The Lost Octopus belongs to the children's book series "The Adventures of Splash and Shelly". The idea for this book came to the author, who as a single mom of two energetic boys, juggling all of the daily needs and wants that come with raising children, often finds herself screaming "Hold on! I'm not an octopus!". Follow along with Mommy Octopus and her children Olivia and Ollie to find out what happens on chore day in their house on the reef, the unexpected adventure that takes place, and what it truly means to be a part of a family that works together! There is also a surprise at the end of every book of the series to add some extra fun!

This “luminescent” (Kirkus Reviews) story of anger and art, loss and redemption will appeal to fans of Lisa Graff’s Lost in the Sun and Vince Vawter’s Paperboy. NOMINATED FOR 16 STATE AWARDS! AN ALA NOTABLE BOOK AN ILA TEACHERS CHOICE A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge—he is ready to send Arthur to juvie forever. Amazingly, it’s the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service . . . working for him. Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can’t believe it—is he really supposed to rummage through people’s trash? But it isn’t long before Arthur realizes there’s more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the “trash” he’s collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine. . . . Inspired by the work of folk artist James Hampton, Shelley Pearsall has crafted an affecting and redemptive novel about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness. “A moving exploration of how there is often so much more than meets the eye.” —Booklist, starred review “There are so many things to love about this book. Remarkable.” —The Christian Science Monitor

In this start to a new series starring Shelly the mermaid, a classroom conflict is no fun—even when school is 20,000 leagues under the sea. It’s MerGirl Shelly Siren’s first day at a new school, and she is nervous from the tip of her head to the end of her sparkling mermaid tail. How will she ever fit in at the prestigious Trident Academy? Everyone there is so smart and so pretty and so rich. At least she and her best friend, Echo, are in the same class, but so is Pearl, a spoiled know-it-all who only wants to make trouble for Shelly; Rocky, a MerBoy who loves to tease everyone; and Kiki, a shy MerGirl who’s new to Trident City. At first Shelly and Echo have lots of fun: eating lunch together, trying to make grumpy Mr. Fangtooth smile, and joining after-school clubs. But when Shelly and Echo have an argument about their very first school assignment, Pearl gets involved and makes matters worse. Will Shelly and Echo fix their friendship?

When fourteen year old Madison gets invited to stay in the coastal town of Seahorse Bay with her aunt and uncle, she can hardly hold in her excitement. She has always wanted to be near the ocean. She is introduced to siblings Dylan and Marin, who soon become her closest friends. One evening after spending all day having fun swimming at the beach, the two girls get the shock of their lives! They find out they are mermaids! Then the two girls find out that each of their families are mer-folk. Little do the adults know, that the very next day, while Dylan takes the two girls to try out their 'new tails', the teens would find themselves caught up in an exciting underwater adventure of danger, secret plots, hidden cave passages, midnight meetings and some unexpected surprises, while exploring the The Great Barrier Reef and its underwater city (Barrier City). Dylan gets kidnapped, they all get trapped, and there are two hench-fish called Spike and Claw after them! All because King Neptune lost his Trident!

It's no secret that parenting is tricky business. With advice flooding in from all sides, strong-willed children pushing against boundaries, and our own human flaws, it's easy to get bogged down in every how-to that we're not doing well. But maybe that isn't the right approach. Maybe the first step is not to ask "how" but to ask "why." Like most parents, when Shelly Wildman had children, she consulted books, sermons, and lectures on how to raise the best children possible. Yet every resource focused on how to get external results: children who behave the way others expected them to. For Shelly and her husband, the turning point happened when they started asking why instead--shifting their focus to internal change. That's when their purpose as parents became clear: parents are called to do their best to show kids how to know and love Jesus, to love others, and to make a difference in the world. There are no rules here, no inflexible series of steps that lead to perfect parenting. Instead, Shelly encourages parents to think about their unique family and why each child's needs for spiritual growth might look different. She walks you through intentional questioning, focusing on building a firm foundation for lasting discipleship. And in the end, you'll discover that God wants the same outcome you do: a child who knows Christ intimately, loves him deeply, and has a heart to serve him fully.

Dreaming of fame when her mother is hired to make a commercial for the local pool supplier, Piper positions herself in front of the camera for a taste of show business and wonders if her idea for the commercial will be as impressive as she imagines.

Mommy and Daughter Adventures is a fun book to read. The stories in the book show a relationship of a mother and daughter with great story animals in different settings. Nikki and Laylah have a great bond they share and continue to create great memories together. Writing this book was a great adventure they wanted to share with everyone. Characters that swam, flew and climbed their way through fun. They wanted to inspire families to do things together and build great relationships. Mommy and Daughter Adventures can be a great start to a new adventure by reading the book with your kids. Nikki and Laylah hope you will continue to follow their adventures in the next books to come.

Coot Boldt and Narlow Montgomery sauntered across the wooden bridge into Juarez. Coot was dead set on honoring a lifelong friend’s resolve that the pair aid him in running munitions to Pancho Villa, while Narlow held back. A legless lad on a board with skate wheels in the gritty dust of Juarez Avenue tugged at Narlow’s trousers whose galluses must have been tied to his heartstrings. He bent to drop a dollar in the boy’s cup. The boy’s death-glaze-black eyes gleamed up, demanded more for Mexico than a coin. Coot and Narlow began shipping German-made Mausers and cartridges by rail to their contact in Tornillo, Texas, downstream from El Paso on the Rio Grande. German spies and operatives along the border were busy assuring that Uncle Sam embroiled itself in Mexico’s revolution and kept its long blue nose out of the European War. President Wilson’s munitions embargo dried up Villa’s supply, but the “Federales” sources were limited only by the government’s ability to crank their presses. Coot and Narlow ignored the embargo, flying munitions deep into Chihuahua in a Curtiss Pusher biwing. Would they be caught by US border guards and be the government’s guest at Leavenworth, or shot while fleeing from an arranged “Federale” escape?

Confessions of a Serial Songwriter is an amusing and poignant memoir about songwriter Shelly Peiken's journey from young girl falling under the spell of magical songs to working professional songwriter writing hits of her own. It's about growing up, the creative process – the highs and the lows, the conflicts that arise between motherhood and career success, the divas and schemers, but also the talented and remarkable people she's found along the way. It's filled with stories and step-by-step advice about the songwriting process, especially collaboration. And it's about the challenge of staying relevant in a rapidly changing and youth-driven world. As Shelly so eloquently states in Confessions of a Serial Songwriter: “If I had to come up with one X factor that I could cite as a characteristic most hit songs have in common (and this excludes hit songs that are put forth by an already well-oiled machine...that is, a recording artist who has so much notoriety and momentum that just about anything he or she releases, as long as it's 'pretty good ' will have a decent shot at succeeding), I would say it would be: A universal sentiment in a unique frame.” Peiken has tapped the universal sentiment again and again; her songs have been recorded by such artists as Christina Aguilera, Natalie Cole, Selena Gomez, Celine Dion, the Pretenders, and others. In Confessions of a Serial Songwriter, she pulls the curtain back on the music business from the perspective of a behind-the-scenes hit creator and shares invaluable insight into the craft of songwriting.