The Joy Valley Turtle is a childrens chapter book about a turtle in Northern Michigan who finds himself far from home and must overcome many hardships to find his way back. During the turtles adventurous trip home, he must find ways to stay positive and keep moving forward or risk delaying the return to his family. Along the way Turtle finds the importance of friendship and discovers help in the most unusual ways.
It's 1850 when Edmund and Esther Allan and their young son arrive by river raft in the Fox Valley and Edmund stakes his claim on what he believes to be the perfect site for their homestead a beautiful hill overlooking 150 acres of valleys and forests. Little does he know that the Indians have already nicknamed the site The Hill of Many Sorrows. Stubborn as ever, Edmund will never admit the drawbacks of living on the hill even after the Allan family loses their first crop to a drought. After a surprise blizzard, their provisions run low and Esther sinks into deep despair as the long, harsh Wisconsin winter drags on. But it is not long before Esther is befriended by Sleeping Turtle, an elderly Winnebago squaw who teaches her not only how to survive in the wilderness, but also gives her a new perspective on life. With the squaw's help, Esther starts a business while Edmund harvests his first successful crop. But just as the growing family finally realizes prosperity, a fatal disaster reveals a devastating betrayal. Now, with her family facing financial ruin, Esther must summon the courage to pull them through their worst crisis.
In Where the Hell Is Turtle Creek? author Barrie Bartulski presents his honest and sometimes humorous memoir of his childhood in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania. He paints a portrait of a happy, unique childhood complete with mean teachers and close buddies. These stories capture the adventures of a group of children, from mixed ethnic and religious backgrounds, growing up in the 1940s and 50s in Turtle Creek, a small town in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Most of the stories take place around Turtle Creeks Saint Colmans Catholic elementary school and the public junior and senior high school. The discipline administered by a few of the Sisters of Mercy at Saint Colmans School was overly aggressive and would not happen today with the special training that teachers now receive. Bartulski shares it to illustrate an area that was much on the minds of children in those days. The Catholic Church has since banned all paddlingwonderful news but a little late for him and his pals. He has lovingly captured a lost time, the time when a boy could be carefree and be mostly concerned about what games he and his pals were going to play that day. They are memories to be cherished and experienced time and time again, winningly recounted in Where the Hell is Turtle Creek?
Fiction. The author of the award-winning What the Zhang Boys Know ("...utterly beautiful and unforgettable"--Kevin Wilson) now gives us a heart-rending first novel about love, displacement, and the powerful ghosts that haunt so many families. The Alexanders have farmed the land in Turtle Valley for generations, and their family and its history is tied to this mountainous region of Virginia in ways few others can claim. When Gulf War veteran Aiken Alexander brings home a young and pregnant South Korean bride, he hopes at long last to claim his own place in that complicated history--coming out from behind the shadow of his tragically killed older brother and taking up a new place in his father's affections. However, things do not go according to plan. His wife, Soon-hee, can't--or won't--adjust to life in America. When Soon-hee disappears with their son, Aiken's life and dreams truly fall apart--he loses his job, is compelled to return to the family home, and falls prey to all his worst impulses. It is at this low point that Aiken's story becomes interwoven with a dubious Alexander family history, one that pitted brother against brother and now cousin against cousin, in a perfect storm of violence and dysfunction. Drawing on Korean beliefs in spirits and shamanism, how Aiken solves these problems--both corporeal and spiritual--is at the center of this dynamic and beautifully written debut novel.
Since forming in 1889, Orange County, California has become famous all over the world for being home to such popular attractions as Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But there are also many other places that helped establish the county as not just a popular tourist destination, but also home to countless cultural landmarks that served the local communities for generations. Stretching across the 34 cities that comprise “The OC,” Lost Landmarks of Orange County brings back fabulous memories of music venues, restaurants, theaters, theme parks, attractions, and more. Everybody knows the aforementioned Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, but Orange County was also home to Lion Country Safari, the California Alligator farm, the Buffalo Ranch, Japanese Deer Park, Movieland Wax Museum, the Orange County International Speedway, and many other large-scale attractions. Concert venues including the Golden Bear, Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, and the Cuckoo’s Nest, which all featured some of the biggest names in rock and roll and popular music. Tiki bars, airports, drive-in movie theaters, themed restaurants . . . these were the places where generations of OC natives and visitors from around the world created memories that would last a lifetime. Today, all of these locations are gone, but utilizing firsthand accounts, rare photos, artifacts, and other resources, Lost Landmarks of Orange County keeps the colorful memories of Orange County’s past alive.
