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.

Fifty years after their marriage, Jack and Michael''s story is one of the milestone events in the fight for equal rights, and this memoir the unmissable account a remarkable couple. On September 3, 1971, at the dawn of the modern gay movement, Michael McConnell and Jack Baker exchanged vows in the first legal same-sex wedding in the United States. But the battle to get there - legal and emotional - was only the start of their incredible lives together. Jack enrolled in law school, keeping his promise to Michael that he would figure out a way to marry. He did, but the repercussions would echo not only through their lives, but through those of everyo gay person in the US who ever wanted what this one pioneering couple did: a happy family life. This is the story of how they met, how they married, and what came after. And one wedding heard ''round the world. ''A beautiful, well-written love story that is heartrending and ultimately heartwarming'' Robert Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen Boy ''A fascinating story of love and struggle that reads like a novel'' Washington Book Review

Terriers were bred to hunt vermin such as rats and badgers. Learn all about these tough, brave dogs and what makes them great hunting companions and loyal friends.

Happy Tu B/Shevat! On Tu B''Shevat, we plant a tree / Baskets of fruit for you and me This is a lovely rhyming story about giving thanks for the gifts trees provide on the occasion of Tu B’Shevat, Jewish Arbor Day.

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.

From Australia''s outback to the neighborhood lawn, animals great and small fill the pages of the 13 Sylvan Dell books in this Wildlife Set. The picture books in this set are each fictional stories with nature & science themes designed for reading fun but, at the same time, to pique a child''s interest and tee-up science, math, and geography learning. Titles include: Tudley Didn''t Know**, Habitat Spy, In My Backyard, Little Skink''s Tail**, Kersplatypus**, Animals are Sleeping, Blackberry Banquet, One Wolf Howls**, Moose and Magpie**, Felina''s New Home, Baby Owl''s Rescue**, Fur and Feathers, River Beds: Sleeping in the World''s Rivers**, and Little Red Bat. (**Award Winners) 4-6 pg For Creative Minds educational section in the back 40-60 pg cross-curricular Teaching Activities and 3 Interactive Quizzes available free on the book''s homepage eBooks with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read and selectable English and Spanish text and audio.

Explore the Earth with these 5 Sylvan Dell titles related to the Earth and the Physical Sciences. The picture books in this set are each fictional stories with nature & science themes designed for reading fun but, at the same time, to pique a child''s interest and tee-up science, math, and geography learning. Titles include: The Glaciers are Melting!, Julie the Rockhound, Newton and Me**, Pandas'' Earthquake Escape, Ready, Set... WAIT! (Award Winners**). 4-6 pg For Creative Minds educational section in the back 40-60 pg cross-curricular Teaching Activities and 3 Interactive Quizzes available free on the book''s homepage eBooks with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read and selectable English and Spanish text and audio

21 picture books each fictional nature & science stories designed for reading fun yet to pique a child''s interest in science, math, and geography learning. Includes: Baby Owl''s Rescue, Carolina''s Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too!, Champ''s Story: Dogs Get Cancer Too!, Count Down to Fall, Fur and Feathers, Henry the Impatient Heron, Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean, Little Skink''s Tail, Riverbeds: Sleeping in the Worlds Rivers, How the Moon Regained Her Shape, If a Dolphin Were a Fish, Happy Birthday to Whooo?, One Odd Day, My Even Day, Newton and Me, Sort it Out!, Panda''s Earthquake Escape, Turtle Summer: A Journal for My Daughter, Whistling Wings, What''s New at the Zoo: An Animal Adding Adventure and The Rainforest Grew All Around. 4-6 pg For Creative Minds educational section in the back 40-60 pg cross-curricular Teaching Activities and 3 Interactive Quizzes available free on the book''s homepage eBooks with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read and selectable English and Spanish text and audio

This set contains 5 Sylvan Dell books between 810 and 880 Lexile Levels. Titles include: Felina''s New Home**, In My Backyard, The Best Nest, ABC Safari**, Waterbeds: Sleeping In the Ocean**(**Award Winners).4-6 pg For Creative Minds educational section in the back40-60 pg cross-curricular Teaching Activities and 3 Interactive Quizzes available free on the book''s homepageeBooks with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read and selectable English and Spanish text and audio

This set contains 13 Sylvan Dell books between Reading Counts Levels 2.1 and 2.9: Count Down to Fall**; What''s New at the Zoo?; Moose and Magpie**; Twas the Day Before Zoo Day**; Kersplatypus**; Tudley Didn''t Know**; Burro''s Tortillas; Julie The Rockhound; My Half Day; Pieces of Another World; Little Skink''s Tail**; One Odd Day**; Whistling Wings** (Award Winners**). 4-6 pg For Creative Minds educational section in the back 40-60 pg cross-curricular Teaching Activities and 3 Interactive Quizzes available free on the book''s homepage eBooks with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read and selectable English and Spanish text and audio

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.

Describes the different kinds of mammals that live in or around the rivers of the world, including the beaver, river dolphin, and hippopotamus, and explains how and where they sleep.

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.

A 150-pound Newfoundland dog teams with Lewis & Clark for an edge-of-your-seat middle grade adventure. It is 1804, the year that Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the Corps of Discovery set out for their now-legendary exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. With no maps and little idea what wonders and dangers lie ahead, Seaman, a 150-pound Newfoundland dog, proves to be one of the most valuable members of the Corps. In the face of starvation, Seaman catches and retrieves game, and his intimidating size and teeth protect the small band of explorers – from Native American raiders and even a ferocious grizzly bear! As the bond and mutual trust between Seaman and the Corp grows, they''re confident that nothing—not even raging waters and towering mountains—will stop them from reaching the West Coast. This thrilling fictional account of Lewis and Clark''s expedition with the Corps of Discovery, Seaman, and eventually Sacagawea, is full of accurate details drawn from Lewis''s own diary entries and will draw readers into one of the most exciting chapters in American history.

This stirring story of survival set against the backdrop of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, introduces Samuel Collier, the page of famed Captain John Smith. In 1607, a year after the Virginia Company was granted a charter to establish a settlement in North America, 104 men set sail on a voyage to a new land. Among the brave adventurers who make the journey is a young boy named Samuel Collier, the page of famed Captain John Smith. Disease, famine, and continuing attacks by neighboring Algonquin Native Americans take a tremendous toll on the settlers. Samuel is one of the few to survive the harsh realities of the New World during the first few years of Jamestown. Based on the author''s careful research of the era, this fictional account portrays the struggles and successes of our country''s earliest settlers. Young readers will enjoy this story of courage and survival while learning about this important period in the history of the United States.