In a world built for Perfect Pets, Barnabus is a Failed Project, half mouse, half elephant, kept out of sight until his dreams of freedom lead him and his misfit friends on a perilous adventure. A stunning picture book from international bestsellers The Fan Brothers, joined by their brother Devin Fan. Deep underground beneath Perfect Pets, where children can buy genetically engineered "perfect" creatures, there is a secret lab. Barnabus and his friends live in this lab, but none of them are perfect. They are all Failed Projects. Barnabus has never been outside his tiny bell jar, yet he dreams of one day seeing the world above ground that his pal Pip the cockroach has told him about: a world with green hills and trees, and buildings that reach all the way to the sky, lit with their own stars. But Barnabus may have to reach the outside world sooner than he thought, because the Green Rubber Suits are about to recycle all Failed Projects . . . and Barnabus doesn't want to be made into a fluffier pet with bigger eyes. He just wants to be himself. So he decides it's time for he and the others to escape. With his little trunk and a lot of cooperation and courage, Barnabus sets out to find freedom - and a place where he and his friends can finally be accepted for who they are. This suspenseful, poignant and magical story about following your dreams and finding where you truly belong will draw readers into a surreal, lushly detailed world in which perfection really means being true to yourself and your friends. 'A stately, cathartic morality tale about freeing oneself from the tyranny of wanting to be perfect.' -The Financial Times 'ingeniously imaginative' - School Library Journal 'A heartfelt, timely allegory celebrating diversity, bravery, and solidarity.'- Kirkus

From the creators of The Night Gardener, comes a stunning new picture book about a young boy who sets sail to find a place his grandfather told him about... the spot where the ocean meets the sky.It's a good day for sailing. Finn lives by the sea and the sea lives by him. Every time he looks out his window it's a constant reminder of the stories his grandfather told him about the place where the ocean meets the sky. Where whales and jellyfish soar and birds and castles float. Finn's grandfather is gone now but Finn knows the perfect way to honor him. He'll build his own ship and sail out to find this magical place himself! And when he arrives, maybe, just maybe, he'll find something he didn't know he was looking for.

Get lost in the imaginative world of the Fan Brothers: a place you'll want to revisit again and again. "Something was happening on Grimloch Lane. Something good." One day, William discovers that the tree outside his window has been sculpted into a wise owl. Each day, more topiaries appear, each one more beautiful than the last. Soon, William's grey little town is full of colour and life. And, though the mysterious night gardener disappears as suddenly as he appeared, William and his town are changed forever. With breathtaking illustrations and spare, sweet text, this masterpiece about enjoying the beauty of nature is sure to become an instant classic. A best-selling picture book about an orphan whose life is transformed by a mysterious night gardener bringing colour and life to his town.

Lizzy and the Cloud is a whimsical and sweet tale of a young girl who cares for her pet cloud as it grows, from the creators of the critically acclaimed The Night Gardener and Ocean Meets Sky. It’s a little out of fashion to buy a pet cloud, but Lizzy doesn’t mind. She’s not looking for a big one or a fancy one, just one that’s right for her. And she finds it in Milo. Soon, she’s taking Milo out on walks with her family, watering Milo right on schedule and seeing Milo grow and grow. But what happens when her pet cloud gets too big for Lizzy to handle? This charming story with beautiful illustrations from the exceptionally talented Fan brothers will enchant readers young and old alike, teaching children an unpredictable journey of growth and loving something enough to set it free. 

Lizzy and the Cloud is a whimsical and sweet tale of a young girl who cares for her pet cloud as it grows, from the creators of the critically acclaimed The Night Gardener and Ocean Meets Sky. It's a little out of fashion to buy a pet cloud, but Lizzy doesn't mind. She's not looking for a big one or a fancy one, just one that's right for her. And she finds it in Milo. Soon, she's taking Milo out on walks with her family, watering Milo right on schedule and seeing Milo grow and grow. But what happens when her pet cloud gets too big for Lizzy to handle? This charming story with beautiful illustrations from the exceptionally talented Fan brothers will enchant readers young and old alike, teaching children an unpredictable journey of growth and loving something enough to set it free.

An inquisitive fox sets off on a seafaring voyage with a crew of deer and pigeons in this enchanting tale of friendship and adventure. Marco the fox has a lot of questions, like: how deep does the sun go when it sinks into the sea? And why do birds have such lizardy feet? But none of the other foxes share his curiosity. So when a magnificent ship adorned with antlers and with a deer for a captain arrives at the dock looking for a crew, Marco volunteers, hoping to find foxes who are as inquisitive as he is that can answer his questions. The crew finds adventure and intrigue on their journey. And, at last, Marco finds the answer to his most important question of all: What's the best way to find a friend you can talk to?

"The beauty of sky, music, and the belief in 'extraordinary things' triumph in this whimsical and magical tale" ("Publishers Weekly") about a girl in search of her past who discovers a secret rooftop world in Paris.
Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck that left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive--but "almost impossible" means "still possible." And you should never ignore a possible.
So when the Welfare Agency writes to her guardian, threatening to send Sophie to an orphanage, they takes matters into their own hands and flee to Paris to look for Sophie's mother, starting with the only clue they have--the address of the cello maker.
Evading the French authorities, she meets Matteo and his network of rooftoppers--urchins who live in the hidden spaces above the city. Together they scour the city in a search for Sophie's mother--but can they find her before Sophie is caught and sent back to London? Or, more importantly, before she loses hope?
Phillip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials series, calls "Rooftoppers ""the work of a writer with an utterly distinctive voice and a wild imagination."

THE GUARDIAN "[...] gorgeous illustration [...] intricate monochrome [...] acid-bright touches of colour [...] will prompt lively discussion." From the creators of the critically acclaimed The Night Gardener and Ocean Meets Sky comes a whimsical and elegantly illustrated picture book about community, art, the importance of giving back - and the wonder that fell from the sky. It fell from the sky on a Thursday. None of the insects know where it came from, or what it is. Some say it's an egg. Others, a gumdrop. But whatever it is, it fell near Spider's house, so he's convinced it belongs to him. Spider builds a wonderous display so that insects from far and wide can come to look at the marvel. Spider has their best interests at heart. So what if he has to charge a small fee? So what if the lines are long? But as Spider raises the prices, insects stop showing up, much to Spider's bemusement. And then, all of a sudden, an unexpected disaster hits and the marvel disappears! This charming story is accompanied by characterful illustrations, and also teaches children important life lessons about greed and the importance of sharing.

An unlikely team of talkative plants, a curious spider, and a grumpy goldfish use their newfound magical abilities to defend their family from a greedy human in this charming middle grade novel from New York Times bestselling author Beth Ferry, with illustrations from the award-winning Fan brothers.

Ivy is the beloved houseplant of young Jillian Tupper of Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, much to the constant dismay of Toasty the goldfish, who is technically the family pet—swimming in his special place of honor, the antique octagonal fish tank—and should be the most loved. It seems that’s how the cookie (or cheese puffs, in Toasty’s case) crumbles in the curious Tupper household, but soon a sequence of thrilling and magical events challenges that way of life forever.

First, there’s the arrival of Arthur, a knowledgeable spider with a broken leg and a curious mind, hidden in an old typewriter. Then Jillian throws everyone for a loop when she brings home dear, sweet Ollie, a school houseplant who just wants to be friends and sing. When Toasty splashes the plants with his tank water out of frustration, the friends learn that they can do magical things—like lift heavy objects and turn things invisible!

It turns out Toasty’s fishtank isn’t just for fish; it was made by a curious inventor who gave it special powers that, in the wrong hands, could disrupt everything forever. And a curious man with purple shoes just so happens to want that tank at any cost. Can Ivy, Toasty, Arthur, and Ollie grow to be friends in time to work together to save their beloved Tupper family from utter ruin?

In the spirit of Goodnight Moon and The Curious Garden comes a stunning debut picture book filled with whimsy and creativity from brothers Terry and Eric Fan.

One day, William discovers that the tree outside his window has been sculpted into a wise owl. In the following days, more topiaries appear, and each one is more beautiful than the last. Soon, William’s gray little town is full of color and life. And though the mysterious night gardener disappears as suddenly as he appeared, William—and his town—are changed forever.

With breathtaking illustrations and spare, sweet text, this masterpiece about enjoying the beauty of nature is sure to become an instant classic.

Welcome to the first issue of Alternating Current Press' annual "Poiesis Review" that contains fiction and creative nonfiction right alongside the poetry you've always loved. We've expanded the journal to contain prose, and now this beast of a journal sits pretty at 200 pages of writing by some of the best writers in the independent press today. There are lots of literary journals out there, so why take a chance on this one? Because, after 20 years in the small press, "Poiesis Review" is one of the only literary journals in existence that features a blend of today's up-and-coming promising rookies alongside the staples and legends of the last few decades in the literary underground. You can buy in confidence knowing that nowhere else will you find such a smattering of the writers' spectrum or such a truly accurate cross-section of all walks of the literary world-what five-time Pushcart Prize nominee and Wisconsin Regional Writers Association Award winner, Charles P. Ries, called "young blood running with old blood." We are proud to be one of the holdout bastions representing the full and true independent press.
The Featured Writers in this issue are Norman Mailer Award finalist, Nathan Graziano; Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate, two-time NEA Fellowship recipient, and Pushcart Prize nominee, Sean Brendan-Brown; and multiple Pushcart Prize nominee and three-time PEN grant recipient, Doug Draime. Their work is showcased beside 37 other artists and over 100 pieces of writing, including two of Alternating Current's six 2013 Pushcart Prize nominations, the two grand-prize winners and four honorable-mention winners of our 2013 Luminaire Award for Best Poetry and Best Prose, and stunning cover and back cover art by the tremendously talented Terry Fan. This journal is hands-down one of the finest collections to which we have ever had the pleasure of affixing our name. If you've been wanting to give Alternating Current a try but didn't know where to start, then this is the place.
Other writers featured in this issue are: Leah Angstman, Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal, Harry Calhoun, Paula Cary, Alan Catlin, CEE, Christina Elaine Collins, K. M. Dersley, Aleathia Drehmer, Michael Estabrook, Jason Fisk, Lawrence Gladeview, George Held, Kevin M. Hibshman, Justin Hyde, Merilyn Jackson, Angie Turner Jeffreys, Patrick Kindig, Angela Consolo Mankiewicz, Hosho McCreesh, Frankie Metro, Shauna Osborn, David S. Pointer, D. A. Pratt, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Charles P. Ries, Christopher Robbins, Robert James Russell, Janette Schafer, Robert Schuler, Neil Serven, Denis Sheehan, Jane Stuart, William Taylor, Jr., Travis Turner, Paula Anne Yup.
Thank you for taking a chance on Alternating Current. All authors on this press receive royalties, so your purchase benefits the writers directly. Find out more at alternatingcurrentarts.com.