New Releases by Jackie French

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. In his diary, a wombat describes his life of eating, sleeping, and getting to know some new human neighbors.

It is Taqountikeeswush, the Moon of the Falling Leaves. The Creator's gifts have been harvested, dried, and tucked away in auqunnash [storage bins] in the bosom of Earth Mother. They will provide for the People all through the long, cold months to come, the long, cold months of Papone. It is time, now. Time for the People to come together, together to give thanks. NICKOMMOH! Long before the Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving at Plymouth, the Native Americans of the area celebrated the harvest during a feast called "Nickommoh," meaning "give away" or "exchange." The Pilgrims' Thanksgiving was actually more similar to this traditional Native American celebration than to the holiday as we celebrate it today. Jackie French Koller's festive prose poem brings to life the weaving rhythms of this harvest celebration, as the People come together from villages near and far to construct sweat lodges, eat turkey and sweet cakes, play games, and dance and sing beneath the star blanket that Moon Sister has drawn across the sky. Marcia Sewall uses her considerable knowledge of the Narragansett people to portray in striking pictures the ancient patterns of our first purely American holiday.

It's Jamie and Matt's first Christmas since Ma's death, and Matt is doing his best to keep her traditions. He chides Pa into decorating the tree and reminds him of Ma's story of the animals' Christmas miracle — their power to speak at midnight. Then Matt and his beloved Labrador retriever, Sara, set out to hang suet balls for the birds, just as Ma would have done.

Suddenly a hungry bear surprises them, mauling Sara. On top of that, snow has started falling hard and Matt is lost in the woods. But it is Christmas Eve near midnight — just the right time for a miracle. The Promise is a riveting story about the power to heal and about having faith — even when it leads where you don't want to follow.

Dragonquest!
Darek can't wait for his first Dragonquest. Then he can be just like his older brother, Clep, the hero who brought down a Great Blue, the largest and fiercest dragon of all. Darek goes to admire the kill -- and finds a dragonling peeking out of the giant dragon's pouch. Scared but curious, he feeds the hungry baby and makes an unlikely friend. But to save the helpless dragonling he must now venture into the fearsome Valley of the Dragons, risking his life to return his friend to his own fire-breathing kind!