A visit by Sawyer the ant and her aphids leads to trouble when the aphids are rustled by bandits.

The Last Giddy-Up is a tale of a young farm girl spirited away by a professional rodeo cowboy. Never being far from home and not realizing what her life was to be, she entered into the relationship with dreams of excitement and travel, only to be awakened to the knowledge she had married a bitter and sadistic man. The author weaves the reader through her childhood, experiencing an out-of-body episode when deathly ill, to twenty years of a turbulent life always hoping to redeem her cowboy. After awaking to the click of an empty cylinder on her husband's revolver, she finally comes to the conclusion she just couldn't make the marriage work. With the help of family, she escapes the physical and mental abuse, the danger and frustrations, to find her soulmate. Hiding at her sister's home and once again threatened, she manages to make it to divorce court. After her new marriage, the extended family comes into the picture, adding more love and support to her battered soul. With that redemption, she was able to obtain the dream she had always wished for. She had hung her head for twenty years, fearing to look anyone in the eyes. Charles would place his fingers gently under her chin, raising her face to his, saying, "Look up and see the light. You are as good as anybody in this world and better than most. I want to see you smile again." The story then takes you to the next phase, a time of joy and wonderful family relations, with gentle lovemaking and desires met far above expectations. As Charles's retirement came near, he had been experiencing a decline in health. A move to Florida and then back north to be closer to family after his first stroke. Salem, Missouri, became our home. Having become an LPN, I worked at the local hospital in a Birthing Center, and juggled my hours to accommodate the care of six registered quarter horses, five dogs, and six cats. I needed to be able to supervise Charles's medication. Coming home one morning, I saw him lying on the ground with his hands stretched out, near a farm gate. When I called out to him, he didn't respond. My heart was in my throat. I thought I had lost him. When I dived out of my vehicle and ran to his side, he looked up and laughed. "What is the matter with you? You look excited." I was furious. That was the only time in nearly thirty-one years that I was truly angry at him. Upon his final stroke and after being flown to Missouri Baptist Neurological Center in St. Louis, there were several red-tailed hawk sightings with spiritual purpose. Through those difficult hours, his children and myself stayed at his bedside. According to Charles's wishes, Chuck and I took his ashes to west Texas for distribution. As we threw his ashes to the wind, they seemed to glisten in the late afternoon sunlight as they were carried upward and out across the desert floor. A golden eagle flew under them seemingly to assist in the flight. We chugged down our cognac to toast a great man, a true gentleman.

Discover your amazing world through curious and fascinating up-close photography! Transform the ordinary into something extraordinary with exciting micro and macro photography! Bugs & Butterfliesexplores all things creepy and crawly, pairing extreme, hyper-detailed images of butterfly wings, honeybee eyes, and spider legs with fun facts, activities, and brainteasers. So let’s turn up the ZOOM and discover a whole new way of seeing the world.

Heidi the stick insect prepares for her first day of school in this “whimsical and warm” (Children’s Book Daily) picture book in the tradition of Where’s Waldo. Heidi is a stick insect, tall and long like the twig of a tree. It’s her first day at a busy bug school, where she hopes to learn and make new friends. But finding friends isn’t easy when no one can find you!

Bed bugs are thriving across the globe--from North and South America, to Africa, Asia and Europe. For some time, bed bugs were naively seen as a problem unique to developing countries, but their love of high thread content sheets has set them up in five-star residences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe as well. Bed Bugs were first noticed in society by Americans in the early 1700 s. Many believe sailboats returning from Europe unknowingly carried the bugs as cargo, as sailors complained of being attacked as they slept in their cabins. With the introduction of DDT in the 1950s, bed bugs nearly disappeared. But when DDT was banned in the 1970 s, a wave of super bed bugs rejoiced. Now, up to 25% of residents in some cities have reported problems with the pests, bordering on epidemic levels. In fact, history has never seen such widespread and intense bed bug infestations. Our propensity for travel has left bed bugs with enviable frequent flyer status too. Following the Sydney Olympics, for example, and the thousands of visitors to Australia, it was estimated that the bed bug occupancy rate in Sydney hotels was 95%. In "Sleep Tight, "Brooke Borel introduces readers to the biology of these amazingly adaptive insects which can travel over 100 foot distances at night--and the myriad ways in which humans respond to them. She travels to meet with scientists who are rearing bed bug colonies on their own blood-- to the BedBug University, to swank apartments on the upper East Side of Manhattan. She explores the history of bed bugs, and their near extinction, charting how current infestations are in direct response to human chemical use. She also introduces us to the economics of bed bug infestations, and the industry that has arisen to combat that. This is the first history and natural history of bed bugs, and it leaves few exoskeletons unturned."

Stermont's latest monster is SHOCKING! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!In this 8th book, there's trouble at Alexander's brand-new school. Lights are flickering, students are getting zapped, and escalators are running at super-speeds! When the sky fills with green lightning, Alexander, Rip, and Nikki know monsters must be to blame. Can the S.S.M.P. turn out the lights on these shocking monsters?