Six months pregnant, abandoned and without a penny to her name, Lily Hansen has only one place to go. The ranching community—and her traditional father—won't take kindly to her situation. But when a handsome forest ranger saves Lily from a flash flood, all she sees is concern in his warm brown eyes. She soon discovers that Nate Coates's own harrowing family history is behind his need to take care of her. Though she dreams of marriage, she'll have to open her heart to love before she can become Nate's wife.
Imagine serving as a park ranger for our U.S. National Parks! If you were a national park ranger, you'd spend every day in one of the most treasured places in America. You'd wear a special uniform, a hat, and a badge—but sometimes you might also need snowshoes or a life jacket. Maybe you'd track the movements of wild animals. You could help scientists make discoveries. You might even be part of a search and rescue team! You'd have an amazing job protecting animals, the environment, and our country's natural and historical heritage, from the wilds of Denali to the Statue of Liberty.
The Soldier's Second Chance After being injured in Afghanistan, former soldier Dal Savatch thought he'd lost everything. But working on a horse ranch for disabled children teaches him to appreciate the life he still has. When the new forest ranger in town turns out to be Dal's first love, his tranquil world is turned upside down. For years, Julie Granger's been carrying a painful secret that's prevented her from having what she wants most: a family. Reuniting with Dal has her suddenly believing in dreams she thought were long buried. Can two wounded souls find healing and happiness in a future together?
Managing a Wyoming sheep ranch and a feisty little girl isn't easy for widow Melanie MacAllister. The last thing she needs is yet another forest ranger to stir up trouble for the ranchers. But when she meets single dad Scott Ennison and his daughter, she realizes there's something special about this ranger. Scott has vowed to protect the land and the ranchers his predecessors have alienated in the past. Yet no one wants to trust him—except courageous Melanie. Together they'll prove that a rancher and a ranger can become neighbors, friends…maybe even a family.
The Book That Launched an International Movement Fans of The Anxious Generation will adore Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv's groundbreaking New York Times bestseller. “An absolute must-read for parents.” —The Boston Globe “It rivals Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.” —The Cincinnati Enquirer “I like to play indoors better ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are,” reports a fourth grader. But it’s not only computers, television, and video games that are keeping kids inside. It’s also their parents’ fears of traffic, strangers, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus; their schools’ emphasis on more and more homework; their structured schedules; and their lack of access to natural areas. Local governments, neighborhood associations, and even organizations devoted to the outdoors are placing legal and regulatory constraints on many wild spaces, sometimes making natural play a crime. As children’s connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity, and attention deficit disorder. Environment-based education dramatically improves standardized test scores and grade-point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that childhood experiences in nature stimulate creativity. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv talks with parents, children, teachers, scientists, religious leaders, child-development researchers, and environmentalists who recognize the threat and offer solutions. Louv shows us an alternative future, one in which parents help their kids experience the natural world more deeply—and find the joy of family connectedness in the process. Included in this edition: A Field Guide with 100 Practical Actions We Can Take Discussion Points for Book Groups, Classrooms, and Communities Additional Notes by the Author New and Updated Research from the U.S. and Abroad
‘Thirteen-year-old Atiya will win the hearts of young readers. Although physically handicapped; her adventurous spirit takes her on lonely rambles into the wildlife sanctuary. She knows the ways of the jungle and its creatures great and small. A charming story; full of incident and good feeling. Atiya’s flute has a special magic of its own.’—Ruskin Bond Atiya Sardare lives with her dad; a forest officer. An only child; afflicted by polio; she finds solace and peace in the jungle; exploring it on short; secret; often dangerous treks. On one occasion she hears the haunting notes of a flute. It gives her goose bumps. She vows to learn to play the instrument much against her father’s wishes. Her music lessons bring her close to the grouchy old anthropologist; Ogre Uncle; and his Kurumba tribal daughter; Mishora. Atiya’s gift transforms her father’s view; it calms the rogue elephant; Rangappa and helps nurture a blossoming friendship between a teenage boy and girl. A moving; tender; and mesmerizing tale; Flute in the Forest has wonderful incidents based on the real-life experiences of the author.
When did the kid who strolled the wooded path, trolled the stream, played pick-up ball in the back forty turn into the child confined to the mall and the computer screen? How did “Go out and play!” go from parental shooing to prescription? When did parents become afraid to send their children outdoors? Surveying the landscape of childhood from the Civil War to our own day, this environmental history of growing up in America asks why and how the nation’s children have moved indoors, often losing touch with nature in the process. In the time the book covers, the nation that once lived in the country has migrated to the city, a move whose implications and ramifications for youth Pamela Riney-Kehrberg explores in chapters concerning children’s adaptation to an increasingly urban and sometimes perilous environment. Her focus is largely on the Midwest and Great Plains, where the response of families to profound economic and social changes can be traced through its urban, suburban, and rural permutations—as summer camps, scouting, and nature education take the place of children’s unmediated experience of the natural world. As the story moves into the mid-twentieth century, and technology in the form of radio and television begins to exert its allure, Riney-Kehrberg brings her own experience to bear as she documents the emerging tug-of-war between indoors and outdoors—and between the preferences of children and parents. It is a battle that children, at home with their electronic amenities, seem to have won—an outcome whose meaning and likely consequences this timely book helps us to understand.
After two professors give a speech at a local campground about ancient burial grounds in the Appalachian Mountains, Maggie and her friend, Digger fear the worst. As they set out to save long-hidden sacred grounds from unscrupulous treasures hunters, their quest soon leads them to danger as forest fires suddenly rage out of control. When a local Forest Ranger mysteriously disappears while warning campers of the forest fire, Maggie and Digger join a search team to help find him. Their rescue efforts become complicated when they discover Zack and Jonah, two young boys who live on the mountain, have also disappeared after they set out to find the Ranger on their own. A temperamental bear and two unsavory moonshine dealers increase the dangers and complicate rescue efforts for the search party. Yet, Maggie and Digger continue to press on through the rugged trails as smoke from the forest fire intensifies.
