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Mother West Wind Where Stories

Children’s Animal Bedtime Story: Mother West Wind "WHERE" Stories Another exciting adventure by Thornton Burgess and illustrated by Harrison Cady brings to life those adorable woodland creatures from the Green Forest and the Green Meadows. Chapters make this an ideal bedtime book. Selected from the Vintage Collection of author R.F. Gilmor for a new generation of young readers and for little hands to hold and to love.
Views: 394

Star Island

Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen—and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster. Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,” Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott. Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (über–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public—and from Cherry herself. The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink—the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp—and now he’s heading for Miami to find her . . . Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry’s motley posse does? All will be revealed in this hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane.
Views: 387

The Fly Caster Who Tried To Make Peace With the World

Making peace with the world, sooner or later most of us have to. But how? Ian Mac Bride's way begins in 1909 when he watches a fly-casting tournament and dreams of becoming a great fly caster. But soon Ian experiences personal tragedy, and then is appalled by the slaughter of World War I. Torn by grief, Ian loses faith in the world - until, almost by accident, he finds a way to come to terms.Making peace with the world, sooner or later most of us have to. But how? For Ian Mac Bride, his way begins almost accidentally when, in 1909, he watches a fly-casting tournament in New York's Central Park, and begins to dream of becoming a great fly caster. But soon Ian experiences personal tragedy, and then is appalled by the unexpected slaughter of World War I. He retreats into the world of fly fishing and fly casting, and meets unforgettable anglers like: Doc, a Civil War veteran, who tells how, after he enlisted in return for drinking money, he was unexpectedly changed by the horror of war; Izzy, a mysterious immigrant, who, in his way, teaches Ian perhaps the most important lesson of long-distance, fly casting; and George M. L. La Branche who, though torn by self-doubt, writes the book that revolutionizes fly fishing. And so, these anglers help change Ian's hopes and values. Though his father questions his courage, Ian decides to become a teacher instead of a lawyer, and moves near the beautiful Beaverkill River, the birthplace of fly fishing in America. But tragedy still follows him. Torn by grief, he curses the world and loses faith in it until, almost by accident, he finds a way to come to terms. How? The answer will surprise you. "A maverick and memorable book." - Nick Lyons, author Spring Creel“I simply enjoyed the heck out of it." - Eric Peper, coauthor, Fly Fishing The Beaverkill "An unforgettable cast of characters." - Jim Witty, Bend Bulletin"The novel is well-written, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it whether you're a fly fisher or not." - John Pitarresi, Utica Observer-Dispatch “An engaging tale of a young man coming of age." - Lee Murdock, Fly Fish Magazine."A compelling novel that describes one fly caster's search for personal peace." - Bill AuCoin, the Aucoin Report “Great book Mr. Kadish!” - Bill Anderson, Trout Waders.
Views: 386

Six Weeks in Russia, 1919

In 1913 Ransome left his wife & went to Russia to study folklore. In 1915, he published The Elixir of Life, his only full length novel apart from the Swallows & Amazons series. He published Old Peter's Russian Tales, a collection of 21 folktales the following year. After the start of WWI, he became a foreign correspondent & covered the war on the Eastern Front for The Daily News. He also covered the Russian Revolutions of 1917, coming to sympathise with the Bolsheviks & becoming close to a number of its leaders, including Lenin & Trotsky. He met the woman who'd become his 2nd wife, Evgenia Petrovna Shelepina, who at that time was Trotsky's personal secretary. He provided some information to MI5, which gave him the code name S.76 in their files. Bruce Lockhart said in his memoirs: "Ransome was a Don Quixote with a walrus moustache, a sentimentalist who could always be relied upon to champion the underdog, & a visionary whose imagination had been fired by the revolution. He was on excellent terms with the Bolsheviks & frequently brought us information of the greatest value." In 10/19 he met Rex Leeper of the Foreign Office's Political Intelligence Dep't, who threatened to reveal this unless he privately submitted his articles & public speaking engagements for approval. Ransome's response was indignant. MI5 suspected he was a threat because of his opposition to the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War. On one of his visits to the UK, authorities searched him & threatened arrest. In 10/19, as he was returning to Moscow on behalf of The Manchester Guardian, the Estonian foreign minister Ants Piip entrusted him to deliver a secret armistice proposal to the Bolsheviks. At that time the Estonians were fighting their War of Independence alongside White counterrevolutionary forces. After crossing the battlelines on foot, he passed the message, which to preserve secrecy had not been written down & depended for its authority only on the high regard in which he was held in both countries, to diplomat Maxim Litvinov in Moscow. To deliver the reply, which accepted Piip's conditions for peace, he had to return by the same means, but this time he had Evgenia with him. Estonia withdrew from the conflict & they settled in the capital.
Views: 384

Buff: A Collie, and Other Dog-Stories

Buff: A Collie and other dog-stories, by Albert Payson Terhune.CHAPTER ONE: THE FIGHTING STRAINSHE was a mixture of the unmixable. Not one expert in eighty could have guessed at her breed or breeds.Her coat was like a chow’s, except that it was black and white and tan—as is no chow’s between here and the Chinese Wall. Her deep chest was as wide as a bulldog’s; her queer little eyes slanted like a collie’s; her foreface was like a Great Dane’s, with its barrel muzzle and dewlaps. She was as big as a mastiff.She was Nina, and she belonged to a well-to-do farmer named Shawe, a man who went in for registered cattle, and, as a side line, for prize collies.To clear up, in a handful of words, the mystery of Nina’s breeding, her dam was Shawe’s long-pedigreed and registered and prize-winning tricolour collie, Shawemere Queen. Her sire was Upstreet Butcherboy, the fiercest and gamest and strongest and most murderous pit-terrier ever loosed upon a doomed opponent.Shawe had decided not to breed Shawemere Queen that season. Shawemere Queen had decided differently. Wherefore, she had broken from her enclosure by the simple method of gnawing for three hours at the rotting wood that held a rusty lock-staple.This had chanced to befall on a night when Tug McManus had deputed the evening exercising of Upstreet Butcherboy to a new handy-man. The handy-man did not know Butcherboy’s odd trick of going slack on the chain for a moment and then flinging himself forward with all his surpassing speed and still more surpassing strength.As a result, the man came back to McManus’s alone, noisily nursing three chain-torn fingers. Butcherboy trotted home to his kennel at dawn, stolidly taking the whaling which McManus saw fit to administer.When Shawemere Queen’s six bullet-headed pups came into the world, sixty-three days later, there was loud and lurid blasphemy, at her master’s kennels. Shawe, as soon as he could speak with any degree of coherence, bade his kennelman drown five of the pups at once, and to give like treatment to the sixth as soon as its mother should have no further need of the youngster.At random the kennelman scooped up five-sixths of the litter and strolled off to the horse-pond.CONTENTS. FOREWORDI. BUFF: A COLLIE CHAPTER ONE: THE FIGHTING STRAINCHAPTER TWO: “THE HUNT IS UP!”CHAPTER THREE: MASTERLESS! 80 CHAPTER FOUR: THE END OF THE TRAILII. “SOMETHING”III. CHUMSIV. HUMAN-INTEREST STUFFV. “ONE MINUTE LONGER”VI. THE FOUL FANCIERVII. THE GRUDGEVIII. THE SUNNYBANK COLLIESFOREWORDA swirl of gold-and-white and gray and black,—Rackety, vibrant, glad with life’s hot zest,—Sunnybank collies, gaily surging pack,—These are my chums; the chums that love me best.Not chums alone, but courtiers, zealots, too,—Clean-white of soul, too wise for fraud or sham;Yet senseless in their worship ever new.These are the friendly folk whose god I am.A blatant, foolish, stumbling, purblind god,—A pinchbeck idol, clogged with feet of clay!Yet, eager at my lightest word or nod,They crave but leave to follow and obey.We humans are so slow to understand!Swift in our wrath, deaf to the justice-plea,Meting out punishment with lavish hand!What, but a dog, would serve such gods as we?Heaven gave them souls, I’m sure; but dulled the brain,Lest they should sadden at so brief a spanOf heedless, honest life as they sustain;Or doubt the godhead of their master, Man.Today a pup; to-morrow at life’s prime;Then old and fragile;—dead at fourteen years.At best a meagre little inch of time.Oblivion then, sans mourners, memories, tears!Service that asks no price; forgiveness freeFor injury or for injustice hard.Stanch friendship, wanting neither thanks nor feeSave privilege to worship and to guard:—That is their creed. They know no shrewder wayTo travel through their hour of lifetime here.Would Man but deign to serve his God as they,Millennium must dawn within the
Views: 381

Album of Dogs

This artful collection of canine companions from Newbery Medalist Marguerite Henry is majestically illustrated and makes a great gift for dog lovers of all ages.Marguerite Henry may be best known for her stories about horses, but she loved all animals. In this delightful book, she wrote about the origins of twenty-five different types and breeds. Ranging from the Bulldog to the Cocker Spaniel to Labradors and Chihuahuas, there’s something for every dog lover to enjoy. Each description is paired with a full-color illustration by Wesley Dennis. This treasury of canines from Newbery Award–winning author Marguerite Henry features the original text and illustrations in a gorgeous collectible hardcover edition.
Views: 381

The Wings of the Morning

TITLE: THE WINGS OF THE MORNING By LOUIS TRACY 1924 AUTHOR: LOUIS TRACY PUBLISHER - (LOCATION) / COPYRIGHT: JOHN C. WINSTON, PHIL 1924 EDITION: Reprint Edition assumed CATEGORY: Children, Adventure BINDING/COVER: Hardback without dust jacket COLOR: GREEN
Views: 378

Secret Water

In the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's beloved Swallows and Amazons series, the five Walker children are left on a "desert island" by their parents with provisions for a long stay and a blank map to fill in. Like all of Ransome's books, this is at once a real adventure and a lesson in the practicalities of exploring - in this case, of surveying the inlets, coves, mudflats, and estuaries of "Walker Island." Naturally, there are enemies to overcome (another clan named "The Eels") and friends to meet (who else but the intrepid "Amazons?"). And, as always, the children do it all solo.
Views: 378

Flush

Bestselling novelist Carl Hiaasen is back with another hysterical mystery adventure for young readers, set in the Florida Keys. You know it's going to be a rough summer when you spend Father's Day visiting your dad in the local lockup. Noah's dad is sure that the owner of the Coral Queen casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor–which has made taking a dip at the local beach like swimming in a toilet. He can't prove it though, and so he decides that sinking the boat will make an effective statement. Right. The boat is pumped out and back in business within days and Noah's dad is stuck in the clink. Now Noah is determined to succeed where his dad failed. He will prove that the Coral Queen is dumping illegally . . . somehow. His allies may not add up to much–his sister Abbey, an unreformed childhood biter; Lice Peeking, a greedy sot with poor hygiene; Shelly, a bartender and a woman scorned; and a mysterious pirate–but Noah's got a plan to flush this crook out into the open. A plan that should sink the crooked little casino, once and for all. From the Hardcover edition.
Views: 365

Cynthia's Chauffeur

Louis Tracy was a prolific British writer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he's best known for adventure stories.
Views: 364

A Little Boy Lost

the grass with crimson. Presently it closed its beautiful ruby-coloured eyes and the quivering wings grew still. Then Martin sat down on the grass by its side and began to cry, Oh, that great bird, half as tall as himself, and so many times more lovely and strong and beautiful in its life--he had killed it, and it would never fly again! He raised it up very tenderly in his arms and kissed it--kissed its pale green head and rosy wings; then out of his arms it tumbled back again on to the grass. "Oh, poor bird," he cried suddenly, "open your wings and fly away!" But it was dead. Then Martin got up and stared all round him at the wide landscape, and everything looked strange and dim and sorrowful. A shadow passed over the lake, and a murmur came up out of the rushes that was like a voice saying something that he could not understand. A great cry of pain rose from his heart and died to a whisper on his lips; he was awed into silence. Sinking down upon the grass again, he hid his face against the rosy
Views: 359

The Dark Powers of Tolkien

A compendium of villains of Middle-earth.The vast fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien contains many dark terrors to challenge the forces of good. This compendium of villains includes battle timelines, genealogy charts for creature races, striking illustrations, and well-researched commentary on the evil forces that dwell in Middle-earth. This unique title is a conversation starter as well as a great read. This work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers.
Views: 358

Lucky You

Grange, Florida, is, famous for its miracles-the weeping fiberglass Madonna, the Road-Stain Jesus, the stigmata man. And now it has JoLayne Lucks, unlikely winner of the state lottery. Unfortunately, JoLayne's winning ticket isn't the only one. The other belongs to Bodean Gazzer and his raunchy sidekick, Chub, who want the whole $28 million jackpot to start their own underground militia. But JoLayne Lucks has her own plans for the Lotto money, and when Bode and Chub brutally assault her and steal her ticket, she vows to track them down, take it back-and get revenge. The only one who can help is Tom Krome, a big-city investigative journalist now writing frothy features for a mid-sized newspaper. He is about to become part of a story that's bigger and more bizarre than anything he's ever covered. Chasing two heavily armed psychopaths is reckless enough, but Tom's got other problems-including his fugitive wife and his own growing fondness for the future millionairess with whom he's risking his neck. The pursuit takes them to a buzzard-infested island deep in Florida Bay, where they finally catch up with the fledgling militia-and their baffled hostage, a Hooters waitress. The climax explodes with the hilarious mayhem that is Carl Hiaasen's hallmark. Lucky You is his funniest, most deliriously gripping novel yet. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Carl Hiaasen's Bad Monkey.
Views: 340