New Releases by Irene Haas

Bess is feeling terribly lonely when out of the sky tumbles a bird named Bella, her tiny suitcases packed with all manner of wonderful things.

Magic begins when a frog hops through Lucy''s bedroom window with a party invitation. What follows is a delightful summer idyll, complete with cricket music, a baby bird, and a birthday cake, and ending with the happy reunion of an old lost doll and her original owner. Color illustrations.

This volume describes preparation and properties of the enormous number of molybdenum oxide sulfide ions. The monomeric anions display an impressive range of colors - yellow to a deep reddish orange - which in 1826 fascinated Berzelius. Nowadays, however, the stimulus for research and development springs from bioinorganic chemistry. Numerous molybdenum chalcogenide halides are known: the most investigated have been those containing Mo6 clusters. In addition, the volume contains the binary molybdenum selenides; of these, the most important is the heavily studied MoSe2. Among the molybdenum dichalcogenides, MoSe2 shows the most promising photoelectrochemical properties, making it attractive for use in electrochemical solar cells. All binary molybdenum selenides reversibly intercalate a variety of metals - of importance for use in rechargeable batteries.

A fascinating aspect of many of the selenium- and tellurium-containing compounds described in this volume is that they are built up from octahedral Mo6 clusters which are surrounded by eight other atoms X in the form of a cube: Mo6X8. The Mo atoms occupy the centers of the faces of the X8 cube. The interesting variety in the substiution of the X positions can be encountered throughout the whole volume. The X atoms can be of a single element as in Mo6Te8, but can also be statistically occupied by two elements, e.g., in Mo6(Te,S)8, or even by more elements as in Mo6(Te,Se)8-yIy. In addition, there are channels with vacant positions between the Mo6X8 clusters in the diagonal direction of the X8 cube. These vacant positions offer more possibilities for the fantasy of the chemist.

Evil Professor Savvy tries to steal Burton''s newest invention, a rocket-powered skateboard.

A troupe of actors roams the land giving performances and meeting an odd assortment of characters including an endearing fairy godmother.

The Maggie B is Irene Haas'' creation of a world in which children will eagerly go to share in a little girl''s dream come true. In a beautifully constructed story, a little girl''s wish to sail for a day on a boat named for her" with someone nice for company" comes true.