Bert was nine years old and really needed a dog. So along came No-Sitch. He was a dog that mooed and galloped, loped, singlefooted, paced or cantered and often tried to do them all at once. As a puppy he stood about two-feet-six in his bare feet and was about three cats long. Afterward he grew. Probably the most unusual, endearing dog ever to grace the pages of a book, No-Sitch is a one-of-a-kind dog in a one-of-a-kind story. The Iowa Kids 1910 series is a collection of three unforgettable stories -- humorously captured and simply told. Farm Boy, High Waters, No-Sitch the Hound.

Includes Part 1, Number 2: Books and Pamphlets, Including Serials and Contributions to Periodicals July - December)

First published in 1998, this volume explores how the genre of school stories had become firmly established by the turn of the twentieth century, having been built on the foundations laid by writers such as Thomas Hughes and F.W. Farrar. Stories for girls were also taking on a more exciting complexion, inspired by the ‘Katy’ books of Susan Coolidge. The first five decades of the twentieth century saw further developments in children’s fiction. In this comprehensive volume, John and Jonathan Cooper examine each decade in turn, with alphabetically arranged entries on popular children’s writers that published works in English during that period. 206 different authors are covered, many from the United States and Canada. Each entry provides information on the author’s pseudonyms, date of birth, nationality, titles of works, place and date of publication and the publisher’s name. The artist responsible for a book’s illustrations is also identified where possible. With over 200 illustrations of cover designs and dustwrappers, many of which are now rare and have never before been published, this book will delight collectors, dealers, scholars, librarians, parents and all those who simply enjoy reading children’s fiction.

The life of Catherine I , Empress of Russia, was said by Voltaire to be nearly as extraordinary as that of Peter the Great himself. Although there are no documents to confirm the date or place of her birth, it is thought that Marta of Muscovy came from Lithuanian stock and was one of four children of a Catholic peasant, Samuel Skavronski. When her parents died of the plague while she was still a young child, the family scattered and Marta was raised by a Lutheran pastor and educator, Johann Ernst Gluck, who was the first to translate the Bible into Latvian. As a member of the Gluck family, Marta was never taught to read or write, but was raised to do what all peasant women of that era were born to do -- laundry, cleaning, caring for children, tending and feeding animals, and cooking. In these as in all things, Marta was not ordinary. Energetic, compassionate, charming, and wise, Marta gradually rose from housekeeper of a rectory to housekeeper of a nation. Catherine met Peter through one of his friends and soon became his mistress. Underneath her gentle exterior was an astute woman with penetrating insights and she understood his character -- a man rent by a thousand threats, loyalties, hatreds, fears, friendships, and genius, not common in any situation or in any character -- and over time, he became increasingly dependent upon her. She traveled everywhere with him, campaigning by his side and sharing all the hardships of the Tsar's life. Challenged by the powerful forces that were changing the face of Europe, together Catherine and Peter rode the cusp to greatness. Catherine and Peter later married secretly and had twelve children, two of whom survived into adulthood. Their daughter, Elizabeth, became Empress Elizabeth I and regularly whipped Frederick the Great and all of the tall Cossacks in her own army. When Peter died without naming an heir, Catherine's candidacy for the throne was supported by the guards and by several powerful and important individuals. As a result, Catherine was almost immediately proclaimed Empress of Russia. Marta of Muscovy is an impressive biography that pays tribute not just to Marta, but to the people and spirit of Russia.

Edgar's crew was made up of five people: the hoghead, the hothead, the front snake, the back snake and the conductor -- the fathead, or swellhead. But, much to Edgar's disgust, his crew argued all the time. Argue. Argue. Argue. Chaw. Chaw. Chaw. In fact they argued so much that they couldn't get the train to Pittsville on time (because that's what people expected and why do things differently?). Their story would have continued in the same old way, except for one thing. Edgar started to talk. What does one do about THAT the crew argued? Trains are supposed to be QUIET! But Edgar was soon to prove that he had a mind of his own. Time to do something different, Edgar told them (and then snorted twice through his smokestack). Time to learn a new way! Edgar, as it turned out, could make his own track. He could go up or down or sideways and spin around the world in the most remarkable way. Together he and his crew visited new places: Paris, Madagascar, Tokyo, Berlin, and Moscow. They even met James Wickleberry Britannica (if you can believe THAT). "I'm the smartest engine in the world," said Edgar. "I can go anywhere a steamboat can, or an airplane can, or a train can, and a lot of places they can't. I'm the finest traveling machine in creation ... " And most readers will agree that indeed he is. A unique children's book of the 1930s by a famed Iowa author, complete with drawings by award-winning children's illustrator, Lois Lenski.