Hector Fox and the Daring Flight


Book Description

On a lazy summer day, Hector Fox and his friends watch a kite soar on the afternoon breeze and get a crazy idea: they also want to fly like a bird. Can the friends work together to design and build a flying machine? Can they find a brave pilot? And what happens if something goes wrong in the skies above Owl Hill? As their latest adventure unfolds, Hector Fox and his woodland friends realize it will also take a little bravery to save the day. Hector Fox and the Daring Flight is the third in a series of picture books created by award-winning author and illustrator Astrid Sheckels. Hector Fox and the Daring Flight features Hector as well as Lucy Skunk, Mo Marten, Charlie Chipmunk, Jeremiah Rabbit, Rufus Bear, and introduces Amos Beaver.




Travelling Heroes


Book Description

This remarkable and daringly original book proposes a new way of thinking about the Greeks and their myths in the age of the great Homeric hymns. It combines a lifetime's familiarity with Greek literature and history with the latest archeological discoveries and the author's own journeys to the main sites in the story to describe how particular Greeks of the eighth century BC travelled east and west around the Mediterranean, and how their extraordinary journeys shaped their ideas of their gods and heroes. It gathers together stories and echoes from many different ancient cultures, not just the Greek - Assyria, Egypt, the Phoenician traders - and ranges from Mesopotamia to the Rio Tinto at Huelva in modern Portugal. Its central point is the Jebel Aqra, the great mountain on the north Syrian coast which Robin Lane Fox dubs 'the southern Olympus', and around which much of the action of the book turns. Robin Lane Fox rejects the fashionable view of Homer and his near-contemporary Hesiod as poets who owed a direct debt to texts and poems from the near East, and by following the trail of the Greek travellers shows that they were, rather, in debt to their own countrymen. With characteristic flair he reveals how these travellers, progenitors of tales which have inspired writers and historians for thousands of years, understood the world before the beginnings of philosophy and western thought.




Hector Fox and the Raven's Revenge


Book Description

When Hector Fox and his friends receive a plea for help from the Guardians of the Stone Tower, they race off to save them from the dreaded Raven's Revenge. Will they make it in time?




Nic and Nellie


Book Description

Everyone gets homesick. And Nic is no different. She's so excited about spending the entire summer on a small New England island with her grandparents that she counts down the days through winter and spring. But when the grand adventure finally begins, she finds tears and loneliness instead of joy and freedom. Astrid Sheckels' picture book Nic and Nellie is a gorgeously illustrated, heartwarming story of a girl and her beloved dog, Nellie, who slowly learn that new places really aren't so scary, and that often friends can be found around every corner, even in old row boats, tidal ponds, and stinky mud flats.




Hector Fox and the Map of Mystery


Book Description

While fishing on Stony Brook, Hector Fox and his friend find an old map hidden in a floating bottle. Hoping to find a secret treasure, the friends set off into the woods on their latest adventure. When a gang of coyotes capture them, steal the map, lock them in a tunnel, it will take brains, bravery, and teamwork to escape and discover the true meaning of treasure. "Hector Fox and the Map of Mystery" is the fourth in a series of picture books created by award-winning author and illustrator Astrid Sheckels, featuring Hector Fox, Lucy Skunk, Mo Marten, Charlie Chipmunk, Jeremiah Rabbit, and surprise friends.




The Lost Sisterhood


Book Description

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Juliet comes a mesmerizing novel about a young scholar who risks her reputation—and her life—on a thrilling journey to prove that the legendary warrior women known as the Amazons actually existed. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Oxford lecturer Diana Morgan is an expert on Greek mythology. Her obsession with the Amazons started in childhood when her eccentric grandmother claimed to be one herself—before vanishing without a trace. Diana’s colleagues shake their heads at her Amazon fixation. But then a mysterious, well-financed foundation makes Diana an offer she cannot refuse. Traveling to North Africa, Diana teams up with Nick Barran, an enigmatic Middle Eastern guide, and begins deciphering an unusual inscription on the wall of a recently unearthed temple. There she discovers the name of the first Amazon queen, Myrina, who crossed the Mediterranean in a heroic attempt to liberate her kidnapped sisters from Greek pirates, only to become embroiled in the most famous conflict of the ancient world—the Trojan War. Taking their cue from the inscription, Diana and Nick set out to find the fabled treasure that Myrina and her Amazon sisters salvaged from the embattled city of Troy so long ago. Diana doesn’t know the nature of the treasure, but she does know that someone is shadowing her, and that Nick has a sinister agenda of his own. With danger lurking at every turn, and unsure of whom to trust, Diana finds herself on a daring and dangerous quest for truth that will forever change her world. Sweeping from England to North Africa to Greece and the ruins of ancient Troy, and navigating between present and past, The Lost Sisterhood is a breathtaking, passionate adventure of two women on parallel journeys, separated by time, who must fight to keep the lives and legacy of the Amazons from being lost forever. Praise for The Lost Sisterhood “Impossible to put down . . . Meticulous research, a delicious mystery, and characters that leap from the story make this brilliant book a Perfect 10.”—Romance Reviews Today “Anne Fortier tells two tales of adventure, mystery and romance . . . reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code with a hint of A Discovery of Witches.”—Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star “Boldly original . . . will intrigue lovers of ancient worlds as well as those who are just fans of a good story.”—Bookreporter “A gorgeous journey from England to North Africa to Greece, thrilling readers with beautiful settings, courageous women and breathtaking adventure.”—BookPage “Grounded in a thorough knowledge of classical literature, this skillful interweaving of plausible archaeological speculation, ancient mythology, and exciting modern adventure will delight fans of such authors as Kate Mosse and Katherine Neville.”—Library Journal (starred review) “The Lost Sisterhood is a spellbinding adventure, a tale of two courageous women separated by millennia but pursuing interwoven quests: one to protect and lead her sisters through a dangerous ancient world, the other to prove that the legendary tribe of women truly existed, and that their legacy endures.”—Jennifer Chiaverini, author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker and The Spymistress




Davy Meets His Goliath


Book Description

This children's book addresses the behavior of bullying in our schools and other areas of our society. The fictional characters resolve bullying by applying Christian principles, proper communication, and understanding to end the conflict, crucial for the early development of sound, moral values fostering an attitude of kindness over hatred. The reader can engage themselves in the story as it develops with the interactive questions at the end of each chapter. The questions will pull the reader in and put them in the characters' place to see how they might, handle the situation. These questions will help the child learn biblical examples and verses, helping to live out the proper behavior rather than an inappropriate one which undoubtedly will lead to more trouble.




Paisley Rabbit and the Treehouse Contest


Book Description

Can a lone girl rabbit - with the odds stacked against her - surprise Jimmy and the other animals to win the big treehouse construction contest? In this stunningly illustrated you-go-girl-rabbit tale, Paisley shows how imagination and perseverance mean you can build anything When the school year starts out, Jimmy Squirrel, whose dad owns the biggest construction company in the city, challenges a close group of friends to a treehouse contest. To everyone's surprise, Paisley Rabbit, who has never touched a hammer or a nail and has no one to help her, joins the contest as a long shot to win. But as things heat up, Paisley shows she has some tricks up her sleeve. A delightful tale of defying the odds and believing in yourself that, alongside playful illustrations, kids will want to read over and over. The first edition of Paisley Rabbit and the Treehouse Contest won two awards including best picture book in the Next Generation of Indie Book Awards, and was named 2018 BOOK OF THE YEAR by Creative Child Magazine 2018.







The Night Circus


Book Description

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in the spellbinding novel that captured the world's imagination. • "Part love story, part fable ... defies both genres and expectations." —The Boston Globe The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.