In this memoir of a World War II childhood, Paulsen paints a haunting self-portrait of a young boy drawn helplessly into the physical and emotional violence of the adult world. "An indelible account...hallmarked by Paulsen's sinewy writing" (Kirkus Reviews).

Paulsen captures a vanishing way of life and offers a lyrical tribute to the american farm. "Paulsen's prose is realistic and down-to-earth....Ruth Wright Paulsen's paintings are an invitation to pause and imagine...a delight" (Christian Science Monitor). Illustrations by Ruth Wright Paulsen.

"Sometimes having company is not all it's cracked up to be." Fifteen-year-old Finn is a loner, living with his dad and his amazing dog, Dylan. This summer he's hoping for a job where he doesn't have to talk to anyone except his pal Matthew. Then Johanna moves in next door. She's ten years older, cool, funny, and she treats Finn as an equal. Dylan loves her, too. Johanna's dealing with breast cancer, and Matthew and Finn learn to care for her, emotionally, and physically. When she hires Finn to create a garden, his gardening ideas backfire comically. But Johanna and the garden help Finn discover his talents for connecting with people.

Under the winter moon: Survive an icy night under a December moon with a song sparrow stalked by a midnight predator in Ohio's suburban meadowland. Navigate through underground passageways with a mole in the chilly darkness of December and January beneath the Great Plains of Kansas. Experience January moonlit courtship with a hooting horned owl in the forests of the Catskill Mountains. Prepare for hibernation with a female bear as February's ice crystals replace the dew in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. In this series, acclaimed naturalist and Newbery Medal -- winning author Jean Craighead George takes readers on a wondrous journey through each season of the year as she captures the lives of thirteen different North American animals in their natural habitats.

My dream of freedom and better opportunity for my family came true. America is still the land of opportunity and freedom. I remember when the Philippines was still a commonwealth of the United States, and I was in grade school, we sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and "My Country 'Tis of Thee." We did not come here on the Mayflower, but America has become our adopted country. Let freedom ring! "My country tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing. Land where my father died! Land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountain side, Let freedom ring!"

*Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award* *A New York Times Notable Book* *Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award* This New York Times bestseller and stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West “is nothing short of a revelation…will leave dust and blood on your jeans” (The New York Times Book Review). Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches. Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads, and the amazing story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah—a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being. Hailed by critics, S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.

WHEN YOU GROW up in a small town in the north woods, you have to make your own excitement. High spirits, idiocy, and showing off for the girls inspire Gary Paulsen and his friends to attempt: • Shooting waterfalls in a barrel • The first skateboarding • Breaking the world record for speed on skis by being towed behind a souped-up car, and then . . . hitting gravel • Jumping three barrels like motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, except they only have bikes • Wrestling . . . a bear? Extreme sports lead to extreme fun in new tales from Gary’s boyhood. A New York Times Bestseller