Every summer a mysterious man known only as "Frank" arrives to help George Givens's grandfather with his farmwork. No one knows the hired man's last name, where he comes from, or why he always seems to be so sad. Once the season's crops are harvested, he disappears only to reappear the following summer. This routine continues for many years -- until one fateful Christmas Eve.The hired man never returns to the Givens farm after that day, and the mystery of his final disappearance seems destined to remain unsolved. Then, on Christmas Eve many years later, George serendipitously discovers the long-lost hired man's fate. This discovery teaches him a powerful lesson about the importance of family and the endurance of love."The Hired Man's Christmas" is a story of simpler times, but its message resonates across the years and in the hearts of fathers and sons even today.

    For many of them, it’s a very long walk to school.’Adventurous children, mischievous children, responsible children—there are children of every kind in this collection of stories about the children of India. Ruskin Bond, one of India’s favourite children’s writers, has created memorable child protagonists in his short stories, novellas and novels. From Bina and Rusty to the Four Feathers, these characters have delighted readers for years.In this collection, Ruskin Bond brings together some of these unforgettable children and brings alive, once more, the happiness, wonder, heartache and freedom of childhood.

    

    A tracker bent on revenge. Throw in a blizzard and watch the romance develop in this holiday romance series set in 1880's Belle, Wyoming. This is book #1 of a 5 book series by a group of talented authors. Ivy Holiday was headed home to New York for the holidays. When her train is held-up right before Christmas and she is taken as a hostage, she wonders if she will ever see her family again. Sebastian Wynter has spent the past five years wanting revenge for the murder of his wife. When he hears about the young woman who was kidnapped by the same man who killed his wife, he steps into rescue her. When one of them is injured and they end up snowed in together can love thaw out their hearts? This is a short, clean and wholesome, American western historical holiday romance. The story behind the missing bells of Belle, Wyoming: 1840's - On a wagon train to Oregon, Clara Brown's husband died of Cholera, leaving her on her own. The wagon train did not allow single women to travel alone, so she is ordered to leave. She was rescued by a trapper and they fell deeply in love, creating their own town not far from Ft. Bridger. They named the town Belle for the jingle bells that were attached to her oxen when they first met. Now, years later, each Christmas the tradition continues as the town places the bells on an ox or horse, gifting rides to remember the legacy of the founders. The bells were safely put away and only brought out each year for this purpose. Except, this year, the bells have gone missing. Are they ever found? Read the five stories coming out each day starting on December 10th to find out what happened to the bells. Even some of the authors don't know how this will end! Each story is complete with a happy ending! In order of release: Wynters Bride by Christine Sterling Holly's Christmas Wish by Marianne Spitzer A Tin Star for Christmas by Cyndi Raye A Pony for Christmas by P Creeden Natalie's Surprise Engagement by Julia Ridgmont

    When she returns to the community just days before Christmas, her father turns her away. After running her car off the road in a blizzard, Grace ends up at the mercy of Ethan Bontrager, the man whose proposal she'd refused before leaving the community. Will the two of them be able to put the past behind them while trapped together in a blizzard? THE CHRISTMAS PRAYER: The day before school lets out for the holiday season, students are asked to submit a confidential and unselfish prayer to their teacher as an end-of-the-year assignment. When two of the students realize they share a common prayer, they join forces to make certain those prayers are answered. Will their shenanigans bring two broken families together, or will their efforts be in vain?

    After losing her job as a teacher, she finds herself broke, unemployed, and tricked into accepting a date from a department store Santa Claus. When new opportunities and new love interests present themselves, will Hailey choose a career and a man she's always admired, or will she wait for the identity of her Secret Santa to be revealed?

    His Elven mother is dying of a wasting disease. His Human father, severely injured in the war, struggles to walk. A brutal Winterfall clasps his mountainous kingdom in talons of ice. The people are starving. His family, his little sisters, depend on him to see them to Dragonmas Day.They need a miracle. But who believes in miracles anymore?Long ago, the mighty Dragon Santaclaws rescued Humankind and resettled them in the magical realm of Tyanbran – but Santaclaws and his miracles are gone, and his Dragons disappeared. Now, a stubborn half-Elf must brave blizzards and treacherous trails to bring food to the kingdom, and find winterberry to ease his mother’s suffering.What he discovers on this journey will shatter all unbelief. The lightning-born treasure he places beneath his Dragonmas tree changes everything, for wishes are different when it comes to Dragons.Wishes take wing, and come true.The start of a new Dragon Rider epic for fans of Anne McCaffrey, Eragon and How to Train Your Dragon. Santa Claus - Santaclaws - is really a dragon.

    Arrested for fraud in 2008--during the depths of the global financial crisis--the 70-year-old market maker, investment advisor, and former chairman of the NASDAQ had orchestrated the largest Ponzi scheme in world history, fleecing thousands of investors across the globe to the tune of $65 billion. To this day, questions remain: Why did he do it? How did he get away with it for so long? What did his family know? Who is the elusive Bernie Madoff?In Madoff Talks, author Jim Campbell presents the most comprehensive, insider account of the Madoff saga to date. Based on exclusive interviews with all the players--the Madoff family and their associates, the Wall Street wheelers and dealers, the army of lawyers, analysts, and investigators, the victims of the scheme, and Bernie Madoff himself--the book reveals: what motivated a respected financier to commit such a massive fraud--and why he thought he could get away with ithow Madoff managed to keep the scheme hidden in plain sight--despite numerous SEC investigationsthe shocking failures of Wall Street oversight--and how it could happen againthe true scale of the investment losses―and the victims' ongoing fight for justicewhat Ruth Madoff and the rest of the family knew--and how it shattered their livesMadoff Talks features the first, and likely only, interviews with Ruth Madoff and defense attorney Ira Sorkin, for which Bernie waived attorney-client privilege, as well as never-before-published details from the author's personal communications with Bernie Madoff in prison. A vivid, powerful piece of investigative reporting, the book takes us behind the headlines to show the full human cost of Madoff's crimes, and offers a cogent analysis of the reforms necessary to prevent it from happening again.Meticulously researched and relentlessly riveting, Madoff Talks is the full story of an American tragedy.

    With Zach's mom in Bali and the woman of his dreams gone AWOL, he's facing a Christmas alone with Ringo—until Tessa the cute veterinarian appears at his door with an offer he and Ringo can't refuse.It's a Christmas he'll never forget....

    Young, bright, photogenic, personable, and a media darling, the only question that remained was whether he could handle the big time. From an international advertising deal with Reebok to a season that seems to go from triumph to triumph--with a little argument from Don Cherry along the way--Sid the Kid has proven that he already is the man. In the tradition of A

    And she doesn’t understand the first thing about life in Montana.I know her type, city girls looking for a hook-up that’s different and wild, as long as they can go back to their pedicures and fancy cocktails the next day.I sure don’t mind giving her a good ride and letting her play cowgirl for a night. Everything about her makes me sweat. Her voice, her curves, and especially her tongue.But is she working for me? Or for the corporation trying to buy my ranch?This ranch has been in my family for three generations. Some sexy little slip of a girl from downtown coming in here and telling me how to run my business? Not happening, lil lady.Although I’m big enough to admit that maybe spanking that bare butt of hers wasn’t the right way to deal with this.Even though I know she liked it.Truth is, she’s all I can think about. I crave her, but I don’t know if I can trust her.I’m burning to be with her, but if she thinks I’ll give up the ranch without a fight, she’ll find out just how cold a Montana winter can be.

    Like an overstuffed stocking on Christmas morning, NPR Holiday Favorites is full of unexpected pleasures and evergreen delights.• David Sedaris contributes his now classic “Santaland Diaries,” his account of his experiences playing Santa’s little helper at Macy’s in New York.• Susan Stamberg sneaks her mother-in-law’s recipe for cranberry relish onto the air—again.• Storyteller Kevin Kling finds an invitation to participate in a production of The Nutcracker too tempting to resist.• Ghanian-born commentator Meri Danquah shares her thoughts on Kwanzaa.• Cowboy poet Baxter Black describes a Christmas cookie with “the denseness of an anvil and the half-life of a radial tire.”• Robert Siegel goes in search of the correct spelling for December’s Jewish holiday.• The Thanksgiving tables are turned on unsuspecting Bostonians in “When Turkeys Attack.”And more...

    Book annotation not available for this title.Title: The Victorian ChristmasAuthor: Selby, AnnaPublisher: Casemate Pub & Book Dist LlcPublication Date: 2008/12/19Number of Pages: 186Binding Type: HARDCOVERLibrary of Congress: 2009293811

    A few months later, he received a call from a gentleman who told him that he showed the story to an important friend who didn't think much of it. And who might that be? asked Jeff. The next thing he knew, he was whisked off to the North Pole to meet with this "very important friend," and the rest is, well, as they say, history. An enchanting holiday treasure, The Autobiography of Santa Claus combines solid historical fact with legend to deliver the definitive story of Santa Claus. And who better to lead us through seventeen centuries of Christmas magic than good ol' Saint Nick himself? Families will delight in each chapter of this new Christmas classic-one per each cold December night leading up to Christmas!

    Around the time your first baby turns a year old your brain will turn on you. For reasons that are still not understood by science, the sleep deprivation and postpartum hormones you barely survived with your first baby fade from memory and will be replaced with idyllic images of your growing child. This is when your brain, having officially lost all regard for your well-being, begins to fantasize about a second baby. And for the first time since becoming a parent these thoughts don't make you break out in hives. Before you know it, you are dressing your first child in "I'm Going to be a Big Sister!" T-shirts and catalog-shopping for bunk beds. This will be fantastic! But then that familiar morning sickness kicks in. And your adorable 18-month-old transforms into a two-year-old terror. That's when those hives start to return. With Dawn Dais's trademark witty banter, The Sh!t No One Tells You About Baby #2 includes chapters such as "You Have Officially Lost Control of the Situation," "Siblings Aren't Nearly as Adorable as You Imagined," "You'll Have a Favorite," and "Having Kids Looks a Lot Easier on TV."