Santa Claus


Rod Green - 2006
    This is your lavish behind the scenes tour of the history, the mystery, and the magic of Jolly Saint Nick. Learn all about the clothes, the elves, and the gadgets that make the man. Find out all the secrets about the man who makes miracles happen every December 25th. Did you know... Santa's suit was once green and that the red suit was spun from the finest spun spider silk? Santa's sleigh has a magic cargo hold that can never be full? New Reindeer are constantly in training to be the next Comet or Cupid or Donner...? Features thirty-two pages jam packed with never before heard top secret information about Santa Claus. An incredible design, flaps, fold-outs and holiday memorabilia make this the must have gift this Christmas. SANTA CLAUS Includes: Holiday gift tag stickers An authentic naughty and nice list Santa's route map A double-gatefold look inside Santa's workshop A replica of the Elves worker handbook Mrs. Claus's very own cookie recipe Genuine North Pole gift tag stickers And much, much more!

A Dog Needs A Bone


Audrey Wood - 2007
    As shown by GOOD BOY, FERGUS, simple dog books sell well with early readers.Follow the plight of this bone-obsessed, lovable mutt as she spends her day waiting, pleading, and plotting for a bone from her mistress. Readers will delight in the humor and irresistable charm of this incorrigible canine as she tries to stave off her desire until at last she gets her long-awaited bone.Young readers will be drawn to the simple rhyming text and playful crayon illustrations of this bestselling author.

The Water Hole


Graeme Base - 2001
    Graeme Base takes the reader on a journey of discovery, from the plains of Africa and the jungles of the Amazon to the woodlands of North America and the deserts of the Australian outback.

Babar Visits Another Planet


Laurent de Brunhoff - 1972
    Fortunately, the aliens are friendly, if a little strange-looking. First published in 1972, this story has valuable lessons of tolerance and acceptance for our times.

Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cat


Sy Montgomery - 2014
    At the Cheetah Conservation Fund's (CCF) African headquarters in Namibia, Laurie Marker and her team save these stunning, swift, and slender creatures from extinction. Since the organization's start in 1990, they've rescued more than 900 cheetahs, most of whom have been returned to the wild.     But this arduous challenge continues. For most African livestock farmers, cheetahs are the last thing they want to see on their properties. In the 1980s, as many as 19 cheetahs per farmer died each year. Cheetahs were considered vermin--but, in learning more about this magnificent species, we know this is far from true.     Today, CCF acts as a liaison between the farmers and the cheetahs, in order to promote cohabitation in an ecosystem that cannot thrive without the existence of the precious and predatory cheetah. On a wild ride through the African wilderness--sometimes sniffing out scents left in the dirt--Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop join CCF in studying the cheetah's ecological, genetic, and behavioral patterns in order to chase down the fastest animal on land and save the species--before it is too late.

The People Could Fly: The Picture Book


Virginia Hamilton - 2004
    And it is a moving tale of those who did not have the opportunity to “fly” away, who remained slaves with only their imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.Leo and Diane Dillon have created powerful new illustrations in full color for every page of this picture book presentation of Virginia Hamilton’s most beloved tale. The author’s original historical note as well as her previously unpublished notes are included.Awards for The People Could Fly collection:A Coretta Scott King AwardA Booklist Children’s Editors’ ChoiceA School Library Journal Best Books of the YearA Horn Book FanfareAn ALA Notable BookAn NCTE Teachers’ ChoiceA New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year

The Hungry Fox


Kitty Barry - 2014
    He is very, very hungry... He visits different places in search of food... Do you think he will find something to fill his rumbling tummy?

If You Lived Here: Houses of the World


Giles Laroche - 2011
    If you lived in the mountains of southern Spain, your bedroom might be carved out of a mountain. If you lived in a village in South Africa, the outside of your house might tell the story of your family. And if you lived in a floating green house in the Netherlands, you could rotate your house to watch both the sunrise and sunset. With intricate bas-relief collages, Giles Laroche uncovers the reason each home was constructed the way it was, then lets us imagine what it would be like to live in homes so different from our own. Showing the tremendous variety of dwellings worldwide—log cabins, houses on stilts, cave dwellings, boathouses, and yurts—this book addresses why each house is built the way it is. Reasons—such as blending into the landscape, confusing invaders, being able to travel with one's home, using whatever materials are at hand—are as varied as the homes themselves.

On Roads That Echo: A bicycle journey through Asia and Africa


Charlie Walker - 2019
    The two-and-a-half-year journey spanned the mountains and deserts of former Soviet Republics, Afghanistan on the fearful brink of foreign withdrawal, and remote corners of the Congolese jungle. From hiking through sandstorms in the Gobi desert to barrelling down rapids in a dugout canoe, this perilous adventure, and Charlie’s many encounters along the way, gives insight into the past, present, and future of often-overlooked places during periods of great change. 'A first class adventure by a first class adventurer - packed with compelling incident and insight.' - BENEDICT ALLEN ‘An epic adventure, told candidly and vividly. Charlie’s words make me want to go back and experience these places with the same depth.’ - MARK BEAUMONT. ‘A mammoth journey that makes me yearn for the formative freedom of the open road.’ - ALASTAIR HUMPHREYS

Pippi Goes to the Circus


Astrid Lindgren - 1999
    Pippi's in charge! Pippi Longstocking has her own special way of doing everything. When she goes to the circus, she doesn't just watch--she takes over! She stands on the back of a trotting horse, does spectacular tricks on the tightrope, and lifts the strongest man in the world over her head. You've never seen a circus like this before! Books about Pippi have been enjoyed by children all over the world for fifty years. "Pippi Longstocking...has inspired generations of children with her spunk and power." --Kirkus Reviews

A Fish Supper and a Chippy Smile: Love, Hardship and Laughter in a South East London Fish-and-Chip Shop


Hilda Kemp - 2015
    We opened for business at 5 p.m. and already there was a queue of hungry customers on the cobbled street of London's East End. In 1950s and 60s Bermondsey, the fish-and-chip shop was at the centre of the community. And at the heart of the chippy itself was 'Hooray' Hilda Kemp, a spirited matriarch who dispensed fish suppers and an abundance of sympathy to a now-vanished world of East Enders. For 'Hooray' Hilda knew all to well what it was like to feel real, aching hunger. Growing up in the slums of 1920s south-east London, the daughter of a violent alcoholic who drank away his wages rather than put food on the table, she could spot when a customer was in need and would sneak them an extra big portion of chips, on the house. As Hilda works in the chippy six days a week - cutting the potatoes and frying the fish, yesterday's rag becoming today's dinner plate - she hears all the gossip from the close-knit community. There are rumours that the gang wars are hotting up: the Richardsons and the Krays are playing out their fights across south-east London. And the industrial strike is carrying on for a painfully long time for the mothers with many mouths to feed. At home, Hilda's children are latchkey kids, letting themselves in from school and helping themselves to whatever is in the larder until she gets in from her long, hard day at work. Despite tragedy striking her family, Hilda never complained of the loss of her daughter at a tragically young age, nor the tough upbringing she narrowly escaped. With a cast of colourful characters - dirty ragamuffins, struggling housewives, rough-diamond gang members - 'Hooray' Hilda's story is one of grit, romance, nostalgia and British endurance. Told to her granddaughter Cathryn, this memoir is the uplifting sequel to 'WE AIN'T GOT NO DRINK, PA' and is a testament to a woman who lived life to the full, who enjoyed laughter and loved fiercely - even though her heart was broken many times over.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Special Edition 2009


Ripley Entertainment Inc. - 2008
    This seventh annual collection contains the most unbelievable facts, acts, and oddities ever recorded. Photos.

My Good Morning


Kim Crockett-Corson - 2017
    I had a good sleep. Mommy and Daddy did not hear a peep. It’s a new day and I’m ready to go! But Mommy and Daddy are so very slow."For those parents who have lived through those frenzied mornings struggling to to get their little ones dressed and to school, My Good Morning is a humorous story of an energetic and independent little girl determined to get ready for the school day all by herself, while her parents fumble to get her through the morning ritual and off to school with minimal chaos," says author Kim Corson. "My inspiration to write this story came from my experiences with my daughter, who almost always wants to do everything by herself even if the result is incorrect, incomplete or worse yet, a fiasco."A funny picture book about the morning ritual of a little girl that can do everything by herself. Almost everything…For children ages 4 and up.

Purple Little Bird


Greg E. Foley - 2011
    Purple Little Bird lives in a very purple world:He has a purple little house and a purple little garden.But somehow, it's just not quite perfect.So Purple Little Bird sets off to find the perfect place for him—and discovers it in a most unexpected way.

Hostage: A Year at Gunpoint with Somali Gangsters


Paul Chandler
    At the heart of their survival was their unshakeable belief in each other and their determination to survive, making Hostage an unlikely love story; for Paul and Rachel, death, at times, seemed preferable to being separated.