Great Friendships

From the author of The Needleworker's Baby and The Crazy One comes a short tale of friendship and letting go. The year is 2070 and Gen X retirees Magdalena and Sam are resigned to live out their days at Shady Grove Retirement Home. But when Sam can’t take another boring day inside the sterile institution, he convinces Maggie to break out. How far will the two nonagenarians get driving along the California coast in a stolen van?

Quinn spends the morning in their workshop, and emerges with Something Great! But everyone wants to know … what is it? First their mom, then their sister. No one seems to understand: Something Great isn’t supposed to be anything. Look at all the fun things it can do! Swing like a pendulum! Fly through the air! Make rainbows! Can’t Quinn just share the joy of their new invention without a label?

What starts as a sweet gesture of family gratitude, quickly goes viral and soon this dynamic duo will have much more to be thankful for.

Upon learning that the books with kids who look like her have been banned by her school district, Kanzi descends into fear and helplessness. But her classmates support her, and together—with their teacher’s help—they hatch a plan to hold a bake sale and use the proceeds to buy diverse books to donate to libraries. The event is a big success: the entire school participates, and the local TV station covers it in the evening news. Prodded by her classmates to read the poem she has written, Kanzi starts softly but finds her voice. “

A friendly competition to grow the best organic garden is underway. The prize is tempting . . . a ribbon, a photo and article in the newspaper, AND some all-you-can eat favorites from Ned’s Diner! Esmeralda, Annie, Oliver, and Rosamond are among the competitors. Just a few days before contest judging, some of Rosamond’s tomatoes go missing and Nate and Sludge are called to investigate. Who is eager for tomatoes, and why? Nate and Sludge are on the case, and what they find surprises all, but makes perfect sense!

Rebecca’s family members were murdered during the Holocaust. Soon after she starts work at a dream job, her life changes forever when she meets a charming, wealthy widower. He becomes her lover and takes her to his exclusive club and on vacations to exotic locations. She discovers he works for a company that conducted business with the Nazi government. What decision does she make?

Can a detective get a day off? Nate the Great and his dog, Sludge, want to take a break from solving cases. So they hide out in the woods. But soon they hear familiar voices shouting, “Nate the Great, where are you?” There are many mysteries to solve!

Esmeralda came up with the perfect name for Rosamond's pet concert. But she lost the pink paper where she wrote the word - and she can't remember what it is. Nate the Great and his dog, Sludge, take on the unusual case, and they are soon braving pink papers and barking, oinking, and talking pets. Will Nate and Sludge find the word in time for the show to go on?

Ever since Unicorn moved into the neighborhood, Goat has been feeling out of sorts. Goat thought his bike was cool--until he saw that Unicorn could "fly" to school! Goat made marshmallow squares that almost came out right, but Unicorn made it rain cupcakes! Unicorn is such a show-off, how can Goat compete? When Goat and Unicorn share a piece of pizza, Goat learns that being a unicorn might not be all it's cracked up to be. And when Unicorn shows his admiration for Goat, it looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Arnold is a large black bear. His best friend, Louise, is a small chipmunk. But one day, Louise insists she is not Louise - she's the Great Louweezie, and she can predict the future! But when the Great Louweezie's demands begin to test Arnold's patience, the game feels much less fun. What will happen if friendship isn't in their future?

You remember Unicorn. You know, Goat's friend? The one who can fly, make it rain cupcakes, and turn things into gold? On the first day of school, Unicorn expects to make his usual big splash. But no one pays him much attention - the other kids are much more interested in the latest trend in toys: rubber bands that look like other things. Unicorn comes up with a plan to get his mojo back, but his efforts turn out to be more annoying than impressive. Can Goat help him recover his magic, or is Unicorn destined to a life of mediocrity?

It's two o'clock in the morning when the telephone rings and Nate the Great learns that Rosamond's pillowcase is missing. She needs it now because her cat, Big Hex, likes to sleep on it. Outside it is damp, dark, and dreary, but a good (yawning) sleuth knows that the hunt must go on. Can Nate the Great find the missing piece of laundry before the sun comes up, and before his bedroom slippers wear out?

When Oliver asks his friend Nate the Great to find his lost weed, Nate can't say no. This isn' just any weed. It's a Superweed that Oliver bought from Rosamond's Adopt-A-Weed sale. First Nate must figure out where to look for the weed. Together with his trusty dog Sludge, they search for clues in the woods, the park and even the library! But is the biggest clue right under Nate's nose?

Nate, the great detective, and his dog, Sludge, are off to San Francisco! They're going to visit Nate's cousin Olivia Sharp. She's a detective, too, and a very busy one. Olivia isn't around to solve her case number 22. Her client, Duncan, has lost his joke book. He tells Nate that if the book isn't found - and soon - the world will come to an end. Nate takes the case. He and Sludge cruise up and down and around San Francisco in the limo, tracking down clues. Sticky, icky clues, big and small clues, all-around-the-town clues that take them to a pancake house, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and finally to a place that seems wrong but could be right.

Nate the Great needs your help. Annie's dog, Fang, is missing! That's what Nate discovers when his friends throw him a surprise Happy Detective Day party. Where is Fang? As you and Nate track down clues - Fang was learning tricks for the party; he was seen running away from two tiny poodles and following a lady wearing fluffy-bunny shoes - Nate will share his expert detective skills with you so you can sharpen your sleuthing talents.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and someone is eating the flowers in Nate the Great's garden. A green tortoise is slowly, slowly stepping across the lawn, and Nate is slowly, slowly following him. Where does Nate's green guest truly belong? It may take all of Nate the Great's patience and sharp eyesight to find out slowly.

Join the world’s greatest detective, Nate the Great, as he solves the mystery of a strange musical note! Nate the Great has just received a strange musical note. The note tells Nate's friend Pip what his mother wants him to do at four o'clock. Their friend Rosamond has turned the note into a riddle. Nate checks Rosamond's garage, but doesn't find any clues. Time is running out for Nate and his dog, Sludge. It's almost four o'clock. Will Nate the Great stay stuck in the middle of this musical riddle?

50+ Questions to Ask at a Party by Krista "KK" Mounsey offers an approach to starting and carrying on conversations at parties. Most books on having conversations at parties tell you to find some common ground and discuss that. Although there's nothing wrong with that, it can sometimes be much more fun to talk about random things to get thoughts and conversation flowing. Some of these are questions that you may have thought of, and others, perhaps, you have not considered yet. Either way, you’re sure to have lots of fun talking through them.