In Lavandale, the peaceful land where all types of fowls live, Ricky, a rooster with thick, golden-brown feathers that glisten in the sun, sticks out as ornery and mischievous He boasts and brags every morning about his accomplishments in the annual tournaments, and he never takes anything seriously. At every sunrise he runs around the land, announcing that he is the best and that no one can match his speed or strength. Many of the fowls in Lavandale grow tired of Ricky’s behavior. They complain to the Guardian Council, which decides to assign Ricky to guard the egg factory in the hopes of making him more responsible. However after two days, Ricky grows bored and returns to his old ways. While he’s away from the egg factory making his morning proclamations for everyone to hear, two rattlesnakes take two eggs. As a result of Ricky’s lapse in judgment, the Guardian Council banishes him to the Forbidden Forest for seven days. While in the forest, Ricky fears for his life, encounters some scary animals, and meets Cappi, a vegetarian alligator, who becomes his friend and shows him how to stay safe. While Ricky and Cappi are exploring, they see some hawks flying. The two follow the hawks to the City of the Hawks where Ricky overhears something that could affect Lavandale and everyone he loves there. The Adventure of Ricky the Golden Rooster shows the journey of Ricky from a boastful and immature rooster into a mature and responsible rooster who earns the respect of everyone.

After recovering from his wounds received in the Korean War, US Army veteran Chris Jones lands a job as a park ranger with the State Department of Natural Resources in Florida. The Silver Star winner is eager to start his new task of opening up Dade Battlefield, the site of an 1835 battle between the Seminole Indians and the US Army. Unfortunately, Chris also lands smack in the middle of a feud. There are those in the nearby community of Bushnell who want the park out of state hands and returned to the local Battlefield Historical Society, and they're determined to have their way. It doesn't help matters when Chris falls in love with June Trammel, one of Bushnell's less-than-upstanding citizens, and begins to encounter the racism prevalent in the small Southern town. Then something peculiar happens. One night, while out walking on the battlefield, he encounters a group of soldiers dressed in uniforms from the 1830s. These are no reenactors, but ghosts from the battle itself. Why have they come back to haunt the field, and what do they want? As tensions in the town reach a breaking point, Chris must determine how he can bring peace not only to the community, but to the haunted souls walking Dade Battlefield.

Bugtussle, Tennessee, was a thriving tourist escape that featured a manmade lake until 1986, when Gilzen Dam, which was a source of water for the lake, was relocated, draining the beautiful lake and financially crippling the town. But today, things are about to change. Thirty-eight-year-old carpenter Bobby Baker was on his way to work when he learns through a surprise encounter with a wealthy businessman that Gilzen Dam is being relocated to its original spot, which could revive Lake Bugtussle. The businessman propositions Bobby and his crew of misfits to enter a building competition against Bobby's lifelong rival to save his mother's land. Heartfelt decisions will have to be made, and Bobby will need his family and friends more than ever.

This is the story of the dramatic life, the one thing after another life, and the long list of dramatic events that took place in this now older mans youthful years. His youthful years consisted of a lot of give and take, and rising hell through the 1950s and early 1960s. This is a story of a young boy on the very bottom of the social latter and his sudden awakening to the feeling of RESPECT. I put that word in caps because that word and REPUTATION are two of the most important words in a Black mans life. This fight for respect gave rise to his subsequent struggles, determination, and persistence to climb to the very top of his peer group and his role as he reign at the top as a teenage celebrity gangster. This story tells of the race problems incurred by this child and a Colored boy that did not believe that he was in any way inferior to other people and his refusal to accept a second-class role. This boy made his own rules and paid his dues for it. He somehow managed to handle his ups and downs and heartbreaking hurts and overcame the pit falls, so that he could take and hold a respectable place at the top of teenage society. These were glory seeking days with young men fighting with their fist, investing long grueling hours to reach the top of the teenage mountain, where some only ruled for a short time over the teenage world. Once at the top of this mountain some young people found that the way that society has structured theirs lives many of them met large hurdles so early in life that they couldnt jump over them mentally and become completely emotionally drained. This story tells how and why they fell from the top of the teenage world landing in the bottomless pit of the wine bottle where they lived the rest of their lives and died. You will read about teenage genius; organization, planning, unity, love, trust, loyalty, friendship, and the sophisticated inter workings and smoothness of teenage gangster politics and law. The beginning of the trash talking and rhyming and the role it played in the lives of teenagers and of the different hats worn by teenagers and the many different roles that they played on a daily basis is portrayed here. The gangs or clubs, if you will, began at this time and you will learn why they were formed, the purposes they served and what they accomplished. This book contains not only the funny but also the very serious emotions experienced by the young tender hearts of the youth of this particular age, the 1950s and 1960s. People are born into a certain environment and that environment is the only world they know so it is how they perceive the world to be. So they deal with their world the best that they know how. This environment consisted of hot rodding in cars dancing to rock and roll music and being wild and crazy. It was and still is a socially engineered environment. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.

Jade Sawyer is the ultimate tomboy. She likes baseball, hates wearing dresses, and always wears her hair in a ponytail (usually looped through the back of a baseball cap). All of her friends are boys. She spends her weekends playing baseball in the backyard and exploring the woods. Jade loathes all things girly. So when her teacher, Mrs. Thorn, asks her to befriend Maria Sanchez, the quiet girl who reads her Bible at lunch, she's embarrassed to do so. Maria is a girly girl, so Jade worries what people will think if they're friends. Instead, she starts writing Maria letters, and the two girls start a secret friendship. But when it comes time to invite people to her big thirteenth birthday party, Jade doesn't know what to do. Jade wants to invite Maria to the party, but she doesn't want her twin brother, Wade, and everyone else to make fun of her. Does she do the right thing, or does she continue to follow her pride? Find out in the first book of the series Homerun Hitters, No Pride Allowed. Julie Catron is a fifth grade teacher and lives in Stilwell, Oklahoma, with her husband, Sean, and stepsons, Wyatt, Matt, and Garrett.

Angels Are God's First Responders From bestselling author Robert Lesslie (over 400,000 books sold) comes an all-new collection of thrilling inspiration from the emergency room. Join first responders and ER doctors as they encounter life-or-death situations, putting their training and beliefs to the test. Be uplifted as you meet real-life angels, such as Elton, a daring highway patrolman who risks it all to prevent disaster James, the orthopedic tech with a God-given talent for mending hearts Shep, a principled fire captain whose most important lesson spares one of his own Denton, the tireless paramedic who rescues an injured man...from a hospital Maybelle, a faithful nursery volunteer who makes a life-saving diagnosis As you read these heart-pounding stories of faith in the face of impossible odds, you'll be reminded that a loving and merciful God appoints angels, those you can and cannot see, to watch over you and intervene on your behalf.

Ratchet will take you to a world that you may never have been exposed to. It is a compelling story of the growth of a young boy victimized and grows to tell his tale of survival and triumph. Often Ratchet is humurous and deadly serious showing a dark and deadly side of life. It will place you in the mind and make you examine your life and how you think. It is a page turner filled with a view of a life that will place your mind in your chest and shock you at what people are capable of. It is a dont miss book.

The Guardians is a children's book that has adult appeal due to its positive recurring themes centered on: veracity, courage, wisdom and compassion. The story is centered around five natural predators that join forces to serve others around the world. In so doing, they quickly discover in becoming servant leaders they have to identify and deal with their own character flaws. All the while several of them are secretly being evaluated for membership into the Guardians society. The book's intent is to promote positive core principles along with focusing on the importance of relevant ecological awareness of issues around the globe. The next two installments of The Guardians are already in progress.

Mokee Makes Friends is about Mokee, a mongoose, who is the ultimate misfit on a farm in Jamaica, West Indies. He tries desperately to make friends but he is often shunned or made fun of by the other farm animals. However, after bravely rescuing a chicken from a snake, Mokee becomes a hero and gains friends.

Nothing is worse than being the new kid, especially when your only friend is a puppet! If you loved Darci Lynne Farmer on America's Got Talent, you'll love this entertaining story about fitting in, making new friends, and learning to be the star of the show. Goodbye Seattle. Goodbye baseball buddies. Goodbye Gram & her cool puppet shows. Hello, Texas. Baker is sure there isn't anything worse than moving. Except being THE NEW KID. Sure, Gram gave him Waldo, a ventriloquist's dummy, for company -- but a puppet, no matter how funny it is, can't take the place of real friends. Baker is bummed. Until he starts school and discovers that kids in Texas (cowboy hats aside) aren't as different as he thought. And that puppets just might be the key to fitting in. Let the show begin!