“And so the legend goes that if you break the skin of another with the barb of a toothache tree, you will capture his spirit. And the two spirits—your two souls—will live forever . . . as one.” That ancient Indian legend achieves a sense of modern-day truth for a man down on his luck and a teenaged boy, a rich kid who has every advantage that life can offer; but he’s missing one major ingredient: the love and companionship of a father. It was only a simple kidnapping for ransom, until the lives of the kidnapper and his captive become inexorably intertwined amid the splendor, the mystery, the unbridled fun and the harsh realities of the Big Thicket woods in East Texas . . . where sunrise turns morning ground fog into a pink cloud. Where coyotes howl and a cougar roams. Where intense hostility transmutes into warmth and trust in a pair of hearts that were once achingly empty. But Mother Nature, a stringent Society, and a dogging FBI will not let up on them. Initially printed by St. Martin’s Press, The Toothache Tree was also a selection of the Reader’s Digest Condensed Book Club.

Knowing when and how to plant a tree are crucial to its survival. But if you select the wrong tree for your particular area and conditions, the proper planting techniques will not make a difference. Because Texas is a big place with varied climates, soils, and water qualities, a wide variety of trees can be grown there. Howard Garrett, also known as the "Dirt Doctor," explores the wide-ranging possibilities in a book that will prove its value to homeowners, landscape architects, contractors, nurseries, gardeners, and others who want healthy trees. Texas Trees includes a complete description of native and best-introduced trees and gives details on natural habitats and preferred sites, planting and maintenance, identification information, flowers, fruit and foliage, culture, problems, and propagation. Texas Trees is for all Texas tree lovers, from the Red River to the Gulf Coast, the piney woods to the deserts and mountains.

This popular guide enables users to quickly and confidently identify any of the trees of the southeastern United States, from the common loblolly pine or red mulberry to the rare Pinckneya (fever-tree) or goat willow. The guide treats more than 300 species--every one known to occur in the region, from the Coastal Plain to the highest elevations. Included are trees native to the region as well as those introduced and now reproducing. Helpful features include easy identification keys, common and scientific names, distribution maps, an introductory section on basic leaf, flower, and stem structures, and a glossary of descriptive and identifying terms.

When Albert complains of a toothache, no one in his family believes him, until his grandmother takes the time to really listen to him.

Aunt Mille has always told me that I have the soul of a great poet. I am not sure about this, but I love her so much that I do not dare contradict her. The reason I love her so much is that she always gave me and my brothers and sisters lots of sweets when we were little. Now that I am a student, I have my own apartment and sometimes Aunt Mille comes to visit. The other night, while she was sleeping in the next bedroom, I received a visit from another, much less pleasant, lady... Since then, I do not see Aunt Mille in the same way! Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Match Girl". His books have been translated into every living language, and today there is no child or adult that has not met Andersen's whimsical characters. His fairy tales have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with the animated films "The Little Mermaid" in 1989 and "Frozen", which is loosely based on "The Snow Queen", in 2013. Thanks to Andersen's contribution to children's literature, his birth date, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.