The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring

The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring
Author: Gilbert Ford
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2016-09-13
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1481450662

With magnificent dioramic illustrations, Gilbert Ford captures the joy, creativity, and determination behind the invention of an iconic, one-of-a-kind toy: the Slinky! One day, a spring fell from the desk of Richard James, an engineer and a dreamer. Its coils took a walk…and so did Richard’s imagination. He knew right away that he had stumbled onto something marvelous. With the help of his wife, Betty, Richard took this ordinary spring and turned it into a plaything. But it wasn’t just any old trinket—it was a Slinky, and it would become one of the most popular toys in American history.

How the Cookie Crumbled

How the Cookie Crumbled
Author: Gilbert Ford
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2017-10-24
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1481450670

Provides facts about the chocolate chip cookie inventor, and imagines what could have led her to develop the Toll House cookie recipe, which include a possible cooking disaster, an ingredient substitution, and an original idea.

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel
Author: Kathryn Gibbs Davis
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2014
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0547959222

Examines how the engineer George Ferris invented and constructed the amusement park ride that bears his name for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

She's Got This

She's Got This
Author: Laurie Hernandez
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 37
Release: 2020-05-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0063018926

A New York Times bestseller! From gold-medal-winning Olympic gymnast and bestselling author Laurie Hernandez comes a picture book about chasing your dreams and never giving up. Even Olympians have to start somewhere. And in this charming illustrated book, Laurie Hernandez tells the story of Zoe, a little girl who dreams of flying—and becoming a gymnast. When Zoe sees a gymnast on TV, she realizes that gymnastics is just like flying. But when she first goes to class and falls off the balance beam, she discovers that following her dreams is harder and scarier than she thought. Through this heartwarming and inspirational story, featuring vibrant art from #1 New York Times bestselling and Geisel Honor-winning artist Nina Mata, Laurie imparts important lessons she learned on her way to Olympic glory: You always have to get back up and try again, and you always have to believe in yourself.

The Mysterious Messenger

The Mysterious Messenger
Author: Gilbert Ford
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2020-07-21
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250205689

The Mysterious Messenger is a rich middle grade urban fantasy debut starring young psychic Maria de la Cruz, by the award-winning artist Gilbert Ford. Eleven-year-old Maria de la Cruz is trapped under the thumb of Madame Destine, her pseudo-psychic mother. Destine is a bona fide con artist who will stop at nothing to swindle her customers into believing she can communicate with the dead. But Maria, unlike her mother, has a big secret—she really can communicate with the dead, most frequently with a ghost named Edward who has been her only friend since she was a child. It’s not long before this clairvoyant young sleuth gets wrapped up in an epic journey that combines bookish mystery with the literary movement of the Beat poets and art and jazz history. Maria may have the power to unlock extraordinary secrets, but can she find the treasure Edward sends her clues about? More importantly, can she find true friendship? This smart, big-hearted debut novel is perfect for fans of Book Scavenger, Winterhouse, and The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. Christy Ottaviano Books

The One Marvelous Thing

The One Marvelous Thing
Author: Rikki Ducornet
Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2008
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 156478519X

In some 30 pieces, ranging in length from a single paragraph to nine pages, Ducornet explores the bonds of marriage and female friendship, takes on the worlds of art and academe, plays with language, spins fairy tales, and looks to a future of limited sensory experience in which a generation lacks mouth, tongue, and teeth. In "Poet," an insomniac titles her book The Greenhouse as Gas Chamber after accepting a grant from the Fossil Fuel Foundation; in the title story, a shopping trip intended to find "one marvelous thing" has unintended consequences, and in "The Dickmare", a bivalve, increasingly unhappy with her husband and at the height of her beauty after shedding her shell, contemplates her future.

A Year of Marvellous Ways

A Year of Marvellous Ways
Author: Sarah Winman
Publisher: Tinder Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-02-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781472235251

Marvellous Ways is eighty-nine years old and has lived alone in a remote Cornish creek for nearly all her life. Lately she's taken to spending her days sitting on a mooring stone by the river with a telescope. She's waiting for something - she's not sure what, but she'll know it when she sees it. Drake is a young soldier left reeling by the Second World War. When his promise to fulfil a dying man's last wish sees him wash up in Marvellous' creek, broken in body and spirit, the old woman comes to his aid. A Year of Marvellous Ways is a glorious, life-affirming story about the magic in everyday life and the pull of the sea, the healing powers of storytelling and sloe gin, love and death and how we carry on when grief comes snapping at our heels.

Child of the Northern Spring

Child of the Northern Spring
Author: Persia Woolley
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 557
Release: 2010-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1402245246

"An absorbing portrait of the Arthurian age." —San Francisco Chronicle Among the first to look at the story of Camelot through Guinevere's eyes, Woolley sets the traditional tale in the time of its origin, after Britain has shattered into warring fiefdoms. Hampered by neither fantasy nor medieval romance, this young Guinevere is a feisty Celtic tomboy who sees no reason why she must learn to speak Latin, wear dresses, and go south to marry that king. But legends being what they are, the story of Arthur's rise to power soon intrigues her, and when they finally meet, Guinevere and Arthur form a partnership that has lasted for 1500 years. This is Arthurian epic at its best—filled with romance, adventure, authentic Dark Ages detail, and wonderfully human people. Praise for Persia Woolley's Guinevere Trilogy "Original...accurate in detail...Child of the Northern Spring is rich and sweet." —New York Times "Vivid...dramatic...once again we are captivated by the magic of the legend that has long fed our appetite for pageantry and romantic adventure." —Washington Post "Vividly re-creates sixth-century Britain in the throes of change...Child of the Northern Spring portrays a sensitive young woman who will appeal to modern readers." —Publishers Weekly "Richly textured, evoking the sights and sounds of castle and countryside, the qualities of knight and servant. Highly recommended." —Library Journal

What Do Grown-ups Do All Day?

What Do Grown-ups Do All Day?
Author: Virginie Morgand
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-05-03
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781847808448

Featuring more than one hundred jobs, this book gives children a fascinating insight into what grown-ups do all day. Explore fifteen busy scenes set in diverse work places, then turn the page to find out what each person's job entails. Packed with detailed scenes and information, this is a sure-fire instant classic.