With stunning artwork and a rhyming text, the illustrator of the Mercy Watson books tells a tale of human-animal connection full of humor and heart.

When a circus ship runs aground off the coast of Maine, the poor animals are left on their own to swim the chilly waters. Staggering onto a nearby island, they soon win over the wary townspeople with their kind, courageous ways. So well do the critters blend in that when the greedy circus owner returns to claim them, villagers of all species conspire to outsmart the bloated blowhard. With buoyant rhymes and brilliantly caricatured illustrations evoking the early nineteenth century, Chris Van Dusen presents a hugely entertaining tale about the bonds of community — and a rare hidden-pictures spread for eagle-eyed readers of all ages.

What goes up must come down. Everybody knows that. But what is it that pulls everything from rocks to rockets toward the center of the earth? It’s gravity.

Nobody can say exactly what it is, but gravity is there, pulling on everything, all the time. With the help of an adventurous scientist and his fun-loving dog, you can read and find out about this mysterious force.

This is a clear and appealing science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. It's a Level 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades. The 100+ titles in this leading nonfiction series are:

• hands-on and visual
• acclaimed and trusted
• great for classrooms

Top 10 reasons to love LRFOs:

• Entertain and educate at the same time
• Have appealing, child-centered topics
• Developmentally appropriate for emerging readers
• Focused; answering questions instead of using survey approach
• Employ engaging picture book quality illustrations
• Use simple charts and graphics to improve visual literacy skills
• Feature hands-on activities to engage young scientists
• Meet national science education standards
• Written/illustrated by award-winning authors/illustrators & vetted by an expert in the field
• Over 130 titles in print, meeting a wide range of kids' scientific interests

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most beloved symbol of Mexican Catholicism, and devotion to her is widespread in the USA. While she has entranced and encouraged Mexican Catholics for several centuries, believers and even nonbelievers the world over are inspired and intrigued by her. Millions of pilgrims visit her shrine in Mexico City every year. Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis have travelled there to pray for her motherly intercession. And scientists from many disciplines have studied the amazing attributes of her mysterious image.

In this glorious, lavishly illustrated book, the renowned author- photographer team Grzegorz Górny and Janusz Rosikon take the reader on an illustrated pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe. They tell the amazing story of her apparition to Juan Diego in 1531 and its dramatic impact upon the destiny of an entire people. They interview the various experts on the image and reveal its symbolic messages, those of the past and those speaking to us today.

Seeing is believing . . . or is it?

This intriguing and fun book investigates 12 mysterious, inexplicable cases that have happened in the history of the Catholic faith, some of which still continue to happen or remain today. These cases consider such questions as:

• Did the sun really dance at Fatima before 70,000 people?
• Did a Host from a Mass actually turn into human flesh?
• Whose face appears on the Shroud of Turin, and how did it get on it?
• What happens with the Holy Fire at the Holy Sepulcher every Holy Saturday evening?
• Why does the bell of Rocamadour sometimes ring for no reason?
• Who was the mysterious carpenter that built a spiral staircase without nails that stands by itself?
• How did the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe get painted on the tilma of Juan Diego?
• How do the bodies of some saints remain intact and never corrupt?

These and many other questions are explored in the 12 investigations into extraordinary cases that invite us to think deeply about mysterious events and our faith in God.

"The tragedies foretold in Fatima did not come to an end with the demise of Communism. The crisis has not been resolved. From a certain point of view it is still as serious as it ever was, as it is primarily a crisis of faith, hence a moral and social crisis."
— Pope Benedict XVI

The apparitions in 1917 of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal, are perhaps the most important private revelations in the history of the Church. At the height of World War I and on the eve of the Russian Revolution, Our Lady appeared in Fatima to warn us of another even greater world war, the spread of Communism, and a terrible persecution of the Church unless people returned to God. She asked for us to offer daily prayer and sacrifice for conversion of the world and salvation of souls.

Because of the prophetic nature of Our Lady's messages and their potential significance for the entire world, they have been the subject of much study and controversy, and they have influenced the decisions not only of many individuals, but also of Popes, Bishops, and heads of state.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of these important apparitions and messages for the modern world, renowned author-photographer team Grzegorz Górny and Janusz Rosikon traveled throughout Europe to tell the story of Fatima and its impact on the destiny of both individuals and nations. With stunningly beautiful four-color photographs on every page, and in-depth detail and insights on all aspects of the story and message of Fatima, they probe the mysteries of Fatima and their continued relevance for our modern age. Lavishly Illustrated.