On the Night You Were Born
by Nancy Tillman
from Feiwel & Friends
On the night you were born,
the moon smiled with such wonder
that the stars peeked in to see you
and the night wind whispered.
“Life will never be the same.”
On the night you were born, the whole world came alive with thanksgiving. The moon stayed up till morning. The geese flew home to celebrate. Polar bears danced.
On the night you were born you brought wonder and magic to the world. Here is a book that celebrates you. It is meant to be carried wherever life takes you, over all the roads, through all the years.
This debut picture book by Nancy Tillman has touched the hearts of readers of all ages, from the youngest readers, to new mothers, to grandparents. A New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestselling book, On the Night You Were Born is sure to be a beloved addition to family libraries.
On the night you were born, the whole world came alive with thanksgiving. The moon stayed up till morning. The geese flew home to celebrate. Polar bears danced.
On the night you were born you brought wonder and magic to the world. Here is a book that celebrates you. It is meant to be carried wherever life takes you, over all the roads, through all the years.
Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Classic Seuss)
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House, New York
Description coming soon...
Inspirational yet honest, and always rhythmically rollicking, Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a perfect sendoff for children, 1 to 100, entering any new phase of their lives. Kindergartners, graduate students, newlyweds, newly employeds--all will glean shiny pearls of wisdom about the big, bountiful future. The incomparable Dr. Seuss rejoices in the potential everyone has to fulfill their wildest dreams: "You'll be on your way up! / You'll be seeing great sights! / You'll join the high fliers / who soar to high heights." At the same time, he won't delude the starry-eyed upstart about the pitfalls of life: "You can get all hung up / in a prickle-ly perch. / And your gang will fly on. / You'll be left in a Lurch."
But fear not! Dr. Seuss, with his inimitable illustrations and exhilarating rhymes, is convinced ("98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed") that success is imminent. As long as you remember "to be dexterous and deft. And NEVER mix up your right foot with your left," things should work out. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter
Impulse
by Ellen Hopkins
from Simon Pulse
Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.
Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.
Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.
Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.
And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.
In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.
Milton's Secret: An Adventure of Discovery through Then, When, and the Power of Now
by Eckhart Tolle
from Hampton Roads Publishing
For the first time ever, bestselling author Eckhart Tolle brings the core of his teachings to children, ages 7 to 100. Beautifully illustrated and artfully expressed, this charming story will bring joy to children and their parents for decades to come.
Milton, who is about eight years old, is experiencing bullying on the school playground at the hands of a boy named Carter.
Because he is being picked on, Milton no longer enjoys going to school. In fact, he dreads each morning because of his fear of Carter.
By discovering the difference between Then, When, and the Now, Milton is able to shed his fear of being bullied. Living in the Now, he no longer dreads encountering Carter—and this changes everything.
Milton's Secret will not only appeal to the millions of adult readers of Tolle's other books, but also to any parent who wants to introduce their children to the core of Tolle's teachings: Living in the Now is the quickest path to ending fear and suffering.
Burned
by Ellen Hopkins
from Simon Pulse
Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, Pattyn Von Stratten starts asking questions -- about God, a woman's role, sex, love. She experiences the first stirrings of passion, but when her father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control. Pattyn is sent to live with an aunt in the wilds of Nevada to find salvation and redemption. What she finds instead is love and acceptance -- until she realizes that her old demons will not let her go.
Chalice
by Robin McKinley
from Putnam Juvenile
As the newly appointed Chalice, Mirasol is the most important member of the MasterÂ’s Circle. It is her duty to bind the Circle, the land and its people together with their new Master. But the new Master of Willowlands is a Priest of Fire, only drawn back into the human world by the sudden death of his brother. No one knows if it is even possible for him to live amongst his people. Mirasol wants the Master to have his chance, but her only training is as a beekeeper. How can she help settle their demesne during these troubled times and bind it to a Priest of Fire, the touch of whose hand can burn human flesh to the bone?
Robin McKinley weaves a captivating tale that reveals the healing power of duty and honor, love and honey.
The Truth About Forever
by Sarah Dessen
from Puffin
With her sixth novel, award-winning author Sarah Dessen offers up another generous helping of finely crafted storytelling about real teens dealing with real life. In The Truth About Forever, when asked how she is coping with her father's death, invariably seventeen year old Macy Queen's answer is "fine," when nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, she is drowning in grief while maintaining a flawless façade of good grades and unblemished behavior. Though she feels lost when her boyfriend heads to "Brain Camp" for the summer, she finds herself a job with the quirky Wish Catering crew, and meets "sa-woon"-worthy Wes, whose chaotic lifestyle is in direct opposition to her own. As the two share their stories over the summer, Macy realizes she can no longer keep her feelings on ice. Though it feels like her future endedwith her dad's death, Macy's learns that forever is all about beginnings. Dessen charts Macy's navigation of grief in such an honest way it will touch every reader who meets her. All of the Dessen trademarks are here: a girl in transition, a wonderfully fleshed out cast of secondary characters, and of course, the luminous, powerful writing itself. The Truth About Forever will more than satisfy Dessen's legion of fans, and will win her countless more as well. Highly recommended. (Ages 12 and up) --Jennifer Hubert
Sixteen-year-old Macy Queen is looking forward to a long, boring summer. Her boyfriend is going away. She’s stuck with a dull-asdishwater job at the library. And she’ll spend all of her free time studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father’s recent unexpected death. But everything changes when Macy is corralled into helping out at one of her mother’s open house events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy joins the Wish team. She loves everything about the work and the people. But the best thing about Wish is Wes—artistic, insightful, and understanding Wes—who gets Macy to look at life in a whole new way, and really start living it….
The Little Engine That Could: The Complete, Original Edition (A Platt & Munk Classic)
by Watty Piper
from Grosset & Dunlap
- CHILDRENS BOOKS & MUSIC
- Childrens Books
- Language Arts
When the other engines refuse, the Little Blue Engine tries to pull a stranded train full of toys and good food over the mountain.
The unknowing progenitor of a whole generation of self-help books, Wally Piper's The Little Engine That Could is one of the greatest tales of motivation and the power of positive thinking ever told. In this well-loved classic, a little train carrying oodles of toys to all of the good boys and girls is confronted with a towering, seemingly impassable mountain. As nicely as they ask, the toys cannot convince the Shiny New Engine or the Big Strong Engine--far too impressed with themselves--to say anything but "I can not. I can not." It is left up to the Little Blue Engine to overcome insurmountable odds and pull the train to the other side. The Little Engine That Could is an entertaining and inspirational favorite, and the Little Blue Engine's rallying mantra "I think I can--I think I can" will resonate for a lifetime in the head of every child who hears it. (Ages 4 to 8))
I Am the Messenger
by Markus Zusak
from Knopf Books for Young Readers
Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?
Winner of the 2003 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.
From the Hardcover edition.
I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem
by Jamie Lee Curtis
from HarperCollins
Actor Jamie Lee Curtis and winsome illustrator Laura Cornell continue their successful collaboration (Today I Feel Silly, When I Was Little, et al.) with this paean to poise and self-assurance, I'm Gonna Like Me.
The duo sets out to "let off a little self-esteem" by following a seriously self-actualized (and gratifyingly quirky) boy and girl throughout their day on alternating pages. The kids take turns carrying the lines, often switching off midsentence, to describe exactly how and why "I'm gonna like me." (Girl: "I'm gonna like me / when I'm called on to stand. / I know all my letters / like the back of my hand." Boy: "I'm gonna like me / when my answer is wrong, / like thinking my ruler / was ten inches long.") The call and response continues through the action-packed day, as the kids get up, go to school, have lunch, go to a birthday party, etc., until they finally get tucked in--so no opportunity for building self-esteem gets overlooked.
Young readers will like Curtis's words and the rhythmic repetition, but it's Cornell's scribbling, reminiscent of the New Yorker's Roz Chast, that makes the book stand out. From an imagined fashion-show runway walk (love that snooty fashion press) to a hilarious lunch table spread (got to get some of that "Cup o' Lettuce" and "Pork by the Foot" for your Doris Day lunch box), Cornell fills the book with funny faces and lots of laughs (the best of which might be the girl's pet turtle working out in a cage with a treadmill, next to a book titled "Exercising Your Illegal Turtle"). (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes
Celebrate liking yourself! Through alternating points of view, a girl's and a boy's, Jamie Lee Curtis's triumphant text and Laura Cornell's lively artwork show kids that the key to feeling good is liking yourself because you are you. Like the duo's first New York Times best-seller, Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day, this is an inspired book to rejoice in and share. I'm Gonna Like Me will have kids letting off some self-esteem in no time!
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