At the zoo, animals in action aren't always what they seem!When you're at the zoo, do you see scary crocodiles? Chimpanzees being silly? Look again! A young narrator makes the rounds of a zoo, pointing out that animals have special reasons for doing what they do. The crocodile is protecting her babies, and the chimpanzees are learning by trying new things. Animals protect, play, bathe, and communicate in different ways. Even the zookeeper isn't just a zookeeper. . ...

**“[A] love story for adults— wrapped in a sophisticated mystery about art, religion and the fragility of the human heart."— Elizabeth Benedict, bestselling author of AlmostA recently widowed woman of a certain age sets off on a tour of Italy in this moving and witty novel interwoven with art history and romance.**Recently widowed, unhappily stuck on a pricey whiplash tour of Italy, Elizabeth Berman comes face to face with the first documented painting of a teardro...

This hilarious, sometimes harrowing, and ultimately heartening novel is the companion to the critically acclaimed, national bestseller Perfect Agreement"Beautifully and economically written, and very funny." —Linda Wertheimer, NPRThis is your chance to enroll in English 10 at highly rated Hellman College—if you can find a place to sit in the fantastically overcrowded classroom.Mark Sternum, whom readers first met in Downing...

This hilarious, sometimes harrowing, and ultimately heartening novel is the companion to the critically acclaimed, national bestseller Perfect Agreement"Beautifully and economically written, and very funny." ―Linda Wertheimer, NPRThis is your chance to enroll in English 10 at highly rated Hellman College―if you can find a place to sit in the fantastically overcrowded classroom.Mark Sternum, whom readers first met in Downing...

Fire sweeps along the wall of a circus tent while inside thousands of people enjoy a Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey matinee. Within minutes, flames consume the canvas and vast sections collapse, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more.Inspired by the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire, the interconnected stories in Michael Downs's The Greatest Show explore the aftermath of a disaster in a world of clowns, elephants, and childhood fantasies.In the opening story, Ania Lis...

Sam and Ed live the high life, and see no reason to add to their happy twosome. Then 11–year–old Scot's mother dies, and a wine–soaked promise pushes the couple into parenthood. They dutifully make all the usual arrangements, but Scot is far from usual, sporting makeup and enduring bullying at school. Soon Sam and Ed begin to question their parenting, their commitment to each other, and the compromises they've made to live in a straight society. Breakfast with Scot is a humorous, ...

In 1844, Horace Wells, a Connecticut dentist, encountered nitrous oxide, or laughing gas—then an entertainment for performers in carnival-like theatrical acts—and began administering the gas as the first true anesthetic. His discovery would change the world, reshaping medicine and humanity’s relationship with pain.But that discovery would also thrust Wells into scandals that threatened his reputation, his family, and his sanity—hardships and triumphs that resonate in today’s struggl...

Welcome to Happy, Texas—a small Panhandle town with a name that doesn’t always ring true.Discontent is brewing in Happy as Brother Bob questions his beliefs as pastor of a church. Jen, his choir director, flounders in her unhappy marriage while caring for her mentally ill sister, Cheyenne, and cowboy James struggles between what is right and finally finding true love.When an elder Hispanic member of their community—Joaquin—learns his granddaughter,...

Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012) was one of Britain's leading composers: his music is frequently performed throughout Europe, the United States (where he lived and worked) and Japan. He is particularly renowned for his electro-acoustic music, an aspect on which most previous writing on his work has focused. The present volume is the first detailed study of music from Harvey's considerable body of work for conventional forces. It focuses on two pieces that span one of the most fertile periods in...

Betty meets Queenie in this courageous coming-of-age story about a Black girl fighting for recognition in a South Carolina Cherokee community that refuses to accept her ancestry as legitimate.Ophelia Blue Rivers is a descendent of Cherokee Freedmen: Blacks formerly enslaved by rich southern Cherokee. She is “Black” but doesn’t understand why that makes her different. She is “Cherokee” but struggles to know what that means.Their town of Ets...

Author and musician Antonio Michael Downing's debut picture book is about big changes and big feelings, and speaks to all kids experiencing the highs and lows of childhood.Little Tony is full of love for his grandmother, his home in Trinidad and delicious pholourie. But he's also full of other big feelings, including anger. His grandmother tries to teach him to be patient — patience is a star in his crown, she says — but it's hard.He tries to keep his anger...

Welcome to the North Pole***-a magical place full of happiness, friendship and love-home to a rag doll named***Eleanor****.Surrounded by Santa, Mrs. Claus, Clara and the elves, Eleanor understands the importance of family and home which is why she has a very merry Christmas wish of her own.With the help of all of her North Pole family, Eleanor learns that wishing alone is simply not enough to truly make...