Marcos has lots of ideas about what it means to be an active listener. Unfortunately, they all involve gyrating his body while someone is speaking. If he doesn’t figure out what active listening really means – and fast – he could end up in big trouble. Or worse. His lack of listening skills is causing all sorts of stress. He nearly missed his pal’s epic birthday party, then he lost 50 points on what should have been a simple class assignment. And if his teacher hadn’t stepped in with a last-second reminder, Marcos would have broken the heart of a young friend who was depending on him. When Mom and a caring teacher explain how he can improve his listening skills, Marcos has to make a choice. Will he choose to be an active listener, or will he continue to hear only what he wants to hear? Marcos, Did You Hear Me? is an engaging story with a valuable message about paying attention and listening with your whole body. This is the second title in author Bryan Smith’s new Social Strategies series for K-5 students and includes a special page for parents and teachers on how to help children maintain their focus and be more engaged listeners.

Selected by Nelson DeMille, a collection of mystery/thriller short stories focused on the wealthy upper echelons from some of today's top writers. The truly wealthy live in another world. From their multi-national businesses to their palatial mansions to their exotic vacations at glamorous places all around the world, they do everything in a big way. And sometimes, that even includes crime. In this anthology, you'll read about a wealthy writer who plots murder his hopeless agent, an aging actress who clings to her past of wealth and fame, and a spoiled rich boy who steps into dangerous territory with his mean antics, among others. The Rich and the Dead features mystery and crime stories set among the upper crust of society, going behind the scenes of the lifestyles of the two percent of the world that controls sixty percent of its riches--and just how far they'll go to stay on top.

On the football field, Ezekiel and Joel have the same problem. Neither is having any fun. The stress of constantly trying to play perfectly and please his coach makes Ezekiel want to quit. Joel is so scared of messing up, he worries more about being yelled at than catching the ball. As the self-doubt and peer pressure build, each boy offers a solution to help the other. Will the plans they come up with be successful and help them reclaim the confidence and fun they’ve lost?

An autobiographical account of a marriage that looked idyllic from the outside. She: a missionaries' kid, intelligent, educated, conscientious. He: a minister of the gospel, Seminary graduate, family man, charming host. Together: parents, home owners, church-planters. In reality: a battered wife. Frightened children. Sudden violence. Lies and manipulation. Sixteen years of fear. This book exposes the corrupt heart of the marriage and explores the questions, "Why didn't she just leave?" and "How did she finally break the bonds that held her?" The author offers no professional opinions, proposes no legislation, espouses no theories. She only tells her story, as it happened, in hopes that it may help someone else to find her way to the sunlight.

Maddening and confusing things keep happening to Gabe – for no reason! Or so he thinks. During the basketball game, Jacob refuses to pass the ball to Gabe or any other teammate. They end up losing. When Gabe gets his math assignment back, he doesn’t get full credit for having the right answers. He ends up with a rotten grade. And when Harper pushes Gabe’s pencils off his desk, she just laughs. What’s going on? Did Jacob really have no reason for never passing the ball? Did Gabe’s math teacher really have no reason for not giving full credit? Did Harper really have no reason for messing with the pencils? Gabe doesn’t understand why any of these things happened. He’s so frustrated, he has to take a moment to calm himself by sitting in the classroom’s Cool Down Spot. While there, something super strange happens. The nearby Puppet Theater comes to life and starts talking! The Puppet Theater is named Curtains, or Curt for short, and Curt wants to help Gabe learn how to see and understand the reasons behind why people do what they do. With patience, empathy, and encouragement, Curt teaches Gabe to pay more attention, ask more questions, and look at situations from more than one point of view. If Gabe can remember to do those three things, his life will make much more sense. And it might just help Gabe become more forgiving, patient, and careful! Missing the Meaning explores how to identify and better understand the reasons behind why people say what they say and do what they do. A special page written specifically for parents, counselors, and educators offers practical strategies to help children discover what the words “for no reason” really mean.

Jasmine, Summer, and Trinity surrender to what comes so easily when given by the right one. Marcos, Hendrix, and Phoenix aren’t your normal ruff around the edges kind of men. Their actions prove that True Love is still alive.

Originally published in Puerto Rico in 1956 as Los derrotados, Cesar Andreu Iglesias's novel about a fateful Nationalist assault on a U.S. military installation in Puerto Rico is now available for the first time in English. This tautly written story uncovers the personal histories of three middle-aged revolutionaries as they plan to kill a U.S. general. Andreu's cool treatment of their political objectives does not obscure his compassionate recognition of their human limitations. Andreu makes clear his view that the Nationalist answer to Puerto Rico's problems had become an anachronism and that by the 1950s the union movement was better prepared to deal with the changes that industrial capitalism was thrusting upon the Puerto Rican people and their way of life. The afterword by Arcadio Diaz-Quinones provides a rich historical and literary context for The Vanquished.