New Releases by Gail Langer Karwoski

The local art center is a-buzz with holiday events. But when skeletons from its dark past begin to dance across the canvas, Jane Roland learns that art history can be a dangerous-even deadly-subject.

Jane Roland and her painter friends are enrolled in a watercolor retreat at the picturesque Gardens and Horses Resort. They''re looking forward to a week of sun-drenched landscapes, sleek racehorses, art instruction, and - best of all - laughter and conversation. Out for their first stroll, the women discover a dead thoroughbred in the pretty reflecting pool. Next evening, they find the handsome young stable man in the horse watering trough. Surely, there''s a link between them? When a painter from their workshop goes missing, Jane realizes that her class notes are valuable clues to catch the culprit in this light-hearted cozy mystery.

Chazz Cohen lives with his grandmom in the Garden District of New Orleans. In his family, money is no problem. But money won''t buy Chazz what he wants--a "real" home with his mom. Across town in the Ninth Ward, Lyric Talbert wishes her mom didn''t expect so much from her, especially when her little brother gets sick. It seemed like the storm would blow over as so many had. But Katrina burst the levees, and the world turned to chaos for Chazz and Lyric and their families. They quickly learn that, though their worlds were different before the storm, it was their courage and compassion that would help them make it through. Through the alternating stories of Chazz and Lyric, acclaimed children''s author Gail Langer Karwoski chronicles the disaster that forever changed New Orleans and its people.

Learn more about search and rescue dogs, including how they are chosen, the training they go through, and the missions they complete.

A soothing bedtime story answers the question of how marine mammals--animals that breathe air--manage to sleep in the ocean, inviting children to drift into peaceful sleep on the gentle waves of imagination.

In this sequel to Water Beds, readers go on an around-the-world boat ride to learn how mammals sleep in or around ten major rivers of the world. Includes "For Creative Minds" section with animal adaptation activities and a world map.

When a young girl finds a shiny quartz crystal, her dad shows her how to dig for minerals, and she becomes Julie the Rockhound. Includes "For Creative Minds" section.

A boy and his dog navigate dangerous rubble, prejudices, and survival in this riveting fictional account of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. It''s before daybreak in San Francisco on April 18, 1906. Mourning the loss of his mother, thirteen-year-old Jacob Kaufman slips out of the cramped boarding house where he lives with his immigrant father and little sister Rosie. Why couldn''t Papa just let him keep the stray dog—the one thing that has made him happy in months? But he forgets all his frustrations when the ground beneath his feet begins to rumble. Buildings collapse, and the street splits wide open as Jacob runs for safety from a devastating earthquake. With just his dog, he embarks on a perilous search for shelter, food and water, and missing loved ones while grappling with his Jewish traditions and fighting prejudices against a new Chinese friend. In Gail Langer Karwoski''s stirring fictional account of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, young readers will relive the drama of the actual event and its devastating aftermath. An author''s note carefully separates fact from fiction, giving young readers a glimpse into one of the worst earthquakes in modern history.

Rhyming story giving thanks for the gifts trees provide on the occasion of Tu B'Shevat, Jewish Arbor Day.