April Book Releases
Children’s Books
A Dog Named Trouble…Goes to a Forever Home
By Anthony Gonzalez
Uh oh…here comes TROUBLE!!
What do you get when you have a giant Saint Bernard alpha dog with a voracious appetite, infectious smile, formidable strength, and a desire to experience everything that life has to offer? You get Trouble!
Trouble is a seven-year-old, 195-pound Saint Bernard, rescued from a kennel where he spent the majority of his time in a cage. In his new life, he wants to see and do everything: from making friends and playing with his own toys, to tasting every type of food that is not dog food, Trouble is determined to live life to the fullest. Along the way, he finds love, acceptance, and a joy that he never knew before.
Join him on his journey of discovery and see the crazy antics he gets into to earn the name TROUBLE every day!
Adventures of the Ausome Kid: Brailynn goes to Paris, France
By Brailynn Camille
The Ausome Kid, Brailynn Camille, is an eight-year-old little girl with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She travels the world with friends to educate them about different cultures, teach them character traits, and promote Autism awareness and acceptance. In this book, Brailynn and her friend Starr use their imaginations to fly to Paris, France. They visit beautiful sites, eat yummy pastries, and learn that an act of kindness can make someone’s day.
Billy Braveheart
By Marielle Pariseau
A speck of cinnamon and white fur, Billy did more than any mouse could have ever done. He helped Jeanne find her place in the countryside. He conquered her heart.
Based on the true story of a little deer mouse who lived in the author’s kitchen for nearly half a decade, Billy Braveheart is a tale of survival, courage, and friendship. When Billy narrowly escapes the claws of a barn cat, he finds his way into an old farmhouse. Alone for the first time in his life, he struggles to find food, water, and nesting material. Just when things are looking up, his life is irrevocably changed when the aroma of peanut butter lures him into a trap set by Jeanne, a young urban professional determined to eradicate all mice from the porous old house she and her husband Franz have just bought. When Jeanne, horrified at the sight of the seriously wounded mouse, decides to spare Billy’s life, he ends up captive in a round cage. Struggling together under the same roof in an environment totally foreign to both, Billy and Jeanne develop a mutual admiration and, as the seasons unfold, an unlikely friendship.
Bottle and Stick
By Jennifer Stephens
Starting school can sometimes be scary. Especially after Pencil, Eraser, and Scissors warn Bottle and Stick about being squeezed, twisted, dried up, and wasted!
Will these two ordinary school supplies approach their first day of school with fear, or will Bottle and Stick decide to be brave and stick together? After all, anything is possible when you have a friend by your side!
Giving Hope: A Child’s Journey Through a Pandemic
By Toni Wengerd
Life was busy, exciting, normal – until, with one phone call, everything changed. Everything was canceled and shut down until further notice. While navigating the stay-at-home order during the pandemic, many different emotions were felt. This story is told through a child’s journal entries that demonstrate many of these emotions. What begins with worry and frustration evolves, with this story showing how one child learned ways to give hope even when things seemed hopeless.
I Hug You in My Heart
By April Goff Brown
This story is based on visits with April’s two youngest granddaughters. During one visit, her granddaughter Kayla asked her the very question Zoe asks Nana in this story: “Nana, when I’m not here, do you ever forget me?” This story is written to help children understand that even though they cannot see their grandparents all the time, they are always inside their hearts.
Little Rascal Finds a Family
By Jessica Sizemore
Little Rascal Finds a Family is a heartwarming tale narrated by a tiny dog who finds himself alone in a big, scary world. Taking matters into his own hands (or paws?),
Little Rascal sets out to find himself a family and shares his journey from lonely stray to loved “Little Rascal”—all in one day!
Look at Me!
By Niya Hicken
Look at Me! takes you inside the mind of a child exploring everything he can be, and guides us through his hopes and dreams in a world of possibilities. As he reaches for his mommy’s hand and climbs to the moon to fulfill his destiny, he brings the reader along on a journey through the parallel worlds of his imagination. As the adventure unfolds, it gives the reader inspiration for who they can strive to be, too.
Melanin Brown Discovers America
By Candice Davis
Melanin Brown is a very wise thirteen-year-old seventh grader who witnesses a new student being bullied because of his beliefs. This situation makes her feel very uncomfortable, and she knows that the actions of those students are wrong. With the guidance of her parents and her experiences with teachers and friends, paired with her own desire to treat people the way she wants to be treated, Melanin learns how to deal with and address various social constructs while coming into her own voice.
Melanin is the type of everyday heroine we all wish we had when we were young. Knowledgeable beyond her years, caring, and innocent, Melanin is a leader whose empathy (and even sarcasm, at times!) transcends boundaries and limitations. Meet your new favorite role model as you join Melanin along this journey of self-discovery—you might just learn a lot about yourself, too!
Not Nice, Virus!
By Jordan Morrison
Let me tell you about a time when we had to stay inside and wait—it’s a story to which I think you will relate. This is a tale about a virus that changed everything we know. Not nice, virus! Will you please just go?
Shirley the Pony Who Always Won: A Story of Good Sportsmanship
By Cathy Fragale
There’s nothing Shirley enjoys more than competing at horse shows. She loves traveling to new places, spending time with her friends, performing in front of crowds, and most of all—winning! But when things go awry for Shirley during a competition, she’ll have to rely on her best friend Henry to teach her about the true value of sportsmanship and what it means to love and respect others.
Shirley the Pony Who Always Won is the second book in the Henry & Shirley series and follows the unlikely friendship between Henry the dog and Shirley the pony.
Teddie Goes Airborne
By Eve Swanson
Each morning, Teddie slid down the embankment to launch himself into the sky. He loved the feeling of flying! He hoped to fly like the birds, bees, and dragonflies. A near-impossible endeavor for such a little turtle.
One day, something unexpected flies overhead and gives Teddie the chance of a lifetime. Does this little turtle know his dream will soon become a reality?
Let’s hope so!
The REAL Story of Little Red Riding Hood
By Joe Bunting
Everything you thought you knew about the story of Little Red Riding Hood is totally WRONG. Come along on this exciting journey with Willy the Wolf to experience what really happened. Deep in the Dark Forest, you will find the truth about who the REAL victim is in this tale.
Fiction
The Away
By Cassandra Dejesus
Sonia Peterson can’t help but be excited for the bright future ahead as she nears the end of her last year of high school. But she quickly discovers that things are not what they seem in the quiet community of Glendale. After her neighbor’s suicide and a slew of disappearances, Sonia’s friend Devon divulges one of the town’s best-kept secrets: at eighteen, residents are required to receive a serum that takes away their immoral impulses and imperfections, or they are exiled to a place called the Away.
At first, Sonia can’t believe what she’s heard, but when her turn for the appointment comes, all of her worst fears are confirmed. Now, she must decide who she can trust and discover who is really at the core of the plot to rob Glendale’s residents of their elemental human nature. Her journey takes her deep into the heart of the Away in pursuit of freedom for herself, her friends, and her community. Can she unravel the conspiracy before it’s too late?
To Every Page a Turning: One Life’s Journey
By Carl Buccellato
Each man who journeys through life must travel through its season and ultimate lessons. For some, the journey is brief, and their life’s light is fleeting. They are like rockets that flare to the heavens, glowing brightly only to go black in the next instant. Still, others travel what seem to be an abbreviated journey, missing some of life’s seasons, never knowing the agony or the ecstasy of what they have missed. But some live each season, taste each tear, relish each sunrise, and brace themselves against each burst of wind. They have traveled life’s highways and finally joined the many pieces of themselves into the whole person they were born to be.
When a man is clearing old files out from his garage, he comes across a folder containing an old manuscript he wrote twenty years previously as part of his
recovery therapy. It had served as a catharsis for him to help transition old painful issues from his past. He was still a young man when he wrote the words, and as a senior in his seventies, he begins to reflect on his life’s journey. As he reads the old papers, many memories come flooding back. He begins to find that our lives are like pages turning from one place in our lives to another, each unique, holding treasures and pains of its own, and each a window to growth, learning, and acceptance of who we are and who we were born to be.
In this novel, the journey begins in the innocence of America in the 1950s. Traveling through hope, a great cause, disenchantment, hopelessness, discovery, and rebirth, the novel also recounts the travel of a generation as they move through time. As you read the pages of this book, you will discover a man perhaps not unlike yourself, seeking knowledge, peace, and faith. Perhaps you, like he, have traveled through the paradigm shift of the twentieth century both in awe and fear of what lies ahead.
Nonfiction
Developing & Executing Winning Campaigns: Applying the 75 Axioms of Political Campaigning
By Terrence Gourdine
Developing & Executing Winning Campaigns is the hottest new book on political campaigning and presents a practical, gut-level, nuts-and-bolts compendium on creating and waging winning campaigns. From discovering the political truth and defining if a bid for elective office is actually in the cards, to planning a winning campaign, to budgeting, to campaign organization, to messaging, to fundraising,
Developing & Executing Winning Campaigns offers the reader a step-by-step guide to achieving electoral success. This book addresses the following strategic concepts:
• Campaign Development & Planning.
• Campaign Organization.
• Theme, Messaging, & Communications.
• Funding & Fundraising.
• Building Positive Perceptions.
• Tactical Campaign Activities.
• Conducting the Campaign.
Developing & Executing Winning Campaigns outlines what candidates and campaign staffers should do in the creation and implementation of winning campaign strategies and most importantly, what they should not do. It identifies the political pitfalls that often derail and impede many campaigning efforts, and how to navigate around them. In addition, this book provides critical advice on how to avoid the frequent mistakes that many campaigners make.
Whether you’re a first-time campaigner or a seasoned politico, Developing & Executing Winning Campaigns is a must-read for all potential candidates and campaign staffers who want to craft and wage winning campaigns.
Middle-Class Millionaire Women: Essential Strategies to Ensure Financial Longevity
By Clark A. Kendall
Being a millionaire used to mean you were really wealthy. These days, one million dollars is still quite a bit of money, but many people will need to save at least that much to be financially secure for life.
The first book in this series, Middle-Class Millionaire, described how hard-working middle-class people could achieve lifelong financial security. This sequel focuses on overcoming particular challenges women may face when it comes to financials—including earning less than men on average, often taking breaks from their careers, and outliving men—to achieve solid financial security.
Written by Clark Kendall, CEO and founder of the successful investment management firm Kendall Capital, and his associate Carol Petrov, Middle-Class Millionaire Women is a compelling guide that includes many practical examples and suggestions for women from all walks of life, whether single, married, divorced, or widowed. Accessible and thought-provoking, this book is organized so that, no matter where you are in life, you’ll quickly be able to find helpful, practical information.
One size doesn’t fit all, but regardless of your level of financial knowledge or interest, Middle-Class Millionaire Women will help you follow best practices and create a lifetime of smart, sensible saving, spending, and investing. Middle-Class Millionaire Women is your guide to lifelong financial security.