When I was a little girl, my dad left me and my mum, and he never came back. And you're supposed to be gutted when that happens. But secretly I preferred it without him, cos it meant I had my mum completely to myself, without having to share her with anyone. And I sort of inherited all the affection she used to give to my dad - like he'd left it behind for me as a gift, to say sorry for deserting me So says eleven year old Shruti of her broken home in suburban middle England. But hopes of her mother's affection are in vain: speaking little English, and fluent in only Hindi and Punjabi, Shruti's mother is lost, and soon falls prey to family pressure to remarry. To find another husband means returning to India and leaving Shruti behind. Meanwhile at school a new arrival, the indomitable Meena, dispenses with Shruti's bullying problems and transforms her day to day life. Desperate for companionship Shruti latches on to Meena to the point of obsession, following her through high school and on to university. But when Meena invites Shruti to join her on holiday in India, she has no idea how dangerous her obsession will turn out to be... Gabriel Packard's THE PAINTED OCEAN has been described by Colum McCann 'as fearless tour de force. It is a rare achievement - an emotionally rich work of literature, delivered in the form of a gripping, page-turning story. The depiction of a British Indian childhood and adolescence is utterly compelling, as is the allegorical exploration of the human condition.'

5O No-Sketch Projects That Bring the Ocean to Life Dana Fox, author of Watercolor with Me: In the Forest and founder of Wonder Forest, provides fifty new marine-themed projects in this beginner-friendly watercolor guide. Known for her whimsical art style and straightforward instruction, Dana leads you through three major watercolor techniques: wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, and ink-and-wash. Best of all, there’s no sketching required, so you can focus on each painting method. Bring adorable sea creatures like octopuses and otters to life on high-quality art paper. Start simple with shading in a monochromatic orca, experiment with adding depth to color with a bright bobbing seahorse and practice stylizing your subject in a charming lighthouse scene. With inspired art and step-by-step instruction, it’s easy to pick up a paintbrush, break out your palette, and create something beautiful.

A great how-to-play and strategy guide to 100 of the most classic, interesting, challenging and fun solitaire games. These are the 100 best and most enjoyable variations of America's most popular card game—solitaire! Loads of examples, diagrams, illustrations and strategies keep the writing lively, while showing you all sorts of fun ways to enjoy your favorite game. From straight-ahead solitaire to two-player games, readers will find all kinds of fantastic solitaire games—the classic ones, the new ones, those that require a lot of strategy, and the just plain fun ones. And because solitaire is perfect for playing when you’re on the road, the chapter on travel solitaire is essential. As a bonus, the authors have included solitaire games for two players.

A collection of Brian Skerry's ocean photography, including sharks in the Bahamas, leatherback sea turtles in Trinidad, and right whales in the Auckland Islands.

The author is president of New York's South Street Seaport Museum. In an oversize, square format (11.25x11.25"), 150 maritime images selected from world art accompany his short essays on the history, mystery, and poetry of the sea. Some of the reproductions are predictable masterpieces--the work of 17th and 18th century Dutch and English masters; others are less familiar works from well-known artists; and still others are by artists outside the marine tradition or little known outside their countries. The book begins with tomb paintings from an early Egyptian dynasty and ends with a work by a 20th century Abstract Expressionist. No bibliography. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A small canoe carved by an Indian boy makes a journey from Lake Superior all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.