The Stewart children grew up living in an apartment across the hall from their grandparents. Little did they suspect that the fairy tales their grandparents told them were not fairy tales at all. Travel with the Stewart children to the planet Thera, where their natural abilities and talents become the extraordinary means they use to rescue the queen of Annabella. 2
Humans and Nightlings are never to meet, but when Genna and her brother Dan venture into the old forest at night, they encounter a Nightling slave who reveals a terrifying secret.
“Redolent of folklore . . . A sweet morality tale of cosmic misadventures and sibling rivalry” by the author of The Cloud Princess (Kirkus Reviews). The Sun and the Moon are sisters, and they rule and sky together peacefully. One day, however, each begins to wonder: who is more important? This friction leads them to make a powerful decision to switch roles, hoping that it will lead to a greater understanding of their powers. Soon, the Sun begins shining all through the night, and the Moon brings night to the day. In the end, the two sisters will learn an important lesson about the importance of harmony and the balance of their relationship. “This wonderful picture book evokes a sense of harmony through pictures and words inspired by a blend of modern and traditional Asian artwork and folklore. Earth tones juxtaposed with bursts of color in mixed media and watercolor create vibrant imagery that thoughtfully reflects nature and honors the spirit of multiculturalism . . . Audiences young and old will admire this wise and magical tale, whether it’s read aloud in a group or shared one-on-one at bedtime.” —School Library Journal “It is the illustrations that stand out, their jewel tones, elegant lines, and complex textures managing to look simultaneously contemporary and timeless.” —Kirkus Reviews
When Genna is chosen as the Sunrider of prophecy, her destiny is to unite the magic of the sun and the moon for the good of both Nightlings and humans.
"What if?" questions stimulate people to think in new ways, to refresh old ideas, and to make new discoveries. In What If the Earth Had Two Moons, Neil Comins leads us on a fascinating ten-world journey as we explore what our planet would be like under alternative astronomical conditions. In each case, the Earth would be different, often in surprising ways. The title chapter, for example, gives us a second moon orbiting closer to Earth than the one we have now. The night sky is a lot brighter, but that won't last forever. Eventually the moons collide, with one extra-massive moon emerging after a period during which Earth sports a Saturn-like ring. This and nine and other speculative essays provide us with insights into the Earth as it exists today, while shedding new light on the burgeoning search for life on planets orbiting other stars. Appealing to adult and young adult alike, this book is a fascinating journey through physics and astronomy, and follows on the author's previous bestseller, What if the Moon Didn't Exist?, with completely new scenarios backed by the latest astronomical research.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years. What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . . Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth. A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.
What if Earth had several moons or massive rings like Saturn? What if the Sun were but one star in a double-star or triple-star system? What if Earth were the only planet circling the Sun? These and other imaginative scenarios are the subject of Arthur Upgren's inventive book Many Skies: Alternative Histories of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars. Although the night sky as we know it seems eternal and inevitable, Upgren reminds us that, just as easily, it could have been very different. Had the solar sytem happened to be in the midst of a star cluster, we might have many more bright stars in the sky. Yet had it been located beyond the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, we might have no stars at all. If Venus or Mars had a moon as large as ours, we would be able to view it easily with the unaided eye. Given these or other alternative skies, what might Ptolemy or Copernicus have concluded about the center of the solar sytem and the Sun? This book not only examines the changes in science that these alternative solar, stellar, and galactic arrangements would have brought, it also explores the different theologies, astrologies, and methods of tracking time that would have developed to reflect them. Our perception of our surroundings, the number of gods we worship, the symbols we use in art and literature, even the way we form nations and empires are all closely tied to our particular (and accidental) placement in the universe. Many Skies, however, is not merely a fanciful play on what might have been. Upgren also explores the actual ways that human interferences such as light pollution are changing the night sky. Our atmosphere, he warns, will appear very different if we have belt of debris circling the globe and blotting out the stars, as will happen if advertisers one day pollute space with brilliant satellites displaying their products. From fanciful to foreboding, the scenarios in Many Skies will both delight and inspire reflection, reminding us that ours is but one of many worldviews based on our experience of a universe that is as much a product of accident as it is of intention.
In Brother Sun, Sister Moon, award-winning author Katherine Paterson re-imagines a hymn of praise originally written by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224. Illuminated with the exquisite illustrations of cut-paper artist Pamela Dalton, this picture book offers a stunningly beautiful tribute to nature.
Spanning half a lifetime, Under Three Moons takes place on three nights across three decades of two friends' lives. From a school trip to France as teenagers, to a surf shack in their twenties, to Christmas in their thirties, Mike and Paul meet up and talk into the night. From boyhood to manhood to fatherhood, these are the nights they share. This sharp two-hander concerns society's shifting view of male identity, how we've gone from talk of 'lad culture' to the 'metro-sexual' and now 'toxic masculinity'. Male mental health has become much more understood if not discussed enough and the way men relate to their friends and to themselves, is complicated and emotionally obtuse. Under Three Moons is about a male friendship, two men growing together, a relationship that's close but often un-articulated, and how that lack of direct expression can become the defining trait in a life.
The Beyond She’ll have to go to hell to save the man she loves Selene never asked for the darkness that followed her all her life. It wasn’t until her sixteenth birthday that something clicked, and she began to understand how to control it. She spent years jumping between foster homes, and the only steady person in her life was Scott, her foster-family brother. Finding out that she has an actual sister has been some of the only good news in her life. But when she finds out that she has a brother as well, things take a darker turn. Scott was a lost soul. He was born into the world a bastard and would leave the world the same. But somehow he ends up with a one-way ticket to the underworld, only he isn’t dead. Yet. The only thing he regrets in his short life is not telling Selene how important she was to him. The Void Battle the darkness within herself before it destroys... Everything Mia has always been aware of the things that lurk in the darkness. The weight of her family's age-old obligations as molded her entire life. Now, she’s trapped in a lost world and confronted by the very things that terrify most people. This time, however, things have changed. The balance has shifted, and if she can’t break free, she just might find herself consumed by the darkness. Lucas has returned to the Void to save Mia, but without his own special abilities, he's powerless to help her. The journey to reach her is treacherous, but it's nothing compared to the fight they have ahead. As they ready for the coming battle to fight evil, they must confront not only the darkness that threatens to destroy this realm but also the feelings that are growing between them. Can Lucas find a way to save Mia before the darkness destroys her world? And will their love be enough to overcome the challenges they face? The Stars Can a modern-day Pandora and her destined protector save the world from impending chaos before it's too late? Amy Reed has the worst luck when it comes to love. After being abandoned by her latest boyfriend in the middle of nowhere, she's convinced that happy endings aren't meant for her. It might be the nightmares that have plagued her for years, straining her relationships. Or perhaps it's the chaos that seems to follow her everywhere. Whatever the cause, Amy has sworn off men entirely. To make matters worse, she has recently discovered that she is the reincarnation of Pandora. Yes, that Pandora, the guardian of the legendary box containing both the hopes of humanity and the potential for its destruction. Dante Hicks, a local police officer and keeper of the keys, has always known his purpose. It wasn't until Amy reentered his life that he realized she was the one he was destined to save and protect. However, Amy has done nothing but avoid and torment him. With the world seemingly on the brink of collapse, can Dante persuade Amy to trust him before it's too late?
