Tad hopes to get a teddy bear when he goes shopping with his family.

Tad hopes to get a teddy bear when he goes shopping with his family.

A writer and editor for "Vogue" and "The New Yorker" expounds on shopping for the items no person of taste should be without. 10 drawings.

From beloved storyteller Atinuke comes an enchanting new collection of stories featuring an endearing new character. Beti lives in a little round house in the green woods under the mountains with Mam, Tad, baby Jac, and her very own tiny goat named Naughty. Beti loves the little round house, where there is always the promise of adventure with Naughty, Jac, and her friends--whatever the season! With charming black-and-white and color illustrations throughout, this warm and lyrical collection is alive with themes of endurance, friendship, and the power of self-belief. It celebrates the gift of the seasons and the art of living simply and joyfully in nature.

While driving home from his law office in a rainstorm, Roger Whitwood brushes a drunk in the road. As he drives the soaked man to a shelter, he learns Bert has his daughter's blood type. Later, Roger is forced to look Bert up again to get blood when his daughter is in a serious auto accident. A friendship develops between Bert and Roger's family that includes Tad, a boy Bert has been watching over on the streets. At Roger's urging, Bert begins working to restore his self-respect and get off the street. Roger's point of view is altered also, and he begins to take pro bono cases to help people like Bert. Roger's daughter, Sharon, sees a need to help others also. Her attempt to befriend a woman and her small children gets her kidnapped. Bert uses his forgotten skills as a private investigator to find Sharon and arrange her rescue, but is seriously wounded during the rescue. His recovery, assisted by his landlady, results in a romantic relationship. Bert would like to adopt Tad, and so would Roger and his family, but, when Tad's mother shows up unexpectedly, his life is turned into turmoil. Where will Tad end up?

Sometimes beautiful things come from odd pieces of fabric, and it doesn't matter if they're a little tattered. They still keep you warm. Just like family. Annabelle Hubbard thinks she has good reason to be exhausted all the time: she's the caretaker for three good-hearted but challenging grandkids and a three-legged cat named Ms. Pickles, plus she feels awkward about settling like a charity case into her grandmother's home, now owned by her wealthy cousin Regina in Wichita, Kansas. Regina and Annabelle have always been close, and Regina doesn't begrudge her beleaguered cousin one bit of help. Family is family! After all, Annabelle supports Regina's romance with silver-haired Wichita attorney Sam Duncan, who encourages Regina to believe in herself again after years with a cheating husband. But Regina and Annabelle's kinship is put to the test when Annabelle's ex-con son-in-law shows up demanding to get to know his kids. As Annabelle sets out on a healthy new lifestyle while accepting the romantic advances of a retired coach, Regina wrestles with Sam's marriage proposal, and the dramas of their quickly stitched-together family tug at the seams. Will this patchwork family survive?