They should not linger in Important Rock Rooms. Skunks should never, ever be allowed to move in. But Skunk is Badger’s new roommate, and there is nothing Badger can do about it.When Skunk plows into Badger’s life, everything Badger knows is upended. Tails are flipped. The wrong animal is sprayed. And why-oh-why are there so many chickens?“Nooooooooooooooooooooo!"

    They seem to have some sort of appeal?an energy, even?that Khalia Koo, Jolly Roger and the rest of the mangy, feral cats don?t understand. But there are bigger issues to figure out when the bulldozers start coming, threatening to demolish the cats? homes as well as other historical landmarks. Can three little kittens be the answer to save the town? Illustrated with striking silhouettes, here is a spirited and original environmental story from Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle about finding help?and hope?in the smallest, most unlikely of places.

    From his mysterious beginnings, fate delivers him to the King's elephant stable, where he is raised by unlikely parents-the wise head of the stable, Subba-sahib, and Devi Kali, a fierce and affectionate female elephant.When the king's government threatens to close the stable, Nandu, now twelve, searches for a way to save his family and community. A plan to reinvent the elephant stable could be the answer. But to succeed, they'll need a great tusker. Their future is in Nandu's hands as he sets out to find a bull elephant and bring him back to the Borderlands.In simple poetic prose, author Eric Dinerstein brings to life Nepal's breathtaking jungle wildlife and rural culture, as seen through the eyes of a young outcast, struggling to find his place in the world.

    Her father warns her that the horse isn't ready, but when a pesky boy insults Steps High, Kaya accepts his challenge to race. As they ride, Kaya loses sight of her little brothers. Her carelessness earns her a nickname that her friends won't let her forget.

    It turns out the dog, which Marty names Shiloh, belongs to Judd Travers who drinks too much and has a gun—and abuses his dogs. So when Shiloh runs away from Judd to Marty, Marty just has to hide him and protect him from Judd. But Marty's secret becomes too big for him to keep to himself, and it exposes his entire family to Judd's anger. How far will Marty have to go to make Shiloh his?

    But how did he become such a mighty fighter? The answer may surprise you... When a travelling bard arrives at Thornwood Warren on Midwinter night, he is warmly welcomed. In return for food and lodging, he settles down to tell of how Podkin One-Ear - and soon the rabbits are enthralled to hear the story of how one lost little rabbit overcame the cruellest enemy imaginable, and became the greatest warrior their land has ever known.

    Young Gail Simmons and her pony befriend a girl from another century.

    But he did remember the exact moment that he woke up afterward. When he woke up he was already running. In his awe-inspiring new novel, acclaimed author Dan Gemeinhart brings his signature blend of action, heart, and beautiful, deliberate prose to the story of a good dog who can't move on to the afterlife until the boy he loves is safe.

    He was only a little country dog - the very youngest and smallest and shaggiest of Skye terriers-bred on a heathery slope of the Pentland hills, where the loudest sound was the bark of a collie or the tinkle of a sheep-bell. That morning he had come to the weekly market with Auld Jock, a farm laborer, and the Grassmarket of the Scottish capital lay in the narrow valley at the southern base of Castle Crag. Two hundred feet above it the time-gun was mounted in the half-moon battery on an overhanging, crescent-shaped ledge of rock. In any part of the city the report of the one-o'clock gun was sufficiently alarming, but in the Grassmarket it was an earth-rending explosion directly overhead. It needed to be heard but once there to be registered on even a little dog's brain. Bobby had heard it many times, and he never failed to yelp a sharp protest at the outrage to his ears; but, as the gunshot was always followed by a certain happy event, it started in his active little mind a train of pleasant associations.

    Though also a bestseller at the time, Just David has rarely been reprinted since its release in 1916. We felt a story this good shouldn’t be so hard to find, so we decided to put it back in print last year. Now it’s in a longer-lasting hardcover.It is the story of David, a charming little boy of 10 who is suddenly transplanted from a world of music (he plays the violin) in the mountains with his father, to the provincialism of a workaday small town. But even more, it is the story of how David transplants his own character, courage and happiness into the lives of the people he meets, and wins their love and respect. Here’s what we say in the preface to the new edition:Just David is a quiet, unassuming children’s novel about an orphaned young boy with a mysterious past. David, not the typical boy found in most stories of his day, is a mixture of simplicity and complexity whose disarming innocence has a profound effect on the people he encounters. Unlike the “good bad boy” often encountered in children’s literature, David is a “good good” boy. He is not in any way “goody-goody” in the moralistic sense, but simply and purely good. David’s goodness is not a mysterious quality that defies logic and imagination, but rather a quality cultivated in him by the intentional efforts of a wise and loving father. During David’s formative years, his father secluded him from the influences of the outside world, creating a private world in the mountains filled with simple pleasures, purposeful study, and beautiful music. David’s touching story is well within the scope of the imagination, and David’s endearing innocence, engaging personality, and natural character are unforgettable.Just David struck a resonant chord in our family for several reasons. First, David’s life affirms the biblical principle expressed in the proverb, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm”. David walked with his father and became wise. Also, his story reminds us of the importance of creating the right “appetite” early in our children’s lives. David’s love of music, nature and beauty were intentionally cultivated in him by his father. Finally, there is a refreshing balance in David’s life and character that provides a literary model to emulate, especially for the more artistically-inclined boy often overlooked in literature. David is artistic, yet he knows when to be realistic. He is slight of stature, yet able to handily defend himself when necessary. He is trained and mannerly, yet he is also manly. He is sensitive, yet sensible. Whatever limitations he discovers, he meets them with strength of character.This is truly one of those books that everyone in your family will like, and will likely want to hear or read more than once. We’re on our fourth reading! It has even inspired us to have Just David days for our children when we focus on the beautiful and lovely things God has given us to enjoy. Just David is just great. Includes family discussion questions at the end of the book.--Whole Heart Ministries

    Marley has grand ambitions to jump in Pony of the Year, but every good pony she’s ever had has been sold out from under her to pay the bills.Then a half-wild pinto pony comes into her life, and Marley finds that this most unlikely of champions could be the superstar she has always dreamed of. As Marley and Cruise rise quickly to the top of their sport, it seems as though her dreams of winning the Pony of the Year might come true after all.But her family is struggling to make ends meet, and as the countdown to Pony of the Year begins, Marley is forced to face the possibility of losing the pony she has come to love more than anything else in the world.Can Marley save the farm she loves, without sacrificing the pony she can’t live without?

    Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Jack thinks his birthday pet is magical, and Aldwyn plays along.He just has to convince the other familiars -- know-it-all blue jay Skylar and unsure tree frog Gilbert that he's as powerful as he claims. Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia. The familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries-old secret, and discover a destiny that will change Vastia forever.

    Also suitable for adults who like an inspiring story about the outback, horses and children achieving their dreams. Beautifully written by an English teacher/ journalist who lived in the outback for many years. Sunhaven Downs, a drought ravaged cattle station in outback Australia, is the home to Dane, Lani and Matthew Winter, three young outback riders whose lives centre around their horses. When their city cousin, Amy King, is left there for a year and declares that she hates horses, they know their lives are ruined. What they don't know is that Amy has a secret - a secret she is desperate to keep from her outback family, something that will ultimately save their lives – but not all of them - on the night the drought breaks. This is the first book in The Outback Riders series which follows the lives of these four children and their friends as they grow up in the outback with their horses and, ultimately, represent their country in their chosen horse sports (eventing, polocrosse, jumping, reining, cutting). It is approximately 36,000 words or just under 100 print pages and, as the introduction to the series, is the shortest of the books. Book Two, "Horses Of The Light" is now available and is 70,000 words and filled with excitement, adventure, some sadness and the start of a life-long romance.Author, Leanne Owens, is an English teacher with a Masters in Education and she been writing for horse magazines on and off for over thirty years. She lived in the outback for many years and currently owns and operates the Horses Of Gold Stud in Queensland with the famous Quarter Horse stallions, Days Of Gold and Nights Of Gold.

    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?

    She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life -- one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It's not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh -- a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.