Strange Creatures

Walter, the son of Lady Emma and Lord Nathan Rothschild, was a very unusual boy. He was born in 1868 to a family of bankers and was nearly the richest boy in the world. But that’s not what made him unusual. Walter was so shy he barely spoke. He had no friends, but he loved every creature that crawled, slithered or flew.  At the age of seven he saw his first circus and was inspired to declare breathlessly to his parents: “I’m going to collect animals from all over the world and build a museum and I’m going to call it My Museum!” The family knew explorers who traveled the world to bring back animals for the London Zoo, and soon Walter had his first exotic creatures: several kangaroos. From there his collection grew and grew, until it threatened to take over the Rothschild estate. Lord Rothschild eventually lost patience with Walter’s hobby and insisted that Walter become a banker, like everyone else in the family. Reluctantly, Walter obeyed, but his dream couldn’t be dimmed–he used his earnings to purchase species from undiscovered lands.  Eventually Walter created the largest zoological collection gathered by one man and was respected throughout the world for his contribution to science. He wrote 1200 books and scientific papers and named 5000 new species. Animals that now bear the name Rothschild include butterflies, fish, a millipede, a fly, a lizard, a porcupine, a wallaby, a bird of paradise, and even a giraffe. The painfully shy boy who never made a good banker forever changed our understanding of the world’s diversity of creatures.

Previously

The adventures of various nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters are retold in backward sequence with each tale interrelated to the other. Includes Goldilocks, Jack and the beanstalk, Jack and Jill, the frog prince, Cinderella, and the gingerbread man.

I Love My Mommy

I love my mommy very much, She’s great to cuddle, soft to touch. Wonderfully child-like verses about everything that makes mothers special are illustrated with bold and bright pictures in this life-affirming book. Toddler-friendly, funny, and loving, this is an experience to be shared time and time again.

The Shattering (Guardians Of Ga’hoole, Book 5)

Eglantine has been having strange dreams, which make her yearn for her deceased parents. Her refusal to accept their deaths makes her vulnerable to manipulation. Meanwhile, the rest of the owls of the Ga’Hoole tree having repelled one attack by the Pure Ones, which was led by Soren and Eglantine’s evil brother Kludd, are trying to strategize on how to prevent another attack.

The Angel’s Command

Ben and his Labrador, Ned, castaways from the legendary ghost ship Flying Dutchman, swore never go to sea again-but a mishap in South America lands them aboard a French pirate ship with not one, but two villainous sea captains in pursuit. To make matters worse, Ben is still haunted by visions of Captain Vanderdecken, whose ghost seeks vengeance on the former cabin boy. And that is only the beginning of their adventures!

Thirteen Reasons Why

When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah’s voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

The Moon Princess

An old bamboo cutter finds a tiny child in the hollow of a bamboo stalk. Thus begins the beloved story of the Moon Princess, whose unearthly beauty brings her fame and would-be husbands from throughout the land, but whose destiny shines far off in the sky. The delicate color and detail of Kancho Oda’s illustrations, painted over half a century ago, create a mood of charm and mystery, admirably accompanied by the lilting verse of writer, translator, and lyricist Ralph F. McCarthy.

The Adventure of Momotaro, The Peach Boy (Kodansha Bilingual Children’s Classics)

Perhaps the most beloved of all Japanese folk tales is the story of Momotaro, the boy born from a peach. Momotaro’s expedition to the Land of the Demons, accompanied by his faithful companions, the Dog, the Monkey, and the Pheasant, is filled with fun and excitement for all young readers. One of five of the best-loved stories from Kodansha’s Children’s Classics series, printed in a smaller format with the original Japanese beside the English translation – and all with the same illustrations.