Trapped in a house fire, Nelson is dying. If only he could open the door. Nelson whimpers his final goodbye to Rascal, his canine soulmate, their paws almost touching through the heavy glass that separates life from death. Succumbing to the smoke, his life drifts slowly before him.Nelson was born deep in the French Alps, where his only worries were how snow could be both soft and hard and why it made the house sink. And whose turn it was to fetch the baguettes from the boulangerie.So how could puppy love be so cruel? Why did Alphonse chain him up and beat him when all he asked for was a pistachio nut and a cuddle? And how ever did he find himself lost and lonely in England?His dogged wanderings eventually led him to David and his son Timothy, a young boy with autism. Life was once again full of joy: especially when he learnt the lyrics to Jerusalem.Now, trapped in the fire, Nelson’s luck has surely deserted him. But he can’t die yet! He has an amazing tale to tell – and an amazing tail with which to tell it. And with Rascal there to help, he has no choice but to survive.

A stunning love story about a young Black woman whose life is torn apart when her lover is wrongly accused of a crime—"a moving, painful story, so vividly human and so obviously based on reality that it strikes us as timeless" (The New York Times Book Review). "One of the best books Baldwin has ever written—perhaps the best of all." —The Philadelphia Inquirer Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin’s story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions—affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.

From the Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and BBC Television series including Lucy Worsley: Mozart's London Odyssey and Six Wives with Lucy Worsley, available on Netflix. “Worsley is a thoughtful, charming, often hilarious guide to life as it was lived, from the mundane to the esoteric.” -The Boston Globe Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two “dirty centuries”? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit? In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen, covering the history of each room and exploring what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove-from sauce stirring to breast-feeding, teeth cleaning to masturbating, getting dressed to getting married-providing a compelling account of how the four rooms of the home have evolved from medieval times to today, charting revolutionary changes in society.

Get Dad chuckling this Christmas! If Animals Could Talk is a side-splitting gift book packed full of animal dads doing their thing. Because even in the animal kingdom, dads make us all groan! This is a charming celebration of the universal qualities of ‘Dadness’: telling terrible jokes, ignoring instruction manuals, failing to spot things in clear view, and more classic, comical capers. Included in this book: A collection of 40 so-bad-they’re-good dad antics Hilarious, high-definition animal photos Relatable qualities that will have you nodding along as you recognise your own dad! Whether it’s a grumpy beaver losing his car keys, a penguin getting lost or a brown bear impersonating Winnie the Pooh, prepare to see Dad cracking up, shaking his head and calling loved ones as he flicks through the pages.

In case you've ever wondered, the walls at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have eyes and ears -- and, what's more, they don't miss a thing. Now, listen up because the walls have a thing or two to tell you! During President John Tyler's presidency, the White House was such a mess that it was called the "Public Shabby House." President William Howard Taft was so large that he had to have a jumbo-size bathtub installed -- one big enough for four people. President Andrew Jackson's "open door" policy at the White House resulted in 20,000 people showing up for his inauguration party. (The new president escaped to the quiet of a nearby hotel!) President Abraham Lincoln didn't mind at all that his younger sons, Tad and Willie, kept pet goats in their White House bedrooms. Children all across the country sent in their own money to build an indoor swimming pool for wheelchair-bound President Franklin D. Roosevelt so that he could exercise. President Harry S. Truman knew it was time to renovate the White House after a leg on his daughter's piano broke right through the floor. Hear these funny, surprising stories and more about the most famous home in America and the extraordinary families who have lived in it.

Welcome to Spring Farm, where animals and people come together -- to explore their own natural ability to communicate with each other.... Something magical is happening on a small farm in upstate New York. Animals of all shapes and sizes are living side by side -- talking, listening, learning, and loving -- along with caring people who have come to learn the secrets of interspecies communication. It's a gift that all of us are born with, as long as we're willing to open our hearts and minds to the gentle creatures who share our world. This is what happened at Spring Farm when two very special women gave shelter to animals that were sick or abandoned. As trust and affection grew between them, so did their capacity to exchange feelings and thoughts. Today, the miracle of Spring Farm CARES is shared through communication workshops for visitors, students, and animal lovers. So come discover the magic of Spring Farm. Humans are more than welcome.... You'll meet Ricardo the duck, who explains that he won't leave his warm nest in a nearby chimney even if the house owners disapprove...Chubby the horse, who shares her feelings of despair when her barn catches fire...Elvis the kitten, who wiggles like a rock star...Sugar the Shetland pony, who dedicates a poem to her long-lost herd...and a whole menagerie of mouse-friendly cats, loving llamas, gregarious guinea pigs, delightful dogs, and other amazing critters.