Thursday, March 3, 2011

Books ordered for March

Toys by James Patterson, Neil McMahon

Synopsis
James Bond and Jason Bourne have just been topped! A battle for the world is set into unstoppable motion and Hays Baker is the only one who can save it.

Hays Baker and his wife Lizbeth possess super-human strength, extraordinary intelligence, stunning looks, a sex life to die for, and two beautiful children. Of course they do—they're Elites, endowed at birth with the very best that the world can offer. The only problem in their perfect world: humans and their toys!

The one with the most toys—dies

The top operative for the Agency of Change, Hays has just won the fiercest battle of his career. He has been praised by the President, and is a national hero. But before he can savor his triumph, he receives an unbelievable shock that overturns everything he thought was true. Suddenly Hays is on the other side of the gun, forced to leave his perfect family and fight for his life.

Now a hunted fugitive, Hays is thrown into a life he never dreamed possible—fighting to save humans everywhere from extinction. He enlists all of his training to uncover the truth that will save millions of lives—maybe even his own. James Patterson's Toys is a thriller on a hyper plane—with a hero who rivals both James Bond and Jason Bourne.


Now You See Her by Joy Fielding

Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Joy Fielding tells an unforgettable story of a newly divorced woman attempting to heal her heartache, only to find herself on a desperate search for her daughter.

Fifty-year-old Marcy Taggart’s life is in shambles. Two years ago, her twenty-one-year-old daughter, Devon, perished in a canoeing accident. Her body was never found in the icy waters of Georgian Bay, and as a result Marcy has never fully accepted her death. She continues to see the young woman’s face in crowds and has even stopped strangers on the street, certain she has finally discovered her long lost daughter.

Now in Ireland, on what was originally intended to be a celebration of her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary—if, that is, her husband had not left her for another woman—Marcy yet again thinks she sees her daughter, casually strolling past her on the sidewalk. So begins Marcy’s desperate search to find Devon, to find herself, and to find the disturbing truth that might, in the end, be her only salvation.

Now You See Her vividly displays Fielding’s rare talent for creating the kind of tension, suspense, and compelling heroines readers crave. Riveting from start to finish, it’s one fans won’t want to miss.


The Heights by Peter Hedges

Synopsis
Tim Welch is a popular history teacher at the Montague Academy, an exclusive private school in Brooklyn Heights. As he says, "I was an odd-looking, gawky kid but I like to think my rocky start forced me to develop empathy, kindness, and a tendency to be enthusiastic. All of this, I'm now convinced, helped in my quest to be worthy of Kate Oliver." Now, Kate is not inherently ordinary. But she aspires to be. She stays home with their two young sons in a modest apartment trying desperately to become the parent she never had. They are seemingly the last middle-class family in the Heights, whose world is turned upside down by Anna Brody, the new neighbor who moves into the most expensive brownstone in Brooklyn, sending the local society into a tailspin.

Anna is not only beautiful and wealthy; she's also mysterious. And for reasons Kate doesn't quite understand, even as all the Range Rover- driving moms jockey for invitations into Anna's circle, Anna sets her sights on Kate and Tim and brings them into her world.

Like Tom Perrotta, Peter Hedges has a keen eye for the surprising truths of daily life. The Heights is at once light of touch and packed with emotion and depth of character.


Live Wire (Myron Bolitar Series #10) by Harlan Coben

Synopsis
Harlan Coben has risen to the top of bestseller lists worldwide, attracting voracious audiences for his peerless novels of domestic suspense as well as those featuring his fan-favorite sports agent, Myron Bolitar. Now in Live Wire, he offers a knock-your-socks-off novel that will electrify all his fans: Myron’s family takes center stage.

Myron Bolitar has always dreamed about the voluptuous femme fatale walking into his office and asking for help. The woman standing in his doorway has killer curves all right: She’s eight months pregnant, which kind of ruins the fantasy. Former tennis star Suzze T and her rock star husband, Lex, are both clients, and over the years Myron has negotiated his share of contracts for the power pair. But now Lex has disappeared and a very pregnant Suzze is in tears, fearing the online rumors questioning the baby’s paternity have driven away the man she swears is the child’s father.

For Myron, questions of fatherhood couldn’t hit closer to home, as his dad, Al, clings to life; the brother who abandoned them all years ago is in trouble; and Myron’s teenage nephew needs an authority figure. Myron is soon forced to confront deep secrets in Suzze’s past; his family’s mortality — and before Live Wire is over, his own.


The Land of Painted Caves (Earth's Children #6) by Jean M. Auel

Synopsis
The highly anticipated sixth book of Jean Auel's Earth's Children® series, THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES, is the culmination fans have been waiting for. Continuing the story of Ayla and Jondalar, Auel combines her brilliant narrative skills and appealing characters with a remarkable re-creation of the way life was lived more than 25,000 years ago. THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES is an exquisite achievement by one of the world's most beloved authors.

Thirty thousand years in the making and 31 years in the writing, Auel's overlong and underplotted sixth and final volume in the Earth's Children series (The Clan of the Cave Bear; etc.) finds Cro-Magnon Ayla; her mate, Jondalar; and their infant daughter, Jonayla, settling in with the clan of the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonaii. Animal whisperer and medicine woman Ayla is an acolyte in training to become a full-fledged Zelandoni (shaman) of the clan, but all is not rosy in this Ice Age setting; there are wild animals to face and earthquakes to survive, as well as a hunter named Balderan, who has targeted Ayla for death, and a potential cave-wrecker named Marona. While gazing on an elaborate cave painting (presumably, the Lascaux caverns in France), Ayla has an epiphany and invents the concept of art appreciation, and after she overdoses on a hallucinogenic root, Ayla and Jondalar come to understand how much they mean to one another, thus giving birth to another concept—monogamy. Otherwise, not much of dramatic interest happens, and Ayla, for all her superwomanish ways, remains unfortunately flat. Nevertheless, readers who enjoyed the previous volumes will relish the opportunity to re-enter pre-history one last time.


The Jungle (Oregon Files Series #8) by Clive Cussler,
Jack Du Brul

Synopsis
The extraordinary new adventure from the #1 New York Times- bestselling author.

Jungles come in many forms. There are the steamy rain forests of the Burmese highlands. There are the lies and betrayals of the world of covert operations. And there are the dark and twisted thoughts of a man bent on near-global domination. To pull off their latest mission, Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon must survive them all.

A devastating new weapon unleashed in thirteenth-century China...a daring rescue in the snowbound mountains along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border...a woman gone missing in the jungles of northern Thailand and Myanmar...for Cabrillo and his crew, all of these events will come together-leading to the greatest threat against U.S. security that the world has ever known.


Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

Synopsis
Maeve Binchy is back with a tale of joy, heartbreak and hope, about a motherless girl collectively raised by a close-knit Dublin community.

When Noel learns that his terminally ill former flame is pregnant with his child, he agrees to take guardianship of the baby girl once she’s born. But as a single father battling demons of his own, Noel can’t do it alone.

Fortunately, he has a competent, caring network of friends, family and neighbors: Lisa, his unlucky-in-love classmate, who moves in with him to help him care for little Frankie around the clock; his American cousin, Emily, always there with a pep talk; the newly retired Dr. Hat, with more time on his hands than he knows what to do with; Dr. Declan and Fiona and their baby son, Frankie’s first friend; and many eager babysitters, including old friends Signora and Aidan and Frankie’s doting grandparents, Josie and Charles.

But not everyone is pleased with the unconventional arrangement, especially a nosy social worker, Moira, who is convinced that Frankie would be better off in a foster home. Now it’s up to Noel to persuade her that everyone in town has something special to offer when it comes to minding Frankie.


Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Synopsis
For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows — her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close-knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.

Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way. It has always been easy — until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time Mia and Zach leave the house, she worries about them.

On a hot summer’s night her worst fears are realized. One decision will change the course of their lives. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget... or the courage to forgive.

Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, Night Road raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.


Fatal Error (Ali Reynolds Series #6) by J. A. Jance

Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance delivers another pulse-pounding tale of suspense where no one is safe from a . . .FATAL ERROR.

Ali Reynolds begins the summer thinking her most difficult challenge will be surviving a six-week- long course as the lone forty-something female at the Arizona Police Academy—not to mention taking over the 6:00 AM shift at her family’s restaurant while her parents enjoy a long overdue Caribbean cruise. However, when Brenda Riley, a colleague from Ali’s old news broadcasting days in California, shows up in town with an alcohol problem and an unlikely story about a missing fiancé, Ali reluctantly agrees to help.

The man posing as Brenda’s fiancé is revealed to be Richard Lowensdale, a cyber-sociopath who has left a trail of broken hearts in his virtual wake. When he is viciously murdered, the women he once victimized are considered suspects. The police soon focus their investigation on Brenda, who is already known to have broken into Richard’s home and computer before vanishing without a trace. Attempting to clear her friend’s name, Ali is quickly drawn into a web of online intrigue that may lead to a real-world fatal error.


Silent Mercy (Alexandra Cooper Series #13) by Linda Fairstein

Synopsis
In the latest thriller in Linda Fairstein's bestselling series, Alex Cooper dives deep into the byzantine, sinister world of New York City's powerful religious institutions.

It's the middle of the night. Prosecutor Alexandra Cooper is called to Harlem's Mount Neboh Baptist Church, a beautiful house of worship originally built as a synagogue. But the crowd gathered there isn't interested in architecture, or even prayer. They've come for the same reason Alex has: to find out why the body of a young woman has been decapitated, set on fire, and left burning on the church steps.

The only identifiable artifact on the charred remains is the imprint of a Star of David necklace seared into the victim's flesh. Alex wonders if the fire was meant to destroy this woman's body, or to draw attention to it. Her fears are confirmed days later, when a second corpse is found at a cathedral in Little Italy. The killings look like serial hate crimes, but the apparent differences in the victims' beliefs seem to eliminate a religious motive. Convinced that another young woman is bound to die, Alex mines the depths of Manhattan's many houses of worship to find a connection between the victims-and in the process uncovers a terrible and perilous truth that takes her far beyond the scope of her investigation, and directly into the path of terrible danger.


The Pope's Assassin by Luis M. Rocha

Synopsis
The best-kept secret of the Catholic Church...and a journalist who has made it her life -mission to discover the truth-at any cost.

The night after he is elected to the Throne of St. Peter, Benedict XVI, like every Pope before him, is given an ancient document to read. Handed down only on his coronation, the document is the first thing a Pope reads when he is elected, and holds the Church's best-kept secret-one which it will preserve at all costs. But there may be other versions. A mysterious Gospel kept by an Israeli millionaire in London might hint at what the document contains. And there are rumours that the Dead Sea Scrolls, found by a Bedouin in 1947 might have been staged in order to obscure the shocking truth it reveals. Rafael, Vatican's shadowy priest/operative, is sent to investigate the stories of these other documents...and discovers evidence that may implicate his old friend Sarah Monteiiero, the British journalist who already knows too many of the Church's secrets.

Will the world soon learn what revelations the Pope's secret document holds? Or will the Vatican manage to silence the rumors forever?


To Taste the Wine by Fern Michaels

Synopsis
Their passion raged in the stark beauty of Australia. Their love flowed as freely as wine. Only Fern Michaels could tell this exotic story of passionate adventure!

Chelsea Myles earns her living as an actress with her uncle's theatre troupe, performing cheap plays on the streets of London and picking the customers' pockets. Until one night, a robbery goes awry and Chelsea is left holding a purse with enough gold to buy her passage to Australia, and the chance of a fresh start. Once on board the vessel, Chelsea is intrigued by a fellow passenger, Quaid Tanner, who is returning to his vineyard in Australia. As much as Quaid admires the feisty, courageous Chelsea, circumstances seem destined to keep them apart. But in an exotic new land, under wide Australian skies, two passionate hearts may find their destiny.


Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation by Andrea Wulf

Synopsis
From the author of the acclaimed The Brother Gardeners, a fascinating look at the founding fathers from the unique and intimate perspective of their lives as gardeners, plantsmen, and farmers.

For the founding fathers, gardening, agriculture, and botany were elemental passions, as deeply ingrained in their characters as their belief in liberty for the nation they were creating. Andrea Wulf reveals for the first time this aspect of the revolutionary generation. She describes how, even as British ships gathered off Staten Island, George Washington wrote his estate manager about the garden at Mount Vernon; how a tour of English gardens renewed Thomas Jefferson’s and John Adams’s faith in their fledgling nation; how a trip to the great botanist John Bartram’s garden helped the delegates of the Constitutional Congress break their deadlock; and why James Madison is the forgotten father of American environmentalism. These and other stories reveal a guiding but previously overlooked ideology of the American Revolution.

Founding Gardeners adds depth and nuance to our understanding of the American experiment and provides us with a portrait of the founding fathers as they’ve never before been seen.


Golf Foreplay by Ken Altshuler

Synopsis
Ken Altshuler is a distinguished lawyer, popular radio personality (WGAN morning show in Maine), and a golfer who has a great sense of humor about the game. GOLF FOREPLAY is the perfect beginners' guide for golf novices who need to know the basic rules, etiquette, and fundamentals of the game (including invaluable do's and don'ts) before they step onto the green. This is the perfect complement to a golfer's shelf of instructional books since this book is about everything else you need to know about the game besides how to swing, from tee markers, to order of putting, to what not to wear, to how to play fair on the fairway. This entertaining book helps bring the reader up-to-speed on all the fine points that one usually has to learn by trial and error - or (if one is lucky) from a golf buddy who is willing to share his or her hard-won knowledge. With his lively, humorous approach, Ken fills the reader in on all the basic information that every rookie golfer needs to know and includes a comprehensive roundup of golf terms, as well as fun golf trivia.


10th Anniversary by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

Synopsis
For every secret

Detective Lindsay Boxer's long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a badly injured teenage girl is left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminals—but that the victim may be keeping secrets as well.

For every lie

At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano is prosecuting the biggest case of her life—a woman who has been accused of murdering her husband in front of her two young children. Yuki's career rests on a guilty verdict, so when Lindsay finds evidence that could save the defendant, she is forced to choose. Should she trust her best friend or follow her instinct?

There's a different way to die

Lindsay's every move is watched by her new boss, Lieutenant Jackson Brady, and when the pressure to find the baby begins interfering with her new marriage to Joe, she wonders if she'll ever be able to start a family. With James Patterson's white-hot speed and unquenchable action, 10th Anniversary is the most deliciously chilling Women's Murder Club book ever.


The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly

Synopsis
Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home.

Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too—and he's certain he's on the right trail.

Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in. Connelly proves again why he "may very well be the best novelist working in the United States today" (San Francisco Chronicle).


The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

Synopsis
After the #1 New York Times bestsellers Split Second, Hour Game, Simple Genius, and First Family, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell return in their most shocking case: a high stakes struggle where the relentless needs of national security run up against the absolute limits of the human mind.

THE SIXTH MAN

Edgar Roy-an alleged serial killer held in a secure, fortress-like Federal Supermax facility-is awaiting trial. He faces almost certain conviction. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called in by Roy's attorney, Sean's old friend and mentor Ted Bergin, to help work the case. But their investigation is derailed before it begins-en route to their first meeting with Bergin, Sean and Michelle find him murdered.

It is now up to them to ask the questions no one seems to want answered: Is Roy a killer? Who murdered Bergin? With help from some surprising allies, they continue to pursue the case. But the more they dig into Roy's past, the more they encounter obstacles, half-truths, dead-ends, false friends, and escalating threats from every direction. Their persistence puts them on a collision course with the highest levels of the government and the darkest corners of power. In a terrifying confrontation that will push Sean and Michelle to their limits, the duo may be permanently parted.


I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark

Synopsis
THE QUEEN OF SUSPENSE IS BACK! Mary Higgins Clark’s new novel—the thirtieth and most spine-chilling of her long career as America’s most beloved author of suspense fiction— is about the newest and most up-to-date of crimes: identity theft.

Who has not read about—or experienced—with a sinking feeling the fear that someone else out there may be using your credit cards, accessing your bank account, even stealing your identity.

In I'll Walk Alone, Alexandra “Zan” Moreland, a gifted, beautiful interior designer on the threshold of a successful Manhattan career, is terrified to discover that somebody is not only using her credit cards and manipulating her financial accounts to bankrupt her and destroy her reputation, but may also be impersonating her in a scheme that may involve the much more brutal crimes of kidnapping and murder. Zan is already haunted by the disappearance of her own son, Matthew, kidnapped in broad daylight two years ago in Central Park—a tragedy that has left her torn between hope and despair.

Now, on what would be Matthew’s fifth birthday, photos surface that seem to show Zan kidnapping her own child, followed by a chain of events that suggests somebody—but who? Zan asks herself desperately, and why?—has stolen her identity.

Hounded by the press, under investigation by the police, attacked by both her angry ex-husband and a vindictive business rival, Zan, wracked by fear and pain and sustained only by her belief, which nobody else shares, that Matthew is still alive, sets out to discover who is behind this cruel hoax.

What she does not realize is that with every step she takes toward the truth, she is putting herself— and those she loves most—in mortal danger from the person who has ingeniously plotted out her destruction.

Even Zan’s supporters, who include Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner and amateur detective, and Father Aiden O’Brien, who thinks that Zan may have confessed to him a secret he cannot reveal, believe she may have kidnapped little Matthew. Zan herself begins to doubt her own sanity, until, in the kind of fast-paced explosive ending that is Mary Higgins Clark’s trademark, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with an unexpected and shocking revelation.

Deeply satisfying, I’ll Walk Alone is Mary Higgins Clark at the top of her form.


Miles to Go: Book 2 in The Walk series by Richard Paul Evans

Synopsis
Alan Christoffersen, a once-successful advertising executive, wakes one morning to find himself injured, alone, and confined to a hospital bed in Spokane, Washington. Sixteen days earlier, reeling from the sudden loss of his wife, his home, and his business, Alan left everything he knew behind and set off on an extraordinary cross-country journey. Carrying only a backpack, he planned to walk to Key West, the farthest destination on his map. But a vicious roadside stabbing has interrupted Alan’s trek and robbed him of his one source of solace: the ability to walk.Homeless and facing months of difficult recovery, Alan has nowhere to turn—until a mysterious woman enters his life and invites him into her home. Generous and kind, Angel seems almost too good to be true, but all is not as it appears. Alan soon realizes that before he can return to his own journey, he must first help Angel with hers.From one of America’s most beloved and bestselling storytellers comes an astonishing tale of life and death, love and second chances, and why sometimes the best way to heal your own suffering is by helping to heal someone else’s.Inspiring, moving, and full of wisdom, Miles to Go picks up where the bestseller The Walk left off, continuing the unforgettable series about one man’s unrelenting search for hope.

One Summer by David Baldacci

Synopsis
From #1 bestselling author David Baldacci comes a moving family drama about learning to love again after heartbreak and loss.

ONE SUMMER

It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more.


Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

Synopsis
Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing - because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.

Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby - Meredith's high school boyfriend - arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.

Set against the backdrop of a Nantucket summer, Elin Hilderbrand delivers a suspenseful story of the power of friendship, the pull of love, and the beauty of forgiveness.


Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Synopsis
Every life has a soundtrack. All you have to do is listen.

Music has set the tone for most of Zoe Baxter’s life. There’s the melody that reminds her of the summer she spent rubbing baby oil on her stomach in pursuit of the perfect tan. A dance beat that makes her think of using a fake ID to slip into a nightclub. A dirge that marked the years she spent trying to get pregnant.

For better or for worse, music is the language of memory. It is also the language of love.

In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people—even those she loves and trusts most—don’t want that to happen.

Sing You Home is about identity, love, marriage, and parenthood. It’s about people wanting to do the right thing for the greater good, even as they work to fulfill their own personal desires and dreams. And it’s about what happens when the outside world brutally calls into question the very thing closest to our hearts: family.

INCLUDES A COMPACT DISC OF ORIGINAL SONGS
Music by Ellen Wilber
Lyrics by Jodi Picoult
All songs performed by Ellen Wilber


Sixkill by Robert B. Parker

Synopsis
An extraordinary new Spenser novel from the beloved New York Times-bestselling author.

On location in Boston, bad-boy actor Jumbo Nelson is accused of the rape and murder of a young woman. From the start the case seems fishy, so the Boston PD calls on Spenser to investigate. The situation doesn't look good for Jumbo, whose appetites for food, booze, and sex are as outsized as his name. He was the studio's biggest star, but he's become their biggest liability.

In the course of the investigation, Spenser encounters Jumbo's bodyguard: a young, former football-playing Native American named Zebulon Sixkill. Sixkill acts tough, but Spenser sees something more within the young man. Despite the odd circumstances, the two forge an unlikely alliance, with Spenser serving as mentor for Sixkill. As the case grows darker and secrets about both Jumbo and the dead girl come to light, it's Spenser-with Sixkill at his side-who must put things right.


Midnight (Vampire Diaries: The Return Series #3) by L. J. Smith (Young Adult) 

Synopsis
The devil you know . . .

With the help of charming and devious Damon, Elena rescued her vampire love, Stefan, from the depths of the Dark Dimension. But neither brother returned unscathed.

Stefan is weak from his long imprisonment and needs more blood than Elena alone can give him, while a strange magic has turned Damon into a human. Savage and desperate, Damon will do anything to become a vampire again—even travel back to hell. But what will happen when he accidentally takes Bonnie with him?

Stefan and Elena hurry to rescue their innocent friend from the Dark Dimension, leaving Matt and Meredith to save their hometown from the dangerous spirits that have taken hold of Fell's Church. One by one, children are succumbing to demonic designs. But Matt and Meredith soon discover that the source of the evil is darker—and closer—than they ever could have imagined. . . .



Ain't Misbehavin': Tactics for Tantrums, Meltdowns, Bedtime Blues and Other Perfectly Normal Kid Behaviors by Alyson Schafer (Parent Resource)

Synopsis
Bestselling author, psychotherapist, and leading parenting expert on tackling any child's worst behavior

Following her phenomenally successful, Honey, I Wrecked the Kids, parenting guru Alyson Schaefer addresses every parent's secret fear: their child is the one no parenting book can possibly help. In her newest book, she conquers, one by one, all those behavioral bugaboos that can make a child seem, at times, impossible-and a parent's life hell. With explicit, life-saving tips on the perfect thing to say or do when things get out of control, The Down and Dirty Book of Misbehaviors offers parents a sensible, democratic solution to meeting even the toughest discipline challenges.

•Includes first-person accounts of literally hundreds of parenting conundrums-with practical insights on what exactly to do
•Full of detailed "how to do it" advice for a multitude of situations parents inevitably face

While acknowledging the daily reality that parents face, Schaefer's humor and experience make this book a must for parents who want to preserve the peace and also the joy of raising a child.


The Really Useful Grandparents' Book by
Eleo Gordon, Tony Lacey (Parent Resource)

Synopsis
Flaps:
Are you eager to spend time with your grandchildren, but anxious about what to do with them?

The Really Useful Grandparents’ Book is the perfect solution. It’s a book that you can share with your grandchildren to discover the activities that will bring you closer and entertain you both all afternoon. Packed with information on the kinds of things a child will want to learn about from the world’s most dangerous animals to Mount Everest, from Alexander the Great to Henry VIII, this book will make learning fun and engaging.

Is your grandchild more interested in hands-on activities? Learn how to play games and pick up hobbies that will have them all tuckered out by the time their mom comes to pick them up at night. Maybe you’ll plant a garden or play rugby, learn how to cross-stitch or play chess, write a rap or a poem, make a curiosity box, build a campfire, create a special playlist on your iPod and many other fun things which will truly enhance your relationship with your grandchild and leave both of you the richer for it.

TONY LACEY has worked as an editor at Penguin for thirty years. He has two grown-up children, as well as two granddaughters and a grandson.

ELEO GORDON also works in publishing. Her parents lived abroad and as a child she spent most of her holidays with her grandparents. Her grandfather was American and her grandmother Cuban and they met in New York and later settled in England.

Back Cover:
All grandparents are eager to spend meaningful time with their grandchildren but so often they are held back by the generation gap and aren't sure what they can do together that will be fun for everyone. Now, grandparents can stop being anxious about planning special time with their grandchildren and get involved the way they've always wanted. Whether they're looking for an activity or some impressive trivia it's all right here in this book. Some of the great ideas include:

Learning and performing card tricks Starting a stamp collection Making a scrapbook Camping out in the backyard Playing chess Making Origami Having a Treasure Hunt and Making pancakes or baking meringues

The Really Useful Grandparents’ Book includes simple directions and illustrations for all these activities plus a lot more. And on top of all the games and projects, it includes fun and educational conversation-starters ranging from every possible natural disaster to the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece. This is the perfect book for any grandparent who knows just how special it is to bond with his or her grandchild and is looking for ways to enhance and improve that relationship for years to come.


Arthur Turns Green by Marc Brown (Children's Book)

Synopsis
Celebrated author/illustrator Marc Brown revisits his beloved bestselling character in the first new Arthur picture book in almost ten years!

Arthur comes home from school and begins sneaking around the house, taking notes and talking about a Big Green Machine. D.W. is suspicious of her brother's weird behavior, but when Arthur shows up late for dinner with green hands, she really gets the creeps! But it turns house Arthur is making a poster listing all the ways to save energy at home—and go green!

Just in time for Earth Day, this heartwarming story will be printed on recycled paper with soy based ink.


Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by
Grace Lin (Junior Fiction)

Synopsis
In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.

Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, returns with a wondrous story of adventure, faith, and friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz. Her beautiful illustrations, printed in full-color, accompany the text throughout. Once again, she has created a charming, engaging book for young readers.


Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry (Illustrator), Eric Rohmann (Illustrator) (Children's Book)

Synopsis
A church mouse is no ordinary mouse, and Hildegarde—the Mouse Mistress of Saint Bartholemew’s—is no ordinary mouse leader. It falls to her to keep all the church mice safe and out of sight.

But when a few parishioners report mouse sightings, Hildegarde and the rest of the church mice must face a most dreadful consequence: the Great X. To complicate things, a ceremony called the Blessing of the Animals is fast approaching. Saint Bartholemew’s will soon be filled with pets . . . including cats!

Oh, dear. Within the stately stone walls of the church, life is not as serene or safe as one might think. It will take the courage and patience of a—well, of a saint—to keep this scampering, squeaking tribe of Hildegarde’s intact.


Fancy Nancy: Aspiring Artist by Jane O'Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator) (Children's Book)

Synopsis
Portraits: Fancy.
Collages: Très fancy.
Splatter paintings: Très, très fancy!

It's spring vacation, and Nancy is feeling glum because her best friend, Bree, is out of town. Luckily, it's Nancy's mom to the rescue! When she brings home a brand-new set of glitter markers, Nancy puts her trademark flair to très creative use and devotes herself to becoming a serious artist (or artiste, as the French say). After all, everything about being an artist is fancy, fancy, fancy—especially when inspiration strikes!

Complete with instructions on how to create your own artistic masterpieces, Fancy Nancy: Aspiring Artist will get your creative juices flowing and your fancy in full swing.


Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng,
Yuyi Morales (Illustrator) (Children's Book)

Synopsis
From Maya Soetoro-Ng, sister of President Obama, comes a lyrical story relaying the loving wisdom of their late mother to a young granddaughter she never met.

Little Suhaila wishes she could have known her grandma, who would wrap her arms around the whole world if she could, Mama says. And one night, Suhaila gets her wish when a golden ladder appears at her window, and Grandma Annie invites the girl to come along with her on a magical journey. In a rich and deeply personal narrative, Maya Soetoro-Ng draws inspiration from her mother’s love for family, her empathy for others, and her ethic of service to imagine this remarkable meeting. Evoking fantasy and folklore, the story touches on events that have affected people across the world in our time and reaffirms our common humanity. Yuyi Morales’s breathtaking artwork illuminates the dreamlike tale, reminding us that loved ones lost are always with us, and that sometimes we need only look at the moon and remember.


Chicken, Chicken, Duck! by Nadia Krilanovich,
Nadia Krilanovich (Illustrator) (Children's Book)

Synopsis
Duck and his barnyard friends are up to something. One by one we meet them, and then hear their familiar sounds. But that Duck always has the last QUACK! In close-up images, the animals seem to be climbing upon each other. At the very end, we see the hilarious finale. Young readers will delight in making the animal sounds, noticing the funny expressions, and picking out surprising details in the illustrations.

"Chicken Chicken Duck/ Goat Sheep Llama/ maa maa baa baa snuffle cluck/ QUACK!" A feisty white duck coordinates an impressive stunt amid lots of barnyard noise in Krilanovich's rhythmic book for very young readers. Paintings of the duck with outstretched wings suggest her cheerleader role directing a flock of chickens, a cat, a dog, and assorted other barnyard animals as they prepare to form a Flying Wallendas style pyramid. The animals appear in tight closeup against clean white pages; they'd look clinical if not for their obvious excitement, the intensity of their interactions, and the painterly attention Krilanovich (Moon Child) devotes to their feathers, whiskers, black noses, and furry tails. The final arrangement, shown in a vertical spread, is a thing of beauty, the chickens perched symmetrically on the back of a retriever, who in turn stands poised on the back of a goat, and so on all the way down: there's even an egg positioned carefully in the middle. Especially pleasing is the idea that there's no audience for the animals' acrobatics—it's just for the joy of it.


Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle (Children's Board Book)

Synopsis
When Mrs. Seahorse lays her eggs, she does it on Mr. Seahorse's belly! She knows he will take good care of them. While he swims waiting for the eggs to hatch, he meets some other underwater fathers caring for their babies: Mr. Tilapia, who carries his babies in his mouth; Mr. Kurtus, who keeps his on his head; and Mr. Catfish, who is baby-sitting his young hatchlings.

Eric Carle has done it again, with astonishingly beautiful collage illustrations and a story that introduces the very young to the wonders of aquatic life . . . and some very special daddies. A "hide and seek" feature with acetate overlays adds a colorful surprise.


The Very Busy Spider: Oversized Lap Board Book by
Eric Carle (Children's Board Book)

Synopsis
With over 300,000 copies sold since its publication in 1985, The Very Busy Spider is well on its way to becoming a modern classic. Follow an industrious spider as she carefully spins her web. A cow, a pig, and other farm animals want her to play--but a busy spider needs to finish her work, or there'll be no dinner.


Brownie & Pearl Take a Dip by Cynthia Rylant,
Brian Biggs (Illustrator) (Children's Book)

Synopsis
It's a hot summer day, and Brownie and Pearl are off to take a dip in their small blue pool. They grab their bathing suits, their beach ball, and their super-chic sunglasses and get ready to soak. But when--oops!--Pearl takes a surprise spill into the water, will Brownie be able to revive her pal's sopping-wet spirits?

Complete with lemonade and sunbathing, this is the most refreshing Brownie & Pearl story yet!


I Scream For Ice Cream by Benjamin Darling
(Children's Book)

Synopsis
We've left cookies for Santa and made things easy as pie - and just in time for summer the third in our poupular series of vintage recipe books I Scream for Ice Cream is ready for the icebox. Inclucing both recipes for ice-cream and creative things to do with ready-made ice cream, I Scream for Ice Cream is richly illustrated with many charming illustrations from our treasure trove of ice cream imagery. We hope our customers have as much fun using this book as we had putting it together.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Truer words were never spoken. Author, Benjamin Darling, has once again delved into his storied collection of vintage recipe pamphlets to give readers a fine celebration of frozen confections, quiescent and otherwise. In addition to recipes for making ice cream using traditional, modern and novel methods, author Darling, has filled I Scream for Ice Cream with a rich offering of recipes for ice cream sundaes, milk shakes, splits, and many more of the multitude of wonderful things that can be done with ice cream. Finally Mr. Darling has interleaved his work with a rich selection of facts about ice cream and ice cream eating as well as beautiful ice cream illustrations on every page. I Scream for Ice Scream is the book for ice cream lovers everywhere, whether they want to make ice cram from scratch,make great ice cream dishes, or simply revel in the beauty of ice cream facys figures and illustrations.


Surprise! Surprise! by Gyo Fujikawa (Illustrator)
(Children's Board Book)

Synopsis
One lovely, lazy day in the meadow, rabbit decides it's high time he and his animal friends plan something fun. He convinces the group to have a race, and off all the critters go, running faster and faster-to the collective big surprise that awaits them at the end! After 30 years out of print, this springtime delight from the beloved Gyo Fujikawa is back in a board book format.



Seahorses by Nicole Corse (Scholastic Reader Level 1)

Synopsis
A closer look at an amazing animal!

This reader will provide an introduction to seahorses bringing simple and fun nonfiction information to young readers. Did you know sea horses have to eat all the time to stay alive? In Seahorses, readers will discover where seahorses live, what they eat, what eats them, how they are different from other sea creatures, and how people can help prevent their extinction. 

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