New Releases by Kent Davis

"Action-packed and filled with great friendships, terrible villains, plot twists, and plenty of humor."— San Antonio Express-News In the gripping final book in the Riddle in Ruby trilogy, young thief Ruby Teach and her friends must save their city from an evil scientist with nefarious plans. The epic conclusion of the Riddle in Ruby trilogy is a hilarious and dastardly adventure perfect for fans of The School for Good and Evil and The Amulet of Samarkand. In the past year, Ruby Teach was kidnapped, taken to a remote fortress, and experimented on by an evil scientist working for the crown. And even though she''s finally been reunited with her friends, her trouble has not ended. The vile Dr. Swedenborg has created a machine that steals the life force out of the unsuspecting citizens of Philadelphi, and Ruby and her crew might be the only ones brave enough to stop him. With a mix of magic, science, friendship, peril, and one adorable mechanical otter, Kent Davis''s reimagining of colonial America is wholly original.

The Riddle in Ruby trilogy takes readers on a rip-roaring adventure through an alternate version of colonial America, where magic and science meet, and where one young thief carries a secret everyone wants. In this second volume, Ruby Teach has become the enemy''s prisoner. She bargained with her freedom to protect her friends—but her friends aren''t about to abandon her, either. That''s not what friends do. Ruby''s blood holds a secret, one that could turn the tides of the looming war for whomever unlocks it first. Ruby''s father, former pirate Captain Teach, and her friends—a motley crew made up of a young aristocrat, a servant, and an apprentice alchemist—must race against time to locate the hidden fortress where she''s being held. But the one person who could help them is Ruby''s mysterious and powerful mother, and no one has seen her since Ruby''s birth. Kent Davis sweeps our heroes through cities and the deepest wilderness with imagination, humor, and magic that fans of Jonathan Stroud and Terry Pratchett will devour.

a new historically set story for adults

Starting with the framework of New Institutional Economics, this Comment examines the institutional arrangements of Chinese and U.S. governance, and then scrutinizes their respective policy responses to the financial collapse of 2008. The latent thesis is that, notwithstanding differences in economic development, the more centralized arrangement of China allowed for a more timely and competent response, while the comparatively more decentralized arrangement of the U.S. resulted in languid and ineffective measures, themselves punctuated by political brinksmanship. The Comment concludes that the Chinese institutional arrangement should, by virtue of design, produce a more timely and internally consistent response than the U.S., but at the expense of individual liberty.

The Million Dollar Machine (MDM) is a life skills enrichment program for all children in Grades K-6. This award-winning teaching system enables educators, mentors and parents to give their children the knowledge and motivation they need to achieve their personal best in life. With this easy-to-use lesson collection, children will immediately begin benefiting from these classroom-proven activities that shape a wide variety of essential personal, social, cognitive and environmental skills. MDM''s health and decision-making skills also protect children from drug use and other risky behaviors; a key benefit that earned this program a Presidential Award at the White House. This new edition includes the entire nationally tested lesson collection, validated by 5 scientific studies, with more than 600 integrated activities and discussion topics, 80 interactive parent/child worksheets, vocabulary and complete use guidelines. Teachers, mentors and parents praise the age-appropriate MDM lessons because they are effective, economical and easy to use in the classroom and at home. Children love MDM because it makes learning fun!

This fascinating journey into the anomalies pervading our universe appeals to paranormal enthusiasts, scholars, or anyone interested in the meaning of life.