Mascot Blog

Happy June Release Day! The summer days are upon us, and a new season calls for new books. Spend some time in the sun and get lost in one of our June releases!

Children’s Books

A Child Called You















By JD Wise

This book is about you! That’s right, it is about YOU! You can love others for who they are by showing them kindness without judgment. The first book in the Kindness is for Everyone series, this book will teach you that celebrating our differences is the true expression of kindness the world needs.




Adventures at the Hospital















By Michael Ban

Doctors, nurses, patients…superheroes? You never know who you might meet, or what you’ll wear on your feet, when visiting the hospital! It’s a unique place with a few new faces who do their duty treating patients with patience and the highest graces. This book follows the magical, and sometimes mystical, sights and sounds that kids might see, hear, or feel when they visit the hospital.




Avery’s Gift















By Jonathan Hoefer

Avery wakes up in the middle of the night to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings and has somehow lost her colors! The crickets call to her, and flowers from the wall guide her out of bed and into the moonlit garden. With the help of a fox, an owl, and a boy named Dalton, Avery goes on a quest to find her colors… and finds many other meaningful things along the way.

Avery’s Gift is reminiscent of fables told long ago, yet is based on a modern, true story of two, young children, Avery and Dalton. It highlights how their lives were connected one summer night and the gifts they gave each other.

Avery’s Gift is a timeless story of love, loss, friendship, and finding true colors.




Bizy Buddies Explore Digestion












By Kevin Kohlstedt and Rudy Valenta

Do you know where your food goes in your belly?
It’s quite a trip and might end smelly!
Join the Bizy Buddies on a fantastic, intestinal adventure and learn all about digestion.




Bob the Banana Goes Bad















By Steve Petzinger and Selai Akbar-Hussain

In this heartwarming story, Bob the banana goes on an emotional journey as he worries about going bad before he can be of any use to Mr. Abbot. With the help of his friends, he learns to hold on to the hope that he will get picked by Mr. Abbott before it is too late. Through their combined support and perseverance of his refrigerated friends, Bob may be just the right item for Mr. Abbot someday.




Brooklyn Tru, Is That You?















By Grandma Roses

As Brooklyn falls asleep each night, she snuggles her magical posy quilt until she takes off on an imaginative adventure. Join Brooklyn as she travels in her dreams to feed animals at the zoo, stargaze at the beach, and dance at a royal castle.

With fun conversation starters on each page, Brooklyn Tru, Is That You? provides the whole family with the learning tools they need to help early readers succeed.




Bullying No More















By Philip Sossou

The Boccovi forest is a very magnificent place in Africa where various animals live and thrive. The hyena finds a secret in the forest to dominate every animal, big or small. The hyena becomes a real bully, but he gets played by his own game.




Crosby the Farm Dog and the Rainy Harvest Day












By Kendal and Caelan Peterson

Crosby is a fun and friendly dog who is ready to welcome you into the adventures he experiences on the farm! The farm is an exciting place to live, where every day is full of new happenings, including the unpredictable weather! Crosby and his best friend, Leah, must overcome the challenge of their perfect harvest day being interrupted by an unexpected storm.  Will these two pals—and the rest of the family—be able to make the most of a tough situation? 




Elly Belly and the Can-Do Kids: The Winter Clothing Drive















By Ed Davies

Come and join The Can-Do Kids Club on their adventures to make the world a better place. Whether it’s using their bellies to bumpa-bumpa-bump or their feet to go thumpa-thumpa-thump, you’ll enjoy reading all the fun ways the club kids help their community!




Harry’s Horrible Hair















By Theresa E. Cocci

Meet Harry, a downhearted little dog who is saddened by the stares and laughter of others who only see his horrible hair. When his friend Miss Maggie knits him a handsome sweater to hide his messy hair, Harry quickly gains confidence. But when disaster strikes and his patchy hair is once again revealed, Harry wonders if others will ever see him for what he’s like on the inside—not just the outside.




Hello, Pounce















By Dr. Donna Pasternak and Dr. Hope Longwell-Grice

There literally isn’t one. The school didn’t want one and nothing appears on the back cover.




Henry and Harold: Adventures with Albert: The Invite



By Stacey Pimm

This sweet little story is about twin brothers Henry and Harold, as they go on adventures and learn many things with their imaginary monster friend, Albert. In this book, Henry gets invited to his first party! This gives him the opportunity to show his classmates what being friends with an Autistic boy like himself is truly all about!

This is a story about the big emotions that all children go through, but it also highlights some of the particular transitions and experiences of kids with Autism. This is the first adventure of many that these twin brothers (and Albert!) will go through together. Come and join us for them all!




Izzy’s Dizzy Day



By Grandma Roses

Join Izzy on her exciting adventure at her Amish babysitter’s farm. As she discovers the world around her, Izzy soon realizes something is amiss. But will she have the courage to say something? 




Nurse Mommy



By Kristyn Boland

What does Mommy do when she goes to work? From giving medicine to listening with her stethoscope, Nurse Mommy’s job is important because she helps people feel better. But what about her family at home—does Nurse Mommy really have to leave to go to work? Nurse Mommy helps young children understand what the nurse in their life is doing when they go to work at night.




Skip & Deanie’s Flying Bike Trip: Anna Maria Island



By Deanie Sebring

Deanie and her partner-in-adventure Skip are back for another exciting tale in Skip & Deanie’s Flying Bike Trip: Anna Maria Island. Travel with this fun-loving duo once again and experience life on Anna Maria Island . . . without even leaving your bed!




Smile and Say Hi


By Mary Jo Hazard

Michael Joe Bob is remarkably shy.
When he meets someone new, he won’t smile and say hi.
Mike runs and he hides, petrified through and through,
unable to do what he knows he must do.

Then, one night in Mike’s room, some fierce dragons fly
and whisk him away through the starry night sky
to adventures so daring. Mike searches inside
and seizes the courage to smile and say hi!




The Ruth Adventures: Best Friends Forever



By Nancy Youngdahl

Now that a new year of school is beginning, Ruth is about to experience a new adventure!

Instead of being homeschooled, Ruth will attend second grade in town at the elementary school. Ruth is nervous about her first day, but is assured by her parents that she will meet lots of students her age. Sure enough, Ruth meets a very thoughtful girl named Sue who quickly becomes her best friend. After a play day with Ruth, Sue learns about life on a farm and how fun it can be, even though it is so different from living in the city. When their day together ends, they are already planning their next adventure—together!




The Sperm That Came in Second



By Jay Provo

As you lay in bed next to your significant other after a night of passion, do you ever wonder what exactly is happening while you pray for (or against) the miracle of life? This fun and “educational” story will take you on an adventure of a lifetime: through a woman’s vagina. In this winner-takes-all race for survival, our little heroes will attempt to conquer the ultimate task of maintaining the human race. Answering questions like “Why are we here?”, “What is our purpose?”, and “Why didn’t we use a condom?”, The Sperm That Came in Second is a journey of existential proportions and will convert any struggles with the complexities of ontological thought into a comprehensible and transcendental view of life’s ultimate question.*

*This summary may have more words than the actual contents of this book.




There’s a Mermaid in My Pool



By Katie Roseborough

What would you do if you found a mermaid swimming in your pool?! Run away? Try to catch her? Or maybe jump in and join her? Let your imagination run wild as you dive into this underwater adventure full of fun and surprises.

Fiction & Poetry

East of Hell 



By Whiskey Emerson

One hundred and fifty years ago, New York City was not the city it is today. It was a hellish metropolis, a machine fueled and controlled by political corruption, murder, violence, and extortion. A place where no life was sacred…a place not for the faint of heart.

East of Hell, the much-anticipated sequel to West of Hell, finds our heroes scattered, every one of them fighting to make their way back to The Palace and to the Madame in their pursuit of taking down Richard Croker and Tammany Hall.

Still, what the Madame, Thomas, and the rest of her renegades have yet to discover is that Richard Croker might not be their biggest worry—the notorious Mr. Walsh, along with the Whyos, have been spreading mayhem all over New York City, and with that comes pain, death, and destruction. In the end, The Palace must decide who their true enemy really is, or rather, which threat must be dealt with first.

With everything at stake, alliances are tested. Trust is broken. War is on the horizon. And as the bodies keep piling up, one question lingers on every renegade’s mind…

Whose side are you really on?




Throw Down Your Dice: A Thread of Poems



By Ravin Singh

Throw Down Your Dice is a collection of poems that follows four threads of passion and perspectives. This journey connects simple words and tangled emotions that arise when you take a chance.

Middle Grade & Young Adult

AMAZING Adventures of Young SuperHeroes

By Don Rose

Meet the Superheroes—the Adventurers—and take a wild ride into the future.

Meet Avery the Warrior and The Tree Walkers; see Lizzy’s Wish; join The Adventures of Roxy, Riley, and Uncle Frank; and meet Max. POOF will have you laughing, and The Diver—what a story he has to tell! Not all are Superheroes: Bungalow 12 is about a small cottage that chooses you to live there. What would you do if, one day, you woke up and had a special talent, a gift, or an incredible ability? Find out!

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar



By Payal Doshi

It all begins on the night Rea turns twelve. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found.

It hasn’t even been a day and Amma acts like Rohan’s gone forever. Her grandmother, too, is behaving strangely. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortuneteller whose powers of divination set them off on a thrilling and secret quest. In the shade of night, they portal to an otherworldly realm and travel to Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy. There with the help of Xeranther, an Astranthian barrow boy, and Flula, a pari, Rea battles serpent-lilies and blood-sucking banshees, encounters a butterfly-faced woman and blue lizard-men, and learns that Rohan has been captured. Rea also discovers that she is a princess with magic. Only she has no idea how to use it.

Struggling with the truth her Amma has kept hidden from her, Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him, and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate. But the clock is ticking. Can she rescue Rohan, save Astranthia, and live to see it all?

Nonfiction & Memoirs

From the Rice Fields to the Holy Land















By Eli Fischer and Lani Samson

Born and raised in an isolated shack in the middle of a rice field, Lani Samson seemed to have no hope of escaping the poverty that mired her. When faced with the challenge of supporting her family and funding her children’s education, Lani made a difficult and risky decision: she was going to immigrate.

Through ambition, pluck, and hard work, this young Filipina girl set out on a journey far beyond what she could ever imagine. In the face of every challenge and uncertainty, Lani’s strong religious beliefs sustained her. After spending many years in Tel-Aviv, Lani became a respected woman as the Personal Assistant of the owner-president of an international pharmaceutical company.

This is her story.

Key to Command: The WWII Journey of the 50th Signal Battalion from Iceland to Germany with Exercise Tiger, D-Day, The Bulge, and Nordhousen Along the Way



By Michael Godbout

The 50th Signal Battalion was activated July 1, 1940, at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, not long before the United States was drawn into World War II. In September of 1941, a portion of the Battalion was sent to Iceland, followed by the rest in January of 1942 in order to build a communications infrastructure for Iceland Base Command on the island. Upon completion of that assignment, the Battalion was sent to England to prepare for the invasion of continental Europe. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Battalion landed on Utah Beach in support of VII Corp and its assigned units, which continued until the end of the war in Europe.

Much of the information and many of the photographs contained in this book came from meeting or conversing over the phone with World War II veterans of the 50th Signal Battalion or the surviving members of their families.

The ABCs of Public Education: Abuse, Bullying, and Corruption: A Story of Institutionalized Mobbing in Education















By Dr. John J. Pepi Sr.

The ABCs of Public Education tells a story about how bullying affects not only the educator going through the abuse, but also the students and the whole educational community. It will put you in the shoes of the educator to experience what he and his family went through, from the torment of destroying his name to the assassination of his character.

The story also brings a message of hope—that no matter what happens to you, there is an opportunity to recognize the narcissist agenda and learn to fight back. The events of this story could happen at any place of employment, but through the heat of the battle, you too can become victorious. It is up to us to place narcissist behavior on notice and change the mindset within our workforce, and this book will show you how.