Fiction

Blanche Douglass loved the Mississippi river and the steamboats that traveled across it. By the time she was 12 she knew she wanted to be a steamboat captain, even though it was a job that, so far, had only been done by men. Focused and filled with determination, Douglass pursued her dream to became the first licensed woman steamboat captain.

Knocked from her mother’s safe embrace by an attacking owl, Stellaluna lands headfirst in a bird’s nest. This adorable baby fruit bat’s world is literally turned upside down when she is adopted by the occupants of the nest and adapts to their peculiar bird habits. Two pages of notes at the end of the story provide factual information about bats.

Who is this stranger? Why did he arrive after a winter storm and what surprises does he bring?
A delightful book of the animals and birds reaction to a snowman who suddenly appeared in their woods after a winter storm. This tale is beta-carotene for the spirit in everyone!

Hollywood actor Dayne Matthews and Katy Hart are married and living in Bloomington, Ind., where Dayne has found a solution to his on-camera love scenes-he wants Katy to star in his next film. Katy wins the part and is cast opposite her super-star husband. The story of a small town girl’s dream come true is too much for the press to resist, and in an effort to appease them, the couple agrees to a 12. It seems like the perfect compromise but by the time they finish filming the movie, they feel cracks around the edges of their marriage. Now they face an uncertain future, and possibly the end of everything that truly matters to them.

The Baxter family learns that Ashley and Kari are both pregnant, but an ultrasound reveals that something is wrong with one of the babies. As the summer progresses, the sisters pray for a miracle while trying to face the unthinkable. It’s in this trying season that they must all learn the lesson God has been trying to teach them-He is still in control, and He will be with them regardless of the outcome.

The Flanigans continue to draw closer to their only daughter, yet Bailey struggles to find her way amidst the turmoil of adolescence. She has always made good decisions, but she wants to experience more of life. Her friendship with Cody Coleman-the young border staying with the Flanigans-continues to blossom in this summer after his graduation. But when Cody decides to enlist in the Army, he’ll have to say goodbye to the family he’s come to love and the girl he’ll never forget.

Patricia Polacco is now one of America’s most loved children’s book writers and illustrators, but once upon a time, she was a little girl named Trisha starting school. Trisha could paint and draw beautifully, but when she looked at words on a page, all she could see was jumble. It took a very special teacher to recognize little Trisha’s dyslexia: Mr. Falker, who encouraged her to overcome her reading disability. Patricia Polacco will never forget him, and neither will we.

Still far from their homeland after escaping slavery in the icebound land of Skandia, Will and Evanlyn’s plans to return to Araluen are spoiled when Evanlyn is taken captive by a Temujai warrior. Though still weakened by the warmweed’s toxic effects, Will employs his Ranger training to locate his friend, but an enemy scouting party has him fatally outnumbered. Will is certain death is close at hand, until Halt and Horace make a daring, last-minute rescue. The reunion is cut short, however, when Halt makes a horrifying discovery: Skandia’s borders have been breached by the entire Temujai army. And Araluen is next in their sights. If two kingdoms are to be saved, an unlikely union must be made. Will it hold long enough to vanquish a ruthless new enemy? Or will past tensions spell doom for all?

Percy isn’t expecting his freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious acquaintance reappears, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.

In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends will set out on a quest through the Labyrinth — a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.

Ben Hunter received two oddly connected gifts for his 12th birthday. One was a room given to him by his parents — to use as an art studio — and the other was a letter from his uncle inviting him to visit. The last time he and his Uncle Ian (also an artist) were together, Ben was injured in a woodworking accident and lost his little finger. When Ben and his mother arrive at Uncle Ian’s home in Oregon, the relatives work hard at reconstructing relationships and crafting new ones with Uncle Ian’s pregnant wife and some local kids. When Ben feels responsible for one child’s accidental fall, he builds him a tree house as a gift (inspired by one of his uncle’s sketches). After he returns home, Ben starts renovating his “birthday room” into a guest room as a “gift” to his reconciled relatives.