To Touch the Sky contains Willis Barnstone's translations of some of the most inspiring writing of world literature: ten mystical and spiritual poets spanning three thousand years.

CCBC Choices 2013 2014-2015 Children's Crown Award 2013-2014 Macy's Multicultural Collection of Children's Literature 2015 Louisiana Readers' Choice Master List A 2013 CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2013 Amelia Bloomer list 2013 IRA-CBC Children's Choices Best Children's Books of the Year 2013, Bank Street College Tells how Alice Coachman, born poor in Georgia, became the first African American woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Bare feet shouldn't fly. Long legs shouldn't spin. Braids shouldn't flap in the wind. 'Sit on the porch and be a lady,' Papa scolded Alice. In Alice's Georgia hometown, there was no track where an African-American girl could practice, so she made her own crossbar with sticks and rags. With the support of her coach, friends, and community, Alice started to win medals. Her dream to compete at the Olympics came true in 1948. This is an inspiring free-verse story of the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Photos of Alice Coachman are also included.

Lucas Barnett and Gabriel Stewart didn't have it easy as kids. They were only trying to deal with bad situations at home when they became lifelines for each other. Their pipe dream was to someday meet in LA, where Lucas would design skyscrapers, and Gabriel would learn to fly. But then Gabriel disappeared without so much as a goodbye, and Lucas got himself in trouble with the law. Five years later, both men are at a loss when they run into each other at a Hollywood bar. Lucas is still angry, but it's not as if Gabriel could control how his mind and body had betrayed him. Being found on the ledge of that bridge had changed everything. The attraction is immediate, but it's more than their inability to keep their hands off each other. Neither man expects the fierce connection pulling them together. Unfortunately, ignoring their problems doesn't make them disappear. Gabriel's internal struggles are serious...dangerous. And no matter how much Lucas wants it to be true, saving Gabriel won't make up for not being able to save his mom. If they don't find the strength to face their own demons before the darkness takes hold, they risk more than just losing each other forever.

This book is a simple yet powerful book of poems ending each subject at a positive note. When you go through each subject, it gives you a sense of motivation, encouragement and the feeling of completeness. The rhyming tone of each poetry maintains the fun and inquisitiveness in reading till the end.

I've got the Power. The power to change my world. To speak up. To stand out. Leap forward. And break out. Give me a football, give me a pen. If I fall down, I will stand up again. This book is a tribute to the courage and confidence of the Indian woman, from Korba to Kashmir. In each personal triumph lies a larger story. Of boldness, of transformation. Of women rising, to take their place in the sun.

Some secrets have shadows as long as the redwoods are tall. In the early 1920s, the accelerating destruction of the California redwoods is more than nature-loving Marion Baker can bear. Throwing herself headlong into the work of the Save the Redwoods League, she is shocked to learn that Frank Duncan, a man she's grown to love, is the son of one of the area's worst timber barons. Though devastated by the betrayal, she realizes this could also be an opportunity--if only she can convince him to help preserve her favorite grove from his father's greedy grasp. Is her love strong enough to persuade him to save these precious trees? Or will Marion choose to sacrifice her beliefs to keep Frank by her side? Nearly fifty years later, in 1972, polio survivor June Turner is deeply proud of the legacy her great aunt Marion has left as a redwood warrior. And despite her disability, June is determined to prove herself capable as a ranger at the recently established Redwood National Park, even if it means taking to the trails with her crutch in hand. What better way to carry on the family tradition of preserving God’s magnificent creation? When aspiring film student Adam Garner approaches June to help make a documentary about Marion's life, she swiftly grabs the opportunity to spread her aunt's worthy reputation. That is, until they unearth a secret that might shatter the family legacy. In the scramble for answers, June may lose not only her family pride but also her own dreams. Karen Barnett's beautifully crafted split-time novel, set against the majestic backdrop of a beloved national park, immerses the reader in history that feels as fresh as if it happened yesterday.

"Touch The Sky" is about love. It is a series of love songs or poems. The wondrous love between a man and a woman. The mystery of God's love for a man and a man's love for God in communion in the big things and in the little things of life. The mystery of being sent as a living sign and ambassador of unbound love and of joy unspeakable, knowing the weight of the Presence of the Divine "with" us, through the thick and thin of life, its ups and downs, its great griefs and great joys to this one End - that Love conquer all to make all things as new again. Without love there is no hope. With love our hope is like a great diamond with many faces which shine on us with the many facets of God's face reflected here in so many aspects of life. The facets of His Love are like a rock not hewn by human hands with which He draws and makes us His. "Touch The Sky" contains treasure that the author has brought back from diving trips beneath the surface of the seen where the net of thought drips words back into the the ungraspable whole of it.