When an American family visits a marvelous mud house in Kenya, they learn a wonderful lesson about true contentment, faith, and joy.

A young boy with a great affinity for mud also has a unique way of washing for dinner.

A fascinating deep dive into Kurt Vonnegut’s oeuvre and legacy, illuminating his unique perspective on environmental stewardship and our shared connections as humans, Earthlings, and stardust. Vonnegut’s major apocalyptic trio—Cat’s Cradle, Slapstick, and Galápagos—prompt broad global, national, and species-level thinking about environmental issues through dramatic and fantastic scenarios. This book, Lucky Mud and Other Foma, tells the story of the origins and legacy of what Kurt Vonnegut understood as “planetary citizenship” and explores key roots, influences, literary techniques, and artistic expressions of his interest in environmental activism through his writing. Vonnegut saw writing itself as an act of good citizenship, as a way of “poisoning” the minds of young people “with humanity . . . to encourage them to make a better world.” Often that literary activism meant addressing real social and environmental problems—polluted water, soil, and air; racial and economic injustice; isolating and dehumanizing technologies; and lives and landscapes desolated by war. Vonnegut’s remedies took many forms, from the redemptive power of the arts to artificial extended families to vital communities and engaged democracies. Reminding us of our shared connections as humans, as Earthlings, as stardust, Lucky Mud helps fans, scholars, and book lovers of all kinds experience how Vonnegut’s writings purposely challenge readers to think, create, and love.

Based upon selected anecdotal stories written by British observers, this text reconstructs the events of the illegal opium trade in Canton in the 1830s and the war between Britain and China that followed. The volume is illustrated with b & w maps, prints, and photographs. Irish-born Collis (1889-1975) served for many years in the Indian Civil Service in Burma and later became a writer and critic in London. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A family builds an adobe house in the Southwest desert.

Mama Panya is alarmed at the market when her son Adika invites all of their friends to come over for pancakes. However will she feed them all? This clever and heart-warming story about village life teaches children the benefits of sharing as well as introducing simple Swahili phrases.

The Brick Builder’s Illustrated Bible uses the popularity of brick-building pieces to engage children with the Word of God. With bold, colorful illustrations by Antony Evans and child-friendly text, over 35 beloved stories from the Old and New Testaments come to life. Readers will travel from Genesis to Revelation as they read stories like Creation, Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, the Birth of Jesus, and Jesus Walks on Water. And each story contains a “Building Block” takeaway for kids to help them apply the biblical principal to their own lives. What better way to bring the family together than with the Brick Builder’s Illustrated Bible, perfect for readers of all ages.