If you are easily frightened, stay away from Tangle Tree, where diabolical entities watch for opportunities to persecute the living. Even today, Tangle Tree Valley is cursed by the legend of a deadly confrontation in 1192 between a powerful Shawnee sorceress and a ruthless tribal leader. The disturbing presence of five oak trees stand in memorial of his murders and her revenge. Likewise, Tangle Tree Manor is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of the Crayton family, who built the mansion after fleeing the potato famine of Scotland in the 1850s. The family was tormented with suspicion, tragedy, and the constant fear of retribution for Richard Crayton’s betrayal of vindictive conspirators. Being unaware of the danger, six people seeking psychiatric treatment, two psychiatrists, and Jesse Kingston, the property manager, commit to a six-week stay in the isolated mansion, despite its haunted reputation. Supernatural apparitions menace the occupants and secret agendas complicate the treatment process. Dangerous intruders, mysterious disappearances, and unexplainable events abound as relationships, both amiable and antagonistic, develop during their stay. The nine face physical and emotional challenges as they struggle to untangle the truth of their own tragedies and survive the curse of Tangle Tree Valley.

In this New York Times bestseller and longlist nominee for the National Book Award, “our greatest living chronicler of the natural world” (The New York Times), David Quammen explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology affect our understanding of evolution and life’s history. In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important; we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived sideways by viral infection—a type of HGT. In The Tangled Tree, “the grandest tale in biology….David Quammen presents the science—and the scientists involved—with patience, candor, and flair” (Nature). We learn about the major players, such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about “mosaic” creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health. “David Quammen proves to be an immensely well-informed guide to a complex story” (The Wall Street Journal). In The Tangled Tree, he explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling recognitions about the tangled tree of life—including where we humans fit upon it. Thanks to new technologies, we now have the ability to alter even our genetic composition—through sideways insertions, as nature has long been doing. “The Tangled Tree is a source of wonder….Quammen has written a deep and daring intellectual adventure” (The Boston Globe).

The kitten has climbed the Christmas tree! Climbed so high and climbed so far to cling with her claws to the Christmas star. So begins the magically illustrated story of the - Christmas Tree Tangle - in which the kitten, the cat, the dog, the goat and even the pigs get stuck in the branches of the town Christmas tree. This is a delightful tale to read along with Children at the festive season.

Piers Anthony’s bestselling Xanth series is one of the cornerstones of fantasy, a lively and whimsical interpretation of a genre often criticized for taking itself too seriously. Anthony’s first Xanth novel, A Spell for Chameleon, was initially edited to target a more traditional audience. Now, in an eBook exclusive, A Spell for Chameleon has been reworked line by line—its language matching the simpler, playful way with words that made Piers Anthony an enduring fan favorite. Xanth is an enchanted land where magic rules, a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks where every citizen has a unique spell to call their own. For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth is no fairy tale. He alone has no magic. And unless he gets some—and fast!—he will be exiled. Forever. But the Good Magician Humfrey is convinced that Bink does indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insist that Bink has magic as powerful as any possessed by the King, the Good Magician Humfrey, or even the Evil Magician Trent. Be that as it may, no one can fathom the nature of Bink’s very special magic. This is even worse than having no magic at all . . . and he still faces exile!

Heaven Cent continues the Xanth saga from New York Times bestselling fantasy author Piers Anthony. In the mind of Xanth's precious shapeshifting Prince Dolph, the perfect way to see the world is to search for the missing sorcerer, Humfrey. Setting off with his faithful companion, Marrow, an enchanted skeleton, Dolph will penetrate an island of illusion, escape a goblin kingdom, outwit a husband-hungry mermaid, save marrow from bone-starved harpies, and find romance with a slinky snake princess--all on his way to discovering a magic coin with all the answers! At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Climate and culture shock ensue when Xanthians swap bodies with mere humans in this madcap adventure in the New York Times–bestselling series. All Breanna of the Black Wave and her newfound love, Justin Tree, want is a little time to get to know each other better, but a climatic catastrophe is causing a massive meltdown that threatens to inundate the ancient forests of Xanth. The only way to avert this dire disaster is to undertake a voyage into the distant mists of the past, to find the moment when this ghastly greenhouse effect began. And the only people who can safely make that journey are those unaffected by Xanth’s magic—normal, ordinary humans from our own world. So Breanna and Justin turn to the Demon X(A/N)th (a.k.a. Nimby) and his lovely consort Chlorine for help. Together, they devise a daring plan. Making use of the O-Xone, a magical computer network that links the worlds of Xanth and Earth, Nimby and Chlorine make contact with a young couple from Earth who are working on a Xanth game, and arrange to exchange bodies with them. But an unexpected surprise awaits them on their arrival . . .

This Xanth villain is full of hot air. “Anthony’s unflagging sparkle, verve and wordplay spin everyday trials of Mundane life into storytelling gold” (Publishers Weekly). A fickle flux in the fabric of space has allowed a horrendous hurricane to blast into Xanth, stirring up mischief and madness wherever she goes. Trapped in a preposterous form by a cosmic wager, the Demon X(A/N)th must join forces with a vexatious vixen named Chlorine to save Xanth from this terrifying and tempestuous threat. Their companions on this haphazard quest are a hapless human family—Jim and Karen Baldwin and their two teenage sons, David and Sean—gusted into Xanth from the mundane world beyond. Together they encounter a host of turbulent misadventures as they struggle to keep Xanth from being blown off the map forever. “Just the thing for pun-happy funsters.” —Kirkus Reviews