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Check out these recommended reads, hand-picked by library staff just for readers like you!

 

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The Manual of Seed Saving

Andrea Heistinger

“Makes it easy to find information in a snap, on most any edible you want to grow.” —Kylee Baumle, Horticulture

Growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs from seed has many benefits for both the gardener and the planet. Why save seeds when you can buy them so cheap? Not only does seed saving allow you to grow a diverse, organic array of fruits and vegetables, it also offers an opportunity to work closely with nature and be even more hands-on with the food you grow, cook, and eat. Supported by research from the global conservation organizations Arche Noah and Pro Specie Rara, The Manual of Seed Saving features information on how to maximize seed quality and yield for crop plants like asparagus, carrots, corn, rhubarb, spinach, squash, and tomatoes. Plant profiles include critical information on pollination, isolation distances, cultivation, harvest, storage, and pests and diseases.

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Reader's Digest The Essential Book of Herbs

Reader's Digest

An illustrated guide to growing and using herbs to enhance your cooking and your health.

This beautifully illustrated, complete guide to herbs unlocks the secrets of these wonder plants—from planting and harvesting to cooking and storing—including their health benefits. Now you can discover the joy and pleasure of growing your own herbs—for spicing up meals, creating crafts, treating ailments, and more. In this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated herbal guide you’ll find information on their history, cultivation, propagation, and harvesting, along with a wealth of great ideas for using herbs everyday in a variety of ways.

This guide unravels the mysteries of these versatile plants, with savvy tips and simple formulas for maximizing their powers. Did you know?

· Mint can repel ants, flies, mice, and moths

· Garlic can seriously lower cholesterol

· Chives, fennel, tarragon, thyme, oregano, and winter savory are perennials

· Rosemary was used in the Middle Ages for its tranquilizing effects, and it is still a digestion aid

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The Organic Herb Gardener

Graham Clarke

Discover the wonderful diversity of herbs in this comprehensive guide for the organic grower. The amazing range of colours, size, textures and perfumes make growing herbs an infinitely rewarding experience. Perfect for the organic gardener, herbs attract beneficial insects and wildlife and are often tough and resilient to pests and disease. Practical advice on planning a herb garden, propagating, planting, harvesting, drying and storing is included along with a handy calendar of jobs. The A-Z directory of herbs will inspire planting ideas and give background information of known culinary, medicinal and cosmetic uses for each herb.

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The Compost Coach

Kate Flood

The Compost Coach is a colourful, comprehensive and accessible guide to creating the very best compost AKA garden gold. Kate is on a mission to empower readers to understand the small steps they can take every day to look after the environment and live more sustainability.

The book is pitched at the home composter, including people who live in apartments and houses with or without gardens (yes, you can compost without a garden!). Kate helps the reader to rethink their waste management and teaches them how easy it is to divert food scraps and household carbon away from landfill. She unravels the technicalities of soil science, talks through the building blocks of a robust compost system and busts a few myths along the way. Charming illustrations, how-to photos, and Kate's warm, entertaining voice complete the package.

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Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden

Jessica Walliser

Winner of the American Horticultural Society Book Award

Insects are indeed valuable garden companions, especially the assassin bugs, damsel bugs, stink bugs, and other predatory carnivores that eat the insects that dine on your garden. Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden is a book about bugs and plants, and how to create a garden that benefits from both. In addition to information on companion planting and commercial options for purchasing bugs, there are 19 detailed bug profiles and 39 plant profiles. These profiles include a description, a photograph for identification, an explanation of what they can do to support pest control. Design plans show how to create a border specifically for the natural, sustainable inclusion of beneficial bugs in your garden. 

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Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook

Elizabeth Millard

Named one of the Best Gardening Books of 2014 by the Chicago Tribune, Indoor Kitchen Gardening is about creating a sense of play and nourishment. It takes just a few dollars and a few days for you to start enjoying fresh, healthy produce grown indoors in your own home.The Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook is a more compact, giftable edition of the original book and offers tons of great growing information in a smaller package. 

Imagine serving a home-cooked meal highlighted with beet, arugula, and broccoli microgreens grown right in your kitchen, accompanied by sautéed winecap mushrooms grown in a box of sawdust in your basement. If you have never tasted microgreens, all you really need to do is envision all the flavor of an entire vegetable plant concentrated into a single tantalizing seedling. If you respond to the notion of nourishing your family and guests with amazing, fresh, organic produce that you've grown in your own house, condo, apartment, basement, or sunny downtown office, then you'll love exploring the expansive new world of growing and eating that can be discovered with the help of the Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook.

Inside, author and Bossy Acres Farm CSA co-owner Elizabeth Millard teaches you how to grow microgreens, sprouts, herbs, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and more--all inside your own home, where you won't have to worry about seasonal changes or weather conditions. Filled with mouthwatering photography and more than 200 pages of do-it-yourself in-home gardening information and projects, Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook is your gateway to this exciting new growing method--not just for garnishes or relishes, but for wholesome, nutritious, organic edibles that will satisfy your appetite as much as your palate.

There's a certain thrill that comes from growing your own food, and if you're wearing your pajamas while you do it, that excitement can feel doubled. Easy growing projects, with a few challenging ones tossed into the mix, make indoor gardening a fun journey, not a daunting task. It doesn't matter if you want to grow your own food indoors in an urban apartment or in a rural farmhouse, anyone can use the techniques found here to grow a garden abundance--indoors! Let the year-round food growing adventure begin.

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Burpee The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener

Karan Davis Cutler

A Backyard-Gardener’s Guide to Growing a Bountiful, Great-Tasting Harvest

The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener features:

  • A full-color encyclopedia of over 100 vegetables and herbs with detailed, expert advice on growing them successfully from planting to harvest
  • Planting and growing techniques that keep maintenance to a minimum
  • Entries on how to grow unusual edibles, such as refreshing mesclun for salads, colorful edible flowers, spicy mustards, and more
  • Descriptions and photos of a host of succulent vegetables, both hybrids and heirlooms, from common to exotic
  • Complete information on improving even the poorest garden soil using safe, organic techniques, plus practical advice on making compost
  • Recommendations on garden tools you need–and those you don’t
  • Information on controlling pests and diseases organically, without resorting to poisonous sprays
  • Spectacular full-color photographs of vegetables and herbs, food gardens, and edible landscapes, plus 30 black-and-white line drawings
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Building Soil: A Down-to-Earth Approach

Elizabeth Murphy

This is your down-to-earth, complete manual for achieving great gardening results with your own rich, organic soil!

How do you recognize healthy soil? How much can your existing soil be improved? What are the best amendments to use for your soil? Let Building Soil answer your questions and be your guide on gardening from the ground up! Fertilizing, tilling, weed management, and irrigation all affect the quality of your soil. Using author Elizabeth Murphy's detailed instructions, anyone can become a successful soil-based gardener, whether you want to start a garden from scratch or improve an existing garden.

If you want methods that won't break your back, are good for the environment, and create high-yielding and beautiful gardens of all shapes and sizes, this is the book for you! Create classic landscape gardens, grow a high-yielding orchard, nurture naturally beautiful lawns, raise your household veggies, or run a profitable farm. A soil-based approach allows you to see not just the plants, but the living system that grows them. Soil-building practices promote more ecologically friendly gardening by reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, sequestering greenhouse gases, and increasing overall garden productivity.

Building Soil is a simple book full of practical, up-to-date information about building healthy soils. Simple methods perfect for the home gardener's use put healthy, organic soil within everyone's reach. You don't need a degree in soil management to understand this book; you only need a yard or garden and the desire to improve it at the most basic level.

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The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds

Robert Edward Gough

Enjoy your favorite varieties of garden plants year after year with this comprehensive guide to gathering, preparing, and planting seeds. Authors Robert Gough and Cheryl Moore-Gough provide simple instructions that clearly explain the whole process, from basic plant biology to proper seed storage and successful propagation. Gardeners of any experience level will find all the information they need to preserve genetic diversity, cut costs, and extend the life of their favorite plants to the next generation and beyond.

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Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

Kirsten Miller

"Kirsten Miller has that rare ability to take a serious subject and make it very, very funny. I enjoyed this novel and you will too."--James Patterson

The provocative and hilarious summer read that will have book lovers cheering and everyone talking! Kirsten Miller, author of The Change, brings us a bracing, wildly entertaining satire about a small Southern town, a pitched battle over banned books, and a little lending library that changes everything.

Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy, Lula Dean, live in the tiny town of Troy, Georgia, where they were born and raised. Now Beverly is on the school board, and Lula has become a local celebrity by embarking on mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books--none of which she's actually read. To replace the "pornographic" books she's challenged at the local public library, Lula starts her own lending library in front of her home: a cute wooden hutch with glass doors and neat rows of the worthy literature that she's sure the town's readers need.

What Lula doesn't know is that a local troublemaker has stolen her wholesome books, removed their dust jackets, and restocked Lula's library with banned books: literary classics, gay romances, Black history, witchy spell books, Judy Blume novels, and more. One by one, neighbors who borrow books from Lula Dean's library find their lives changed in unexpected ways. Finally, one of Lula Dean's enemies discovers the library and decides to turn the tables on her, just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other to replace the town's disgraced mayor.

That's when all the townspeople who've been borrowing from Lula's library begin to reveal themselves. That's when the showdown that's been brewing between Beverly and Lula will roil the whole town...and change it forever.

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A Well-Trained Wife

Tia Levings

The instant New York Times bestseller:

“Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn’t a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me.”

Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles––a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.”

Tia knew that to their neighbors her family was strange, but she also couldn't risk exposing their secret lifestyle to police, doctors, teachers, or anyone outside of their church. Christians were called in scripture to be “in the world, not of it.” So, she hid in plain sight as years of abuse and pain followed. When Tia realized she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women, she began to resist and question how they lived. But in the patriarchy, a woman with opinions is in danger, and eventually, Tia faced an urgent and extreme choice: stay and face dire consequences, or flee with her children.

Told in a beautiful, honest, and sometimes harrowing voice, A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable and timely memoir about a woman's race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage.

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A Walk in the Park

Kevin Fedarko

Two friends, zero preparation, one dream. From the author of the beloved bestseller The Emerald Mile, a rollicking and poignant account of an epic 750-mile odyssey, on foot, through the heart of America’s most magnificent national park and the grandest wilderness on earth.

A few years after quitting his job to follow an ill-advised dream of becoming a guide on the Colorado River, Kevin Fedarko was approached by his best friend, the National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, with a vision as bold as it was harebrained. Together, they would embark on an end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon, a journey that, McBride promised, would be “a walk in the park.” Against his better judgment, Fedarko agreed to the scheme, unaware that the small cluster of experts who had completed the crossing billed it as “the toughest hike in the world.”

The ensuing ordeal, which lasted more than a year, revealed a place that was deeper, richer, and far more complex than anything the two men had imagined—and came within a hair’s breadth of killing them both. They struggled to make their way through the all but impenetrable reaches of its truest wilderness, a vertical labyrinth of thousand-foot cliffs and crumbling ledges where water is measured out by the teaspoon and every step is fraught with peril—and where, even today, there is still no trail along the length of the country’s best-known and most iconic park.

Along the way, veteran long-distance hikers ushered them into secret pockets, invisible to the millions of tourists gathered on the rim, where only a handful of humans have ever laid eyes. Members of the canyon’s eleven Native American tribes brought them face-to-face with layers of history that forced them to reconsider myths at the center of our national parks—and exposed them to the impinging threats of commercial tourism. Even Fedarko’s dying father, who had first pointed him toward the canyon more than forty years earlier but had never set foot there himself, opened him to a new way of seeing the landscape.

And always, there was the great gorge itself: austere and unforgiving but suffused with magic, drenched in wonder, and redeemed by its own transcendent beauty.

A Walk in the Park is a singular portrait of a sublime place, and a deeply moving plea for the preservation of America’s greatest natural treasure.

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Dies the Fire

S. M. Stirling

More of "the best straight-ahead science fiction the genre has ever seen" (Amazing) from the bestselling author of "Conquistador," 
An electrical storm over Nantucket causes all electronic devices to cease to function-computers, radio, even firearms-and plunges the world into a darkness humanity is unprepared to face. But as some people band together to help, others are building armies for conquest...

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Stormy Weather

Carl Hiaasen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Hysterically funny...Hiaasen at his satirical best." - USA Today

Two honeymooners wake up early, make love twice, and brace themselves for a spectacle they won't be watching from the sidelines. A seductive con artiste stumbles into a scam that promises more cool cash than the lottery. A shotgun-toting mobile home salesman is about to close a deal with disaster. A law school dropout will be chasing one Gaboon viper, a troop of storm-shocked monkeys, and a newfound love life, while tourists by the thousands bail from the Florida Keys. We're now entering the hurricane zone, where hell and hilarity rule. And in the hands of the masterful, merciless Carl Hiaasen, we're going to have some weather.
 

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A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Becky Chambers

Winner of the Hugo Award!

In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, bestselling Becky Chambers's delightful new Monk and Robot series, gives us hope for the future.

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.

One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. 

But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.

They're going to need to ask it a lot.

Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

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Just for the Summer

Abby Jimenez

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club Pick!

This witty, slow-burn rom-com is the "ideal beach read." --Elle

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea... and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

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Doomsday Book

Connie Willis

Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering, and the indomitable will of the human spirit.

“A tour de force.”—The New York Times Book Review

For Kivrin, preparing to travel back in time to study one of the deadliest eras in humanity’s history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.

But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin—barely of age herself—finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history’s darkest hours.

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CIRCE

Madeline Miller

"A bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story," this #1 New York Times bestseller is "both epic and intimate in its scope, recasting the most infamous female figure from the Odyssey as a hero in her own right" (Alexandra Alter, The New York Times). In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world. #1 New York Times bestseller -- named one of the best books of the year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, BuzzFeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider

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The Rise of Wolf 8

Rick McIntyre

"The powerful origin story of one of Yellowstone's greatest and most famous wolves." --Washington Post

"[The Rise of Wolf 8] is a goldmine for information on all aspects of wolf behavior and clearly shows they are clever, smart, and emotional beings." --Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today

Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves--but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the rangers brought them back, with the first wolves arriving from Canada in 1995.

This is the incredible true story of one of those wolves.

Wolf 8 struggles at first--he is smaller than the other pups, and often bullied--but soon he bonds with an alpha female whose mate was shot. An unusually young alpha male, barely a teenager in human years, Wolf 8 rises to the occasion, hunting skillfully, and even defending his family from the wolf who killed his father. But soon he faces a new opponent: his adopted son, who mates with a violent alpha female. Can Wolf 8 protect his valley without harming his protégé?

Authored by a renowned wolf researcher and gifted storyteller, The Rise of Wolf 8 marks the beginning of The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone series, which will transform our view of wolves forever.

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Horse

Geraldine Brooks

“Brooks’ chronological and cross-disciplinary leaps are thrilling.” —The New York Times Book Review

Horse isn’t just an animal story—it’s a moving narrative about race and art.” —TIME

“A thrilling story about humanity in all its ugliness and beauty . . . the evocative voices create a story so powerful, reading it feels like watching a neck-and-neck horse race, galloping to its conclusion—you just can’t look away.” —Oprah Daily

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award · Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize · A Massachusetts Book Award Honor Book 

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history

Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack. 
 
New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.
 
Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse—one studying the stallion’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.
 
Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.

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Poverty, by America

Matthew Desmond

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a “provocative and compelling” (NPR) argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Oprah Daily, Time, The Star Tribune, Vulture, The Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Public Library, Esquire, California Review of Books, She Reads, Library Journal

“Urgent and accessible . . . Its moral force is a gut punch.”—The New Yorker

Longlisted for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award • Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal 

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? 
 
In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.
 
Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.

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Thank You for Listening

Julia Whelan

From the author of My Oxford Year, Julia Whelan's uplifting novel tells the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator--who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident--and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel.

For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She's found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger.

On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world's most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book--with Brock McNight, the industry's hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn't buy what romance novels are selling--not after her own dreams were tragically cut short--and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her.

As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.

If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.

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Practical Magic

Alice Hoffman

*25th Anniversary Edition*—with an Introduction by the Author!

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, and The Book of Magic.

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic...

“Splendid...Practical Magic is one of [Hoffman's] best novels, showing on every page her gift for touching ordinary life as if with a wand, to reveal how extraordinary life really is.”—Newsweek 

“[A] delicious fantasy of witchcraft and love in a world where gardens smell of lemon verbena and happy endings are possible.”—Cosmopolitan

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The God of the Woods

Liz Moore

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

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Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks

This gripping historical novel is based on the true story of Eyam, the "Plague Village", in the rugged mountain spine of England. In 1666, a tainted bolt of cloth from London carries bubonic infection to this isolated settlement of shepherds and lead miners. A visionary young preacher convinces the villagers to seal themselves off in a deadly quarantine to prevent the spread of disease. The story is told through the eyes of eighteen-year-old Anna Frith, the vicar's maid, as she confronts the loss of her family, the disintegration of her community, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit love. As the death toll rises and people turn from prayers and herbal cures to sorcery and murderous witch-hunting, Anna emerges as an unlikely and courageous heroine in the village's desperate fight to save itself. Exploring love and learning, fear and fanaticism, and the struggle of science and religion to interpret the world at the cusp of the modern era, Year of Wonders is at once a story of unconventional love and a richly detailed evocation of a riveting moment in history. Like Arthur Golden's Memories of a Geisha and A. S. Byatt's Posession, Year of Wonders blends learning and romance into an unforgettable read.

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The Little Friend

Donna Tartt

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch comes an utterly riveting novel set in Mississippi of childhood, innocence, and evil. •  “Destined to become a special kind of classic.” —The New York Times Book Review

The setting is Alexandria, Mississippi, where one Mother’s Day a little boy named Robin Cleve Dufresnes was found hanging from a tree in his parents’ yard. Twelve years later Robin’s murder is still unsolved and his family remains devastated. So it is that Robin’s sister Harriet—unnervingly bright, insufferably determined, and unduly influenced by the fiction of Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson--sets out to unmask his killer. Aided only by her worshipful friend Hely, Harriet crosses her town’s rigid lines of race and caste and burrows deep into her family’s history of loss. Filled with hairpin turns of plot and “a bustling, ridiculous humanity worthy of Dickens” (The New York Times Book Review), The Little Friend is a work of myriad enchantments by a writer of prodigious talent.

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Tokyo Ever After

Emiko Jean

Emiko Jean’s New York Times bestseller and Reese Book Club Pick Tokyo Ever After is the “refreshing, spot-on” (Booklist, starred review) story of an ordinary Japanese American girl who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan!

Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity...and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.

In a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.

Izumi soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairy tale, happily ever after?

Look for the bestselling sequel, Tokyo Dreaming, out now.

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Solo

Kwame Alexander

Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess is a New York Times bestseller! Kirkus Reviews said Solo is, "A contemporary hero's journey, brilliantly told." Through the story of a young Black man searching for answers about his life, Solo empowers, engages, and encourages teenagers to move from heartache to healing, burden to blessings, depression to deliverance, and trials to triumphs.

Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he'd give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father.

In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them. And songwriting is all Blade has left after Rutherford, while drunk, crashes his high school graduation speech and effectively rips Chapel away forever. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears. In its place is a letter, one that could bring Blade the freedom and love he's been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift.

Solo:

  • Is written by New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award-winner Kwame Alexander
  • Showcases Kwame's signature intricacy, intimacy, and poetic style, by exploring what it means to finally go home
  • An #OwnVoices novel that features a BIPOC protagonist on a search for his roots and identity
  • Received great reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus.

If you enjoy Solo, check out Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess.

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Legendborn

Tracy Deonn

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

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My Lady Jane

Cynthia Hand

This comical, fantastical, romantical, New York Times bestselling, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey is “an uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.

New York Times Bestseller * Publishers Weekly Best Young Adult Book of the Year * Bustle Best Young Adult Book of the Year * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults

And don't miss the authors' next fun read, My Plain Jane!

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Rosie Revere, Engineer

Andrea Beaty

Rosie may seem quiet during the day, but at night she’s a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets who dreams of becoming a great engineer. When her great-great-aunt Rose (Rosie the Riveter) comes for a visit and mentions her one unfinished goal—to fly—Rosie sets to work building a contraption to make her aunt’s dream come true. But when her contraption doesn’t fly but rather hovers for a moment and then crashes, Rosie deems the invention a failure. On the contrary, Aunt Rose insists that Rosie’s contraption was a raging success: you can only truly fail, she explains, if you quit.
From the powerhouse author-illustrator team of Iggy Peck, Architect comes Rosie Revere, Engineer, another charming, witty picture book about believing in yourself and pursuing your passion.

Praise for Rosie Revere, Engineer "Comically detailed mixed-media illustrations that keep the mood light and emphasize Rosie’s creativity at every turn." —Publishers Weekly

"The detritus of Rosie’s collections is fascinating, from broken dolls and stuffed animals to nails, tools, pencils, old lamps and possibly an erector set. And cheddar-cheese spray."
Kirkus Reviews

"This celebration of creativity and perseverance is told through rhyming text, which gives momentum and steady pacing to a story, consistent with the celebration of its heroine, Rosie. She’s an imaginative thinker who hides her light under a bushel (well, really, the bed) after being laughed at for one of her inventions."
Booklist

Award
2013 Parents' Choice Award - GOLD
2014 Amelia Bloomer Project List

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Sydney & Simon: Full Steam Ahead!

Paul A. Reynolds

Twin mice solve a problem using STEAM in this early chapter book for young artists, inventors, and creative thinkers—featuring illustrations from the award-winning author/illustrator of The Dot

Sydney and Simon are twin mice on a mission. They want to enter their flowers in the neighborhood flower show, but the flowers in the window box are wilting in the city heat, and the window is jammed. How are they going to get water to their blossoms so they'll live and flourish in time for the show?

Sydney and Simon are lucky to be growing up in a curious and creative family and are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, and record their findings through writing, art, music, and video. Their mother is a scientist and their father is a poet. Their family motto is: "When the going gets tough, the creative get going."

Utilizing the S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) philosophy of learning, this brightly illustrated story shows how an interdisciplinary studies model helps Sydney and Simon achieve their goals. In a practical, fun, and hands-on way, young readers will be inspired to interact with their own natural learning skills and start experiencing the world-and their education-in a whole new way.

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Programmed to Paint

Mauricio Abril

Join Pintro the robot's journey as he learns how to create art!

Pintro is a robot who is practically perfect. He knows all there is to know about how to garden, how to bake, and especially everything about math. But the one thing Pintro does not know how to do? Make art! Whenever he tries, he just produces a perfect copy of the subject. While that's not a bad thing, he knows there's more to art than that. Can Pintro connect with his creativity and overcome his programming so he can finally paint the way he wants to?

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Water Is Water

Miranda Paul

Drip. Sip. Pour me a cup. Water is water unless...it heats up.
Whirl. Swirl. Watch it curl by. Steam is steam unless...it cools high.

This spare, poetic picture book follows a group of kids as they move through all the different phases of the water cycle. From rain to fog to snow to mist, talented author Miranda Paul and the always remarkable Jason Chin (Redwoods, Coral Reefs, Island, Gravity) combine to create a beautiful and informative journey in this innovative nonfiction picture book that will leave you thirsty for more.

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Izzy Newton and the S. M. A. R. T. Squad: Absolute Hero (Book 1)

Valerie Tripp

When middle school mishaps happen, five friends form the S.M.A.R.T. Squad and use their collective skills and the power of science to bring order to their school.

Science reigns supreme with this squad of young brainiacs. Join Izzy Newton and her friends in the first adventure of this fun new middle-grade fiction series from National Geographic Kids.

A crowded new school and a crazy class schedule is enough to make Izzy feel dizzy. It may be the first day of middle school, but as long as her best friends Allie Einstein and Charlie Darwin are by her side, Izzy knows it'll all be okay. However, first-day jitters take an icy turn when Izzy's old pal Marie Curie comes back to town. Instead of a warm welcome, Marie gives her former pal the cold shoulder. The problems pile up when the school's air-conditioning goes on the fritz and the temperature suddenly drops to near freezing. The adults don't seem to have a clue how to thaw out the school. Cold temperatures and a frigid friendship? Izzy has had enough of feeling like an absolute zero. She rallies the girls to use their brainpower and science smarts to tackle the school's chilly mystery ... and hopefully to fix a certain frozen friendship along the way. Will the girls succeed and become the heroes of Atom Middle School?

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Steam Tales: Around the World in 80 Days

Katie Dicker

"[S]tudents clamoring for more books with STEAM experiments and fun facts would enjoy these two titles."--School Library Connection

"Each volume in the STEAM Tales series offers a famous title that has been adapted for younger readers and studded with informational features and engaging science activities that relate to the story in some way....This literary series will appeal to kids with far ranging curiosity about STEAM-related topics."--Booklist

Fire up young readers' imagination and creativity with this classic story featuring added STEAM activities. This beloved children's adventure is retold with vivid and engaging new illustrations - and at the end of every chapter, there are exciting new science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics activities, themed around the events in the book. The activities range from simple puzzles to fun, dynamic experiments, so there's something for every enquiring mind. It's the ideal combination of enchanting story and stimulating science fun.

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Steam Tales - The Secret Garden

Katie Dicker

"[S]tudents clamoring for more books with STEAM experiments and fun facts would enjoy these two titles."―School Library Connection, review of STEAM Tales: Alice in Wonderland and STEAM Tales: Around the World in 80 Days

"Each volume in the STEAM Tales series offers a famous title that has been adapted for younger readers and studded with informational features and engaging science activities that relate to the story in some way....This literary series will appeal to kids with far ranging curiosity about STEAM-related topics."―Booklist, review of STEAM Tales: Alice in Wonderland and STEAM Tales: Around the World in 80 Days

Fire up young readers' imagination and creativity with this classic story featuring added STEAM activities.

Frances Hodgson Burnett's enchanting tale is retold with vivid and engaging new illustrations - and at the end of every chapter, there are exciting new science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics activities, themed around the events in the book. The activities range from simple puzzles to fun, dynamic experiments, so there's something for every enquiring mind. It's the ideal combination of wonderful story and stimulating science fun.

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Steam Tales - The Wizard of Oz

Katie Dicker

"[S]tudents clamoring for more books with STEAM experiments and fun facts would enjoy these two titles."―School Library Connection, review of STEAM Tales: Alice in Wonderland and STEAM Tales: Around the World in 80 Days

"Each volume in the STEAM Tales series offers a famous title that has been adapted for younger readers and studded with informational features and engaging science activities that relate to the story in some way....This literary series will appeal to kids with far ranging curiosity about STEAM-related topics."―Booklist, review of STEAM Tales: Alice in Wonderland and STEAM Tales: Around the World in 80 Days

Fire up young readers' imagination and creativity with this classic story featuring added STEAM activities.

Dorothy's adventure through Oz is retold with vivid and engaging new illustrations - and at the end of every chapter, there are exciting new science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics activities, themed around the events in the book. The activities range from simple puzzles to fun, dynamic experiments, so there's something for every enquiring mind. It's the ideal combination of enchanting story and stimulating science fun.

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The Math Adventurers: Build a Friendship

Sital Gorasia Chapman

Introduce kids aged 5-7 to shapes in an adventure story featuring two funny, mischievous robots named Beep and Boots

Join two friendly and funny robots, Beep and Boots, as they learn all about shapes and discover that math is everywhere they look.

Beep the robot would love nothing more than to have her own pet, like her friends do. One morning she gets a surprise delivery—a package containing circles, squares, triangles, and pentagons for her to make her own robot cat! Beep realizes that she can’t make a pet pal from flat, two-dimensional shapes so, with a flash of magic, the shapes become three-dimensional spheres, cubes, and pyramids. Join Beep as she tries different ways of putting shapes together to build her robot cat and make a best friend forever.

Characterful illustrations and rhyming text bring Beep and Boots to life. Children aged 5–7 will love seeing the adventures the robot duo go on and will learn key mathematical concepts concerning shapes in a gentle, fun way. Questions at the end of the book reinforce learning and encourage kids to look at the math they can see in the world around them.

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Teddy Bear Addition

Barbara Barbieri McGrath

Teddy Bears are on an addition mission! 

Math, counting, sorting and adding for young children. Easy, fun, and educational. Visual learners can watch the teddies add more and more. And kinetic learners can copy the action with their own teddy bear manipulatives. Catchy speech bubbles accompany lively verse as teddies add single-digit and double-digit numbers from one to fifty.

Playful rhymes and hands-on interaction make this book perfect for use with bear counters and other classroom manipulatives.

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Science Verse

Jon Scieszka

"Amoeba"
Don't ever tease a wee amoeba 
By calling him a her amoeba. 
And don't call her a him amoeba. 
Or never he a she amoeba. 
'Cause whether his or hers amoeba, 
They too feel like you and meba.

What if a boring lesson about the food chain becomes a sing-aloud celebration about predators and prey? A twinkle-twinkle little star transforms into a twinkle-less, sunshine-eating-and rhyming Black Hole? What if amoebas, combustion, metamorphosis, viruses, the creation of the universe are all irresistible, laugh-out-loud poetry? Well, you're thinking in science verse, that's what. And if you can't stop the rhymes . . . the atomic joke is on you. Only the amazing talents of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, the team who created Math Curse, could make science so much fun.

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Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor (Frank Einstein series #1)

Jon Scieszka

New York Times Bestseller

"I never thought science could be funny . . . until I read Frank Einstein. It will have kids laughing."
--Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid

"Huge laughs and great science--the kind of smart, funny stuff that makes Jon Scieszka a legend."
--Mac Barnett, author of Battle Bunny and The Terrible Two

Clever science experiments, funny jokes, and robot hijinks await readers in the first of six books in the New York Times bestselling Frank Einstein chapter book series from the mad scientist team of Jon Scieszka and Brian Biggs. The perfect combination to engage and entertain readers, the series features real science facts with adventure and humor, making these books ideal for STEM education. This first installment examines the science of "matter."

Kid-genius and inventor Frank Einstein loves figuring out how the world works by creating household contraptions that are part science, part imagination, and definitely unusual. In the series opener, an uneventful experiment in his garage-lab, a lightning storm, and a flash of electricity bring Frank's inventions--the robots Klink and Klank--to life! Not exactly the ideal lab partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt to perfect his inventions.. . . until Frank's archnemesis, T. Edison, steals Klink and Klank for his evil doomsday plan!

Integrating real science facts with wacky humor, a silly cast of characters, and science fiction, this uniquely engaging series is an irresistible chemical reaction for middle-grade readers. With easy-to-read language and graphic illustrations on almost every page, this chapter book series is a must for reluctant readers. The Frank Einstein series encourages middle-grade readers to question the way things work and to discover how they, too, can experiment with science. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews raves, "This buoyant, tongue-in-cheek celebration of the impulse to 'keep asking questions and finding your own answers' fires on all cylinders," while Publishers Weekly says that the series "proves that science can be as fun as it is important and useful."

Read all the books in the New York Times bestselling Frank Einstein series: Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor (Book 1), Frank Einstein and the Electro-Finger (Book 2), Frank Einstein and the BrainTurbo (Book 3), and Frank Einstein and the EvoBlaster Belt (Book 4). Visit frankeinsteinbooks.com for more information.

STARRED REVIEW
"In the final analysis, this buoyant, tongue-in-cheek celebration of the impulse to 'keep asking questions and finding your own answers' fires on all cylinders."
--Booklist, starred review

"Scieszka mixes science and silliness again to great effect."
--Kirkus Reviews

"In refusing to take itself too seriously, it proves that science can be as fun as it is important and useful."
--Publishers Weekly

"With humor, straightforward writing, tons of illustrations, and a touch of action at the end, this book is accessible and easy to read, making it an appealing choice for reluctant readers. A solid start to the series."
--School Library Journal

"Kids will love Frank Einstein because even though he is a new character he will be instantly recognizable to the readers...Jon Scieszka is one of the best writers around, and I can't wait to see what he does with these fun and exciting characters."
--Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl

"Jon Scieszka's new series has the winning ingredients that link his clever brilliance in story telling with his knowledge of real science, while at the same time the content combination of fiction and non fiction appeals to the full range of the market."
--Jack Gantos, Dead End in Norvelt

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Math Curse

Jon Scieszka

Did you ever wake up to one of those days where everything is a problem? You have 10 things to do, but only 30 minutes until your bus leaves. Is there enough time? You have 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants. Can you make 1 good outfit? Then you start to wonder: Why does everything have to be such a problem? Why do 2 apples always have to be added to 5 oranges? Why do 4 kids always have to divide 12 marbles? Why can't you just keep 10 cookies without someone taking 3 away? Why? Because you're the victim of a Math Curse. That's why. But don't despair. This is one girl's story of how that curse can be broken.

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Cola Fountains and Spattering Paint Bombs

Jesse Goossens

Bring STEM home with this colorful collection of science experiments that use everyday household objects. Turn your home or garden into a laboratory and create paint bombs and elephant toothpaste, let crystals grow, volcanoes erupt and CDs fly, build your own lava lamp, and discover how you can bounce an egg. Jesse Goossens has collected 47 spectacular, exciting, and sensational experiments with clear instructions and helpful information presented in a graphic way. Illustrator Linde Faas has exploded her palette to introduce even more giggles. The result is a festive book for budding inventors and other sorcerers' apprentices. Parental supervision recommended.

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The Toddler's Science Activity Book

Kailan Carr

A play-and-learn science adventure for curious toddlers ages 1 to 3

Dive into the amazing world of science for toddlers. This giant collection of simple activities will help kids practice core science skills the way they learn best: through play! You can choose activities based on the skills developed, how long they take, or even how messy things might get. Best of all, every activity is designed for fun, which is the best way to help your little scientist learn and grow.

This introduction to science for toddlers features:

  • 100+ Educational activities—Explore activities that integrate science for toddlers, like building a rock tower, creating DIY playdough, or making things stick with static electricity.
  • Labels for learning—Each experiment is labeled with the skills being taught, including observation, problem-solving, physics, biology, and more.
  • Toddler teaching tips—Discover a brief overview of toddler development and milestones, as well as handy teaching advice that makes it easy to pick the right activities.

Set kids up for a lifetime of learning with these super fun science-for-toddlers activities.

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Sensitive

Sara Levine

"You feel way too much." / "Will you stop being dramatic?"

This tender picture book follows a girl who is told she is too intense, too sensitive, too much. She's told to grow a thicker skin, but the words of others slip right through. They somersault around inside and press against her heart.

What can she do to stop the hurt?

She needs to take time alone to think and read, rest and create.

Thoughtful text, detailed collage illustrations, and an unexpected word puzzle combine in Sara Levine and Mehrdokht Amini's moving portrayal of a girl who discovers that what others call a weakness can also be a gift.

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Time for School, Rosita!: Sesame Street Monster Meditation in collaboration with Headspace

Random House

Rosita learns a simple meditation called Belly Buddy Breathing to help calm her nerves before the first day of school—based on the popular Sesame Street Monster Meditation video on YouTube made in collaboration with the mindfulness app Headspace.

Even monsters get nervous the first day of school! Luckily, Rosita learns a fun and easy way to calm her nerves! This terrific board book features Rosita learning a simple meditation that all young boys and girls can easily do whenever they feel nervous. 

This is Book 4 in a series of 6 books, all inspired by the popular Sesame Street Monster Meditation videos on YouTube, that will help young children learn mindfulness techniques along with their favorite characters. The videos are made in collaboration with Headspace, the mindfulness app. The art style in the books is the same as in the videos--bright and simple, to appeal to the youngest Sesame Street fans. Plus, there's an offer in the book for a free month of the Headspace app!

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, aims to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder through its many unique domestic and international initiatives. These projects cover a wide array of topics for families around the world.

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Sometimes I Kaploom

Rachel Vail

Another heartfelt and tender story about dealing with BIG feelings from the bestselling author of Sometimes I'm Bombaloo and Sometimes I Grumblesquinch, Rachel Vail.

Katie Honors is a really brave kid. She can go to bed with just one small night light. She can hold her tears in when it's time to say goodbye to her mom at school. But sometimes Katie isn't ready to say goodbye and doesn't feel brave at all. When this happens, she Kaplooms! She refuses to let go of her mom, and everything is flurried as she begins to cry. Her emotions feel frightening. It's not the Katie Honors she wants to be. But her mother assures Katie that she can be both brave and sad, brave and crying, brave and scared.

Sometimes I Kaploom masterfully explores how hard it can be for children when they're nervous or scared and have to transition to new places and faces when they just don't feel quite ready. In another poignant, honest, and insightful story, readers learn along with Katie that bravery and fear are not mutually exclusive.

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I'm Happy-sad Today

Lory Britain

This friendly picture book helps young children make sense of mixed-up emotions.

Happy, and also sad. Excited, but nervous too. Feeling friendly, with a little shyness mixed in. Mixed feelings are natural, but they can be confusing. There are different kinds of happy--the quiet kind and the "noisy, giggly, jump and run" kind. And there are conflicting feelings, like proud and jealous, frustrated and determined. With gentle messaging and charming illustrations, a little girl talks about her many layered feelings, ultimately concluding, "When I have more than one feeling inside me, I don't have to choose just one. I know that all my feelings are okay at the same time." A special section for adults presents ideas for helping children explore their emotions, build a vocabulary of feeling words, know what to do if they feel overwhelmed, and more.

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Why Are We Afraid?

Fran Pintadera

A poignant, evocative exploration of the many reasons we feel fear. After a thunderstorm causes the lights to go out, Max asks his father, “Have you ever been afraid?” His father says everyone is afraid sometimes. Then Max’s father carefully begins to describe the contours of fear. He explains what it feels like when fear shows up and the many things that can make us afraid: shadows, feeling alone and losing what we love. But ultimately, even if our fear can stop us in our tracks, we have to keep going. The stunning imagery and poetic text will entrance children as they learn what it means to feel their feelings.

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Small Stanley's Big List of Scary Stuff

Angie Morgan

A funny, reassuring picture book about how to deal with worries—perfect for sharing.

Small Stanley would like to be brave and fearless like a superhero. There’s just one problem, though—some things make Stanley feel scared... “Write a list of all the things that scare you,” says Grandpa. And Stanley does! Earwigs and centipedes are on the list, and the dark, and getting lost, and dogs and cats and lots and lots of other things. The list gets so long and Stanley gets so worried about forgetting fears to add to his list that he has no time to play with his friends...

Things are getting out of hand, but Grandpa has a plan. One windy day they go for a walk. Stanley brings his list of course, but just as he’s about to add "wind" to the list... whoosh, the wind takes his list away. What will happen now to Stanley’s worries?

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Dr. Color Monster and the Emotions Toolkit

Anna Llenas

Featuring the endearing and gentle Color Monster as a guide, this installment of the bestselling series teaches kids and parents practical tips for self-soothing and emotion regulation.

Today, Nuna doesn't feel quite right. So, she pays a visit to the Color Monster: an emotions doctor who helps diagnose big, challenging feelings. After he recognizes and gives a name to what we feel, this kind and gentle Monster (with the help of his emotions toolkit!) leads Nuna and readers down a path of mindfulness, self-healing, and mental well-being.

* Includes two GIANT foldout pages featuring more than 30 effective, accessible, and practical tools for soothing strong emotions!

* Strategies work for readers of all ages to calm and center hearts and minds

* The creator draws from her background in art therapy to offer both reassuring and transformative advice to readers

* Backmatter for caregivers about understanding emotional regulation is included

Read all three books about The Color Monster!

The Color Monster

The Color Monster Goes to School

Dr. Color Monster and the Emotions Toolkit

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Who I Am

Susan Verde

Encourage kids to practice self-love every day with Who I Am, an uplifting picture book collection of positive affirmations and companion to Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds's New York Times bestselling I Am series.

When the unkind voice gets loud and I feel down, I can tell myself:
I am enough. In this world, I matter.

We all have rough days: tough times when we feel down and an unkind voice in our mind can make us feel disappointed in ourselves. But we can talk back to that unkind voice; we can find the voice that will lift us up instead. We can tell ourselves words that are positive, supportive, and true.

A celebration of self-love and owning all the things that make us special, Who I Am: Words I Tell Myself is a heartfelt collection of positive affirmations, helping us to affirm that we are human, we are enough, and we are deserving of all kinds of love--especially our own.
Also available:
I Am Human
I Am Love
I Am One
I Am Me
I Am Peace
I Am Yoga
I Am Courage

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The Worry Balloon

Mónica Mancillas

A thoughtful and reassuring picture book about how one child experiences anxiety, and what kids can do to manage their worries. Perfect for social-emotional learning and Back to School reading, The Worry Balloon includes a guide for kids to build their own worry tool bag that children and caregivers alike can use when faced with anxiety and change. 

On the first day of school, Isla’s mind plays the what if game. Scary thoughts come, the world goes dark, and everything feels stormy. 

With Mami at her side, Isla takes a deep breath and blows her worries away in a big balloon. But as school gets closer, Isla’s worries come back like a tornado. Mami encourages her to imagine something happy, and Isla remembers there’s nothing she can’t handle.

The storm might come again, but for now, her mind is quiet.

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The Worrysaurus

Rachel Bright

A modern Wemberly Worried-featuring dinosaurs!-for today's young readers, with reassuring, lighthearted text and charming illustrations sure to calm the anxious butterflies in any child's tummy.

It's a beautiful day and Worrysaurus has planned a special picnic. But it isn't long before a small butterfly of worry starts fluttering in his tummy...

What if he hasn't brought enough to eat?

What if he gets lost in the jungle?

What if it rains?!

With a little help from his mom, Worrysaurus finds a way to soothe the anxious butterflies, chase his fears away, and find peace and happiness in the moment at hand.

Discover the perfect book to help every little anxious Worrysaurus let go of their fears, and feel happy in the moment at hand! The Worrysaurus strikes just the right balance of positive, lighthearted, and kid-friendly, with reassuring, rhyming text from Rachel Bright, the bestselling author of The Lion Inside and Love Monster, and charming illustrations from Chris Chatterton. Perfect for any reader who might feel the flutter of an anxious butterfly in their tummy, The Worrysaurus is sure to become a storytime favorite

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I Am So Brave!

Stephen Krensky

This fourth book in the empowerment series celebrates the feats of growing out of toddlerhood with courage and success. Whether it's petting a dog or waving good-bye to a parent, Krensky and Gillingham address the "small wins" of growing just a little bit braver. Young children and their parents will revel in the encouraging text and the vintage screen-print-style illustrations.

Praise for I Am So Brave
STARRED REVIEWS
"Gillingham's distinctive graphics, with their weathered retro aesthetic, and consistent positive reinforcement throughout make this outing another winner."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A comforting celebration of everyday courage with lots of charm to boot."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Cheery and empowering, this simple story should resonate with tots everywhere."
--Booklist

Award: 
NAPPA Honors Winner

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How to Master Your Mood in Middle School

Lenka Glassman

"Smart and essential!" --Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid

"They used to tell kids to chant "sticks and stones" or "just ignore it." It didn't work. This book helps kids find the opposite approach: don't ignore it; understand it."--Tom Angleberger, Origami Yoda

Some kids sail through their middle school years without any drama, but most kids get stuck on a rollercoaster of up and down moods. How is it possible to feel sad and happy at the same time? Why is everything so embarrassing? How does one eye-roll from a friend make you suddenly doubt everything about yourself? 

The truth is you are growing into the amazing person you are meant to be and your many moods and emotions are helping you figure it all out. Not everyone nerds out on mood and emotions, but this book is packed with cool brain science and info on mental health and wellness, plus real-life stories from kids your age, you'll learn something about yourself without even trying! Soon you'll be an expert on YOU and will figure out what your emotions and feelings are saying. Soon you'll staying cool and calm during really tough moments knowing that you can handle anything. And all that adds up to feeling so much lighter and more confident about yourself and your future. 

Kid Confident Book 2: How to Master Your MOOD in Middle School is part of an awesome nonfiction book series developed with expert psychologist and series editor, Bonnie Zucker, PsyD that authentically captures the middle school experience. These books skillfully guide middle schoolers through those tricky years between elementary and high school with a supporting voice of a trusted big sister or a favorite aunt, stealthily offering life lessons and evidence-based coping skills. Readers of Telgemeir's Guts will recognize similar mental health and wellness strategies and fans of Patterson's Middle School series will appreciate the honest look at the uncertainty and chaos that middle graders can bring. Kid Confident offers what kids need to have fun with it all and navigate middle school with confidence, humor, perspective, and feel our mad respect for being the amazing humans they already are. 

Books in the series:
Kid Confident (Book #1): How to Manage Your SOCIAL POWER in Middle School by Bonnie Zucker, PsyD
Kid Confident (Book #2): How to Master Your MOOD in Middle School by Lenka Glassman, PsyD
Kid Confident (Book #3): How to Handle STRESS for Middle School Success by Silvi Guerra, PsyD
Kid Confident (Book #4): How to NAVIGATE Middle School by Anna Pozzatti, PhD & Bonnie Massimino, MEd

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A Thousand No's

D. J. Corchin

This empowering picture book teaches readers that even great ideas sometimes get a NO--but that NO can actually help great ideas become the best ideas!

There was a little girl who had a great idea. She had the most amazing, superb, best idea ever!

NO? Wait, what do you mean NO? NO again?

What is she supposed to do with all these NO's?

NO after NO after NO come the little girl's way, twisting and squishing her idea. But by persevering, collaborating and using a little imagination, all those NO's become the building blocks for the biggest YES ever!

A Thousand NO's is a story about perseverance and innovation. It shows what amazing things can happen if we work with others and don't give up, and teaches kids not to let expectations of how things should be get in the way of what could be.

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The Rhino Suit

Colter Jackson

When a little girl feels like the pain of the world is too much, she builds a tough-skinned rhino suit to protect herself.

When one little girl sees litter in the streets, an animal without shelter, and the pain of a parent, the weight of the world feels like too much to bear. She feels everything so deeply, it makes her want to hide. 

One day, when the tenderness and pain of the world feel like they are more than she can handle, she has a grand idea. She decides to build a rhino suit to keep herself safe. 

Inside the rhino’s armor, the pain of the world is easy for the girl to ignore—but the beauty and joy that the world has to offer are hidden from her, too. And soon, she finds that the rhino suit blocks off her ability to help. Maybe living without thick skin is worth the risk ...

With soft and emotive illustrations and a story that will open hearts, The Rhino Suit is about moving from fear to courageousness, from brokenness to wholeness, and from feeling shut down to letting all of life in.

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Sometimes, All I Need Is Me

Juliana Perdomo

Gentle themes of resiliency, mindfulness, and self-care are brought home in this sweet and soulful picture book with charmingly graphic illustrations and a poetic text.

I love listening to music, especially samba!
It feels like my heart follows the beat.

Meet a young girl who loves her cozy home. It smells like cinnamon tea and feels like warm pajamas. But even when she’s away from home, and everything is different, she finds a way to become her own home, where she feels calm. At night, when it’s too dark and her feet are cold, her room can be a little scary. But she creates her own light when she closes her eyes and thinks of the sun. With friendliness and charm, Juliana Perdomo, in her debut as author-illustrator, shows young readers how to find comfort and confidence within. Her heartwarming picture book reassures children that sometimes, everything we need—courage, joy, peace, and love—is already inside us.

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The Mysterious Benedict Society

Trenton Lee Stewart

When an advert appears in the newspaper for children to take part in a secret mission, children everywhere sit a series of odd tests. In the end, just Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance succeed. They have three things in common: they are honest, talented and orphans. They must go undercover and work as a team to save themselves, but also the world.

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DNA and Social Networking

Debbie Kennett

The first decade of the new millennium has been an exciting time for the family historian. The increasing availability of online resources has transformed the genealogical research process. DNA testing and the new generation of social networking websites have developed in parallel and are becoming increasingly useful tools. DNA testing can now be used to prove or disprove genealogical connections and will put you in touch with your genetic cousins around the world. It can also take you back beyond the paper trail into your pre-surname history. Social networking tools can help you to find and stay in touch with friends and relatives, and provide new ways to share and collaborate with other researchers. This book looks at all the latest advances in DNA testing from the Y-chromosome tests used in surname projects through to the latest autosomal DNA tests. Debbie Kennett explores the use of new social media, including Facebook, Twitter, blogs and wikis, along with more traditional networking methods. DNA and Social Networking is an indispensable guide to the use of twenty-first-century technology in family history research.

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Family Photo Detective

Maureen A. Taylor

Unlock the Secrets of Your Old Family Photos!

Historical family photos are cherished heirlooms that offer a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. But the images, and the stories behind them, often fade away as decades pass - the who, when, where and why behind the photos are lost. In this book, photo identification expert and genealogist Maureen A. Taylor shows you how to study the clues in your old family photos to put names to faces and recapture their lost stories.

Inside, you'll learn how to:
   • Determine the type of image you have - from common paper prints to stereographs to historical daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes
   • Use clothing, accessories, and hairstyles to date the image in the correct decade
   • Research photographer's imprints to narrow down when and where the photo was taken
   • Compare facial features in multiple photos to confirm identity and family resemblance
   • Interview family members to gather more information about the image
   • Identify props in the photo to create context for the image

Each chapter includes dozens of historical photos to illustrate key points and provide clear examples. Charts, timelines and resource lists make it easy to find the exact information you need. Dozens of case studies show you how to apply the techniques in the book to real-life photo research projects. The answers to your family photo questions are closer than you think. Let this book help you start finding them today.

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Basics of Genealogy Reference

Jack Simpson

This book offers novice and experienced reference librarians an introduction to tried-and-true genealogy techniques and resources. With the help of four case studies, Simpson outlines a basic starting strategy for conducting genealogy research. Later chapters deal specifically with genealogical librarianship: how to conduct a reference interview, continuing and professional development, and basic resources every collection should have. Charts, screen shots, and examples of public documents are also included; while a series of appendices present the case studies in their entirety.

Genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States, and is heavily researched in public libraries and historical repositories. Increasingly, major genealogy resources are available online at libraries through subscription databases or free on the internet. As a result, librarians face the overwhelming task of helping a large audience of genealogists cope with an ever growing flood of new resources.

This book offers novice and experienced reference librarians an introduction to tried-and-true genealogy techniques and resources. With the help of four case studies, Simpson outlines a basic starting strategy for conducting genealogy research. Later chapters deal specifically with genealogical librarianship: how to conduct a reference interview, continuing and professional development, and basic resources every collection should have. Charts, screen shots, and examples of public documents are also included; while a series of appendices present the case studies in their entirety.

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Tracing Your Family History

Lise Hull

To make the information easy to use, the book is divided into five parts: 
- Part One explains how to get started--from defining your goals to filing pertinent information
- Part Two leads you to places where information can be found: national archives, public libraries, museums, and more
- Part Three explains how to read vital documents and understand all the fine print
- Part Four helps to locate particular ancestors by tracing female ancestors, indigenous people, and even convicts, and the ins and outs of adoption and illegitimacy
- Part Five explains how to go beyond your local resources and use archives and research centers around the world
- Each section identifies common problems--unique Problem Solver, Quick Tips, checklists, and dos and don'ts boxes provide practical, understandable solutions
- The website names of searchable records databases are scattered throughout the book plus "the resources directory" at the end provide access to on-line genealogical data
No matter what your background or how little you know about your family history, this guide will help you discover your roots and in the process enable you to learn more about yourself.

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Forensic Genealogy

Colleen Fitzpatrick (Ph. D.)

Revised edition of Forensic Genealogy, originally published in 2005. Offers useful information on applications of forensic science to genealogy in the area of photograph identification, database mining, and DNA analysis. Contains corrections to the original edition, plus updated information on DNA testing for genetic genealogy, including information on autosomal DNA testing.

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A Field Guide for Genealogists

Judy Jacobson

Families of Southeastern Georgia is a reprint of the third and final volume of Dr. Averitt's 1964 publication, Georgia's Coastal Plain: A History, the volume that holds greatest importance for genealogists.Each of the roughly 1,000 sketches arranged here gives the subject's place and date of birth, his educational background and military service, and then his career, civic interests, church affiliation, hobbies, and so on. In almost every case, the author furnishes the names of the subject's parents, spouse, children, and spouse's parents, usually citing the subject's date of marriage and the dates or places of birth and death of at least these three generations of family members.

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Unpuzzling Your Past

Emily Croom

Best-selling genealogy author Emily Croom presents a new and expanded version of her best-selling guide to genealogy. It provides readers with all the tools and information they need to jump into this great American hobby by focusing on fundamental strategies for success, questions to ask, places for research, and interesting examples of each step along the way. Throughout, readers will find techniques and suggestions for: * tapping family documents, oral tradition, and memories * exploring the vast array of U.S. public records, from newspapers and tombstones to censuses and land records * getting the most from names, dates, and handwriting of the past * developing a first-rate and meaningful family history Well-organized, well written, and comprehensive, this guide also offers readers charts, illustrations, reference sidebars, bibliographies, a glossary, and useful, reproducible forms. Each chapter is capped with a list of Things To Do Now to encourage readers or students to apply what they have learned. Recent polls show that 60% of the U.S. population is interested in researching their family history! Emily Croom is an active researcher, teacher, and lecturer in genealogy. She holds a master's degree in history and contributes articles to several genealogy periodicals. Her other books include the companion volume, the Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook, the widely-acclaimed the Genealogist's Companion & Sourcebook, and the exciting the Sleuth Book for Genealogists.

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Tracing Your Family Tree

Kathy Chater

This practical book will take you on an exciting voyage of discovery into your family's past. It offers a complete introduction to the subject of genealogy and the process of tracing your very own family tree, covering in detail all the possible techniques and methods you might choose, and providing a thorough grounding in the tools you will need. All that you need to know to get you started is in this book, with invaluable lists, checklists, hints and tips, as well as information on recording your data and using the most methodical research techniques. As you step back in time and the lives of your forebears begin to unfold, you're guaranteed to be gripped and inspired. . A fascinating and fully comprehensive guide to discovering your roots and unearthing the secrets of your ancestors in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. . The complete practical handbook for all detectives of family history, heritage and geneaology, with over 500 photographs, artworks, charts and facsimiles. . Contains all the information you need to get started, from how to access the relevant records in libraries, institutions and government bodies, to using The National Archives, and the internet.

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Family History Detective

Desmond Walls Allen

This all-ages guide makes genealogy fun and exciting. You'll find answers to all your family history questions using the simple, achievable steps found inside.

Family History Detective includes:

   • Tips on how to find family history information in your own home
   • Websites, resources and techniques for online research
   • Complete instruction on locating and using census, courthouse and church records
   • An overview of library and archive research
   • Instructions on how to plan, record and organize your research
   • Fun ways to share your discoveries with others

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