Setting out alone in the pathless wilderness, a young Thoreau walks wherever he wants during the day, guided by moose tracks and by the sounds of a waterfall and the promise of a mountaintop view. Huddling close to the warmth of his... Read More

C.V. Smith’s protagonist in her novel Nettie Parker’s Backyard breaks with traditional book format, creating a three-dimensional adventure wherein she invites the reader directly into her story: “Why don’t you meet me there?”... Read More

Every child dreams about being a hero, and following in the footsteps of heroic parents is probably near the top of the list. Ben, the son of New Hampshire farmers, gets to do both in this historically-based story set during the... Read More

That Dog Won’t Hunt by Lou Allin reveals that a dog is not just man’s best friend but also woman’s. When Rick Cooper meets Gladys Ryan with her stalled car in the Mojave Desert, he is happy to help her. He is equally willing to... Read More

Patriotism as a virtue seems almost old-fashioned these days. Except on rare occasions, our society views patriotic sentiments much like a Norman Rockwell painting: quaint, heart-warming, and dated. In fact, unbalanced criticism of our... Read More

In just one afternoon, nine-year-old Penelope Jane Parker, better known as PJ, may have ruined her life. While practicing for the big fourth-grade track meet, PJ, who has always been the best runner in the grade, decides to encourage her... Read More

William Kowalski’s "The Way It Works" is a contemporary Horatio Alger tale, featuring a determined young man who succeeds because of his goodness and ingenuity. Walter Davis is biracial, twenty years old, and homeless in New York City.... Read More

“There was something about Thailand: It sucked me in,” Michael Schemmann writes of his love affair with the country and, later, a woman. Schemmann once spent a blissful ten days in Chiang Mai during a stopover from Tokyo to... Read More