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Set in the rugged western United States, <i>American Lion</i> presents true stories of the majestic North American cougar told by people who experienced the mountain lion up close. From the Rock Creek Canyon battle of the killer lion and shepherd dog to the invisible guest in the hay loft, these encounters are terrifying, heartwarming and at all times as thrilling as the native cats themselves.

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In Japan, nothing is more familiar than the neighborhood post office, with its big red box in front and bright, welcoming windows. The post office has been Siya’s favorite place since she was a child. Now a young woman, Siya is delighted to have a job at the Shindori Post Office in Shizuoka City, even though it is temporary. <br><br> But her boss is a jerk. Born in Japan of a Japanese father and an Indian mother, Siya looks just a little different. The boss won’t believe she is a native speaker and gives her a hard time every day! Adding to her worries, a motorbike bandit is stealing money from elderly customers who use post offices to do their banking. <br><br> Shindori Post Office is right on the Tokaido Road, an ancient path that follows the sea. As Siya explores her new home in Shizuoka City, she finds history hidden away in this modern city. Siya is strong, and she notices things. One day, as she stands on the old road, with modern cars zooming by, the motorbike bandit strikes. And what Siya does next surprises everyone…even herself!

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On a cold November afternoon in 1833, two wagons are about to cross the dark Mississippi River into Iowa Territory on a tiny boat. Penny Cooper, Nate Tilden, Aunt Sunday, and Jonathan and Ella Butterman are full of questions. Aunt Sunday just wants to know if they’re going to drown. Jonathan and Ella wonder if they will succeed in the new Territory. And Penny and Nate are eager to learn if they are going to be free—to marry, to prosper, to live as free people. <br><br> Aunt Sunday, Penny, and Nate were slaves in Kentucky, not a year before. What will the new Iowa Territory decide on the question of owning human beings? No one yet knows. <br><br> The little group survives the Mississippi crossing and settles in Key City. There isn’t much to the town: a few log cabins and modest buildings in a forest opening. And very rough, very tough lead miners, including the mad Ginn brothers who hate Nate and his dark skin. They can’t forget he stopped them from stealing Jonathan’s horse. Storm clouds are brewing. <br><br> Key City on the River is based on fact and takes place in a real town. It explores a little known time in early American history as well as the timeless issue of otherness mixed with hope for the future.

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In many ways, the Hamilton children are like any other kids. Eleven-year-old Mia and ten-year-old Will love playing Minecraft, eating pizza, and playing in the yard. But Mia knows that because Will is on the autism spectrum, some things are different for him. For starters, he doesn’t like things to change. Pizza has to be just so crispy, or he won’t eat it. He uses lines from movies to answer most questions. If his toast is too dark, Will could have a total meltdown. When Mom and Dad announce they’re getting a babysitter for the first time, Mia is alarmed. What will happen if the babysitter doesn’t understand the unusual things Will does? Her parents know that she is Will’s «translator» because she always understands him. Can they manage a whole night with a brand-new person in charge? Is it always Mia’s job to worry, or can she find a way to rely on other people? Toast explores the tender, scary, funny, and always complex relationship between a girl and her autistic brother.

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The year was 1947. A talented young minor-league baseball player was called up to the majors to join the Brooklyn Dodgers. But this was no ordinary man, nor any simple achievement. This was Jackie Robinson: an all-around star athlete, a U.S. Army veteran—and a black man. Until that year, baseball’s shameful color line had kept African Americans out of the big leagues. Overcoming prejudice, exclusion, and even hatred, Jackie Robinson broke that line and became one of the game’s best players. He was recognized in the Hall of Fame, and he inspired many young people to fight segregation and ignorance for the chance to follow their dreams. Through both his career and his character, Jackie Robinson became one of America’s greatest heroes. This is his story.

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Jessica Vasquez had worked hard to get where she was. Though some in her family had despaired of her future, she put herself through cosmetology school and landed her dream job: overseeing the beauty department for a chain of drugstores. But her fortune abruptly changes. A manager’s daughter, on a mission of her own, puts stolen makeup and perfume in Jessica’s bag. The girl lies to her dad about what happened, and Jessica is fired. It seems that Jessica’s life is over. But is it really? Needing to pay the bills, Jessica begins driving for a ridesharing company. It’s scary at first, and she doesn’t make a lot of money. But soon she gets the hang of it. Follow Jessica as her father and her new friends at the airport cell phone lot help her to find a new life—and, just maybe, get some of her old life back.

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Lisa’s grandfather is turning 100, and her family is gathering from across the country to celebrate at Grandpa Joe’s home—a sprawling apricot orchard in southern California. The orchard is both the heart of their family and a reminder of its past. <br><br>Like many immigrants to America, Joe and his wife, Anna, fled their home country in one of the horrific ethnic cleansings of the twentieth century. They were forced out of Turkey because they were Greek, but they arrived in the New World full of hope. A piece of land with a thriving orchard gave a new beginning to a new American family. <br><br> Lisa wants to preserve the beloved orchard that Joe built with his own hands, but to her bitter disappointment, everyone else in the family wants to sell. They all have busy lives and families of their own. Lisa is gearing up for a battle—one that intensifies when her college-age daughter falls in love with the wrong man. <br><br> Old divisions and the longing to hold on to tradition make it hard to see a path forward. Will the family’s history tear it apart—or will they find deeper ties to bind them together? <br>

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Training for adulthood is not for wimps.<br><br> When you are eleven years old, is there anything more humiliating, or bound to cause a fight, than shopping with your mother when your body is in full-throttle warp? Yes, there is: picking out the school-required underwear. Or worse, your mother’s male co-worker shows up at the scene. Or even worse: your brother wants to TALK about it at the dinner table.<br><br> Rites-of-passage are difficult for any young girl, and Jun-li Lin is no exception. The grown-ups in her life are completely unpredictable, and probably out of control. She knows it will take detective-work to figure out her family's secrets and erratic ways. It's up to her to find a way to bring the family together before everyone drifts apart.<br><br> Training to be an adult, Jun-li discovers, is hard work.

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In 1878, two years after the Greasy Grass Fight that some called Custer’s Last Stand, U.S. soldiers and government contractors rounded up 270 Arapaho people. From the very young to the very old, they were forced to walk from Fort Robinson in western Nebraska across half of what is now the state of Wyoming. Their destination: the Shoshone Indian Reservation. The new home of the Northern Arapaho was a wilderness, but it was theirs and they were glad. Then came a second and tragic event.<br><br> Within weeks, the Takers arrived to capture confused and terrified Indian children. The young were shipped to boarding schools back east where they were to be stripped of their tribal identities and assimilated into white culture. Families were torn apart.<br><br> Against this historical backdrop, <i>A Full Circle</i> gives a fictional account of several generations of Arapaho and their experience during this time. Horse-whisperers, a green-eyed girl, brave young men and women, and fierce grandmothers are among the characters that reveal glimpses of a people and a culture that survive today, and a part of American and native history that has long been hidden. <i>A Full Circle</i> is a story that needs to be told.

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The American writer Suzanne Kamata had lived in Japan for more than half of her life, yet she had never explored the small nearby islands of the Inland Sea. The islands, first made famous by Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea 50 years ago, are noted for displaying artwork created by prominent, and sometimes curious, international artists and sculptors: Naoshima’s wealth of museums, including one devoted to 007, Yayoi Kusama’s polka dot pumpkins, Kazuo Katase’s blue teacup, and a monster rising out of a well on the hour in Sakate, called “Anger at the Bottom of the Sea”—to name a few. Spurred by her teen-aged daughter Lilia's burgeoning interest in art and adventure, Kamata sets out to show her the islands’ treasures. Mother and daughter must confront several barriers on their adventure. Lilia is deaf and uses a wheelchair. It is not always easy to get onto – or off of – the islands, not to mention the challenges of language, culture, and a generation gap. <i>A Girls’ Guide to the Islands</i> takes the reader on a rare visit by a unique mother and daughter team.

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