A powerful look at the worst of racial hatred and violence during the Jim Crow years. Surprising at every turn, the spirited characters, through complicated and seemingly insurmountable adversity, demonstrate that love always wins over hate.

Photographic masterpiece about baobabs, found only in Madagascar, Africa, Australia; interesting introduction followed by detailed discussions of all eight species, with photos and line drawings.

"India's future will be determined not only by economic development, but also by a dynamic traditional culture that continues to develop along its own lines -- sometimes in concert, and sometimes in conflict with material enrichment. India develops not, as one writer has suggested, "in spite of the gods." Rather, the seed for the creation and the fuel for the sustenance of IndiaÂ's economic boom lay in its traditions, and, I will argue, the animating spirit of its future lies there as well. I have neither the expertise nor the access to operate as a political correspondent, nor the desire to posture as a political pundit. During eighteen years of research, however, I have seen what I perceived as a pervasive misrepresentation of recent developments in Indian politics. More specifically, a number of recent books consistently paint the Hindu right wing in India as essentially fascist or theocratic. My observations show that these claims are untenable and misrepresent a positive development in the history of Indian democracy. To think clearly about the changes in today's India we require a new model: the bi-directional banyan tree, a symbol borrowed, ironically, from ancient Sanskrit verses. Pindar claimed, "Custom is King of all," and this serves as a succinct expression of the central thesis of this book."--Publisher's website.

His poems, written during his years in business, show glimmers of his lyrical awareness. They are unassuming. They reveal the connectiveness of everyday events and living things to the all-pervasive, eternal governance—hidden and often ignored—while exposing simple truths, aligning them with the healing power of ubiquitous silence. His unpretentious village life—a vigor of green branches and blooms—animates his poetic landscape with beauty and strength.

A ten-year-old girl learns the importance of family and community in this tale of love and hope set during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Armani Curtis can think about only one thing: her tenth birthday. All her friends are coming to her party, her mama is making a big cake, and she has a good feeling about a certain wrapped box. Turning ten is a big deal to Armani. It means she’s older, wiser, more responsible. But when Hurricane Katrina hits the Lower Nines of New Orleans, Armani realizes that being ten means being brave, watching loved ones die, and mustering all her strength to help her family weather the storm. A powerful story of courage and survival, Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere celebrates the miraculous power of hope and love in the face of the unthinkable. Praise for Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere “Lamana goes for and achieves realism here, carefully establishing the characters and setting before describing in brutal detail, beyond what is typical in youth literature, the devastating effects of Katrina—loss of multiple family members, reports of attacks in the Superdome, bodies drifting in the current and less-than-ideal shelter conditions. An honest, bleak account of a national tragedy sure to inspire discussion and research.” —Kirkus Reviews “I recommend the book because I think it does a good job of capturing what life was like in New Orleans both before and after Katrina and because Armani’s journey will give readers a lot to think about and discuss. But parents will want to know that it doesn’t flinch when describing the death and destruction that hit New Orleans during that time and be cautious with younger, sensitive readers.” —Cindy Hudson, author of Book by Book

Explores the roots of the Christmas tree tradition, tracing customs from the Middle Ages to the present day to reveal how it first became part of mainstream American culture and has since become popular worldwide.

Smart and quirky Hannah has an inquisitive mind; one constantly questioning her purpose and how she fits into the overall pattern of the world. One night, she finds herself on a mystical journey. With her newfound friends, Charlie the dog, Jenny the donkey, Sigmund the monkey, Hannah is sent on a quest by a mysterious druid to uncover her purpose. Hannah and her friends face various trials through their journey, crossing into magical and wondrous lands such as Candy Island, Game Island, and more to discover the Upside-Down Tree on Paradox Island. With the lessons learned and her friends at her side, Hannah begins to learn that life and the world are exactly what you make of it. About the Author Evan J. Silver majored in classical civilization at New York University. He earned his masters degree from William and Mary in education. He has been teaching for nearly 30 years. He started his career teaching in Virginia, then taught in California, and finally in his home state of Maryland. Evan loved working with elementary students, but eventually moved into middle school where he could focus on teaching mathematics. He enjoys playing basketball and pickleball. He is married and has two children and two dogs. Karen S. Silver, Evan’s mother, has a degree in elementary education with a minor in the physical sciences from the University of Maryland. She received her law degree and became one of the first female assistance states attorneys in Maryland. She has been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney in her career. As a hobby she has traveled and played violin with the Veterans Administration National Medical Orchestra. She has five grandchildren and co-authored this book with her eldest son.

The Upside-Down Magic kids are back in another topsy-turvy adventure in the next installment of this New York Times bestselling series, now a Disney Channel Original Movie! Nory Horace can turn herself into a kitten. But sometimes she adds in a bit of dragon and, well, accidentally turns into a dritten. Oops? Her friend Andres Padillo can fly high . . . but then he can't fly back down again. Nory and Andres are in an Upside-Down Magic class with other kids who have unusual magic. Now they're off on their first-ever overnight field trip! At Dragon Haven, Nory, Andres, and their UDM classmates get to swim with dragons, fly with dragons, and feed dragons. There's even a Hatchery, where they might get to see a newborn dragon. There's only one downer. The UDM kids aren't the only ones visiting Dragon Haven. There are other students there, too. Students from another school. Students with "normal" magic. Dragon rescue, bonfires, and pajama breakfasts won't be nearly as fun with a bunch of snooty strangers. Unless . . . maybe everything isn't as bad as it first seems. Thrown together with kids who are probably enemies, but might be friends, the UDM kids dive into their topsy-turviest adventure yet.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction Winner of the William Dean Howells Medal Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize Over One Year on the New York Times Bestseller List A New York Times Notable Book and a Washington Post, Time, Oprah Magazine, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year "The best novel ever written about trees, and really just one of the best novels, period." —Ann Patchett The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of—and paean to—the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.