The true adventure of Max who becomes lost and severely injured but makes his way over rugged terrain, reaching a cabin where he is befriended and rushed to a veterinarian. Almost totally emaciated from his ordeal, Max's chances for recovery are slim. Still, his indomitable will bolsters him against all obstacles. A tag with his owners of Max's condition. Helped by several specialists and the devotion of his family, Max eventually recovers.

Twelve-year-old Sam dreams of owning a purebred puppy, convinced they are superior to a mongrel like Max, the family's ancient pet. Smelly, disheveled, and affectionate, Max is a walking miracle. Near death's door when Sam's sister rescued him, Max survived and seems immortal. That's too bad, for Sam's mother says no new dog if it's going to bother Max. Undaunted, Sam decides to save enough money to buy a puppy anyway and takes a job walking dogs in CountryWood, the fancy gated community in his rural town. There he clashes with Justin, a rich, pampered "burbie" who owns just the kind of dog Sam wants: a sable German shepherd. Justin is determined to get Sam fired and destroy his dream. Their feud, echoing the conflict between rich city transplants and the townies, escalates into violence. This heartwarming story of a boy and his dogs is filled with memorable characters--both human and canine.

The author describes how her pet Doberman pinscher, injured after a fall off a cliff and alone in the wilderness, desperately fought to survive.

MEMOIRS OF A PIANO is a whimsical chronicle of the vicissitudes of fortune of a French piano during more than a century of historical upheavals. In its own voice Piano regales us with many stories, thus joining some of its famous predecessors such as Voltaire’s bed or Jonathan Swift’s tub, or even Gogol’s nose and Kafka’s cockroach, who all talked! And what stories piano tells! It tells us how it had almost ended up on the barricades during the French Commune. It describes Franz Liszt who had used it at a concert. It meets young prodigy Claude Debussy and travels with him to Russia where it becomes a house piano of the wealthy patroness of Tchaikovsky. Fate interferes with piano’s happy collaboration with Debussy, sending the young man back to France to become eventually world famous composer and the founder of the Impressionism, while piano becomes a witness to the mutiny on the battleship Potemkin on the Black Sea in 1905. Piano’s adventures continue with the dramatic escape from the Red Revolution aboard the yacht Renaissance belonging to a Russian Count. Safe in Turkey, the Count sells the yacht along with the piano to an eccentric American millionaire who renames the boat and sails her among the Greek Islands, buying antiquities. The yacht and the piano barely survive vicious Atlantic storms on their way to New Orleans, where the ruined piano is discarded and abandoned on the beach. It is rescued by a group of black musicians, who repair it and move it to a club where it has to learn the new music- Jazz! The saga of the French piano continues in America, eventually leading to piano’s vainglorious participation in the cruelest sport of the Great Depression-Marathon Dancing. The piano survives it all. Finally, when it ends up among the props at the MGM Movie Studio, and is sold at the famous MGM auction in 1970, piano is an old and wise instrument, which views its history with a touch of nostalgia. It still wants to serve Apollo, the god of light and music, but it has a secret desire to work with young musicians on the threshold of their fame, as it did once with Debussy, at the start of his life. And at last, the great piano’s desire is fulfilled.

Wonderful for browsing, and invaluable for finding specific information, Literature Lovers Book of Lists is a compendium of useful and sometimes whimsical information for anyone who loves books and loves to read, at any age or reading level. It is organized into nine sections and provides nearly 200 lists relating to genres, authors, characters and settings, awards, literary terms with their definitions and much more. There are even lists of books of prose and poetry available on audiocassettes. If it has to do with literature, this book has the answers. What book has had the longest run on The New York Times best-seller list? Who is the only four-time winner of the Pulitizer Prize for drama? What is the complete list of Shakespeare's plays and poems? Who are some of the most notable African American authors? What are the three main variations of the sonnet? What famous writers belonged to The Bloomsbury Group? Literature Lovers Book of Lists is both exciting and informative at the same time.

For each developmental stage between the ages of 10 and 18, educator Arthea J. S. Reed provides lists of books organized by genre and carefully selected for teen appeal. In addition to a detailed bibliography, Reed focuses on the particular challenges for each age group, and highlights strategies for parents to persuade their children to read. This guide will help parents and teachers choose the right books for every reading level and interest.