THE STORY: Becka, age twelve, and Boomer, age eight, are sisters whose parents are in the middle of a trial separation at Christmas time. Becka, a precocious computer hacker, has become cynical and withdrawn. Boomer tries to be the peacemaker, eter

In Landry, Wyoming, outspoken, bossy Dr. Bea Inseldorf secretly longs for a home and family of her own. She fills her life with caring for everyone else instead. Widower Tate Reed is filled with bitterness and refuses to celebrate Christmas—his wife died in childbirth at the holiday several years ago. His young daughter misses her mother but also her father, who is no longer the happy, loving man he used to be. Four days of isolation together in a ranch house and a batch of small round cookies magically change the lives of them all, starved for affection as they are, all seeking the same thing—happiness.

Christmas hasn't been the same since Kris Miller's beloved grandmother passed. Every year, she made him a special batch of cookies she named Kris's Kringles. So when he discovers the local cookie contest will publish the winning entry, it seems the perfect legacy to honor her. Unfortunately, there's no record of the secret Kringle recipe. Single mom, Sophie Lawson's new catering business is barely making ends meet. The opportunity to recreate Kris's grandmother's recipe from memory is almost as tempting as he is. She agrees to help on one condition--he'll have to bake them himself. She has her own entry and desperately needs the cash prize. But when they begin this friendly rivalry, they never expect their growing attraction to include consequences.

A young carpenter journeys to the German heartland to join his cousin and make his fortune in the guilds of a 1500s free imperial city. While advancing in his craft and forging friendships with his newfound neighbors, the carpenter discovers the wonders of the Renaissance and soon finds himself on the cusp of prosperity and romance that he had never dreamed. Yet as the city begins to celebrate the arrival of Christmas, a shadow falls across the festivities when a provincial sovereign plots to usurp control of the burgeoning metropolis. Suddenly, the city's plans for holiday merrymaking are thrown into turmoil, leaving the carpenter reeling to find his place in the new order. As freedom teeters on a knife's edge, duties are called into question as each guild tries to preserve its place in the new order. Amid the chaos, it is the innocent that are all but forgotten. Yet while the city remains paralyzed in fear, hope springs from the most unlikely of corners and through the smallest of charitable actions. When a child he has come to know is threatened with death and starvation, the carpenter must find the courage and strength to begin a clandestine undertaking to save her life and pave the way through which the city itself might regain its freedom. The carpenter's name, Christopher Kringle.

A collection of twelve traditional and modern plays suited for the classroom, sanctuary, theatre, or home.

Join Letitia Stuart Savage on a journey to a time of leisurely shopping for the latest fashions complete with a side of Mile High Ice Cream Pie from the Tic Toc Restaurant. In 1871, Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann created a classic Pittsburgh institution. The business grew from a small store on the South Side to a mammoth clothing house downtown that outfitted the community. The removal of the original freestanding clock upset customers, so Kaufmann's added its iconic version in 1913. A redesign of the store's first floor attracted national attention in the 1930s. While most Pittsburghers remember and celebrate the downtown store, others recall the suburban branches - miniatures of the expansive flagship store.

Since arriving in Santa Mina, California, Owen Harris--the world's youngest paranormal investigator--has encountered ghosts, vampires, werewolves and many other fantastic things. But now he and his friends uncover the greatest mystery of all time: IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS?!

Wise-cracking, big-haired reporter Bubbles Yablonsky, while dealing with her boyfriend, her persistent ex-husband, and a mysterious Santa Claus, must prove that Sandy, the owner of the House of Beauty, did not kill Debbie Shatsky, who met her demise at the hands of hair glue. Original.