A woman attempts to flee her abusive husband in a thriller The New York Times Book Review calls “an unforgettable reading experience.” Overworked cocktail waitress Sherry Reynard doesn’t expect much anymore from her husband, Ward, whom she’s supported for years. A struggling writer and sometimes-junkie coddled by his wealthy parents, Ward spends his days lost in a fog of self-pity and hallucinations. Then, one morning, he attacks his wife in a sudden, unprovoked, violent fit of rage. When he turns on their three-year-old son, Johnny, Sherry bashes Ward into submission, grabs her boy, and runs. As Johnny recuperates in the hospital, Sherry rents a room in a boarding house—among a group of outcasts—anxious to escape her marriage and her memories. But when her vindictive in-laws file a suit for custody of Johnny, Sherry’s oppressive world starts closing in. She needs someone on her side. When new boarder Clifford Stone arrives, he’s just what Sherry’s looking for. Charming and sympathetic, he’s promised to be there should Sherry ever need him—he’s also been hired by Ward’s calculating father to insinuate himself into her life. Clifford has been paid well to love Sherry, manipulate her, destroy her reputation, and, if need be, even worse. The Balloon Man was made into Claude Chabrol’s classic 1970 film, La Rupture (The Breach). A gripping suspense novel, it will have you “flipping your wig all the way to the last page” (Kirkus Reviews). “Old fashioned suspense has given way to contemporary trauma and you’ll be flipping your wig all the way to the last page. . . . You won’t want to finish it.” —Kirkus Reviews

Julianna Margulies presents this story her father wrote for her and her sisters when they were children. Saturdays at the Children’s Zoo with their father always end the same way for Ariel, Miranda, and Jane: he offers them money for a treat, but they instead choose to buy food for the animals. On this particular Saturday, a mysterious balloon man gives them a small reward for their kindness—one balloon each, to be tied to their bedposts that night. Soon they find that the balloons bring them more magic than they could ever have imagined. For readers who love the magic and wonder in Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year “Fans of Elephant and Piggie will be right at home with the humor and the repartee.” —Kirkus Reviews “Vibrant art and a comical text make this a great pick for storytime.” —Booklist Owl and Monkey from I Have a Balloon are back! But what happened to Owl’s balloon? Find out in this hilarious picture book about making mistakes and finding forgiveness. Owl has a balloon. Monkey has a sock with a star and a perfectly shaped hole. But then Owl asks Monkey to hold his balloon, just for a second. What do you think happens? POP! When Owl returns and asks for his balloon, Monkey offers him everything under the sun…except for the balloon. Can their friendship survive this catastrophe? Kirkus Reviews praised Owl and Monkey’s first adventure, I Have a Balloon, “This tightly paced narrative soars,” in a starred review.

Sharp and enchanting, Garrett Baldwin's The Man with the Big Red Balloon is a romping story of when good intentions meet impossible greed and a biting political satire of today's political world. Apple Valley is a pristine, bucolic wonderland shining with the promise of prosperity. Life is as simple as Josie's prized apple pies sold at the town's very first bakery. Farmers harvest plentiful apples, businesses swing open their doors, and life flourishes. Apple Valley is a growing economic powerhouse built on the ideals of productivity, education, and accountability. But one morning, the town's founder fails to rise again, and the town must continue on without him. Determined to uphold his legacy, the town pushes forward trading silver, selling wares, and holding each other accountable in a place where freedom is championed. Here, harvests are plentiful and businesses prosper. But when Arlo Greydon arrives on the heels of the town's economic boom, he doesn't see a fruitful world. All Arlo he sees is excess. Fairness--Arlo argues--is what Apple Valley needs most. The power hungry idealist believes that each farmer, each business owner, each person should have the same amount of food and the same amount of silver. To help him sell his brilliant vision of fairness, he invites a mysterious, charismatic stranger--only known as "the Man"--to help him. And when the Man stokes fear with news of a fresh crisis--that the town is running out of air--the people submit to Arlo's solution to increase taxes and government control of their lives. . . all for the children, of course. "A libertarian's laugh out loud riot meets a free-market romp" Jeff Joseph, Modern Trader

Long-lost relatives and priceless jewels turn a wedding upside down For all the Kellings’ quirks, no other family in Boston is more adept at throwing a wedding. So when Max Bittersohn’s wife, Sarah Kelling, offers to organize his nephew’s nuptials, Max is smart enough to stay out of her way. But when the art-fraud investigator stumbles onto a family mystery, he is drawn into something far more serious than the question of who will catch the bouquet. Stolen years earlier, the priceless Kelling jewels were last seen in Amsterdam, so how did they end up among the wedding gifts? Max is trying to answer that question when a talkative burglar wallops him with a shovel in a failed attempt to rip off the rubies. Then, as the reception winds down, a hot-air balloon lands on the wedding tent, spilling out the Zickerys, a branch of the Kelling clan who prove even odder than the original strain. Family weddings are never easy, but for Max Bittersohn, this one could be murder.