Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 105 items
The Magic School Bus Spins A Web: A Book About Spiders
By Joanna Cole. 1997
Rainbow Custodians
By Candice Leathem, Michael Head. 2015
The narrative Rainbow Custodians describes the incredible efforts of creatures to rise against the environmental destruction caused since the European…
invasion of Australia. The central characters Bert and Bennie Koala rally all manner of wildlife to jolt humans into growing a conscience and acting to save endangered creatures and the environment. Rainbow Custodians is designed to link to school curriculum and focuses on important issues such as indigenous people's relationship to land, creation, spiritual connection to mother earth and custodianship. The text exposes environmental degradation, human apathy towards extinct and endangered species and sustainability. Cultural inclusion, sustainability and right relationship are further topics that can be used to enhance the application of this book. Australian wildlife is proudly paraded throughout to familiarise the reader with our unique and wonderful creatures. Poetry is woven throughout the text to enchant the audience with this tale of perplexing complications, intelligent solutions and climactic inspirational codas. The text assumes a life of its own through the brilliant illustrations of Candice Leathem that adorn the cover and each of the ten chapters. These images are designed to delight viewers, provoke discussion and are superb teaching tools. The intended audience ranges from middle - upper primary to early secondary levels, as the text relates to key concepts explored within educational curriculum, but it also has inherent appeal for an older audience. The issues explored within this book have global appeal and it is hoped that a wider audience may enjoy this text and learn from the experience. Thank you for taking the time to read Rainbow Custodians.The Dog That Talked to God
By Jim Kraus. 2012
A wonderfully quirky, heart-breaking, heart-warming and thought-provoking story of a woman's dog who not only talks to her, he talks…
to God. Recently widowed Mary Fassler has no choice except to believe Rufus, the miniature schnauzer, who claims to speak to the Divine. The question is: Will Mary follow the dog's advice, and leave everything she knows and loves? Is this at the urging of God? Or is it something else? Will Mary risk it all or ignore the urgings of her own heart?Is Your Dog Gay?
By Victoria Roberts, Charles Kreloff, Patty Brown. 2004
Skywater
By Melinda Worth Popham. 2013
"Brand X and his fellow coyotes . . . are meticulously observed in the desert environment that Ms. Popham seems…
to know like her backyard. And so are the people of this fable--old Hallie and Albert . . . and the several varmint-hunters, callous or alcoholic or both. There is a parable of how we might relate to the creatures that share the world with us; and a parable of dreams versus realty; and a parable of home, of known territory with its comparative safety; and a parable of making the best of a world short of everything. The people and the creatures of Ms. Popham's fable are right, they belong, and they mean." --Wallace Stegner "This spare and affecting novel has the precision and the stinging sweetness of a fable. A wonderful book." --Thomas McGuane "Refreshing . . . Life-affirming . . . The first book I've read in a long time that left me with teary eyes at the end."--The San Diego Tribune "Captivating . . . The animals' arduous westward journey down the Colorado River to the Gulf suggests a coyote world view that is subtly sustained by their mysterious ways." --Publishers Weekly "With dramatic urgency and imaginative tenderness, Melinda Popham has given the world a painful, poetic, and delightfully unpredictable story that pulsates with hope and healing meaning." --Al Young, California Poet Laureate Emeritus "Rich with poetic resonance." --Los Angeles Times Book Review "Evoking a rich sense of place and animal behavior, [Popham] lets us see through very different eyes." --The Seattle Times "A daring and visionary tale. [Popham] dares to tell us what a coyote thinks and sees and feels and dreams. . . . A hero of the classic kind--a furry, howling, water-seeking version of the Hero with a Thousand Faces." --James D. Houston "Masterful . . . Astonishing . . . Remarkable . . . Put down the latest technothriller and bask awhile in the descriptive prose of Skywater." --L.A. LifeThe Plume Hunter
By Renée Thompson. 2011
Bird-watchers will love this journey back to the 1880s West Coast when vast populations of wild birds still filled the…
skies in annual migrations. But the birds were imperiled by plume hunters intent on personal fortune. This story of violence, love, and loss portrays the advent of the Audubon Society.A moving story of conflict, friendship, and love, The Plume Hunter follows the life of Fin McFaddin, a late-nineteenth century Oregon outdoorsman who takes to plume hunting - killing birds to collect feathers for women's hats - to support his widowed mother. In 1885, more than five million birds were killed in the United States for the millinery industry, prompting the formation of the Audubon Society. The novel brings to life an era of our country's natural history seldom explored in fiction, and follows Fin's relationships with his lifelong friends as they struggle to adapt to society's changing mores.Renée Thompson writes about wildlife, her love of birds, and the people who inhabit the American West. Her first novel, The Bridge at Valentine, received high praise from Pulitzer Prize-winner Larry McMurtry, author of Lonesome Dove. Renée lives in Northern California with her husband, Steve, and is at work on a short-story collection.The Plume Hunter won the 2012 da Vinci Eye Award, presented by the Eric Hoffer Award for Books, for its superior cover art."I really enjoyed this book. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a bird hunter and the complex social, economic and personal issues swirling around the birth of the conservation movement." --David Sibley, author of THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS"...Renée Thompson's gripping novel transports the reader to a time when our nation was trying its best to grow up, yet seemed mired in its own awkward "teen" years...I read this book in one sitting, finding it no easier to put down than Fin did his hunting guns." -- Bill Thompson III, Editor, Bird Watcher's Digest"...Renée Thompson brings us to a place of semi-darkness, with its confused emotions, and allows us to witness the "Hunter" changing from within. This is a story of process and a quest to redeem. I love it." - Fr. Tom Pincelli, Former Chairman, American Birding Association"...A compelling chronicle of avarice, betrayal, and redemption."- Tim Gallagher, author of The Grail BirdInvisible Beasts
By Sharona Muir. 2014
"An amazing feat of imagination." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Invisible Beasts is a strange and beautiful meditation on love and seeing,…
a hybrid of fantasy and field guide, novel and essay, treatise and fable. With one hand it offers a sad commentary on environmental degradation, while with the other it presents a bright, whimsical, and funny exploration of what it means to be human. It's wonderfully written, crazily imagined, and absolutely original." -ANTHONY DOERR, author of All the Light We Cannot See and The Shell CollectorSophie is an amateur naturalist with a rare genetic gift: the ability to see a marvelous kingdom of invisible, sentient creatures that share a vital relationship with humankind. To record her observations, Sophie creates a personal bestiary and, as she relates the strange abilities of these endangered beings, her tales become extraordinary meditations on love, sex, evolution, extinction, truth, and self-knowledge.In the tradition of E.O. Wilson's Anthill, Invisible Beasts is inspiring, philosophical, and richly detailed fiction grounded by scientific fact and a profound insight into nature. The fantastic creations within its pages-an ancient animal that uses natural cold fusion for energy, a species of vampire bat that can hear when their human host is lying, a continent-sized sponge living under the ice of Antarctica-illuminate the role that all living creatures play in the environment and remind us of what we stand to lose if we fail to recognize our entwined destinies.Sharona Muir is the author of The Book of Telling: Tracing the Secrets of My Father's Lives. The recipient of a Hodder Fellowship and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, her writing has appeared in Granta, Orion magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. She is a Professor of Creative Writing and English at Bowling Green State University. Invisible Beasts is her first novel.The Cat That God Sent
By Jim Kraus. 2013
Jake Wilkerson, a disillusioned young pastor who is an expert at hiding his fears, takes on a new assignment at…
a small rural church in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It's a far piece from anywhere and full of curiously odd and eccentric people, including Emma Grainger, a single woman and a veterinarian who dismisses all Christians as "those people," and Tassy, a young runaway with a secret. His first day on the job, however, Jake is adopted by Petey - a cat of unknown origins and breed - but of great perception. Petey believes that he is on a mission from God to redeem Jake and bring him and his quirky friends back to the truth.Bees in the City
By Andrea Cheng, Sarah McMenemy. 2017
2018 Green Earth Book Award Finalist Lionel lives in a Paris apartment building but loves keeping bees with his Aunt…
Celine at her farm outside the city. But when her bees start dying, how can he help? The solution, he realizes, is in the rooftop gardens and window boxes of his apartment neighbors, representing a varied and continuously blooming array of flowers that the bees will love. Aunt Celine must bring her bees to Paris! But first he and his friends Alice and Samir must convince their skeptical neighbors and landlord, Mr. Dubi, that this is a good idea. Adorned with Parisian skylines, Bees in the City is a love letter to the City of Light and a celebration of the can-do spirit of kids. Sarah McMenemy’s illustrations recall the Parisian magic of Madeleine. The book’s backmatter explores urban beekeeping and rooftop gardening in greater depth. Fountas & Pinnell Level PThe Hand and the Paw (Four Tails in Revolt)
By Marco Milani, Louise Loehndorff. 2018
At the foot of the village of Colicchio there is a mysterious laboratory carrying out secret experiments. No one knows…
what is really going on until an extraordinary fact is revealed that will change reality and reverse the roles of humans and animals. A cat, a monkey, a dog and a mouse lead the revolt. A story that knows how to touch people and make them think. An intense and fast-paced book. A manifesto that is not only antivivisectionist but also antispeciesist, it presents us with a truth too often ignored: revenge is never the right path to take.The Tiger and the Acrobat
By Susanna Tamaro. 2017
INCLUDES SPECIALLY COMMISSIONED LINE DRAWINGS Little Tiger is not like other tigers. Not content to spend her days alone, roaming…
the snow forests of Siberia hunting prey, she prefers instead to ponder the ways of the world. One day, eager to discover her own place within it, she sets out on a remarkable journey to discover the secret of life, and to meet the creatures she has heard most about: humans. A moving tale of bravery and spirit, The Tiger and the Acrobat is a celebration of the power of friendship, and a testament to the courage it takes to be true to ourselves. 'This book is a beaut.' Cecelia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love YouBe Brown!
By Barbara Bottner. 2002
Sit! Stay! Be quiet! Why won't this naughty dog behave? This boisterous new picture book introduces a rambunctious pooch and…
the young owner who is determined to keep him in line. But when your crazy canine just won't listen, what's a kid to do? Find out as these two learn the power of compromise and the importance of being yourself, with a sweet and funny resolution that will leave everybody happy.The Further Adventures of Blackjack: The Champion Morgan Horse (Morgan Horse Series #7)
By Ellen F. Feld. 2012
The Further Adventures of Blackjack, the seventh book in the Morgan Horse series, takes the reader to the exciting world…
of Morgan Horse shows. Heather and Blackjack have had an awesome show season and this could be the year that they get to go to Oklahoma to compete in the Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show! But travel from New England to Oklahoma is quite expensive, especially with a 1,000-pound animal. In order to pay for the 1,500 mile trip, Heather will have to make a very difficult decision, a decision that will involve one of her beloved horses. There is also a lot that can happen on a four-day trip across the United States with 15 frisky horses cramped into a large horse van. Award-winning author Ellen Feld has been involved with horses her entire life. Her Morgan Horse series has twice won the coveted Children's Choices award, an honor bestowed jointly by the International Reading Association and the Children's Book Council. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two children, ten horses, and assorted other pets.The North Pole Picnic: Playdate Adventures
By Emma Beswetherick. 2020
Join Katy, Cassie and Zia on an Arctic adventure! Winter has arrived, and the girls decide to warm up with…
a picnic in the North Pole. But to their surprise the animals give them a frosty reception. Before they can enjoy snowflake-shaped sandwiches, shimmering doughnuts and mountains of ice cream, they must first win the trust of the Arctic Queen and discover why the North Pole is melting.The North Pole Picnic: Playdate Adventures
By Emma Beswetherick. 2020
Join Katy, Cassie and Zia on an Arctic adventure! Winter has arrived, and the girls decide to warm up with…
a picnic in the North Pole. But to their surprise the animals give them a frosty reception. Before they can enjoy snowflake-shaped sandwiches, shimmering doughnuts and mountains of ice cream, they must first win the trust of the Arctic Queen and discover why the North Pole is melting.Last of the Curlews (New Canadian Library)
By Fred Bodsworth. 2011
In this conservation classic, originally published fifty–five years ago, Fred Bodsworth tells the story of a solitary Eskimo curlew's perilous…
migration and search for a mate. The lone survivor comes to stand for the entirety of a species on the brink of extinction, and for all in nature that is endangered. This new paperback edition includes a foreword by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet W.S. Merwin and an afterword by Nobel Prize–winning physicist Murray Gell–Mann.Magdalena Mountain: A Novel
By Robert Michael Pyle. 2018
"An elegant, eccentric novel of love, loneliness, and lepidoptera . . . Worthy company for work by other naturalist/novelists: Nabokov,…
Matthiessen, Kingsolver." —Kirkus ReviewsIn Magdalena Mountain, Robert Michael Pyle's first and long–awaited novel, the award–winning naturalist proves he is as at home in an imagined landscape as he is in the natural one. At the center of this story of majesty and high mountain magic are three Magdalenas—Mary, a woman whose uncertain journey opens the book; Magdalena Mountain, shrouded in mystery and menace; and the all–black Magdalena alpine butterfly, the most elusive of several rare and beautiful species found on the mountain. And high in the Colorado Rocky Mountain wilderness, sharing the remote territory of the Erebia magdalena butterfly, lives the enigmatic Oberon, a reluctant de facto leader of the Grove, a diverse community of monks who share a devotion to nature. Converging in the same wilderness are October Carson, a beachcomber–wanderer in pursuit of the alpine butterflies he collects for museums; James Mead, a young graduate student intent upon learning the ecology of this seductive creature; and Mary Glanville, who also seeks the butterfly but can't remember why. While the mystery surrounding Mary takes a menacing turn, their shared quest pulls them deeper into the high mountain wilderness, culminating in a harrowing encounter on the stony slopes of Magdalena Mountain.Jillian: A Novel
By Halle Butler. 2020
From the author of the 'great' (Dolly Alderton), 'terrific' (Zadie Smith) The New Me, comes a subversive, hilarious portrait of…
two colleagues, each more like the other than they would care to admit.'Wretchedly riveting' Jia Tolentino, New Yorker'Butler is an essential contemporary voice' Literary Hub'A master of writing about work and its discontents' The MillionsMegan is only twenty-four but her life feels like a dead end. Working as a gastroenterologist's receptionist and resenting the success and happiness of her friends, the only thing that makes her feel better is obsessively critiquing the behaviour of her colleague, Jillian. A grotesquely optimistic thirty-five-year-old single mother, Jillian's chirpy positivity obscures her mounting struggles - until her downfall is precipitated by the purchase of a dog . . .'Outrageous and amusing ... reads like rubbernecking or a junk-food binge, compelling a horrified fascination and bleak laughter' Kirkus'The funniest book I've read in a long time, but also one of the most important ones' The RumpusMy Kind of Happy - Part One: A new feel-good, funny serial from the Sunday Times bestseller
By Cathy Bramley. 2020
The new feel-good, funny serial from Sunday Times bestseller Cathy Bramley about one woman's search for happiness... Fearne Lovage has…
always believed that life seems brighter with fresh flowers. She treasures the memories of her beloved grandmother's floristry and helping her arrange beautiful blooms that made everyone smile. But a family tragedy a year ago left Fearne searching for her own contentment. What she needs is a fresh start.Then a chance discovery inspires her to start a happiness list, and Fearne feels a spark of hope. Life is full of surprises, and soon Fearne is well out of her comfort zone and loving every minute of it. So when an exciting opportunity arises, will Fearne take the leap and say yes? Join Fearne in her search to discover happiness on her own terms. My Kind of Happy is a joyful and funny novel told in four parts, also featuring some of your best-loved characters from Cathy's other bestselling stories, such as The Lemon Tree Cafe and A Patchwork Family.* * * * * *Praise for Cathy Bramley from some of your other favourite authors:'A book full of warmth and kindness. I loved it' Sarah Morgan'A warm hug of a book' Phillipa Ashley'A gorgeously romantic comfort read' Rachael Lucas'Delightful' Katie Fforde'A page-turner of a story' Milly Johnson'Delightfully warm with plenty of twists and turns' Trisha AshleyI'm Just a Teenage Punchbag: POIGNANT AND FUNNY: A NOVEL FOR A GENERATION OF WOMEN
By Jackie Clune. 2020
'Obligatory reading for all parents of teenagers!' NIGELLA LAWSON'Bloody marvellous. Horribly familiar, funny, touching, sad, brutally honest...clutch this book to…
your stained T-shirt and never let it go.' JO BRAND'Terrific. A remarkable blend of hilarity and heartbreak with a really satisfying plot. Being childless never felt so good.' GRAHAM NORTON'Warm and witty... The competitive mothering, the hell that is other people's children, the fights and accusations of Homeland inquisition all rang deliciously true... a most entertaining read.' KATHY LETTE'Very poignant... A moving read as well as a funny one.' JANE GARVEY 'Honest, hilarious and painful' WOMAN & HOMEWarning!! This novel may lead you to make rash and life-changing decisions!**Probably don't read if you fear you may be ripe for liberation. Or if you sometimes wee when you laugh...First there was Having It All, then there was Bridget Jones' s Diary and I Don't Know How She Does It. Now there is Teenage Punchbag.I'm Just A Teenage Punchbag is a laugh-out-loud, sob-on-the bus journey through the so-called life of a middle-aged woman.Ciara is mother to three ungrateful, entitled teenagers, is married to steady Martin, a man with hairy udders, and is grieving for her mum who now lives in the wardrobe in a cardboard box from the crematorium. She finds solace in her anonymous blog, and in the daily chats she has with her mum's ashes (often the best conversations she has all day.)Despite the menopause, the invisibility of middle age and the daily self-esteem bashings, courtesy of her kids, Ciara manages to navigate the stormy waters of grief and family life - until her mask slips and she is cast out from the family bosom. She embarks on a mission to fulfil her mum's dying wishes to have her remains sprinkled from the top of the Empire State Building, finding company, distraction and - ultimately - herself in the process.If motherhood is a job - who says you can't resign?