When You Join a Cult You Shall: You Lose Your Freedom: Recognize leader's authority For satisfaction Never doubt his command To your basic rights Work tirelessly To know the truth Achieve perfection To sexual morality Never be emotional To be sensitive Never indulge yourself To be yourself Punish yourself To be joyful Sacrifice yourself To love Follow orders blindly To feel Never think for yourself To read Deny your friends To write Deny your family To speak Never complain To care Never cry For pride

A group of 8 children, siblings and cousins, a few in their early teens experience many adventures as they travel across the United State in a very unique vehicle. New York City provides excitement as the children manage to antagonize a ferocious street gang resulting in police chases and narrow escapes. The youngsters also spend time searching for and finally finding a heirloom ring which theyve learned has been hidden by a relative in one of the Indian exhibits at the Museum of Natural History. As a result, they arouse the suspicion of the security guards who spy on the youngsters and finally send them fleeing. Mishaps occur in other states as well and as they travel these children learn about and thus become interested in various cultures. They even discover what it would be like to live in an apartment house in a large city. The children are inspired by the beauty and natural wonders of our world and so one writes poetry, and others paint pictures of the locations that have impressed them the most. Touring historical sites spikes their interests in history and geography. So some pursue their studies and help encourage the others do so as well. Because of their concern for others these youngsters help a number of people that they meet while on their journey.

In early summer 2020, a black bear from Wisconsin made an unusual journey almost 400 miles across four states in nearly four weeks in search of a mate. His journey captured the hearts of thousands who went to all means to catch a glimpse of this majestic black bear whom they affectionately named Bruno. His story has made history and his journey continues on...

Some farms grow vegetables or grains, and some raise cows, sheep, chickens, or pigs. But have you ever heard of a butterfly farm? How do you raise a butterfly? On a farm in Costa Rica, workers care for these delicate, winged creatures as they change from eggs to caterpillars to pupae. Like any other crop, the butterflies will eventually leave the farm. But where will they go? And just how do you ship a butterfly? Very carefully! To discover how it works, follow these butterflies on a remarkable journey!

A moving memoir about finding and adopting a son from the foster care system with Down syndrome and realizing that life is best lived by expecting the unplanned. As time passes, the author and her husband become less aware they are raising an atypical or adopted child. They are raising their child, no different than any other family.

A message in a bottle holds the promise of surprise and wonder, as told in this enthralling picture book by Caldecott Medalist Erin E. Stead The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, who lives alone atop a hill, has a job of the utmost importance. It is his task to open any bottles found at sea and make sure that the messages are delivered. He loves his job, though he has always wished that, someday, one of the letters would be addressed to him. One day he opens a party invitation—but there’s no name attached. As he devotes himself to the mystery of the intended recipient, he ends up finding something even more special: the possibility of new friends.

The distinguished Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy was sitting in a Budapest café, wondering whether to write a long-planned monograph on modern man or a new play, when he was disturbed by the roaring—so loud as to drown out all other noises—of a passing train. Soon it was gone, only to be succeeded by another. And another. Strange, Karinthy thought, it had been years since Budapest had streetcars. Only then did he realize he was suffering from an auditory hallucination of extraordinary intensity. What in fact Karinthy was suffering from was a brain tumor, not cancerous but hardly benign, though it was only much later—after spells of giddiness, fainting fits, friends remarking that his handwriting had altered, and books going blank before his eyes—that he consulted a doctor and embarked on a series of examinations that would lead to brain surgery. Karinthy’s description of his descent into illness and his observations of his symptoms, thoughts, and feelings, as well as of his friends’ and doctors’ varied responses to his predicament, are exact and engrossing and entirely free of self-pity. A Journey Round My Skull is not only an extraordinary piece of medical testimony, but a powerful work of literature—one that dances brilliantly on the edge of extinction.

"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers Weekly From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them. “My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.” Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive. In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family. The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

“A lovely little miracle of a book.” —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal–winning author of The One and Only Ivan “[A] large-hearted and riveting medieval adventure.” —William Alexander, National Book Award–winning author of Goblin Secrets “A breathtaking adventure.” —Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor­–winning author of Hattie Big Sky A runaway boy befriends a polar bear that’s being transported from Norway to London in this “stupendous coming-of-age tale stuffed with adventure” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). The polar bear is a royal bear, a gift from the King of Norway to the King of England. The first time Arthur encounters the bear, she terrifies him. Yet, strangely, she doesn’t harm him—though she has attacked anyone else who comes near. So Arthur finds himself taking care of a polar bear on a ship to England. Tasked with feeding and cleaning up after the bear, Arthur’s fears slowly lessen as he begins to feel a connection to this bear, who like him, has been cut off from her family. But the journey holds many dangers, and Arthur knows his own freedom—perhaps even his life—depends on keeping the bear from harm. When pirates attack, Arthur must make a choice—does he do everything he can to save himself, or does he help the bear to find freedom? Based on the real story of a polar bear that lived in the Tower of London, this timeless adventure story thoughtfully looks at the themes of freedom, captivity, and the bond between a boy and a bear.