There were eggs in every bird’s nest, the air buzzed with honeybees, and cherry trees blossomed all at once. The poor villagers forgot their cares and gathered in the meadow to sing and dance their time away. But their miserly landlord refused to be happy. Mumbling and grumbling, he sat all alone eating a bowl of cherries and glaring at the merry villagers. Then, quite by accident, he swallowed a cherry pit. The pit began to sprout, and soon the landlord was the wonder of the village—a cherry tree was growing out of the top of his head! What happened to the cherry tree and to the wicked landlord is a favorite joke in Japan. Allen Say tells the story with wit and vitality, and his beautiful drawings complement this classic Japanese tale.

Welcome to the wonderful Wishing Wood, where incredible treehouses twinkle under a blanket of stars, the sea sparkles through the leaves, and true love is in the air. From the bestselling author of Sunlight over Crystal Sands comes this gorgeously romantic tale. Indigo Bloom is on her way to beautiful Wishing Wood with some very big news. Two months ago she shared an incredible night with the most amazing man. She didn't think she'd ever see River Brookfield again, but she never imagined she'd be showing up out of the blue to tell him she's pregnant with his child. Indigo's heart longs for a fairytale ending. There's just one problem: River doesn't remember who Indigo is... Crushed that a night that meant so much to her was so forgettable for him, Indigo resolves to keep her identity and her pregnancy secret until she gets to know the real River. But as they spend more time together, it's clear that the incredible connection they shared that first night is stronger than ever, and that River might remember more than Indigo first thought. The closer they get, Indigo's secret becomes harder to share. Can Indigo find the courage to tell River the truth? And if she does, will she get the fairytale ending she's been dreaming of? Make all your dreams come true this summer with this feel-good love story that will sweep you off your feet. It's the perfect read for fans of Jill Mansell, Sarah Morgan and Sue Moorcroft

Spring is in the air—and in the trees! Spring is here, and with the new season come trees full of life, color. . .and blossoms! From the creators of Leaf Jumpers and Winter Trees, Spring Blossoms introduces readers to a variety of different flowering trees. During a stroll through the forest, two children come across the small and white flowers on a crab apple tree, the rich, red buds on a red maple, and many more. Along the way, readers learn that some trees have both male and female flowers—each with a distinctive appearance. Back matter includes extended botanical facts and more information about trees and their life cycles. Told in lyrical rhymes with beautiful linoleum-cut illustrations, Spring Blossoms offers a unique blend of science, poetry, and art studies.

She looked again on the mantis. For the first time she became aware of a stillness to its presence; an almost holy, sacred stillness. What was this? After a while she asked, What will I find there?- The Praying Mantis The Blossom Tree presents a series of sharply written short stories with a genuine New Zealand voice. Heartwarming, tender, gritty and humorous, nearly all the stories are drawn from real people and based on true events.

Following the seventieth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, this is a new, very personal story to join Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Yuriko was happy growing up in Hiroshima when it was just her and Papa. But her aunt Kimiko and her cousin Genji are living with them now, and the family is only getting bigger with talk of a double marriage! And while things are changing at home, the world beyond their doors is even more unpredictable. World War II is coming to an end, and since the Japanese newspapers don’t report lost battles, the Japanese people are not entirely certain of where Japan stands. Yuriko is used to the sirens and the air-raid drills, but things start to feel more real when the neighbors who have left to fight stop coming home. When the bombs hit Hiroshima, it’s through Yuriko’s twelve-year-old eyes that we witness the devastation and horror. This is a story that offers young readers insight into how children lived during the war, while also introducing them to Japanese culture. Based loosely on author Kathleen Burkinshaw’s mother’s firsthand experience surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, The Last Cherry Blossom hopes to warn readers of the immense damage nuclear war can bring, while reminding them that the “enemy” in any war is often not so different from ourselves.

Includes index.

"It took months of God waking me up in the middle of the night before I realized I was the one He was calling to leave my comfortable American life and move to Haiti." Miracle on Voodoo Mountain is the inspirational memoir of an accomplished and driven 24-year old who quit her job, sold everything, and moved to Haiti, by herself—all without a clear plan of action. Megan Boudreaux had visited Haiti on a few humanitarian trips but each trip multiplied the sense that someone needed to address the devastation—especially with the children, many of whom were kept as household slaves on the poverty-stricken and earthquake-devastated Caribbean island. God guided her every step as she moved blindly to a foreign land without knowing the language, the people, or the future. From becoming the adoptive mother of former child slaves, to receiving the divine gift of the Haitian Creole language, to starting, building, and running a school for more than 500 children, "the amazingness of what God did after I made the choice to be obedient is incredible," said Megan. Three years later, six acres on Bellevue Mountain in Gressier is the home of the nonprofit Respire Haiti at the former site of voodoo worship, and in the area that many still come to make animal sacrifices, Megan and her staff of nearly 200 are transforming this community as they educate, feed, and address the needs.