Hugging's the way to start the day, but Wally's friends are scared of his hugs! Wally is a young boa constrictor who loves hugs. His parents give him hugs to begin and end the day, and he hugs them back just as tightly. However, Wally's classmates at school don't seem to love hugs as much as he does and are scared of getting hugs from Wally, since boa constrictors squeeze so hard! How can Wally show them that his friendly hugs are nothing to be afraid of?

Wally the sheep doesn't want to get the haircut he really needs-- even after all the other farm animals get new hairdos--but when his shaggy wool gets him in trouble, he has no choice but to ask for a trim.

The third Shard of the sword Excalibur is calling Ariane. From a really, really long way away.

Soon to be a show on Hulu! Rights to develop Wild Cards for TV have been acquired by Universal Cable Productions, the team that brought you The Magicians and Mr. Robot, with the co-editor of Wild Cards, Melinda Snodgrass as executive producer. In 1946, an alien virus that rewrites human DNA was accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It killed ninety percent of those it infected. Nine percent survived to mutate into tragically deformed creatures. And one percent gained superpowers. The Wild Cards shared-universe series, created and edited since 1987 by New York Times #1 bestseller George R. R. Martin ("The American Tolkien"—Time magazine) along with Melinda Snodgrass, is the tale of the history of the world since then—and of the heroes among the one percent. Ranging from New York and New England to ravaged Africa and New Orleans, encompassing war, devastation, and stubborn hope, Suicide Kings advances the story of the Wild Cards, and their struggle to be fully human in a world that fears and mistrusts them. The Wild Cards Universe The Original Triad #1 Wild Cards #2 Aces High #3 Jokers Wild The Puppetman Quartet #4: Aces Abroad #5: Down and Dirty #6: Ace in the Hole #7: Dead Man’s Hand The Rox Triad #8: One-Eyed Jacks #9: Jokertown Shuffle #10: Dealer’s Choice #11: Double Solitaire #12: Turn of the Cards The Card Sharks Triad #13: Card Sharks #14: Marked Cards #15: Black Trump #16: Deuces Down #17: Death Draws Five The Committee Triad #18: Inside Straight #19: Busted Flush #20: Suicide Kings The Fort Freak Triad #21: Fort Freak #22: Lowball #23: High Stakes The American Triad #24: Mississippi Roll #25: Low Chicago #26: Texas Hold 'Em At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In a world ravaged by an AI Uprising, hope lies buried deep underground. Sarah has spent a decade in an underground vault, safe from the chaos above. But as supplies dwindle, she must confront her deepest fear: venturing into the unknown world. Thirteen-year-old Wally has never gone outside her sanctuary’s protective walls thanks to her overprotective robot father. When a deadly outbreak threatens her community, she discovers a map to a hidden vault rumored to contain a life-saving vaccine. Vacuubot, once a simple cleaning robot, is now a combat-ready drone who searches for purpose in a world that fears AI. An evolving consciousness becomes both an asset and a challenge on a high-stakes mission. This unlikely trio must navigate a treacherous landscape where nature has reclaimed civilization and scavengers roam. With time running out for the sick, they race to unlock the vault's secrets. Vault's Promise is Book 1 in the Robots and Ruins series, a hopepunk, post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure that explores the enduring power of hope, the bonds of found family, and the blurring lines between human and machine. An unforgettable journey where the fate of humanity rests in the hands of the most unexpected heroes.

When Jessie Strick visits a small Ohio city she is tracking a Cleveland mob boss in order to kill him. Frustrated with her search she attacks the tyrant Mayor who is a Mafia cohort and cripples him. Arrested for attempted murder she hires a reluctant alcoholic lawyer. They instantly bond to fight city hall. It's election year and Jessie thinks if she challenges the mayor the mob boss will have to show up. Her campaign gathers support when the Mayor thugs are killed and Jessie gets credit. On election day there is short lived jubilation as Jessie wins then is shot and by a rogue FBI planted killer. Peggy thinks the mayor ordered it and gets a gun and kills him. Earlier Jessie confessed to Peggy that she killed the mobster for revenge. She also robbed him for a million cash that was intended for the mayor and gave it to Peggy. Peggy flees to Costa Rica. In a few months she learns Jessie's killer was a hit man for a Mexican cartel and that she with held info that could have saved Jessie's life. She now has a choice... enjoy the money and shut up... or go home and confront the FBI lies and go to prison. She decides she is duty bound to protect her client even if she is dead. She goes home.

The Civil War is finally over, and the survivors have returned to their lives to try to rebuild. There was very little time for rest and relaxation. Nothing can be truer for the people of the small country town of Mystic. However, something has come to Mystic with the survivors...a game called Base Ball. For many years the people of Mystic have indulged themselves in various kinds of stick-and-ball games...everything from cricket to rounders, to something called Muffin Ball, but none of the games were ever popular enough to become organized...until Base Ball. As the residents of Mystic struggle establish their own Base Ball club, they discover that Base Ball is taking over the nation by storm. With a faithful group of town leaders, a retired Judge, and several veterans, Mystic finds that it is ahead of the storm, instead of getting caught up in it. As the town team forms, and a simple league with other small towns is established, the Mystic town folk enjoy watching their very own team playing this “city game” their way...making mistakes, fumbling over the bases, and arguing with...everyone, the people of Mystic become a true base ball town. Then when captain of the Drummers contacts the Mystic team with a request to come to Mystic to play a fun exhibition game on the Fourth of July, the initial thought was one of reservation...the Drummers were a traveling team of colored players. To the people of Mystic, a town that sided with the Northern Union forces, the prospect of playing a colored “barnstorming” team was cause to celebrate a game that changed the town of Mystic forever.

A year before "Lewinsky" became a household name, Leon Rooke was at work on this novel about an aging right-wing southern senator's shenanigans with interns; fraudulent Vietnam War heroes; and the real players in the Washington power playpen: the doorman at the Watergate, the local mafia don and his floozies, and the no-neck "spin-doctors" who "clean up" after the celebrities.

The past is always with us. The past comes back to haunt former police chief Daniel "Sticks" Hetrick and his protégé, Officer Flora Vastine as an outbreak of arson shakes residents of rural Swatara Creek, Pennsylvania. At first, the minor nature of the fires inclines authorities to see them as pranks, possibly the work of juveniles. Then, tension increases in the wake of a murder at the site of one fire and an increase in the value of targets. Hetrick and Flora must confront troubling, dangerous people from the past, and errors in judgment add to their jeopardy.

A broken engagement sends Graciela Harper crawling back to Heron Creek with her tail between her legs, but finds the sleepy little town too changed to set her life right. Not even her budding drinking problem can obscure her Gramps’s failing health, or erase the mental picture of her first love happily married to her childhood best friend. To top it all off, she’s having a heck of time convincing the town’s dashing young mayor of her unfit-for-dating status. When the ghost of 18th century lady pirate Anne Bonny starts insisting on a near daily audience, Graciela has to confront something else she never expected—being certifiably nuts at twenty-five years old. Her brand new "I don't give a crap" attitude makes it easy to dismiss the mysterious threats that seem to be tied to her search for more information on the long dead pirate, but when her family becomes a target, Gracie knows she needs to find out why the ghost insists on being a constant, reeking companion. If Graciela can put aside her prejudice against people without a pulse, she may discover that Anne Bonny’s problems are intricately linked with her own. The past harbors answers could help the cantankerous spirit find closure, but she is, after all, already dead. If Graciela doesn’t move fast, she might find herself doing the haunting, instead of the other way around.