Roland John Books

Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kep beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache, for not only was mere subsistence on so desolate a spot a near miracle, but Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guard against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. More than this, it is an adventure of the spirit that will haunt the reader long after the book has been put down. Karana's quiet courage, her Indian self-reliance and acceptance of fate, transform what to many would have been a devastating ordeal into an uplifting experience. From loneliness and terror come strength and serenity in this Newbery Medal-winning classic. In celebration of the book's 50th anniversary, this edition has a stunning new look, and an introduction by Lois Lowry, Newbery Medal-winning author of "The Giver "and "Number the Stars."

It is the summer of 1900 and Leo is staying with his friend Marcus. Leo likes Marcus's beautiful older sister, Marian very much. He becomes a secret messenger for her and a local farmer. But when he realizes what the messages they send each other are about, he is shocked and confused.

This collection of Poe's best stories contains all the terrifying and bewildering tales that characterize his work. As well as the Gothic horror of such famous stories as The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fall o/ the House o/ usher, The Premature Burial and TIIC Tell-Tale Heart, all of Poe's Auguste Dupin stories are included. These are the first modern detective stories, and include The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget and The Purloined Letter. --back cover

Depicts the joyless existences of the citizens of the imaginary mid-Victorian city of Coketown, whose workers toil endlessly for factory owner Josiah Bounderby, and whose students drudge for utilitarian educator Thomas Gradgrind