"The Salish Sea is a feast for the eyes, a high-quality publishing effort rich in glossy colour photos and fascinating biological information that is likely to surprise even someone well-versed in our marine waters." —The Vancouver Sun In stunning color photographs, and compelling stories, this keepsake book reveals the the Salish Sea, a unique ecosystem home to thousands of different species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and macro-invertebrates. The Salish Sea region is an ecological jewel straddling the western border between Canada and the United States, connected to the Pacific Ocean primarily through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There, lush and mossy old-growth forests meet waters with dazzlingly-colored anemones and majestic orcas. This is the first book of its kind to describe the Salish Sea, whose name was not even officially recognized until 2008. One of the world’s largest inland seas, the Salish Sea contains 6,535 square miles of sea surface area and 4,642 miles of coastline. This fascinating visual journey through the Salish Sea combines a scientist’s inquiring mind, dazzling full-color photographs, and a lively narrative of fascinating stories, all of which impart a sense of connection with this intricate marine ecosystem and the life that it sustains.

Twins Ben and Sophie are excited to be going on a family vacation to the Cayman Islands during their two-week winter break—even though the dark shadow of their dad’s alcoholism hangs over them. But it’s their eleventh birthday, and they’re going to have fun no matter what. Meanwhile, their mother, Kate, struggles to keep it together, even though she knows something has to change. When the twins’ dad, Sam, yells at them on the morning of their birthday, Sophie and Ben decide to take their daysailer, The Sea Jewel, out for a spin. But they quickly find themselves in trouble out at sea, and the boat capsizes in a storm. What happens next sends the children on a magical undersea adventure; they meet a variety of angelic sea creatures who enlighten the twins on their journey of self-discovery. As they swim through shipwrecks, caves, and tunnels, by reefs, walls, and the sea animals of Grand Cayman, Ben and Sophie face their fears, look beyond appearances, and search for the hidden treasure.

HIS MUSE AND HIS JEWEL?Three months ago, Aymee had no idea the kraken - half-human sea dwellers - even existed. Now, the violet eyes of the kraken Arkon haunt her imagination, and she longs to know his touch. But word of his people has spread beyond The Watch, and Aymee's attraction to Arkon may endanger the safety of human and kraken alike. To protect him, can she bring herself to forsake him? Is her desire for Arkon worth putting both their worlds at risk?HER INSPIRATION AND HER PASSION?Arkon has spent his life in the pursuit of knowledge. Then he met Aymee and found a new quest: to make her his. She inspires him, draws him in, dominates his thoughts. When he finally builds the courage to approach her, she's everything he imagined and more. But a group of murderous humans are hunting the kraken, and continued contact with Aymee may destroy them both. Now that he's tasted her sweetness, he can't give her up?but can he risk his world and his people to satisfy his need for her?

"La Jolla: Jewel by the Sea presents the seaside community of La Jolla that residents and visitors love. Ann Collins--photographer, author, and native La Jollan--depicts the beauty and essence of her hometown. Her photos are accompanied by captions that include fascinating snippets of historic details. Also featured are a variety of notable La Jollans, historic and contemporary, who have made a lasting impact on the La Jolla that exists today."--Provided by publisher.

*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti* Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris, and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the Resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge. Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (Los Angeles Times).

"A land with no Laws. No rules. Sounds good huh? No police force needed. It seemed like the perfect place to go... especially if you were 'on the run!' Oh the local people of the land had their own 'Utu' or 'pay back' systems in their various forms but now sailing ship transport was available to the remotest parts of the earth and it wasn't long until New Zealand began filling up with those who would happily live outside any law. A recipe for disaster once the musket arrived. History records enough evidence of what that looked like here in the early 1800's and it wasn't pretty. Debauchery, disease, deception, death and killing were the inevitable results of a lawless society seen everywhere. Only a matter of time until this land was destined to be devoid of crowds of any sort unless some sort of miracle occurred. Fortunately for all of us 'some sort of miracle' did take place and THE JEWEL IN THE SEA tells the story. A miraculous series of events pivotal on the life of a 12 year old girl in the Waikato but balancing precariously on the before and after events that culminated in the freedom, the zeal, the life, and the liberty we all enjoy every day in this beautiful land called New Zealand"--Back cover.

Filled with beautiful photography and engaging text, Explore the Salish Sea inspires children to explore the unique marine ecosystem that encompasses the coastal waters from Seattle's Puget Sound up to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Georgia Strait of British Columbia. Discover the Salish Sea and learn about its vibrant ecosystem in this engaging non-fiction narrative that inspires outdoor exploration. Filled with full-color photography, this book covers wildlife habitats, geodiversity, intertidal and subtidal sea life, and highlights what is unique to this Pacific Northwest ecosystem.

Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions. In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe-circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most. Blending adventure travel, geology, exciting new research, and her own irresistible charm, Finlay has fashioned a treasure hunt for some of the most valuable, glamorous, and mysterious substances on earth. With the same intense curiosity and narrative flair she displayed in her widely-praised book Color, Finlay journeys from the underground opal churches of outback Australia to the once pearl-rich rivers of Scotland; from the peridot mines on an Apache reservation in Arizona to the remote ruby mines in the mountains of northern Burma. She risks confronting scorpions to crawl through Cleopatra’s long-deserted emerald mines, tries her hand at gem cutting in the dusty Sri Lankan city where Marco Polo bartered for sapphires, and investigates a rumor that fifty years ago most of the world’s amber was mined by prisoners in a Soviet gulag. Jewels is a unique and often exhilarating voyage through history, across cultures, deep into the earth’s mantle, and up to the glittering heights of fame, power, and wealth. From the fabled curse of the Hope Diamond, to the disturbing truths about how pearls are cultured, to the peasants who were once executed for carrying amber to the centuries-old quest by magicians and scientists to make a perfect diamond, Jewels tells dazzling stories with a wonderment and brilliance truly worthy of its subjects.

"Captivating. . . . a full portrait of this adorable and ecologically important animal." —Publishers Weekly A science journalist travels the Pacific Coast in search of sea otters in this entertaining and inspiring book on the importance and history of this charismatic endangered species Sea otters—the adorable, furry marine mammals often seen floating on their backs holding hands—reveal the health of the coastal ecosystem along the Pacific Ocean. Once hunted for their prized fur in the 18th and 19th centuries, these animals nearly went extinct. Only now, nearly a century after hunting ceased, are populations showing stable growth in some places. Sea otters are a keystone species in coastal areas, feeding on sea urchins, clams, crab, and other crustaceans. When they are present, kelp beds are thick and healthy, providing homes for an array of sea life. When otters disappear, sea urchins take over, and the kelp disappears along with all the creatures that live in the beds. Now, thanks to their protected status, sea otters are making a comeback in California, Washington, and Alaska. In this hopeful book, science writer Todd McLeish embarks on an epic journey along the Pacific Coast—traveling from California to Alaska—to track the status, health, habits, personality, and viability of sea otters, and reveals how conservationists brought them back from the brink of extinction.