Title search results
Showing 1 - 17 of 17 items
How to Win the Gruesome Games (Villains Academy #3)
By Ryan Hammond. 2024
Being BAD has never felt so GOOD! The third book in the villainously funny, highly illustrated young middle-grade series from…
author-illustrator Ryan Hammond. For fans of Amelia Fang, Dog Man and Grimwood. Check out the complete series – Villains Academy and Villains Academy: How to Steal a Dragon. &‘Heart-warming and hilarious – Villains Academy is a spookalicious treat, set to terrify every other book on your shelf.&’ Jack Meggitt-Phillips, author of The Beast and the Bethany &‘An absolute HOOT! Evil laughs aplenty!&’ Sophy Henn, author and illustrator of the Pizazz series Once a year the five original founders of Villains Academy rise from their graves in honour of the Gruesome Games – a school sports day unlike any other, where the aim is to prank and cheat your way to the finish line. Werewolf Bram and his friends the Cereal Killers are determined to win so their names can be written in the Book of Bad, a record of the most wicked villains to grace the school. But as the games become harder and the pranks get out of hand, are Bram and his friends bad enough to go down as the most victorious villains in history? PRAISE FOR VILLAINS ACADEMY: &‘A charmingly villainous adventure about friendship, school and unspeakable evil.&’ Louie Stowell, author of Loki: A Bad God&’s Guide to Being Good &‘Criminally fun!&’ Danny Wallace, author of The Day the Screens Went Blank &‘Frightfully fun – Villains Academy had me cackling from the very first page!&’ Katie Tsang, co-author of the Dragon Realm series &‘I loved the spookily funny Villains Academy. It's a work of (evil) genius!&’ Jenny McLachlan, author of The Land of Roar &‘A joyful hug of a book with genuine warmth and heart.&’ Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear &‘A delightfully fun adventure with real heart and humour.&’ Benjamin Dean, author of Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow &‘Immersive, funny, and with a cast of scarily loveable characters, Villains Academy made me feel like I was IN the book!&’ Mel Taylor-Bessent, author of The Christmas Carrolls &‘A fabulously funny adventure. I want to enrol in Villains Academy!&’ Nick Sheridan, author of The Case of the Runaway Brain &‘Wickedly funny and full of quirky yet loveable characters.&’ Iona Rangeley, author of Einstein the Penguin &‘This is a brilliant, bonkers work packed with top-notch illustration.&’ Jack Noel, author and illustrator of the Comic Classics series &‘Full of wonderful characters, Villains Academy is such a FUN read!&’ Rikin Parekh, illustrator of The Worst Class in the World seriesMaktub: An Inspirational Companion to The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho. 1994
An essential companion to the inspirational classic The Alchemist, filled with timeless stories of reflection and rediscovery.From one of the…
greatest writers of our age comes a collection of stories and parables unlocking the mysteries of the human condition. Gathered from Paulo Coelho’s daily column of the same name, Maktub, meaning “it is written,” invites seekers on a journey of faith, self-reflection, and transformation. As Paulo Coelho explains, “Maktub is not a book of advice—but an exchange of experiences.”Each story offers an illuminated path to see life and the lives of our fellow people around the world in new ways, allowing us to tap into universal truths about our collective and individual humanity. As Coelho writes, “a man who seeks only the light, while shirking his responsibilities, will never find illumination. And one who keep his eyes fixed upon the sun . . . ends up blind.” These wise tales offer the perspective of talking snakes, old women climbing mountains, disciples querying their masters, Buddha in dialogue, mysterious hermits, and many saints addressing the mysteries of the universe.Following the path of his previous internationally bestselling works, this thoughtful collection of short, inspirational pieces, introduced in a foreword by the author and illustrated with black-and-white line art throughout, will engage seekers of all ages and backgrounds.How to Party Like a Snail
By Naseem Hrab. 2022
They Divided the Sky: A Novel by Christa Wolf (Literary Translation)
By Christa Wolf. 2012
First published in 1963, in East Germany, They Divided the Sky tells the story of a young couple, living in…
the new, socialist, East Germany, whose relationship is tested to the extreme not only because of the political positions they gradually develop but, very concretely, by the Berlin Wall, which went up on August 13, 1961. The story is set in 1960 and 1961, a moment of high political cold war tension between the East Bloc and the West, a time when many thousands of people were leaving the young German Democratic Republic (the GDR) every day in order to seek better lives in West Germany, or escape the political ideology of the new country that promoted the "farmer and peasant" state over a state run by intellectuals or capitalists. The construction of the Wall put an end to this hemorrhaging of human capital, but separated families, friends, and lovers, for thirty years. The conflicts of the time permeate the relations between characters in the book at every level, and strongly affect the relationships that Rita, the protagonist, has not only with colleagues at work and at the teacher's college she attends, but also with her partner Manfred (an intellectual and academic) and his family. They also lead to an accident/attempted suicide that send her to hospital in a coma, and that provide the backdrop for the flashbacks that make up the narrative. Wolf's first full-length novel, published when she was thirty-five years old, was both a great literary success and a political scandal. Accused of having a 'decadent' attitude with regard to the new socialist Germany and deliberately misrepresenting the workers who are the foundation of this new state, Wolf survived a wave of political and other attacks after its publication. She went on to create a screenplay from the novel and participate in making the film version. More importantly, she went on to become the best-known East German writer of her generation, a writer who established an international reputation and never stopped working toward improving the socialist reality of the GDR.The Fate of Bonté III (Literary Translation)
By Alain Poissant. 2015
Bonté III was five years old. A cow at that age is at her prime. Prime is an accounting term.…
A dairy farm is a business and must be managed as such. From this perspective, Bonté III’s days were numbered. Numbered is not an empty word. She had been a good representative of her breed. A cow, after all, has no need to try to be a cow. Her life is that of a cow: a predetermined cycle that is easily reflected on a balance sheet. She eats. She drinks. She ruminates. She urinates. She defecates. All this has a cost. She ovulates. She bears a calf. She gives birth. She produces milk. All this brings money. [...] Tit for tat. The only thing left to do for Bonté III was to call the butcher. The Fate of Bonté III is a story of love and loneliness with colourful characters, a reflection on life and the vital need to be useful to someone or to something.The Long Song: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
By Andrea Levy. 2010
Now a major BBC TV drama, starring Tamara Lawrance, Lenny Henry and Hayley Atwell.A Sunday Times bestseller (2011), shortlisted for…
the Man Booker Prize, The Long Song by Andrea Levy is a hauntingly beautiful, heartbreaking and unputdownable novel of the last days of slavery in Jamaica, for those who loved Homegoing, The Underground Railroad, or the film 12 Years a Slave.'A marvel of luminous storytelling' Financial TimesYou do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was present when slavery was declared no more. My son says I must convey how the story tells also of July's mama Kitty, of the negroes that worked the plantation land, of Caroline Mortimer the white woman who owned the plantation and many more persons besides - far too many for me to list here. But what befalls them all is carefully chronicled upon these pages for you to peruse.Perhaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.We the Sea Turtles: A collection of island stories
By Michelle Kadarusman. 2023
In a collection of powerful stories by Governor General’s Award-nominated author Michelle Kadarusman, eight children on islands around the world…
are each changed by a chance meeting with a turtle as they find their own grounding in an increasingly unpredictable world.When I sing, mountains dance: a novel
By Irene Solà. 2022
A spellbinding Catalan novel that places one family's tragedies against the uncontainable life force of the land itself. Near a…
village high in the Pyrenees, Domènec wanders across a ridge, fancying himself more a poet than a farmer, to "reel off his verses over on this side of the mountain." He gathers black chanterelles and attends to a troubled cow. And then storm clouds swell, full of electrifying power. Reckless, gleeful, they release their bolts of lightning, one of which strikes Domènec. He dies. The ghosts of seventeenth-century witches gather around him, taking up the chanterelles he'd harvested before going on their merry ways. So begins this novel that is as much about the mountains and the mushrooms as it is about the human dramas that unfold in their midst. UnratedLet's have a sleepover! (Hello, Hedgehog! #02)
By Norman Feuti. 2019
Harry and Hedgehog are having a sleepover, but Harry is uneasy about sleeping outside. And Harry doesn't want Hedgehog to…
know that he sleeps with a teddy bear. For preschool-grade 2. 2019Knucklehead
By Adam Smyer. 2014
Knucklehead is the only title shortlisted for the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence!"By setting his novel in…
the '90s, Smyer, who lives in Oakland, has crafted some brutal deja vu. As [protagonist] Marcus reflects on Rodney King, the Million Man March and the Oklahoma City bombing, we think of Freddie Gray, Black Lives Matter and school shootings that have become a way of life. And when Marcus laments San Francisco's dwindling black population, here we are more than 20 years on, and it's only gotten worse. We should all be furious."--San Francisco Chronicle"Here is a list of things you'll need to read this book: ample space for stretching out the side stitches you'll get from laughter; half a box of tissues for the most gripping and harrowing dramas at the heart of the novel; a fresh stress ball for the tense situations the protagonist finds himself in (both of his own doing and not); and just a bit of that space in your heart to see people, in all their complexity, trying to do their best."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"This book is bold in how it treats the reader as an insider to the reality of American blackness. It can be, in turns, lyrically poignant, cynical, hilarious, and infuriating."--Foreword Reviews, Starred Review"In this comic debut novel, lawyer Marcus Hayes careens through the racially divisive 1990s while trying to manage his compulsive anger, chaotic love life, and economic misfortunes...Smyer gives Marcus a sardonic and hilarious voice reminiscent of a Paul Beatty protagonist and endows him with a troubled psychology that plumbs the nuances of black male identity."--Kirkus Reviews"Marcus is an intelligent, acerbic, and often hilarious narrator, bringing a fresh, biting perspective to the social and racial tensions of the time that, as debut novelist Smyer makes clear, are not particularly different from today."--Library Journal"While loss and loneliness are at its core, Knucklehead is a mordantly funny book."--San Francisco Chronicle"While not strictly a crime novel, Smyer's debut Knucklehead does contain a whole lot of guns, violence, and rage, as well as plenty of love and sadness. A black lawyer in the late 80s through the mid-90s deals with micro and macro aggressions from a society determined to treat him as a criminal. Also, there are cats. Lots of cats."--Literary Hub"While the provocative subject material will take readers to a sometimes-uncomfortable place, this brilliant debut is also deeply, darkly funny...This is one of those books that simply has to be discussed, as it managed to tackle difficult topics with unexpected humor and pathos. While Marcus is a troubled character, his journey and the choices he makes will provide rich meat for discussion about race in America and how justifiable anger can turn toxic."--IndiePicks Magazine"[A] masterpiece...In this, his debut narrative, Smyer dramatically encapsulates the ancestral trauma, the collective guilt and suffering of tens of millions of people. Indeed he has scored big. Real big...A must buy."--Kaitur News (Guyana)"Smyer's debut explores themes of the self in chaos; the prose is clean as bone and the anger is focused and piercing."--Michigan Quarterly ReviewIn Knucklehead we meet Marcus Hayes, a black law student who struggles, sometimes unsuccessfully, with the impulse to confront everyday bad behavior with swift and antisocial action. The cause of this impulse is unknown to him.When Marcus unexpectedly becomes involved with the brilliant and kind Amalia Stewart, her love and acceptance pacify his demons. But when his demons return, he is no longer inclined to contain them.Everyone gets a say
By Jill Twiss. 2020
Pudding the snail and his friends can't seem to agree on anything. Whatever Jitterbug the chipmunk wants, Geezer the goose…
does not. Whatever Toast the butterfly wants, Duffles and Nudge the otters are absolutely against. And if somehow Toast and Duffles and Jitterbug and Nudge all agree on something, then Geezer is not having it. So when Toast suggests they need a leader, the friends try to figure out the best way to pick someone to be in charge. Should that someone be the fastest? The fluffiest? The squishiest? Or can Pudding show his friends that there just might be a way where everyone gets a say? 2020. For grades K-3Larry gets lost in the library (Larry gets lost)
By Eric Ode. 2021
Larry, a playful pup, loves to go on vacation with Pete at his grandparents' farm. When a bookmobile arrives, Pete…
is excited to select a stack of books, but he doesn't notice that Larry, in search of a snack, wanders into the bookmobile and is taken back to the city! For preschool to grade 2. UnratedOver on a mountain: Somewhere In The World (Over- Dawn Pub Ser.)
By Marianne Berkes. 2015
A counting book in rhyme that presents various animals and their offspring that dwell in high mountain environments, from a…
mother llama and her "little cria one to an emperor penguin, his hen, and their "little chicks ten." Includes related facts and activities.Katy no-pocket
By H. A. Rey, Emmy Payne. 1944
Katy is a kangaroo without a pocket. She tries to carry her son, Freddy, the way other types of animals…
carry their young, but nothing works. So Katy and Freddy head for the city to buy a pocket. For grades K-3James and the rain
By Karla Kuskin. 1995
In this counting book, James puts on his yellow coat that buttons to his chin and a pair of rubber…
boots to tuck his trousers in, pulls down his bright yellow hat onto his head, opens his big black umbrella, and steps out into the rain. As he strolls along, James meets an ever increasing number of animals--from one cow to ten cats. For preschool-grade 2On the first day of May, Henry wakes up and informs Mudge that today is Henry's birthday. But all Mudge…
does is roll over and snore. It takes several promises of good treats to eat to get Mudge going. But then Henry and Mudge have the best day of all! For grades K-3Sammy the seal (I Can Read Level 1 Ser.)
By Syd Hoff. 1959
Eager to try life outside the zoo, Sammy the seal explores the city, goes to school, and plays with the…
children but decides that, after all, home is best. For grades K-3. 1959