incidents involving cow poop. But as the boys care for their steers, pull pranks, and watch too many B movies, they learn what it means to be brothers and change their concept of family as they slowly steer toward a new kind of normal.

The Last Wild


Piers Torday - 2013
    Locked away in a home for troubled children, he's told there's something wrong with him. So when he meets a flock of talking pigeons and a bossy cockroach, Kester thinks he's finally gone crazy. But the animals have something to say. And they need him. The pigeons fly Kester to a wild place where the last creatures in the land have survived. A wise stag needs Kester's help, and together they must embark on a great journey, joined along the way by an overenthusiastic wolf cub, a military-trained cockroach, a mouse with a ritual for everything, and a stubborn girl named Polly. The animals saved Kester Jaynes. But can Kester save the animals?

The Explorer


Katherine Rundell - 2017
    For days they survive alone, until Fred finds a map that leads them to a ruined city, and to a secret.

Diary of NINJA BOY & Fartypants Book 1: Everybody hates Mondays


Ninja Toe - 2015
    I have no idea why my parents didn't name me something cool, like Mad Dog Monday or Muscles Monday. Oh well. At least I have my dog, fartypants. And when things get serious...I become NINJA BOY!Follow NINJA BOY on this hilarious adventure as he deals with...-Sleep Farting in Science Class?-Girlfriend Kidnapping Giants-Stinkalators-Mount Hogsnort henchmen-Evil ninjas-Biff and Lonnie, the bully brothersYeah, it's about to get serious....With charming and hilarious illustrations and creative storytelling, the Diary of NINJA BOY & Fartypants is a must-read for any kid who loves fun adventures! Kids ages 9-13 (even reluctant readers), and middle schoolers can't wait to dive in to these Ninja Boy stories!Be sure to check out book 2, Attack of the Bathroom Pirates!and book 3, Minecraft Dance Party Danger!

Glasswings: A Butterfly's Story


Elisa Kleven - 2013
    She doesn’t know how they will ever see her, but she finds new city friends, a pigeon, an ant, and a ladybug, who search for the flowers Claire needs to live. They come upon a tiny urban garden, and as Claire drinks from the flowers’ nectar, she pollinates more flowers. Soon the garden—and Claire's clear wings—fill with color, allowing her family to recognize her at last. Together they create an oasis for all to enjoy.  Facts about glasswing butterflies and pollination complete this beautiful and educational picture book. Kleven’s latest offering is as colorful and delicate as a butterfly’s wings—a treasure that can be cherished for years.

Storm Boy


Paul Owen Lewis - 1995
    There his spiritual journey begins. Powerful illustrations make stunning use of northwest coast Native American motifs to create a compelling atmosphere of mystery and displacement. Over 50,000 copies in print! 1996 American Book Award winner 1995 Best Children's Book of the Pacific Northwest 1996 Washington State Governor's Award winner

Archie Comics Spectacular: School Daze


Archie Comics - 2013
    Can Archie balance his two-pronged love life and keep his grades up, all under the watchful eye of Principal Weatherbee? Will Reggie be able to continue his chaotic pranks without spending every day in detention? Can Jughead indulge his bottomless appetite when Ms. Beazley's cafeteria food is so...unique? It's high school fun in a great pocket-size edition!

The White Bone


Barbara Gowdy - 1999
    

The Bat-Poet


Randall Jarrell - 1964
    Before long he began to see things differently from the other bats who from dawn to sunset never opened their eyes. The Bat-Poet is the story of how he tried to make the other bats see the world his way.With illustrations by Maurice Sendak, The Bat-Poet—a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book selection—is a collection of the bat's own poems and the bat's own world: the owl who almost eats him; the mockingbird whose irritable genius almost overpowers him; the chipmunk who loves his poems, and the bats who can't make heads or tails of them; the cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, and sparrows who fly in and out of Randall Jarrell's funny, lovable, truthful fable.