With the tenderness of a mother speaking directly to her child, Karen reminds us not to miss last days of kindergarten and last at bats in Little League amidst the whirlwind of life. Adapted from a poem in Rejoice, mothers and grandmothers everywhere will identify with the tenderhearted reflections in Let Me Hold You Longer. An ideal gift book for special occasions from baby showers to graduations. Now includes a bonus CD read by Karen!

    Mitchell, Ruth's most intimate friend. Lighthearted and indifferent, Eurie knew how to laugh and chat merrily in any and all circumstances.Flossy Shipley, born to a wealthy family to be loved and cherished and allowed to have her own sweet and precious way.Marion Wilbur, a young woman of poor, yet hard working stock. She dressed in severely plain black or brown suits with almost--and sometimes quite--no trimmings at all on them. And yet, for all her apparent plainness, she ruled them all.Though they didn't know it, all four were about to embark on the adventure of their lives!Heartwarming stories of faith and love by Grace Livingston Hill's aunt—Isabella Alden. Each book is similar in style and tone to Hill's and is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

    In a small Missouri town during the 1920s, Clem is torn between family responsibility and the life he wishes to lead when he must begin working in the local lead mine on his thirteenth birthday, to help pay for his sisters medical care.

    Where do dreams come from? What stealthy nighttime messengers are the guardians of our most deeply hidden hopes and our half-forgotten fears? Drawing on her rich imagination, two-time Newbery winner Lois Lowry confronts these questions and explores the conflicts between the gentle bits and pieces of the past that come to life in dream, and the darker horrors that find their form in nightmare. In a haunting story that tiptoes between reality and imagination, two people—a lonely, sensitive woman and a damaged, angry boy—face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see. Gossamer is perfect for readers not quite ready for Lois Lowry's Newbery-Award winner The Giver and also for readers interested in dreams, nightmares, spirits and the dream world.

    It's hard to fit in when your nightmares open portals to the Netherworld, where horrible creatures live--like the class 3 Netherstalker that invaded a sleepover and tried to eat the other children. Luckily there's a place for Charlie--the Nightmare Academy. Built from wrecked ships set in the branches of the world's most incredible tree fort, the Academy trains people to use their unique gifts to fight the monsters that rush in when the lights go out. But Charlie is far more powerful than anyone ever imagined, and his entrance exam opens a portal straight to the heart of the Netherworld, where ultimate evil plots Earth's destruction. He'll need all his cleverness--and the help of his new friends--to save himself and his family and to put these bad boys to bed once and for all. The monsters under your bed are realBut never fear--the Nightmare Academy will train Nethermancers and Banishers like you to destroy them

    . . A spellbinding new fantasy series for readers aged 8–12, perfect for fans of Cressida Cowell.Willow Moss, the youngest and least powerful sister in a family of witches, has a magical ability for finding lost things – like keys, or socks, or wooden teeth. Her magic might be useful, but it’s not exactly exciting . . . Until, that is, the most powerful witch in the whole of Starfell turns up at her door needing Willow’s help.A whole day – last Tuesday to be precise – has gone missing. And the repercussions could be devastating. Can Willow find the day to save the day?

    They dodged out of the way as a blackened tree began to topple over, crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks. Evan felt his courage evaporate. If this was a dream, it was getting way too scary: the deadly lightning, the falling trees, the growing rumble that seemed to shake the forest to its roots, the ominous blackening of the sky. Evan wanted to wake up now.But somehow he knew. . . . He knew that this was real."Welcome to Ahoratos," said the strange little creature in the purple robe. "Earth is but a shadow of this unseen realm. This is the real world where the battles rage, where your true enemy lies.""How can we fight this enemy?" said Xavier, glancing at his little brother, Evan, in alarm. "We're just kids."Ruwach gave the slightest smirk. "Here in Ahoratos, you are warriors. Prince Warriors. "

    When the simple folks in the sleepy little village of Roundbrook catch wind that there's a dragon running loose in the countryside, they get the wrong idea and the stage is set for a fight to the death. So it's up to Kenny to give his neighbors front-row seats to one of the best-known battles in history -- the legendary showdown between St. George and the dragon -- without losing a friend in the fray.

    Stanley Yelnats had his holes. Leo has the wacky, amazing Whippet Hotel.The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor has its own quirks and secrets. Leo should know most of them - he is the maintenance man's son, after all. But a whole lot more mystery gets thrown his way when a series of cryptic boxes are left for him . . . boxes that lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. Leo had better be quick on his feet, because the fate of the building he loves is at stake . . . and so is Leo's own future!

    キリンとサルとペリカン。おかしな、へんてこりんな3人ぐみだよ!

    When she was a baby, her parents learned that she was supposed to die in the story, and with the help of a magic book, took her out of the story, and into the outside world, where she could be safe.But Gracie longs to know what the story says about her. Despite her mother’s warnings, Gracie seeks out the story’s author, setting in motion a chain of events that draws herself, her mother, and other former storybook characters back into the forgotten tale. Inside the story, Gracie struggles to navigate the blurred boundary between who she really is and the surprising things the author wrote about her. As the story moves toward its deadly climax, Gracie realizes she’ll have to face a dark truth and figure out her own fairy tale ending.

    Not only does her grandmother dictate how she walks, what she eats, and which rooms she can enter, she fills all AJ's free time with boring sewing lessons. Grandma Jo wants nothing more than to transform her adventurous, fun-loving granddaughter into a prim and proper lady.But AJ’s dull summer takes a sharp turn when she discovers that her grandmother's "bridge group" is actually a heist club. When Grandma Jo offers to let AJ learn lock-picking instead of embroidery in exchange for help with a few capers, AJ is happy to join her grandmother's madcap band of thieves, who claim to steal only for ethical reasons. But even the most respectable ladies can hide truly surprising secrets, and AJ finds she must decide for herself what it means to be one of the good guys.

    He couldn’t cry out. He couldn’t even move. He could just feel the magic sink into his skin and spread itself over every inch of him, bubbling and slithering and cutting deep, until he didn’t know where the magic stopped and he began.”When Ned and his identical twin brother Tam tumble from their raft into a raging, bewitched river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. Sure enough, Ned grows up weak and slow, and stays as much as possible within the safe boundaries of his family’s cottage and yard. But when a Bandit King comes to steal the magic that Ned’s mother, a witch, is meant to protect, it's Ned who safeguards the magic and summons the strength to protect his family and community.In the meantime, in another kingdom across the forest that borders Ned’s village lives Áine, the resourceful and pragmatic daughter of the Bandit King. She is haunted by her mother’s last words to her: “The wrong boy will save your life and you will save his.” But when Áine and Ned’s paths cross, can they trust each other long enough to make their way through the treacherous woods and stop the war about to boil over?With a deft hand, acclaimed author Kelly Barnhill takes classic fairy tale elements--speaking stones, a friendly wolf, and a spoiled young king--and weaves them into a richly detailed narrative that explores good and evil, love and hate, magic, and the power of friendship.

    But there’s darkness in the madness, and when Uncle Ernie’s obsession takes an unexpectedly cruel turn, Stan has no choice but to leave. As he journeys away from the life he’s always known, he mingles with a carnival full of eccentric characters and meets the legendary Pancho Pirelli, the man who swims in a tank full of perilous piranhas. Will Stan be bold enough to dive in the churning waters himself and choose his own destiny?

    Hard. He tells his mom he’s dizzy and she says:“You’re just worried about your first day in a new school.” At breakfast, his little brother, Eddie, splashes syrup in his hair, and there’s no time to wash it. Artie has to go to school with syrup-hair. And then, on the way there, he gets splashed by a puddle that makes him look like he wet his pants. It’s not just the first day of school; it’s the worst day of school. On the second day of school, Artie falls out of bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he’s dizzy and she says:“You’re just worried about your first day in a new school.” Huh? Today is just like the day before. Can Artie find a way to change it, before it’s the first day of school…forever?