"A superb book." THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE When quiet, shy Amelia Jones reads a desperate message that has fallen out of a barrel organ in the antique shop she just bought, she can't forget the words, "They're going to kill me soon..." Armed only with the woman's first name and the note written years before, Amelia begins a journey into the past, a search that takes her from the protective cocoon she's wrapped herself in to a precarious world where nothing is the way it seems, where fear is second nature, and dark secrets just might uncover murder--her own....

Deeply restless in her privileged life as part of Axminster's high society, Juniper Rose escapes to the wild world of the circus and an adventure that will change her life. Juniper will learn who she is-and fast-as being the show's new star attraction embroils her in what threatens to become a serial murder mystery with the potential to ruin everything. In the midst of all this, Juniper encounters the dark and brooding Cassius whose torment pushes her to the end of herself. And there she discovers her undeniable love for the circus-and despite his efforts to be her worst enemy-her equally undeniable attraction for Cassius.

The story of a daring tightrope walk between skyscrapers, as seen in Robert Zemeckis's The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit threw a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center and spent an hour walking, dancing, and performing high-wire tricks a quarter mile in the sky. This picture book captures the poetry and magic of the event with a poetry of its own: lyrical words and lovely paintings that present the detail, daring, and--in two dramatic foldout spreads-- the vertiginous drama of Petit's feat. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is the winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal, the winner of the 2004 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Picture Books, and the winner of the 2006 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video.

One day, a mysterious stranger arrives at a boardinghouse of the widow Gateau- a sad-faced stranger, who keeps to himself. When the widow's daughter, Mirette, discovers him crossing the courtyard on air, she begs him to teach her how he does it. But Mirette doesn't know that the stranger was once the Great Bellini- master wire-walker. Or that Bellini has been stopped by a terrible fear. And it is she who must teach him courage once again. Emily Arnold McCully's sweeping watercolor paintings carry the reader over the rooftops of nineteenth-century Paris and into an elegant, beautiful world of acrobats, jugglers, mimes, actors, and one gallant, resourceful little girl.

Hermine Demoriane is a singer, playwright, actress and performance artist. In this account of her life as a funambulist and her career in the 1970s, she also evokes the spirit of earlier tightrope walkers who pioneered the art - the legendary Blondin, Madame Saqui and others.

The Christian life was meant to be danced but not on your tip toes. A tightrope walk was my spiritual life. One missed step meant you were falling into hell if you didn't repent immediately. I was taught that true Christians never sinned, or if they did, they would have to "get saved" all over again. An unreasonable standard of "holiness" and a constant striving of perfection flowed from this belief. Lists of dos and don'ts were in abundance in an effort to practice the "idol of holiness." Are you walking that tightrope? By understanding God's true character through His saving grace on the cross, you can break free from the bondage of legalism and unholy fear, anxiety, and frustration, into a life of gratefulness for God's love, mercy, and grace. You can begin the balancing act of leaving legalism behind and finding true liberty in Christ.

The most successful public sector leaders today are ones that have the capacity to lead internally and externally. They are able to see and understand the inherent contradictions in their multiple roles. For instance, appeasing the community with a more humanistic approach to policing, while getting tough on crime; giving the community a greater role in police affairs, but maintaining the autonomy to make unilateral decisions; supporting tough actions against bad cops to appease the community while steadfastly defending the rank and file. These are scenarios that are difficult for police chiefs to reconcile. This book examines how chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) have attempted to reconcile contradictory objectives. It explores the history of leadership in this famed police department, analyzing the leadership styles of its contemporary chiefs. This book explores the leader's capacity to walk the public leadership tightrope. This exercise is the most important task of any public sector leader. As one of the most highly profiled public agencies in the U.S., the LAPD has embraced many contradictions. The department has been a model of professionalism and misconduct. The LAPD has been at the center of many of the nation's most racially explosive experiences: the 1965 Watts riots, the Rodney King beating and subsequent 1992 riots, and the O.J. Simpson case. Additionally, the Rampart Scandal was one of the biggest police corruption scandals in the nation. Because of its proximity to Hollywood, the contradictory culture of the LAPD has been exposed in television and film. Indeed, America has become familiar with the LAPD through its periodic scandals and by its media and popular culture profile. Specifically written for students of criminal justice and public administration, this book examines the ways in which the LAPD's leaders have attempted to navigate crisis after crisis. The author uses interviews with thirty LAPD officers of various rankings and several Los Angeles residents to tell the LAPD story.

In 1859, The Great Blondin took the most dangerous tightrope walk of his career—a death-defying walk across Niagara Falls. History and STEAM combine for an edge-of-your-seat read. At the age of four, Jean-Francois Gravelet walked across his first balance beam. Later, he took to the tightrope like a spider to its web and climbed toward stardom. Though his feats became more and more marvelous, he grew bored. That is, until he visited Niagara Falls and imagined doing something that no one else had ever accomplished. To cross the raging river, the Great Blondin needed determination, an understanding of engineering, and a belief that what he could imagine, he could accomplish. And in 1859, with all of his preparation complete, Blondin stepped out onto the most dangerous tightrope walk he'd ever faced. Award-winning nonfiction author Donna Janell Bowman uses her trademark in-depth research to give readers a close look at the hard work and meticulous mathematic and scientific planning it took to plan and execute and astonish feat. Adam Gustavson's detailed illustrations turn this book into an experience that will astound and inspire. This fascinating, STEAM-filled story will have readers holding their breath!

"A superb book." THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE When quiet, shy Amelia Jones reads a desperate message that has fallen out of a barrel organ in the antique shop she just bought, she can't forget the words, "They're going to kill me soon..." Armed only with the woman's first name and the note written years before, Amelia begins a journey into the past, a search that takes her from the protective cocoon she's wrapped herself in to a precarious world where nothing is the way it seems, where fear is second nature, and dark secrets just might uncover murder--her own....