Arabella is the only daughter of Baron Arthur Leon Wellington, and she is the heir of the Wellington dynasty. Her mother, the baroness, died giving birth to her, and the baron still mourns for his late wife, going on eleven years. So to deal with the loss of his wife, the baron keeps busy ten months out of a year, living in other lands, promoting and selling his commercial enterprises, textile and livestock from his estate, and among other business enterprises in other kingdoms. The baron realizes that his time is running out to salvage his dwindling relationship with his daughter, whom he leaves in the care of her governess and the head housekeeper of his castle. The baron's daughter, Arabella, will turn eleven years old this year, and little does she know that for every fifth generation of the Wellington heirs, a huge mysterious, glittery white tree appears on the Wellington Castle grounds among the tall trees next to the castle. When a Wellington baronesses every five generations dies giving birth to a girl, the mysterious, glittery white tree appears shortly after the girls turn eleven years old. Today is Arabella's eleventh birthday, and soon the mysterious tree will appear on the castle grounds. The reason the mysterious, glittery white tree appears is explained by her fifth-generation ancestor, who sends her a scroll in a small golden box that is under the mysterious, glittery white tree. No one can see this mysterious tree but Arabella, and the Wellington girls to whom the mysterious tree appeared after they turned eleven years old, the ones who lost their mothers, the baronesses, after giving birth to them. The ancestor, a female who also lost her mother, the baroness, after giving birth to her, is Arabella's fifth-generation great-grandmother, Baroness Mary Ann Wellington Armstrong. In the scroll she sends to her, the ancestor tells Arabella she is destined to go on four separate journeys, goodwill missions, that she also went to after turning eleven years old, to help an oppressed people who are waiting for the stranger to arrive. This has been foretold, and she will rescue them from their dire situation. But at the same time, Arabella, as her ancestors, the baronesses, before her, will have the greatest adventures in her lifetime and will have lasting memories of people she will grow to love on each of her journeys and, through the trials and perils she goes though in each journey she undertakes, will make her strong in faith. She will also gain values that will benefit her and others for the rest of her life. Also, according to Arabella's ancestor's handwritten scroll, no one in the castle will know that she is gone, because each journey will last a moment there at the Wellington Castle; however, each journey Arabella goes on, while she is in the distant lands, will last up to eleven months. It was the same for the other Wellington girls the mysterious tree appeared to after they turned eleven years old, the ones who lost their mothers, the baronesses, during childbirth. When Arabella realizes she has the opportunity of a lifetime to see great, fantastic adventures on her journeys and goodwill missions to help others in need, she decides it beats sitting in the old castle, waiting for her father to get over her mother's death and return to her at the Wellington Castle more permanently as she is growing up, because she wants her father to be with her. She is indeed looking forward to her four journeys, and her first journey is about to begin.

First in a delightfully charming crime series set in 1930s Singapore, introducing amateur sleuth Su Lin, a local girl stepping in as governess for the Acting Governor of Singapore. 1936 in the Crown Colony of Singapore, and the British abdication crisis and rising Japanese threat seem very far away. When the Irish nanny looking after Acting Governor Palin's daughter dies suddenly - and in mysterious circumstances - mission school-educated local girl Su Lin - an aspiring journalist trying to escape an arranged marriage - is invited to take her place. But then another murder at the residence occurs and it seems very likely that a killer is stalking the corridors of Government House. It now takes all Su Lin's traditional skills and intelligence to help British-born Chief Inspector Thomas LeFroy solve the murders - and escape with her own life. 'Simply glorious. Every nook and cranny of 1930s Singapore is brought richly to life, without ever getting in the way of a classic puzzle plot. But what's a setting without a jewel? Chen Su Lin is a true gem. Her slyly witty voice and her admirable, sometimes heartbreaking, practicality make her the most beguiling narrator heroine I've met in a long while.' Catriona McPherson 'Charming and fascinating with great authentic feel. Ovidia Yu's teenage Chinese sleuth gives us an insight into a very different culture and time. This book is exactly why I love historical novels.' Rhys Bowen

This book is a children's book and it is about a little boy named Johnny and his dog Dusty. They take a trip to the park and they run across a mysterious tree that needs some tender love and care. This is fine for them because they wanted to spend some time together and show each other love and care. So, spending some time in the park gave them some time to be together and experience what it is like to be in the park together enjoying themselves and having a great time!

'No wonder she's been crowned Queen of Cosy Crime' Mail on Sunday Toil and trouble in store for Agatha! Cotswolds inhabitants are used to bad weather, but the night sky is especially foggy as Rory and Molly Harris, the new vicar and his wife, drive slowly home from a dinner party in their village of Sumpton Harcourt. They struggle to see the road ahead - but then screech to a halt. Right in front of them, aglow in the headlights of their car, a body hangs from a lightning-blasted tree at the edge of town. But it's not suicide; Margaret Darby, an elderly spinster of the parish, has been murdered - and the villagers are bewildered as to who would commit such a crime, and why. Agatha Raisin rises to the occasion, delighted to have some excitement back in her life as if truth be told, she was getting bored of the long run of lost cats and divorces on the books. But Sumpton Harcourt is an isolated and unfriendly village, she finds a place that poses more questions than answers. And when two more murders follow the first, Agatha begins to fear for her reputation - and her life. That the village has its own coven of witches certainly doesn't make her feel any better... Praise for M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series 'A Beaton novel is like The Archers on speed' Daily Mail 'Agatha is like Miss Marple with a drinking problem, a pack-a-day habit and major man lust. In fact, I think she could be living my dream life' Entertainment Weekly 'The detective novels of M C Beaton, a master of outrageous black comedy, have reached cult status' The Times

A fascinating compilation of stories about lost lands, weird locations, and strange sites.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the world's leading forest ecologist who forever changed how people view trees and their connections to one another and to other living things in the forest—a moving, deeply personal journey of discovery Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. In this, her first book, now available in paperback, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths--that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own. Simard writes--in inspiring, illuminating, and accessible ways—how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, how they learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication, characteristics ascribed to human intelligence, traits that are the essence of civil societies--and at the center of it all, the Mother Trees: the mysterious, powerful forces that connect and sustain the others that surround them. And Simard writes of her own life, born and raised into a logging world in the rainforests of British Columbia, of her days as a child spent cataloging the trees from the forest and how she came to love and respect them. And as she writes of her scientific quest, she writes of her own journey, making us understand how deeply human scientific inquiry exists beyond data and technology, that it is about understanding who we are and our place in the world.

Learn about the amazing natural science of trees in this gorgeously illustrated nature and science ebook. From the highest branch and leaf down to the complex "wood wide web" of roots, every part of a tree plays an important role in its own growth and the habitat of the whole forest or woodland. Did you know that trees take care of each other and that the whole forest is connected? The Magic & Mystery of Trees takes children on a fascinating journey of exploration, showing them just how special these mighty organisms are. Discover how they communicate and warn each other of predators, how they nurture their networks, record the past, and anticipate the future to ensure their survival. Learn amazing tree facts, meet extraordinary trees from around the world and learn about the habitats they create. Find out what trees do for us and how to make your community a greener place by planting your very own tree!