"Phil, and his father's beloved heading dog, Blue, have to spend the Christmas break working on a sheep station while Phil's dad undergoes out-of-town, cancer treatment. The station manager, Chopper, isn't happy having a teenager in his care and certainly not a sheepdog that doesn't understand his signals. Things start to improve for Phil when Chopper's step-daughter, Emara arrives back from holiday, but a wayward ram and a poor decision plummets both boy and dog into danger. Phil will need all the strength he's got to get out alive"--Back cover of print version.

As Tatara and Chinatsu dance for the future of their partnership, they catch the attention of top competitor Masami Kugimiya. Watching them clash, memories of Kugimiya’s own journey from wide-eyed beginner to top-ranked talent force him to confront the sacrifices he’s made and the passion he’s lost in his fight to be the best. Now, everything comes down to the final round of the tournament, and both teams must rely on the styles that have brought them this far–whatever the consequences.

Tomo's adventures are now available for a younger set. Little animal lovers can explore Tomo's fishing island to meet Tomo's dog, Captain, plus a host of other friends: a seal, a bear, an octopus, fish, and whales! When readers graduate to the picture book Tomo Explores the World they can find these same animals throughout the book.

ONE FINAL BATTLE BRINGS GLORY ... OR DESTRUCTION The war appears lost and Argon Falls is doomed, but Hana's friends still believe in the power of prayer. With their support, her faith is restored and Hana bravely rejoins the fight. But when the forces of good and evil face off once more, the final battle will determine the fate of Argon Falls ... forever.

This aptly named fiction anthology—tomo means “friend” in Japanese—is a true labor of friendship to benefit teens in Japan whose lives were upended by the violent earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Authors from Japan and around the world have contributed works of fiction set in or related to Japan. Young adult English-language readers will be able to connect with their Japanese counterparts through stories of contemporary Japanese teens, ninja and yokai teens, folklore teens, mixed-heritage teens, and non-Japanese teens who call Japan home. Tales of friendship, mystery, love, ghosts, magic, science fiction, and history will propel readers to Japan past and present and to Japanese universes abroad. Edited and with a foreword by Holly Thompson, Tomo contributing authors include Naoko Awa, Deni Bechard, Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, Liza Dalby, Megumi Fujino, Andrew Fukuda, Alan Gratz, Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito, Suzanne Kamata, Sachiko Kashiwaba, Kelly Luce, Shogo Oketani and Leza Lowitz, Ryusuke Saito, Graham Salisbury, Fumio Takano, and Wendy Tokunaga, among others. Through understanding comes compassion and the desire to help; portions of the proceeds of Tomo will be donated to ongoing relief efforts for teens in Japan. Holly Thompson is a longtime writing teacher and resident of Japan and author of the young adult verse novel Orchards, which was nominated for a 2012 YALSA/ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults award. She serves as the regional advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Having entered Argon Falls, Hana meets her spoiler and grieves for people suffering under oppression. The time arrives to employ her skills and the Spirit Sword as she and Tomo pursue deadly assassins returning to earth to remove the source of protective prayer. As the struggle against evil and oppression continues in book five, Hana learns that, because of the power of prayer, not all warriors fight with fists and swords.

Uncle Jeremy has been helping the family out for a while now, by dropping off meat he¿s shot. The offer to go hunting sounds great to fourteen-year-old Wolf ¿ a chance to get away from the family stress. But this hunting trip proves to be more than he bargained for.