The Ridgeway family takes on France in this delightful story from Newbery Medal winner Carol Ryrie Brink. Professor Ridgeway is on sabbatical in the South of France-and the whole family is along for the adventure. Susan has brought her diary to document their vacation fun, but Dumpling isn't convinced that France can compete with their house with the tower back in Midwest City. She's brought along her doll, Irene, as her little piece of home. George is just happy to have some new terrain to search for rocks. As the Ridgeways settle in, they find out that a real, live princess is staying at their hotel. But who could she be? While they search for the princess, they also begin studying French with their stern tutor, Mademoiselle-but isn't it more fun teaching her some not-so-proper English? And as Halloween and Thanksgiving roll around, the Ridgeway children decide to show France a little bit of what these holidays mean back home in America-with some unexpected results! France will never be the same after the Ridgeways come to visit!

The classic tale by award-winning author Marjorie Flack is back in print for the first time in decades! Walter is a lazy mouse. He is so lazy that he always misses school and spends all his time in bed. He is so lazy that eventually his family forgets about him and moves away...without him. Alone and scared, Walter heads out into the world to search for his family. He travels through a dark forest and soon meets a turtle and some frogs. Walter decides to create a new home on Mouse Island. His froggy friends live nearby, and Walter tries to teach them things. With his own island-and friends who depend on him-Walter must learn to take care of himself. There is no time to be lazy! But will Walter ever see his family again? First published in 1937 and back in print for the first time in decades with Marjorie Flack's own illustrations, this is a classic tale of adventure and friendship, and the importance of perseverance. An introduction from noted librarian Nancy Pearl is included.

Fifteen Montana cowboys and five hundred longhorns are embarking on a one of a kind Wild West adventure: a cattle drive across a thousand miles of Siberia. The clash of cultures between East and West, American six shooter and Russian saber, begins immediately when a band of Cossacks arrives to escort them to their destination. Cowboys and Cossacks must work together or they?ll never survive the journey, which includes a meeting with the warrior, Genghis Kharlagawl, and his army of bloodthirsty Tartars. The code of the cowboy and the credo of the Cossack offer different measures of manhood ? but honor and courage are the same in any language when a common enemy must be faced. Book Lust Rediscoveries is a series devoted to reprinting some of the best (and now out of print) novels originally published from 1960 to 2000. Each book is personally selected by NPR commentator and Book Lust author Nancy Pearl and includes an introduction by her, as well as discussion questions for book groups and a list of recommended further reading.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY ~ THE NEW YORK TIMES With a Foreword by Susan Orlean, twenty-three of today's living literary legends, including Donna Tartt, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Andrew Sean Greer, Laila Lalami, and Michael Chabon, reveal the books that made them think, brought them joy, and changed their lives in this intimate, moving, and insightful collection from "American's Librarian" and recipient of the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for Outstanding Service Nancy Pearl and noted playwright Jeff Schwager that celebrates the power of literature and reading to connect us all. Before Jennifer Egan, Louise Erdrich, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Jonathan Lethem became revered authors, they were readers. In this ebullient book, America's favorite librarian Nancy Pearl and noted-playwright Jeff Schwager interview a diverse range of America's most notable and influential writers about the books that shaped them and inspired them to leave their own literary mark. Illustrated with beautiful line drawings, The Writer's Library is a revelatory exploration of the studies, libraries, and bookstores of today's favorite authors-the creative artists whose imagination and sublime talent make America's literary scene the wonderful, dynamic world it is. A love letter to books and a celebration of wordsmiths, The Writer's Library is a treasure for anyone who has been moved by the written word. The authors in The Writer's Library are: Russell Banks TC Boyle Michael Chabon Susan Choi Jennifer Egan Dave Eggers Louise Erdrich Richard Ford Laurie Frankel Andrew Sean Greer Jane Hirshfield Siri Hustvedt Charles Johnson Laila Lalami Jonathan Lethem Donna Tartt Madeline Miller Viet Thanh Nguyen Luis Alberto Urrea Vendela Vida Ayelet Waldman Maaza Mengiste Amor Towles

For eighteen-year-old Shannon Lightley, life's been an endless parade across Europe, following either her actress mother or her renowned journalist father. Paris, Milan, London-Shannon has been everywhere, but somewhere along the way, she realizes she's really...nowhere. Having graduated from high school and about to board yet another flight for yet another destination, Shannon is offered an alternative: stay in Portland, Oregon, with her parents' close friend and help his law firm investigate a group of strangers living near the local university. A will with a substantial inheritance is being contested, and Shannon's task is to gather information on the unlikely recipients of the money. Using an assumed name and working as a waitress in a diner, Shannon finds herself entirely on her own for the first time in her life; and as the long summer days go by, she tries to sort out who she really is and what her future holds. Originally published in 1968 and newly released as part of Nancy Pearl's Book Crush Rediscoveries, Greensleeves is a smart and timeless tale of how far people must go to find themselves.

From Caldecott-winning illustrator David Small and bestselling author Bonny Becker, an unforgettable Christmas story that will leave the whole family giggling. When Alice Jayne finds a crocodile under the tree on Christmas Eve, her family goes into an uproar! The Christmas Crocodile doesn't mean to be bad, not really, but soon he is eating up Christmas-from the dinner roast to the left stove-top burner...even the Christmas tree! Everyone has an opinion about what to do with him. Uncle Theodore suggests they send him to Africa, Father recommends the zoo, and Aunt Figgy mentions an orphanage. But Alice Jayne thinks the Christmas Crocodile deserves a real family. Can she find him a new home? And will she and the family survive till Christmas morning, with that naughty crocodile gobbling up everything in sight?

This first picture book in nationally renowned librarian Nancy Pearl's new Book Crush Rediscoveries series for children and young adults is now available for a new generation of readers. Herman has made plans to visit his aunt Gert, so he sets out in his fur coat for her house. But on his way, a passing bear mistakes Herman for the Bear family's cousin Julius. The bear invites Herman home for a visit, and all the bears think Herman is Cousin Julius! Can Herman convince the Bear family that he is definitely not their cousin and most definitely not a bear? Bernice Myers's classic picture book, first published in 1967, is a timeless treasure that will have young children giggling. An introduction, discussion questions and activities, and further suggested reading from noted librarian Nancy Pearl are included.

From "America's librarian" and NPR books commentator Nancy Pearl comes an emotional, "Anne-Tyler-esque" (Library Journal) debut novel about an unlikely marriage at a crossroads. George and Lizzie are a couple, meeting as college students and marrying soon after graduation, but no one would ever describe them of being soulmates. George grew up in a warm and loving family-his father an orthodontist, his mother a stay-at-home mom-while Lizzie was the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love. After a decade of marriage, nothing has changed-George is happy; Lizzie remains...unfulfilled. But when George discovers that Lizzie has been searching for the whereabouts of an old boyfriend, Lizzie is forced to decide what love means to her, what George means to her, and whether her life with George is the one she wants. With pitch-perfect prose and compassion and humor to spare, George and Lizzie is "a richly absorbing portrait of a perfectly imperfect marriage," (Amy Poeppel, author of Small Admissions), and "a story of forgiveness, especially for one's self" (The Washington Post).

The third in the "Now Read This" series, Pearl & Cords's guide briefly describes and organizes approximately 500 of the most popular and current contemporary, mainstream fiction titles according to their primary appeal features-character, setting, language, and story. It also notes award-winning titles and those appropriate for book clubs; and it offers users suggestions for related reads. Focus is on titles published since 2000, and all annotations are new to this volume. This is "the" standard readers' advisory guide to mainstream fiction, and an essential tool for readers' advisors.

Navigate the fascinating world of mainstream fiction! With emphasis on award-winning fiction, this companion guide to Now Read This: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, 1978-1998, features more than 500 novels published between 1990 and 2001. Using the same easy-access organization that made the original so popular, this book includes more than 400 new entries and several features that enable you to discover new reads and read-alikes based on an appeal-characteristics approach to the literature. Never again shy of an answer to "Can you recommend a good book?" you will find this to be an indispensable resource and tool.