The Hardy Boys - Lucky Fellows is the author's look back at the book series that intrigued him at the age of twelve. Through full-color photos of the books, quotes and a solid recall on the Hardy Boys' adventures over forty volumes, a genial and sensitive story is told about why juvenile readers fell in love with the boy detectives. The author confesses that the vivid colors and designs of the dust covers on the books were the original selling point in his desire to read every Hardy Boys book available to him as a young reader. The cover illustrations were stunning, and even today, they are a major reason why collectors look on used book store shelves for these fiction gems. The stories are almost secondary in the desire to own the books, but if you read them, you see just how outlandish and quirky the stories were. After all, two 15 and 16 year-old brothers were solving major crimes in a town called Bayport - crimes that the police and their father, famous private detective in his own right, could not solve. They frequently faced death-defying situations, only to be, almost comically, "lucky" to escape. The author has subjectively chosen the series' end as the fortieth volume, even though many more books were printed. The chosen number was not arbitrary. The fortieth book in the series signaled the end of the beautiful dust jackets, with later volumes printed less impressively by having the artwork applied directly to the linen hard-cover backing of the book. So, in addition to the author's story about these cool-as-a-cucumber young detectives, The Hardy Boys - Lucky Fellows serves as a beautiful, full-color reference to the artwork of those first forty books. If you are are Hardy Boys juvenile fiction fan, you'll need to own this.

Feathers in a Flap is a happy-ending children's story about a man and the colorful birds in his back yard. The birds in the story are afraid of the man and believe that he is mean, though this is not at all true. In fact, the man loves having the birds in his life, and he, indeed, has a very happy spirit. He cares for his bird neighbors constantly by setting out food and water. However, the birds ignore the man's offerings. He is perplexed by this and often appears sad as a result. As the story continues, the reader sees how this misperception evolves. A mischievous character, with his "feathers in a flap," is not only the problem, but, through very unexpected circumstances, also the solution to everyone getting along. Feathers in a Flap, in a thoughtful and richly illustrated way, incorporates important life lessons: the ripple effect of lying; judging people (or things) by appearance alone; and finally, respecting the cohabitants in our lives.