The Sara Gruen Collection: Water for Elephants - At the Water's Edge - Ape House


Sara Gruen - 2016
    He meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her...2 - AT THE WATER'S EDGEA gripping and poignant love story set in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands at the end of the Second World War.'The only fault I can find with this book is that I've already finished it' Jodi Picoult'Truly enthralling' Scotsman'Breathtaking' Harper's Bazaar1945. After disgracing themselves at a high society party, spoilt young Philadelphia socialites Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off from the family without a penny. Ellis decides their salvation will be to hunt down the Loch Ness Monster, a venture his father very publicly failed at. So, oblivious to WW2 raging around them, they make their way to the Scottish Highlands, where Maddie has to face reality and decide just who the real monsters are.3 - APE HOUSE The New York Times bestseller.'If you love animals like I do, it's a must read' Ellen DeGeneres'Had me instantly enraptured' Dallas Morning News'Wildly entertaining' Booklist (starred review)These bonobos are no ordinary apes. Like others of their species, they are capable of reason and carrying on deep relationships - but, unlike most bonobos, they also know American Sign Language.Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn't understand people, but animals she gets, especially the bonobos. Isabel feels more comfortable in their world than she's ever felt among humans . . . until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter who braves the ever-present animal rights protesters outside the lab to see what's really going on inside.When an explosion tears apart the lab, severly injuring Isabel and 'liberating' the apes to an unknown destination, John's human interest piece turns into the story of a lifetime.

Hot Quit


Kathryn Roberts - 2013
    As a major player in the high-stakes world of corporate restructuring, she’s learned how to handle many different people and problems, but one thing she doesn’t know how to handle is a horse. Enter Jackson Morgan, a trainer who specializes in the Western event of cutting, in which a horse and rider work to separate a single cow from the herd. Alexandria hires him to teach her how to ride, so she can curry favor with Everett Covington, a crusty Texan whose trucking business Alexandria desperately needs to purchase in order to pull off a lucrative deal—and whose passion happens to be cutting horses.The consummate city slicker, Alexandria gamely goes about learning the sport of cutting, but things get complicated when she starts to fall for the cowboy who’s teaching her. Soon she discovers that in order to acquire the trucking company she’s been chasing, she’ll have to rein in her emotions.

Coming of Age With Elephants: A Memoir


Joyce Poole - 1996
    The educational and inspirational biography of Joyce Poole describes the life of a courageous woman who struggled with loneliness, sexism, and the threat of bandit-poachers to make her contribution to the conservation of the endangered African elephant.

Ark on the Move


Gerald Durrell - 1983
    There seems to be something about tropical islands that stirs the blood of even the most unadventurous souls.’Lying in the Indian Ocean, the islands of Mauritius and Madagascar – where millions of years of evolutionary isolation created a flora and fauna unique in the world - provide the exotic setting for Gerald Durrell’s expeditionary rescue work with animals. In his personal and delightful way he entertains, educates and makes a dramatic appeal to us all about the distressing state of these beautiful and endangered species around the world and shows us the serious consequences to life and its future on this earth. This exciting journey also inspired an international television series based on the author’s rescue and breeding operations.

When The Skies Cry


Steve N. Lee - 2021
    Day after day, he trudges the streets, trembling from the biting cold, whimpering from the gnawing hunger.Across town, Rachel has an alimony hearing looming and a make-or-break deadline hurtling toward her, yet they aren’t her biggest worries — her autistic son has withdrawn so far into his own private world, he barely acknowledges she even exists.Luckily, the magic of life is in the surprises no one ever sees coming…Praise for As The Stars Fall: A Book for Dog Lovers book #1:★★★★★ “A great story with a beautiful, heart-warming ending.” Tom Kiker, Amazon★★★★★ “A heart-warming, touching, and poignant novel about the love between a dog and a young girl.” Paula, Amazon★★★★★ “A story that is equal parts intense beauty and heart wrenching agony… I know I'll still think of this story years down the road.” Insatiable Readers book blog★★★★★ “Thought provoking and well written. [I] loved it so much I’ve bought 2 paperbacks to give as Christmas presents! It’ll break your heart and rebuild it again.” C. Johnson, Amazon★★★★★ “A perfect book for dog lovers. It is a story of courage, determination and love.” Library Lady, Amazon★★★★★ “I almost laughed myself into an asthma attack during certain scenes and cried at the end of this book, all the while wondering if this is how my own dog perceives me.” Kathy Banfield, Goodreads★★★★★ “[I] highly recommend it especially if you like books like Marley and Me, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and similar stories.” Storeybook Reviews book blogIf you love dogs, and enjoy stories just as heartwarming as they are heartbreaking, you need to read When The Skies Cry.

Patricia Fisher: Ship's Detective


Steve Higgs - 2021
    

Justice Series Box Set #13-15


M.A. Comley - 2018
     Digging into the victim's past leads Lorne across the county border to team up with an old friend, DI Sally Parker. What they reveal is mind-blowing. Grown men are terrified, too terrified to speak out. So how will Lorne and Sally bring the culprit to Justice? Determination and putting their lives on the line will be the key to solving this case. Prime Justice A killer, an abductor, and a villain intent on revenge. Just a normal day in the life of intrepid policewoman DI Lorne Warner. A rural idyll should be everyone's idea of paradise, it is... until a murderer strikes. The mystifying case, situated on Lorne's doorstep is about to intensify when an abduction occurs in the same vicinity. Are the two cases connected? Lorne's world is about to come to a grinding halt when a recent adversary threatens her career. Will Lorne succeed in restoring the tranquillity to a sleepy community? More importantly will she still have a job at the end of the investigation? Heroic Justice (a joint investigation between DI Lorne Warner and DI Hero Nelson) One killer. Several gruesome murders... Two hundred miles apart! A complex issue that will take two exceptional detectives to solve. Who is targeting his victims in public places? What is his motive? Lorne is prepared to lose sleep and to travel the length of the country searching for clues. But the killer is canny... ups his game with devastating consequences. Lorne shakes her head in confusion when the truth is revealed...

The Enlightened Spaniel - A Dog's Quest to be a Buddhist


Gary Heads - 2018
    Ably assisted by a bookshelf, who holds a fountain of knowledge, they embark upon a quest to discover the secrets of meditation and uncover the path to ancient wisdom. As they progress along the road to enlightenment, they not only transform their own perception of life, but also the lives of those around them. The journey is a challenging one, but is held together by Half-Sister’s wicked sense of humour and a desire to enter into spaniel folklore. The Enlightened Spaniel is a wise tale, filled with insights and humour, that celebrates the connection between all beings that reside on Planet Earth.

Children's Book: How to Be a Superhero (A Fun Illustrated Children's Picture Book; Perfect Bedtime Story)


Rachel Yu - 2011
    It’s the perfect bedtime story for the entire family to enjoy. Teen author, Rachel Yu, is residing happily ever after, in her own Castle of Brilliance. Another quality children picture book from the father and daughter team of Michael and Rachel Yu.

Creature of Lake Shadow


Michael R. Cole - 2019
    Quick. Clean. Efficient. It was none of those. With police searching for them across the state, a band of criminals hide out in a desolate cabin on the frozen shore of Lake Shadow. Isolated, shrouded in thick forest, and haunted by a mysterious history, they thought it was the perfect place to hide. Tensions mount as they hear strange noises outside. Slain animals are found in the snow. Before long, they realize something is watching them. Something hungry, violent, and not of this world. In their attempt to escape, they found the Creature of Lake Shadow.

The Good, the Bad, and the Pugly


Celia Kinsey - 2019
     If Emma wants to take possession of Little Tombstone's motel, cafe, curio shop and Museum of the Unexplained, then she has to agree to "Love, Honor and Cherish" Earp, her late aunt's ancient and irritable pug. It says so, right there in the will. What Aunt Geraldine's will conveniently omits to mention are the bodies buried underneath the trailer court.

Child Of Africa


T.M. Clark - 2017
    Working in the messy political society of Zimbabwe, she’s engaged in a constant struggle to save the national parks. When she nearly drives over Joss, the reunion isn’t joyous – Joss let down her dying sister eighteen months before, after all. But once she uncovers the terrible ordeal that Joss has gone through, can she learn to forgive and move forward?When a corrupt and dangerous businessman with close ties to government threatens all he holds dear, Joss realises he doesn’t need to save strangers in a faraway land. But will he fight to save his own country and the people he considers his family?

Ivory, Apes & Peacocks: Animals, Adventure and Discovery in the Wild Places of Africa


Alan Root - 2012
    He began his career making films for the TV series "Survival," which started wildlife film-making as we know it, and is responsible for numerous groundbreaking documentaries and natural history discoveries -- from being the first person to film hippos and crocodiles underwater and the wildebeest migrating to observing that hyenas hunt. His friends and colleagues have included George and Joy Adamson and David Attenborough; he showed Dian Fossey her first mountain gorilla. His wife and long-term collaborator was Joan Root, who was tragically murdered in 2006 in retaliation for her environmental campaigning in Kenya. In "Ivory, Apes & Peacocks," Alan tells the story of his life's work, from his arrival in Kenya as a young boy (furious at having to leave behind Britain's birds) to his game-changing films, which looked at whole ecosystems (baobab trees, termite mounds) rather than the Big Five animals. Along the way we encounter Sally the pet hippo and Emily the house-proud chimp as well leopard and snake bites, ballooning adventures and amphibious cars. In this extraordinary memoir we look at Africa's wonders through the eyes of a visionary, live through hair-raising adventure and personal tragedy and also bear witness to a natural world now largely lost from view.

Alarm Girl


Hannah Vincent - 2014
    But Indigo is uneasy in the foreign landscape and confused by the family’s silence surrounding her mother’s recent death. Unable to find solace in either new or old faces, she begins to harbour violent suspicions in place of the truth.Steeped in the dry heat of a South African summer, this keen and touching debut seamlessly interweaves the voices of Indigo and her mother, and beautifully captures the human desire to belong: in a family, in a country, in your own skin.

My Camel Wants To Be a Unicorn: a children's book about empathy and a mopey camel


Julia Inserro - 2019
    You might be surprised.Great story to introduce the concept of empathy -- don't make assumptions about others, ask and observe. Perfect for girls and boys, ages 4-8.