A Key to Treehouse Living


Elliot Reed - 2018
    In a glossary-style list, he imparts his particular wisdom on subjects ranging from Asphalt Paths, Betta Fish, and Mullet to Mortal Betrayal, Nihilism, and Revelation. His improbable quest—to create a reference volume specific to his existence—takes him on a journey down the river by raft (see Mystical Vision, see Navigating Big Rivers By Night). He seeks to discover how his mother died (see Absence) and find reasons for his father’s disappearance (see Uncertainty, see Vanity). But as he goes about defining his changing world, all kinds of extraordinary and wonderful things happen to him.Unlocking an earnest, clear-eyed way of thinking that might change your own, A Key to Treehouse Living is a story about keeping your own record straight and living life by a different code.

The Wizard Comes to Town


Mercer Mayer - 1973
    Alabasium, Wizard Extraordinaire, rents a room in Mrs. Beggs's boarding house. After the Wizard conjures up a few floating chairs and some inclement weather in the parlor, Mrs. Beggs retaliates with a little witchcraft of her own. Full color.

God Bless Your Way: A Christmas Journey


Emily Belle Freeman - 2007
    Mary and Joseph weren't the only ones turned away from the inn at Bethlehem. In this new Nativity story, a widower named Micah travels the crowded road to return to the town of his birth. Just in front of him a young woman, heavy with child, rides in the back of a donkey. Her husband leads the way, walking slowly to make the ride smoother. Every so often the young woman turns toward Micah, offering gentle words of encouragement as he hobbles along behind them. And each time they stop for water, she makes sure that her husband offers Micah a sip. When they arrive at Bethlehem, Micah and the young couple go their separate ways. Micah wearily wanders the streets for shelter, a place to eat, and some way to fill his loneliness. Although he doesn't receive what he wants, he does receive what he needs--a warm quilt, a loaf of bread, and in the end, an invitation to come inside a small stable.

Sword of Ruyn


R.G. Long - 2018
    He just can’t remember who he is. Cared for by the grizzled general Holve, he discovers that Ruyn is a continent plummeting towards genocide. Holve’s country thrives on the coexistence of elves, dwarves, and men, but rumors and bigotry push the land toward bloodshed. Drawn into the conflict, Ealrin meets Blume, a teenage girl struggling to hold onto the peace she's always known. But her family hides a secret that could change the tides of battle. Will Earlin choose to find the past he lost? Or will he prevent the annihilation of Ruyn? This book was originally published as "Wayward, The Sword Chronicles Vol 1".

My Old Man and the Mountain: A Memoir


Leif Whittaker - 2016
    He returned home a hero. My Old Man and the Mountain is Leif Whittaker's engaging and humorous story of what it was like to "grow up Whittaker"―the youngest son of Jim Whittaker and Dianne Roberts, in an extended family of accomplished climbers. He shares glimpses of his upbringing and how the pressure to climb started early on. Readers learn of his first adventures with family in the Olympic Mountains and on Mount Rainier; his close yet at times competitive relationship with his brother Joss; his battle with a serious back injury; and his efforts to stand apart from his father's legacy. With wry honesty he depicts being a recent college grad, still living in his parents' home and trying to find a purpose in life―digging ditches, building houses, selling t-shirts to tourists―until a chance encounter leads to the opportunity to climb Everest, just like his father did. Leif heads to Nepal with all the excitement, irony, boredom, and trepidation that are part of high-altitude climbing. Well-known guides Dave Hahn and Melissa Arnot figure prominently in his story, as does "Big Jim." But Leif's story is not his father's story. It's a unique coming of age tale on the steep slopes of Everest and a climbing adventure that lights the imagination and fills an emotional human endeavor with universal meaning."Whittaker writes as he climbs mountains, with courage, grace, and a dash of humility. The result is an utterly compelling tale of a young man who bravely tackles two great challenges--one made of rock and ice and one made of doubts and fears. Its's a great read." --Daniel James Brown, author of The Boys in the Boat. "Leif Whittaker, son of the first American to summit Everest, has given us a deliciously irreverent perspective on growing up in the shadow of a famous father, and how that journey helped shape a unique perspective on one young man's own relationship with a mountain...and a dad." --Tom Hornbein, author of Everest: The West Ridge. "It might be easy to feel lost in the shadow of a father who was the first American to stand on top of Mount Everest. Leif Whittaker tells the unique story of finding his own identity--as a son, and as a climber--with humility, candor, and a wonderful sense of humor." --Brendan Leonard, author of Sixty Meters to Anywhere.

Schooled in Revenge


Jesse Lasky - 2012
    She is also in love with the perfect guy at least that's what she thinks until he helps take everything that was once hers. With no place left to turn, Ava finds herself on Rebun Island, Japan, the site of Takeda's revenge school, where she trains to be mentally and physically strong enough to take revenge. On the island, Ava meets Emily Thorne, who has recently returned to training with Takeda. Emily shares her wisdom with Ava about revenge and the importance of looking for justice in a world where enemies thrive. Four others are on the island preparing for their own personal vengeance—a handsome but guarded man, a feisty young woman and the guy who will do anything to protect her, and a girl who has no memory or idea of who she is or why she's on Rebun. Conflicts arise, bonds are formed, and romance even blooms. The trainees learn that their missions are intertwined. All roads lead back to Ava's home in Napa and Starling Vineyards' annual gala, and if the group attends, each will gain the chance to exact revenge. But to get there on time, they must leave Japan and Takeda before their training is complete. Are they ready? Will they succeed? Will they even survive?

The Middle Ground


Zoe Whittall - 2010
    She has a lot to be thankful for--a great kid, a loving husband, a job she enjoys and the security of living in the small town where she was born. Then one day everything gets turned upside down--she loses her job, catches her husband making out with the neighbor and is briefly taken hostage by a young man who robs the local cafe. With her world rapidly falling apart, Missy finds herself questioning the certainties she's lived with her whole life.

Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus


Tennant Redbank - 2005
    With four-color photographs straight from the movie, this Step 2 reader retells the magical story of the DVD in the simple language that will help Barbie’s little fans Step into Reading on their own.

City of the Uncommon Thief


Lynne Bertrand - 2021
    Foundlings scrub the bogs. Needles bind. Swords tear. And men leave. There is nothing uncommon in this city. I hope Errol Thebes is dead. We both know he is safer that way."In a walled city of a mile-high iron guild towers, many things are common knowledge: No book in any of the city's libraries reveals its place on a calendar or a map. No living beasts can be found within the city's walls. And no good comes to the guilder or foundling who trespasses too far from their labors.Even on the tower rooftops, where Errol Thebes and the rest of the city's teenagers pass a few short years under an open sky, no one truly believe anything uncommon is possible within the city walls.But one guildmaster has broken tradition to protect her child, and as a result the whole city faces an uncommon threat: a pair of black iron spikes that have the power of both sword and needle on the ribcages of men have gone missing, but the mayhem they cause rises everywhere. If the spikes not found and contained, no wall will be high enough to protect the city--or the world beyond it.And Errol Thebes? He's not dead and he's certainly not safe.

Daybreak


Belva Plain - 1994
    But the doctor's words are searing: blood tests prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Margaret and Arthur Crawfield's beloved, dying son is not their child. Now they must face Peter's death and the shock of having a son they have never met. Grieving, yet compelled, they begin a search that will tear two families apart.Laura and "Bud" Rice share an elegant home and two children, brilliant, handsome Tom, and cherished, chronically ill eleven-year-old Timmy. But after nineteen years of marriage, Laura's respectable husband is a stranger—and the reason for Tom's escalating involvement with a group of campus bigots. Suddenly the Crawfields enter their lives and shatter their fragile world. As the Rices' quiet Southern town explodes with hate and violence, the two familes must embrace—or be destroyed by—the shattering truth.

Dr. Seuss's Circus McGurkus Squirt! (Dr. Seuss Nursery Collection)


Dr. Seuss - 2004
    This Seussian bath book complete with squirter—is sure to bring hoorays and a shout: when the whale comes in and he squirts from his spout!

Racing to the Finish: My Story


Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 2018
    What he didn’t know was that it would also end his driving for the year. He’d dealt with concussions before, but concussions are like snowflakes—no two are the same. And recovery can be brutal—and lengthy.As a third-generation driver in a family forever connected to the sport of stock-car racing, how could Dale Earnhardt Jr. sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else take their laps? It was one of the toughest seasons of his life—one that changed him forever.In this gripping narrative from one of professional sports’ most beloved figures, Dale Jr. shares stories from his journey: how his career and his injury have transformed him, how he made the decision to retire at the end of the 2017 season after eighteen years behind the wheel, and what lies ahead for him in the next chapter of his life. There’s no second-guessing and no regrets from Driver #88. He simply wants to go out on his own terms and make the rest of his life off the racetrack count. Junior says, “I don’t want these last races to be just about me but rather the people who made my success possible: my fans, the folks who pack the grandstands rain or shine, my teammates and crew members through the years, industry colleagues, track volunteers, friends, family, sponsors. They’ve all played a role. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Girls' Book 2: How To Be The Best At Everything Again


Sally Norton - 2008
    More of the best of everything for great girls everywhere.This book is guaranteed to help you have a top time, every time.Beat the rest, Be the best.

The Breathtaker


Alice Blanchard - 2003
     The Debris Killer is moving among them. When Police Chief Charlie Grover finds three mutilated corpses in a ravaged farmhouse, his first thought is that the victims were impaled by flying debris. But his instincts tell him something different. Enlisting the aid of a tornado-chasing scientist, he steps into a chaotic world of high-tech risk-taking in search of a cunning criminal… one he soon suspects is stalking him—and his vulnerable teenage daughter. NEWLY REVISED BY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR ALICE BLANCHARD

Gol


J.W. Webb - 2015
    Will their greed-driven land heed the warnings… or burn?Lissane Barola’s dreams are fading fast. Unwillingly betrothed to a pompous brute for political reasons, the baron’s daughter knows her power-hungry father would never approve of her love of a commoner. But she’s horrified when he enlists her awful brothers to batter her beloved into a bloody, lifeless pulp.Erun Cade’s soul thrives on poetry and high-court fantasies. Yet mere words are little help to the blacksmith’s son when he’s tortured and left for dead by his sweet flame’s vicious family. Revived by a mystic saddling him with a deadly mission, he longs to be back with the proud woman who holds his heart, but a far more pressing danger looms on the horizon…Desperate to move on and find happiness, Lissane loses hope as it’s ripped into shreds by continued betrayal and death. And after enduring punishing training with an elite battalion, Erun musters but one thought for his home after witnessing an elemental demon’s maelstrom of destruction: If he doesn’t warn them, everybody will die.Can the star-crossed lovers reunite and deliver their realm from utter annihilation?Gol is the breathtaking prequel to the Legends of Ansu fantasy series. If you like twisted webs of passion, epic tapestries, and staggering battles, then you’ll adore J.W. Webb’s thrilling ride into war.