A new atmospheric Italian mystery novel set in Lake Como, introducing the clever and captivating Inspector Stefania Valenti During the construction of a new road to the Swiss border in the mountains above Lake Como, the remains of a young man are unearthed on the powerful Cappelletti family’s property. On the case is Stefania Valenti, forty-five, divorced with a young daughter, and a brilliant, determined police inspector. Her investigation takes her back to World War II and deep into the history of the region, a place that during the war attracted smugglers, deserters, secret agents, and fleeing Jews. Steeped in the beautiful atmosphere of Northern Italy, Valenti’s investigation brings to light a family’s secret, a tragic romance, and reveals a fascinating piece of Italian history.
Fourth grader Scab McNally has a real quandary on his hands. During a fishing expedition with his two best friends and new favorite doggy companion, golden retriever Joe, he's convinced that he glimpsed some kind of swamp creature. All Scab needs to do is get permission to go back out on Beeson's Lake with another fishing rod (and some special handcrafted dinosaur-spying inventions, of course!) and he'll be able to find proof. But before she'll let him back out on the water, Scab's mom insists that he pass the swimming class he's being forced to take with his "smart times ten" twin sister Isabelle. That means Scab has to master swimming in the super deep end of the pool, and Scab is NOT ready for that! So, it's back to his top secret lab to diagram some special schemes and plans for the occasion. Will any of them go awry? Well, it wouldn't be any fun if they didn't, would it?
A lost dog, a hidden time tunnel and a secret lake take Stella and Tom to their home and the children living there 100 years in the past. A time-travel adventure for ages 8-11 enjoyed by over 500,000 children. The long-awaited sequel now out!
The Creature Campers are back for another adventure! To pass their map and compass skills test, they must find their way to a hidden spot in the forest, where a picnic feast awaits! Follow Norm the Bigfoot and his friends as they brave a swampy lake, a scheming creature collector, and a starry night surprise to get to their deliciously sweet reward--and learn the true meaning of teamwork and trust.
Join the Creature Campers as they tackle their biggest challenge yet! The campers must take turns leading each other through the Camp Moonlight Obstacle Course... of DOOM! Together, they learn that sometimes it's good to be small, and sometimes it's good to be tall, but it's always good to face a challenge with friends.
What is the real story beneath shadow lake? In an instant Anna Collins loses control of her car and careens into isolated Shadow Lake. Near death, she's rescued by a man named Jack Fairbanks. But how could that be? Everyone says that the reclusive Fairbanks, scion of a powerful political family, is dead. Anna is sure Jack's astonishing appearance is related to the hit-and-run that killed her son and destroyed her marriage. But when her friend's body is discovered in Anna's waterlogged trunk, she's not sure what to believe anymore. How did the body get there? Is Anna actually a murderer? Only one person knows, but finding him threatens to expose Anna to a deadly encounter on the banks of Shadow Lake.
For Chris Barnes and his best friend, Luke Lin-ford, summer has been anything but ordinary. After a botched attempt to help their local sheriffs department stop a criminal named Dr. Bertram Watson, the boys fear that the escaped Dr. Watson will be looking for revenge. Their suspicions are confirmed when two men arrive, claiming to be detectives who have more questions for Chris and Luke about their knowledge of Dr. Watson and his late wifeand then take them into protective custody while the investigation continues. But after Chris, Luke, and their protective detail are attacked at their safe house, the pair of teens realizes that theyll have to take matters into their own hands if they want to capture Dr. Watson and live to tell the tale. On their own, it isnt long before Dr. Watson and his thugs catch up with them and chase the boys into an old graveyard. Its there that Chris and Luke receive help from an unexpected source and learn of a legendary crystal skull that, if found, can give anyone power to change the future. When the boys learn that Luke is the key to finding the real skull, the two begin a dangerous adventure to find it before Dr. Watson silences thempermanently.
Lines on the Land Writers, Art, and the National Parks Scott Herring The nineteenth-century photographer William Henry Jackson once complained of the skepticism with which early descriptions of Yellowstone were met: the place was too wondrous to be believed. The public demanded proof, and a host of artists and writers obliged. These early explorers possessed a vigorous devotion to the young nation's wilderness--the naturalist John Muir famously toured the land from Wisconsin to Florida on foot--and through their work established aesthetic categories that exist to this day. In Lines on the Land, Scott Herring contends that these writers and artists were canon makers, recognizing the national parks as naturally occurring works of art and conferring upon them a cultural prestige: the parks were the splendid focal points of the American landscape. These early, canonizing works are homages to a vast, untouched wilderness. This praise would gradually give way, however, to a distinctly American anger--what Herring calls "outraged idealism." Later generations were faced with a changing culture that had imperfectly absorbed, and even misrepresented, the national-park aesthetic. The postwar park was overrun by cars and tourists who could not possibly match the pioneering naturalists' profound commitment to and appreciation for their surroundings. The collective tone of the parks' chroniclers, as a result, evolved from celebration of awesome beauty to indignation over the perceived corruption of the parks, both as an ideal and as actual physical settings. Herring traces this shift through the work of a wide spectrum of creative minds, from early figures such as Muir and Thomas Moran to later observers of the parks such as Ansel Adams, Sylvia Plath, Edward Abbey, and Rick Bass. The text is punctuated by autobiographical "interchapters," in which Herring relates the book's chief themes to his own experiences in Yellowstone National Park. Under the Sign of Nature: Explorations in Ecocriticism
Suspenseful and compelling, Daniela Tully’s Hotel on Shadow Lake is at once an intricate mystery, an epic romance, and a Gothic family saga. When Maya was a girl in Germany, her grandmother was everything to her: teller of magical fairy tales, surrogate mother, best friend. Then, shortly after Maya’s sixteenth birthday, her grandmother disappeared without a trace, leaving Maya with only questions to fill the void. Twenty-seven years later, her grandmother’s body is found in a place she had no connection to: the Montgomery Resort in upstate New York. How did she get there? Why had she come? Desperate for answers, Maya leaves her life in Germany behind and travels to America, where she is drawn to the powerful family that owns the hotel and seemingly the rest of the town. Soon Maya is unraveling secrets that go back decades, from 1910s New York to 1930s Germany and beyond. But when she begins to find herself spinning her own lies in order to uncover the circumstances surrounding her grandmother’s death, she must decide whether her life and a chance at true love are worth risking for the truth.
