The world's troubles make Mrs. Queen hum. But when her son threatens to separate her from her grandson unless she gains control of her behavior, Mrs. Queen vows to master her nervous habit of humming. The world's wars and famines, storms and earthquakes, fail to cooperate with Mrs. Queen, and the sweet woman must decide if chasing away her hum is worth placing her neighbors in peril.Fear constricts Mrs. Queen’s life. Anxiety turns her to stone. And all of Mrs. Queen’s worry overflows into the hum forever spilling from the trembling woman. Recognizing how the nervous habit has consumed his mother, Maven refuses to let his son David visit his grandmother until Mrs. Queen promises to follow the prescribed steps required to regain control over her trepidation. Mrs. Queen forces herself to cease fretting over her diet. She volunteers throughout her community to again socialize with her peers. She even tosses her emergency radio into the silence of her closet. Yet the woman's environment seems to unravel all the more furiously with each of Mrs. Queen’s efforts, until the world itself shakes in an attempt to make Mrs. Queen return to her humming.

Seeing someone that you fancy is only the first step. Try all that you can to make things work,but they may not - what then ?This short story follows certain days in the ordinary life Ann Marie Jensen’s, the daughter of a Marine Officer who heads out to fight in World War one. We watch as Ann Marie and her family move from their hometown, and start a new life without her father and her lover. A lot happens in these few important days of her ordinary life, including the death of loved ones and living in the times of both World Wars and the Great Depression. Anyone can relate to her life, especially those who lived through the times.

Markus Kohl's aching body struggles to attend to his duties as the kingdom's lowly tinker. Though his neighbors rely upon the tinker to keep the mechanisms of their livelihoods in working order, few in the kingdom appreciate Markus's effort. Regardless, Markus satisfies his king's newest request with a creation that will remind all of those in the kingdom of the debts owed to the humble tinker.Markus Kohl's old bones groan as the tinker wakes to the first morning of the second sun. The second sun's humidity and heat give Markus little relief. His neighbors show him little patience as their poorly maintained machines shudder for the tinker's attention, and the villagers calling on the Markus's services refuse to allow the tinker's helpful Fay to enter their homes. Markus's work schedule strains to meet King Tiber's request for a device that will cool his court as the second sun crowds the sky. Though his body aches and though his neighbors show no respect for his duties, Markus meets the king's order with the help of his silver-haired Fay. What the tinker presents to the court challenges the realm to take responsibility for itself, or suffer terrible plague should ruin be allowed to gnaw at Markus's final, stunning achievement.

Everyone's favorite classroom pet is unsqueakably thrilled to be in a NEW-NEW-NEW novel to celebrate the Humphrey series’ 20th anniversary!Humphrey is unsqueakably excited—a special guest is coming to Room 26! But when he sees who it is, he’s SHOCKED-SHOCKED-SHOCKED. The guest is a big dog! And Mrs. Brisbane doesn’t seem worried at all!Luckily, this dog is very gentle. His name is Happy, and he’s come to help Humphrey’s classmates with their reading. Then they hear about more dogs—a friendly one who can do tricks and sing, and a beloved pet who has gone missing. Of course everyone wants to help find her.Good thing Humphrey is so good at helping kids solve their problems. And he pawsitively loves to solve a mystery—even one involving a dog!With a fresh voice and an engaging hamster’s-eye view of school, families, and treats to hide in a cheek pouch, Betty G. Birney’s Humphrey will elicit laughter and...

Alice and her beloved pony are off to train at Devon's world-class yard - following in the footsteps of the British Showjumping team!Alice and Secret have gone further than anyone thought possible . . . but on the day of the showjumping trials for the British team, Alice has to make an almost-impossible choice.Just how far is she prepared to go to reach the very top? What does the future hold for Alice and her spirited red pony?A perfect pony story from the author of the much-loved The Palamino Pony series.Have you read Alice and Secret's other adventures, 'A New Beginning','A Friend In Need','A Ride to Freedom','A Dream Come True'and'A Time To Shine'?

Braving the lethal elements and buzzkills, four crawl out from the shelter of their hovel to push an invention towards the legendary tower the fatcats built before the world fell into ruin. They hope their machine will discover where the fatcats sleep, so that, finally, those who were left behind to languish in the wastes can take revenge by filling the fatcats' dreams with nightmares.Old man Sparker has built a powerful drill in the hovel, driven by a hissing engine of steam. Hoping the drill will help those who must call the wastes home find where the fatcats have retreated, Sparker’s daughter Sweet Tea leads a group that pushes her father's machine towards the tall tower rumored to be the fatcats’ home. There’s the giant Crotch, whose legs give the group so much strength. There’s Shiv, whose skills with the wicked razor may prove useful upon encountering any enemy. And there is Bug, the most resilient man to call the hovel home, a man who refuses to be squashed beneath any adversary’s heel. Together, they grunt and push Sparker’s contraption through the wastes, motivated by the desire to wrench the hated fatcats out from their pleasant dreams.

When things aren't going right,as the unravelling begins - what to do next ? How to find a way out - or should you ?The world was perfect. A blue and green Earth spinning on its axis with a billion people wandering its surface and deep in its oceans. But then technology found a fix for what was broken with society. Bots. The sophisticated super-human robot designed to make life easier... But then imagine a rebellious group, filled with disdain for this new technological development and the laziness of the masses. Imagine how they create a virus and infect the bots... Introducing the Killer Bots, known to the remaining human population as KBs. They slowly but surely have begun to take over the planet, killing without hesitation any human seen to cross their paths. They simply load their machine guns and fire. The survivors do what they can to keep a grasp on life. Ryan is one such lone survivor. He makes his way from place to place. He scavenges supplies from old stores and left-behind homes. He walks and ventures and journeys, all the while staying alert for errant KBs. He won't hesitate if he comes across a robot... He'll simply shoot and kill. That is, until he stumbles across Ami. But Ami is like no other robot he's ever known...

A collection of short stories for children and dog lovers alike. Love, strength, and companionship is all that any dog could ever want but when destiny seems to have other things in mind, these furry friends somehow defy the odds and warm the hearts of those who give them a "forever home."A collection of short stories for children and dog lovers alike. Love, strength, and companionship is all that any dog could ever want but when destiny seems to have other things in mind, these furry friends somehow defy the odds and warm the hearts of those who give them a "forever home."Written in plain language for the young reader, these short stories are designed to promote awareness of the overcrowding in animal shelters across the USA and the importance of animal adoption.

With Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less, spring cleaning takes on a whole new meaning. You'll read stories about people who found happiness in an unlikely way: by saying no. No to buying more stuff, no to taking on additional time-filling commitments, and no to trying to please everyone all of the time.

A tycoon, an heiress and a reporter hunt the most exotic creatures found in the cosmos. But a stranger from the stars has arrived first on the safari, and that alien will stop at nothing to collect every human's face as a trophy.The obliterators execute the Law of Extermination, cleansing alien planets of native life and reshaping extra-terrestrial landscapes to prepare the new worlds found in the stars for human settlement. Yet a creature of shadow and fear prevents the obliterators from completing their duty on the planet of Tybalt, a world that promises humankind a New Eden, if only the obliterators can exterminate that glowing jungle in which the monster hides. Teddy Jackson accepts the obliterators’ challenge to claim that monster as a trophy. But an intelligence unlike any Mr. Jackson has ever tracked threatens to turn the table on that great hunter who has mounted so many alien heads upon his walls.

The archivist Un'Yhe has honored the strangers throughout his long lifetime. The strangers have smiled at every relic of the broods' homeworld Un'Yhe has brought before them. Un'Yhe's care continues to expand the museum built upon the strangers' crashed ark, until one day the strangers unfold the homeworld's bright sky to reveal a sparkling treasure more glorious than even Un'Yhe's museum houses.The strangers have spent eons floating through the chasms separating the stars. After so many millenniums, the strangers reach their loftiest goal and arrive upon an alien world filled with intelligence, life and splendor. But the strangers have evolved since the day so long ago when their ancestors first stepped into the stars. Only, the strangers' eyes remain transfixed upon the stars. The strangers still pine, despite all the alien treasure that surrounds them, for a return to those dark chasms that expand between the night's twinkling starlight.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

A hill is not a mountain.You climb it for you, then you put it quietly inside you, in a cupboard marked'Quite A Lot Of Hills' where it makes its infinitesimal mark on who you are. Ring the Hill is a book written around, and about, hills: it includes anorthern hill, a hill that never ends and the smallest hill in England. Eachchapter takes a type of hill – whether it's a knoll, cap, cliff, tor or even amere bump – as a starting point for one of Tom's characteristicallyunpredictable and wide-ranging explorations.Tom's lyrical, candid prose roams from an intimate relationship with a particularcove on the south coast, to meditations on his great-grandmother and a lesson onwhat goes into the mapping of hills themselves. Because a good walk in thehills is never just about the hills: you never know where it might lead.

Excerpt: ... Though she feared what the night would bring, at least the youngsters would sleep. Emma put them to bed, and again, in the darkness, she took the long knife in bed with her. She whispered of her weariness and terror to Joe, and hoped that, somehow, he would hear her and come back. Grimly she fought exhaustion, and set herself to listen as she had listened all last night. It was still dark inside the wagon when she heard Mike\'s challenging bark. She awoke in sudden panic, terrified by the thought that she had let herself sleep. The knife clasped tightly in her hand, she sat up in bed. Barbara awakened. "What is it, mother?" "Hush!" She heard the back flaps rustle, and she peered around the curtain to see Tad, rifle in hand, climbing out of the wagon. Emma slipped past the curtain and stepped carefully over her still-sleeping sons. It was still dark inside the wagon, but dawn\'s first faint light had come. Emma leaned over the rear. "What is it, Tad?" "Stay in the wagon!" he hissed. She saw him crouching, holding Mike\'s muzzle so the dog could not bark again and peering intently in the direction the dog was looking. Emma tightened her grip on the knife and made ready to fight for her children\'s lives. She did not weaken, or feel herself go limp, or give way to tears, until she heard Tad\'s happily shouted, "It\'s Pa! Pa\'s come back!" CHAPTER NINE Storm Joe had stopped only to let the mules rest and graze, and wherever that was he nibbled a cold snack from the food Emma had prepared for him. Then he slept, but he had purposely brought no blankets and he built no fire, because he did not want to oversleep. Though he was tired enough to doze wherever he lay down, the cold always awakened him. Never for an instant did he forget the fact that he had left his family camped, undefended, along the river. He must return to them at the earliest possible moment, for they were his to protect. Therefore, he let the mules have only the barest minimum of grazing and...