I am Ellie Belly. I am going to the zoo! Class 1J is having a super exciting day today. We are on a field trip to see the giant pandas, Wan Wan and En En! But wait... what's that sound? First, I hear a GRR! Then I hear a cr-cr-creepy WAIL. The animals are getting agitated. My best friend Cammy and I HAVE to find out what's going on.Filled with vocabulary helpers and "beary" fun facts: Did you know that the polar bear is the biggest bear in the world? Did you know that the koala is, in fact, not a bear? Look inside for more learning moments! Views: 636
Fire is forbidden to mages, when Dekor sees the fire he falls to the lust of the flame. The way of the warlock is a path to darkness, not one for a graduate mage to even consider."This will give you energy, it will also contain your lust for the flame. You must let your heart decide the path you will walk. Do not let anyone tell you fire is evil. Evil is in the heart, not the hand." Aunt Endor.Lily works the night shift at a radio station, taking calls from forlorn and damaged souls who can't sleep. She knows their pain and they find solace in her comforting words. The city is ruthless; nameless creatures roam the streets and prey on the lost and innocent. As she leaves work one night at the crest of dawn, Lily comes face-to-face with depravity. She is a survivor at heart, but she is unfairly outnumbered and surrenders to her fate. From the shadows an ally emerges, the mysterious and alluring, Wolf. After coming to Lily's aid, he takes her to shelter. The immediate danger has passed, but the incident is far from over. Wolf tells Lily she is not prey, and sets off into the night with her by his side to set a wrong right. What she sees when entering the dark heart of the city will change her existence forever. Has Wolf taken on a force too big? Will Lily survive the night? Views: 636
When Sandra Leigh was seven years old, she fell into the role of protector of her mother and three younger siblings. One winter night, she ushered her mother out of the house during one of her father's tirades, and then snuck her back into the dark home through a window.Sandra was used to events like these; what she wasn't used to were the mountains and nature surrounding her new home in West Virginia. Raised in the city, it took some time to get used to the long, hot summer days and nights, but she soon found that the forests, rivers, and mountains were more secure and comforting than the house that held her abusive and volatile father. Catching minnows in the gentle river, riding on rope swings, and exploring the outdoors distracted her from what was waiting at home.But then, her mother became pregnant again, and Sandra's concern for her family and their well-being grew when her mother returned home from the hospital without the baby.In Two Thousand... Views: 636
In poetry, four sets of parents of a players on a high school girls team lament their daughters obsession with the sport; they end up with the conclusion that human beings are at their best when working in a group of five! If you have children in athletics, or have had, you need this book big time!Pro Se Productions, the home of the Pro Se Single Shot Signature line of digital singles, announces the first tale in a new author focused digital single imprint. From the Pen of J. Walt Layne features stories by the Author of Pro Se Productions’ Champion City series of books (A Week in Hell, Breathless). Within this imprint, Layne will explore both familiar fields and new grounds of storytelling.In Hard Up! A Tale of Champion City, the first story in J. Walt Layne’s From the Pen of…, a man with no name and a monkey on his back roll into Champion City in the wee hours. There's no rest for a man in trouble with the mob. Personal demons and dead bodies revisit a man hard up and down on his luck.From the Pen of J. Walt Layne. A Pro Se Single Shot Signature writer’s imprint from Pro Se Productions. Views: 635
Mallory and Mitchell Howard hope a vacation to the woods will help them rediscover their chemistry. If a break from the responsibilities of their everyday lives fails to reignite their old passion, then Mallory and Mitchell hope they might return as changed partners thrilled by new love. Yet the woods hold something sinister, and soon neither Mallory nor Mitchell recognize their own reflections.Though they have settled into routine, Mallory and Mitchell Howard fail to feel content with their lives and marriage. Their passion for one another has faded as both begin to watch one aspiration after another slip beyond their grasp. Thus Mallory and Mitchell flee into the north woods, hoping an unplanned, spontaneous vacation will return some of the carefree splendor of their lost youth. But Mallory wakes in the night at the sound of a pounding at their hotel door and stammers to see a shadow at the foot of her bed. Mallory soon after trembles as she witnesses her face in the mirror transform into a woman she does not know, and fear chokes her as Mallory desperately runs from the reflections that suddenly haunt her. Mallory and Mitchell enter the north woods hoping for change, but neither anticipates the transformation the shadows between the trees deliver. Views: 635
Erin Hunter, the #1 nationally bestselling author of the Warriors series, is back with book 2 in the action-packed Survivors series. The time has come for dogs to rule the wild.
In the aftermath of the Big Growl that destroyed their city, Bella and the Leashed Dogs have finally settled in the forest where there is plenty of clean water and prey. But a fierce Pack of Wild Dogs has laid claim to the land, and their menacing Alpha will stop at nothing to ensure that it is his alone.
Lucky has taught the Leashed Dogs much about survival since they lost their longpaws, and they refuse to back down. Bella hatches an intricate plan to force the enemy Pack away—a plan that centers on Lucky's sly cunning and intelligence.
Though he still feels the pull of a Lone Dog life, Lucky agrees to help, knowing that he can't leave his friends until they are safe. Now, Lucky will be tested in more ways than one—and his actions will threaten the survival of both Packs. Views: 635
Lore of the Underlings continues. This episode tells of the travelers' plight -- the fate of John Cap, Morio, and Vaam -- after they take an unplanned tumble underground and deep, deep down... into the very bowels of the place called the Letting Pen. A place where anything could happen...Welcome back to Lore of the Underlings, a trail of tales to the end of things, and maybe a bit beyond.The lore continues. This episode tells of the travelers' plight -- the fate of John Cap, Morio, and Vaam -- after they take an unplanned tumble underground and deep, deep down... into the very bowels of the place called the Letting Pen. A place where anything could happen.Things go from bad to worse for them, now stuck in the muck of a greedy pit, easy prey in this cavernous chamber of death. And then the black Guard himself makes the scene with an even more devilish scheme...Lore of the Underlings is an epic poetry series from John Klobucher's lands of Lore. It's a bittersweet saga of gold and shadow told in classic style -- with old-world words but new-world wit. Fun for fans of puns and lyrical tongues! Views: 635
This is perhaps the most famous of Kenji's short stories and one of his personal favorites, as it was the title story of his one and only self-published collection of short stories. Two hunters go on a hunting trip in the country and end up completely lost. Luckily they come across what appears to be an extremely popular restaurant…but everything is not as it seems.This is perhaps the most famous of Kenji's short stories and one of his personal favorites, as it was the title story of his one and only self-published collection of short stories. Two hunters go on a hunting trip in the country and end up completely lost. Luckily they come across what appears to be an extremely popular restaurant…but everything is not as it seems.Kenji Miyazawa is one of Japan’s best known and well-loved writers and poets. He was born in what is now Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, in 1896. Although the eldest son of a wealthy pawnbroker and landowner, Kenji was a deeply spiritual person who led a frugal life, and when he wasn’t writing, volunteered a great deal of his time teaching farmers how to improve their crop yields, or organizing concerts for classical music in his local village. He was a prolific writer who completed hundreds of works, but only a small collection of those were published while he was still alive, his reputation as one of Japan’s greatest storytellers only coming after his death in 1933, aged 37. Views: 635
In 2012 I began a holiday tradition of writing Christmas codas for some of my — and your — favorite stories. I ran the codas on my blog and left them up there for readers to enjoy all year round.Readers requested that I collect the codas and make them available digitally and in print, and I thought that was a fun idea, which is how you come to be reading this. I decided to add another ten new codas to the collection, as well as some recipes for cocktails and dishes that are either featured in the original works or seem to add some final comment or insight into the era or the characters or their relationship.Happiest of Holidays to you all. May this season be filled with love and laughter, and may the New Year bring you health and happiness. Views: 635
New York Times and Publishers Weekly Best Selling Young Adult Series. Book Three by international writing phenomenon David Weber. Two young settlers on a pioneer planet seek to stop a war and to save the intelligent alien treecats from exploitation by unscrupulous humans.
The fires are out, but the trouble’s just beginning for the treecats
On pioneer planet Sphinx, ruined lands and the approach of winter force the now Landless Clan to seek new territory. They have one big problem—there’s nowhere to go. Worse, their efforts to find a new home awaken the enmity of the closest treecat clan—a stronger group who’s not giving up a single branch without a fight
Stephanie Harrington, the treecats’ greatest advocate, is off to Manticore for extensive training—and up to her ears in challenges there. That leaves only Stephanie’s best friends, Jessica and Anders, to save the treecats from themselves. And now a group of xenoanthropologists is once again after the great secret of the treecats—that they are intelligent, empathic telepaths—and their agenda will lead to nothing less that treecat exploitation.
Finally, Jessica and Anders face problems of their own, including their growing attraction to one another. It is an attraction that seems a betrayal of Stephanie Harrington, the best friend either of them have ever had. Views: 635
The lure of finding a genie consumes Solomon’s life. The results of his wishes are inherited by his 18yr old son Prophecy, who surveys the demise of creation, and must prevent an onslaught of creatures from enslaving mankind. Rechelle, Prophecy’s mother, aspires to obliterate all but her selective world, while Prophecy’s illegitimate sibling lurks in wait to tear a hole in Prophecy’s throat.The first thing Mixer knew with certainty was that he was hungry. The feeling grew more intense each day until it became unbearable and Mixer began to lash out. Quietly, steadily he ate away at his enemy and, in a few weeks, where there had been two, now there was only one.History had been erased. The land had been eroded and the global population had crashed. Into this new world came an evolutionary change, a genetic mutation that could make humans perform in ways they'd never done before. Those who survived learned to fear the abilities of those who carried the gene and banished any who displayed the slightest difference. As time went on, the gene appeared to die out. But it wasn't entirely gone. In a world still largely ignorant and illiterate, nine children struggle to survive, sometimes even against their own. Views: 635
This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:
Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness
*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness! Views: 635
The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism places the function of western herbs in their true historical context, apart from homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and Ayurveda. Recently there has been a revival of interest in western herbalism, but practitioners haven't been able to explore its benefits due to a void of information on the topic--the system of medicine the herbs fit into had all but disappeared. To remedy the situation, herbalist Matthew Wood has researched the old-time practices and reconstructed them for modern use. In resuscitating western herbal medicine and bringing it up to date, he gives his readers a powerful tool for holistic theory and treatment. Wood makes the point that plant medicines, because they are made from a broad range of chemical components, are naturally suited for the treatment of general patterns in the body. He argues against the biomedical model of standardization, in which herbs are refined and advertised as if they were... Views: 635
In this fantasy short story, a Highlands wise-woman must pit her craft against a wayward noblewoman and her fairy lover.In this fantasy short story, a Highlands wise-woman must pit her craft against a wayward noblewoman and her fairy lover.Excerpt:"I know a good position when I see one, which doesn't explain how I ended up with Laird Rheagel of Roch Shan, he so tight with the Church and all. Indeed I was surprised that he accepted me. Not that I consider myself impious, mind you. I say the chants regularly and properly, and I wear the Sign. Actually, I am familiar with many signs, which is the problem. These young priests are so uppity. Their knowledge can't simply be best, but it must be only—and whoosh! a thousand years of learning dumped out the window with the bath water."But I say a girl has to be careful, especially when she's seen as many winters as I have and is no longer often called a girl. So I try to keep on the good side of all the heavens, although some are more easily satisfied than others. I won't say I was driven out of my previous home, but when the eggs are rotten, I don't stay for the omelet: and when the local priest denounced me as a witch, I left."Although as far as that goes, he was right."(Originally published in Dragon #207, reprinted by permission of the author.) Views: 634
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ONE VOLUME, TWO EXISTENTIAL CLASSICS BY BESTSELLING NOVELIST PAUL AUSTER
Day/Night brings together two metaphysical novels that mirror each other and are meant to be read in tandem: two men, each confined to a room, one suddenly alert to his existence, the other desperate to escape into sleep.
In Travels in the Scriptorium (2007), elderly Mr. Blank wakes in an unfamiliar cell, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He must use the few objects he finds and the information imparted by the day’s string of visitors to cobble together an idea of his identity. In Man in the Dark (2008), another old man, August Brill, suffering from insomnia, struggles to push away thoughts of painful personal losses by imagining what might have been.
Who are we? What is real and not real? How does the political intersect with the personal? After great loss, why are some of us unable to go on? “One of America’s greats” and “a descendant of Kafka and Borges,”* Auster explores in these two small masterpieces some of our most pressing philosophical concerns.
Time Out (Chicago)
*Booklist Views: 634
