New Releases by Brad Kessler

A Vermont Christmas tree farmer learns a valuable lesson on a visit to New York City in this touching holiday story featuring stunning photographs. "A modern holiday story set apart from the sentimental pack by Brad Kessler''s fine prose and Dona Ann McAdams''s beautiful black-and-white photos." — Publishers Weekly For one family in Manhattan''s East Village neighborhood, the Christmas season begins with the arrival of the Woodcutter and his Christmas tree stand. Forweeks, twinkling electric lights and the scent of balsam hang over their corner of the street, and a cheerful yet mysterious stranger watches over his stock from a folding chair. Then, on Christmas Eve, he packs up and heads home to Vermont. But one winter, he does not return. Several years later, a Vermont vacation brings the family past the Woodcutter''s home. When they pay him a visit, he shares the haunting yet heartwarming story of why he never came back to New York City . . . Featuring elegant black-and-white photographs by award-winning photographer Dona Ann McAdams, The Woodcutter''s Christmas takes readers on a reflective journey from the gritty streets of Manhattan to the serene woodlands of Vermont. This is a story of love, family, and Christmas—and how one man discovered what truly matters most. "Kessler''s soulful prose will instantly capture your heart with its simple and beautiful message." — Times Union "Readers seeking a book to become their personal family classic may say eureka when they read this charmer." — Rocky Mountain News "[ The Woodcutter''s Christmas ] could capture the collective imagination and become a timeless classic as O. Henry''s ''Gift of the Magi'' or ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens." — The Record

Award-winning author Brad Kessler’s North is a powerfully moving novel about the intertwined lives of a Vermont monk, a Somali refugee, and an Afghan war veteran by the author of the acclaimed memoir Goat Song. Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist for the Vermont Book Award As a late spring blizzard brews, Brother Christopher, a cloistered monk at Blue Mountain Monastery in Vermont, rushes to tend to his Ida Red and Northern Spy apple trees in advance of the unseasonal snowstorm. When the storm lands a young Somali refugee, Sahro Abdi Muse, at the monastery, Christopher is pulled back into the world as his life intersects with Sahro’s and that of an Afghan war veteran in surprising and revealing ways. North traces the epic journey of Sahro from her home in Somalia to South America, along the migrant route through Central America and Mexico, to New York City, and finally, her dangerous attempt to continue north to safety in Canada. It also compellingly traces the inner journeys of Brother Christopher, questioning his future in a world where the monastery way of life is waning, and of veteran Teddy Fletcher, seeking a way to make peace with his past. Written in Brad Kessler’s sharp, beautiful, and observant prose, and grounded in the author’s own corner of Vermont, where there is a Carthusian monastery, a vibrant community of Somali asylum seekers, and a hole left after a disproportionate number of Vermont soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, North gives voice to these invisible communities, delivering a story of human connection in a time of displacement. “A beautiful and moving tale, Kessler’s North is tender, dazzling, and wise.” —Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Dillard

Your family will be moved by the unforgettable story of how Moses was summoned by God to deliver his fellow Israelites from slavery. This epic drama follows the life of Moses from his birth along the Nile through the stirring events leading up to the triumphant exodus of his people from Egypt. Illustrated by Phil Huling. Ages 6 and up. “…it has all the ingredients that kids crave: mystery, magic, an evil King, a merciful princess, and a monumental battle between good and evil…This version…is sure to captivate children of all faiths..”-- Parents’ Magazine.

A la fin de l''été, alors que les touristes désertent Trachis Island, près des côtes canadiennes, un avion s''abîme en mer. Le vieil hôtel tenu par Kevin accueille les familles des victimes, venues des quatre coins du monde. Dans ce cocon douillet, havre de solidarité au coeur d''une nature exubérante, ils cherchent tous un peu de réconfort et y trouveront un nouveau départ...

Acclaimed novelist Brad Kessler lived in New York City but longed for a life on the land where he could grow his own food. After years of searching for a home, he and his wife, photographer Dona Ann McAdams, found a mountain farmhouse on a dead-end road, with seventy-five acres of land. One day, when Dona returned home with fresh goat milk from a neighbor''s farm, Kessler made a fresh chèvre, and their life changed forever. They decided to raise dairy goats and make cheese. Goat Song tells about what it''s like to live intimately with animals who directly feed you. As Kessler begins to live the life of a herder -- learning how to care for and breed and birth goats -- he encounters the pastoral roots of so many aspects of Western culture. Kessler reflects on the history and literature of herding, and how our diet, our alphabet, our religions, poetry, and economy all grew out of a pastoralist milieu among hoofed animals. Kessler and his wife adapt to a life governed by their goats and the rhythm of the seasons. And their goats give back in immeasurable ways, as Kessler proves to be a remarkable cheesemaker, with his first tomme of goat cheese winning lavish praise from America''s premier cheese restaurants. In the tradition of Thoreau''s Walden and Annie Dillard''s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Goat Song is both a spiritual quest and a compelling and beautiful chronicle of living by nature''s rules.

One fall night off the coast of a remote island in Nova Scotia, an airplane plummets to the sea as an innkeeper watches from the shore. Miles away in New York City, ornithologist Ana Gathreaux works in a darkened room full of sparrows, testing their migratory instincts. Soon, Ana will be bound for Trachis Island, along with other relatives of victims who converge on the site of the tragedy. As the search for survivors envelops the island, the mourning families gather at the inn, waiting for news of those they have lost. Here among strangers, and watched over by innkeeper Kevin Gearns, they form an unusual community, struggling for comfort and consolation. A Taiwanese couple sets out fruit for their daughter''s ghost. A Bulgarian man plays piano in the dark, sending the music to his lost wife, a cellist. Two Dutch teenagers, a brother and sister, rage against their parents'' death. An Iranian exile, mourning his niece, recites the Persian tales that carry the wisdom of centuries. At the center of Birds in Fall lies Ana Gathreaux, whose story Brad Kessler tells with deep compassion: from her days in the field with her husband, observing and banding migratory birds, to her enduring grief and gradual reengagement with life. Kessler''s knowledge of the natural world, music, and myth enriches every page of this hauntingly beautiful and moving novel about solitude, love, losing your way, and finding something like home.

With the aid of his magical Horse of Power, a young archer fulfills the increasingly difficult requests of Tsar Ivan and wins the hand of Princess Vasilissa.

This is a larger-than-life tale about the African American hero who was born with a hammer in his hand. Join John Henry on a scenic journey from cotton country to the wilderness, where he finds men of all colors working together to build a great railroad. In no time, John Henry becomes king of the railroad camps by driving more steel than any man alive. And, in an exciting contest that pits man against machine, he single-handedly out-performs a new-fangled steam drill. This rousing tale delivers an inspirational message about pride and perseverance.

Boss Lion threatens to eat all the inhabitants of the village, until he is outsmarted by B''rer Rabbit.

Emily Jenkins is angry with the world after her father and brother are killed in a coal mining accident. Then, a badly injured electrical worker named Joseph is brought to her remote West Virginia farmhouse and Emily''s world is changed forever.