Back One day while serving as the celebrated museum host, I observed a youngster, a happy lad with a satisfied smile, marching in the lobby of the museum. After a few cautious steps into the lobby, he stopped dead in his tracks. Standing frozen as he breached the outer museum fortification, his eyes widened and slowly scanned the 1915 locomotive, our first lobby display. After giving it once-over, he turned toward his parents with that delighted energy and exploded with excitement, jumping up and down multiple times with youthful vigor. This is when I came to dream of the excitement that dominates a kid's mind when visiting our museum for the first time. We see it all the time and even experience it when we would read to our children and grandchildren about the topics and themes that nourish their passions. Passions give way to daydreams that inspire us all. This was to be my inspiration and passion to facilitate this museum dedicated to railroading in America.This storybook delivers a narrative that will aid the young adults in appreciation of the museum exhibits and understanding the historical relevance for American railroading. All my main characters are fictional, but they are also real in their relationship with the theme found in each exhibit chapter. It is easy and fun to read for all ages. My objective was to offer an interaction for these youngsters after they have left the museum and take the exhibits with them wherever they go. This story will take the reader to the next level from just visiting the museum. More than an object, the museum exhibits become alive in a historical sense.In my preparation and research, I gained a greater appreciation for railroad dominance in the American frontier in the West and the prosperity it brought throughout the country. My investigation was focused on the museum exhibits. I found myself descending into every rabbit hole. I relied on multiple resources for obtaining the factual information about the museum exhibits to deliver this storybook. Museum docents, collaboration with outside sources as well as individual volunteers and visitors aided me in verifying my Internet investigations. This research and writing effort resulted in a fifteen-month enterprise. I was able to focus my attention to this project while recovering from a surgical procedure, which left me housebound while recovering and going through therapy. While in recovery, it filled my time when I could not entertain museum guests. My focus on the storybook filled a void for those months I was away from the museum.This story adds greater depth into each museum exhibit. There will certainly be favorites of the diverse readers. There is no structure other that one's own individual passion and interest for each exceptional and historical place these exhibits filled in the American railroad experience. So start your adventure reading the Midnight Magic at the Railroad Museum and let your passions and dreams guide you and those you share this journey with. Deliver the same energy when that youngster first entered the California State Railroad Museum, which prompted me to share this story with you...All aboard!

Late on Christmas Eve, after the town has gone to sleep, a boy boards a mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives there, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the reindeer's harness. It turns out to be a very special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring. "Magical glowing double spread pictures . . . an original and memorable book." - Guardian "Evocative, realist pastels and atmospheric text." - Sunday Times "A thrilling tale." - Independent

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

Story, told in beautiful poetic prose, of the training of a present-day Navajo Indian boy who feels a vocation to become a medicine man.

I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason is the debut novel in a hip, sexy, smart and, yes, cozy mystery series with a great hook. Think Sex and the City collides with Murder, She Wrote. All that writer Cece Caruso really wants to do is complete her biography of mystery legend Erle Stanley Gardner, find a vintage 1970s Ossie Clark gown to add to her collection, and fix the doorknob on her picturesque West Hollywood bungalow. Then a chance visit with a prison inmate who knew Gardner lands her right in the middle of a 40–year–old murder and another case where the blood is still warm. In fact, Cece finds the body. This brings her into irresistible contact with her inner personal sleuth and shows how crime and greed can reverberate through several generations of a single family.

Encyclopedia of American Folklore helps readers explore the topics, terms, themes, figures, and issues related to the folklore of the United States.

1654: Following the death of her young husband, Catrin Barentsdochter takes a job as a housekeeper in Amsterdam. The city is flourishing; and as she assists her mistress with painting lessons, she dreams of developing her own skill as an artist. But when the past catches up with her, Catrin must leave behind the comfortable security of her new home for the smaller city of Delft. There she is introduced to Evert van Nulandt, owner of a pottery factory. Working together, they dream of replicating the prized blue-and-white porcelain arriving from the Far East. And Catrin dreams of a life in which her secret stays safely buried...