Determined to play in the Little League World Series, twelve-year-old Josh struggles to concentrate on his game and be the team's leader while also trying to cope with his parents' impending divorce.

"Quest for the Best is not just a nostalgic look, however, at the age of handcrafted elegance. Marcus gives good advice on how consumers can educate themselves about the best, demand it, and get it. He describes his own experiences with the best in chapters such as "The Things You Love to Touch" and "Bed and Board." Witty, urbane, but always accessible, Marcus is a joy to read."--BOOK JACKET.

"A joyous spirit pervades this picture book and its fallible yet lovable protagonist." — Booklist (starred review) "I win! I’m the best!" Dog boasts. He can run faster than Mole, dig better than Goose, swim faster than Donkey, and he’s much bigger than Ladybug. He wins! Unfortunately, Dog’s nonstop bragging is starting to make his friends feel kind of sad. But what if they mixed things up and looked at them differently? Could they teach Dog a lesson — and remind him of what it means to be a best friend?

The San Francisco Chronicle's Best of the Year List Indie Next Pick "For Reading Groups" From New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard, a memoir about discovering strength in the midst of great loss--"heart wrenching, inspiring, full of joy and tears and life." (Anne Lamott) In 2011, when she was in her late fifties, beloved author and journalist Joyce Maynard met the first true partner she had ever known. Jim wore a rakish hat over a good head of hair; he asked real questions and gave real answers; he loved to see Joyce shine, both in and out of the spotlight; and he didn't mind the mess she made in the kitchen. He was not the husband Joyce imagined, but he quickly became the partner she had always dreamed of. Before they met, both had believed they were done with marriage, and even after they married, Joyce resolved that no one could alter her course of determined independence. Then, just after their one-year wedding anniversary, her new husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. During the nineteen months that followed, as they battled his illness together, she discovered for the first time what it really meant to be a couple--to be a true partner and to have one. This is their story. Charting the course through their whirlwind romance, a marriage cut short by tragedy, and Joyce's return to singleness on new terms, The Best of Us is a heart-wrenching, ultimately life-affirming reflection on coming to understand true love through the experience of great loss.

In this #1 New York Times bestselling novel of first love and second chances, former high school sweethearts confront the painful truths of their past to build a promising future—together. "Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She'd believed in it once, too, back when she was eighteen." In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in their small town in North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths. Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back home for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew—about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear—was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

From New York Times bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green comes a baseball book pulsing with action. Baseball Great offers a baseball story attuned to today’s headlines, a totally involving, character-driven, sports-centered thriller. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica. As a young reviewer on Brightly.com said: “Great book with many exciting, surprising events that make you want to keep reading." When the school paper calls him “Grant Middle’s best hope for its first-ever city-wide championship,” Josh feels like he’s starting to get noticed—in good and bad ways. Seeing Josh’s talent, his father drags him out of the school baseball tryouts and gets him in the running for the Titans, the local youth championship team coached by Rocky Valentine. All Josh really wants to do is play ball, but now Rocky wants him to gulp down protein shakes and other supplements. Suspicious, Josh and his new friend, Jaden, uncover a dangerous secret—and catch the attention of one man who will do anything to keep them from exposing it.

The free market makes the world go around. Maybe it’s time we all tried to understand it a little better. Luckily Eamonn Butler is the ideal teacher to get us all up to speed. Markets are everywhere. But how many of us understand how they work, and why? What does a ‘free market’ really mean? Do free markets actually exist? Should we have more or less of them? Most of all – do we really need to know all this? Answer: Yes we do. MAKING ECONOMICS SIMPLE SO THAT EVEN POLITICIANS CAN UNDERSTAND IT If any mention of free markets sends your mind screaming back to your musty old school economics textbook, think again. The Best Book on the Market will keep you gripped, intrigued and well informed. Abandoning complicated mumbo-jumbo, Eamonn Butler, Director of the UK’s leading free market think-tank, demystifies the world of markets, competition, monopolies and cartels, prices and overspills. Using examples from our everyday lives Dr Butler explains how the markets we have, and the many more we need, can work to create a richer, freer and more peaceful world. STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE FREE ECONOMY He delves into the morality of markets and interrogates important issues such as why feckless rock-stars are paid much more than worthy nurses; whether we should worry about people trading in arms, water, healthcare etc; whether black markets are immoral; and questions of equality; sweatshops, and fair trade. “This book is about the free market and how unfree it can be when there is a lack of belief in freedom itself. Eamonn Butler presents solid arguments against government attempts to ‘perfect’ the markets by regulation, controls, subsidies, or by adopting measures which obstruct competition and private ownership.” Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic “Vividly and simply explains competition, entrepreneurship and prices”. John Blundell, Director, Institute of Economic Affairs “A great little book that gets to the heart of how and why markets work, in a very engaging and easily understood way”. Dan Lewis, Research Director, Economic Research Council “I welcome this witty, lucid explanation of how entrepreneurs and business people make a positive contribution to our lives, and why economists often don't”. Andrew Neil , leading journalist and BBC presenter “Anything which educates the public - and politicians - on how the free economy actually works is always welcome. Dr Butler does this in style”. Lord Lawson, former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer “Everyone in business would do well to understand the basic principles of markets which Dr Butler clarifies so well in this short book”. Allister Heath, Editor of The Business and Associate Editor of The Spectator "This book does great justice to the vibrancy of markets and what makes them tick" Ruth Richardson, former Finance Minister of New Zealand "It's refreshing to see an economist who understands the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in pushing progress forward, and who can explain it in straightforward language." Trevor Baylis OBE (inventor of the wind-up radio) "I'm glad to see that Dr Butler stresses the role of innovators – and the importance of market structures that encourage innovation." Sir Clive Sinclair (inventor) "Dr Butler's book is a welcome and very readable contribution on the mechanisms and morality of the free economy." Sir John Major KG CH (former UK Prime Minister) “'Market' is one of the first six-letter words that every English-speaking child learns: as in 'This - little - piggy - went - to - market'”. Geoffrey Howe, former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer