A Special Guest

Caillou is so excited—his Uncle Felix, who he’s never met, is coming for dinner. Yet he doesn’t quite understand who Uncle Felix is and why he’s getting so much attention from Mommy and Daddy. Caillou feels more involved in the preparations when Mommy asks him to help her make a cake and to set the table.

The Hey Jack! series' 48-page chapter books fill the need for a cool, real-life series for early readers. Hey Jack! is full of down-to-earth, realistic stories, with word art or illustration on every second page and no more than 50 words per page. Jack's enormous imagination injects the series with fun and humor, and the books are carefully typeset to provide reading breaks. It's Jack's turn to look after the class toy for the weekend! But things don't go as he planned. Will it be a disaster?

Zebra can hardly contain his excitement when he receives a dinner party invite from Lion - the king of the jungle Elephant on the other hand is more sceptical about Lion's motives and sets out to prevent Zebra from going to the party. Zebra thinks Elephant is jealous because she hasn't been invited but in the meantime the invitation blows across the savanna, leading to a lot of confusion on the day of the party.

Sharon McCarthy and her friends loved Mrs. Ruth, as did her parents and the parents of her friends. Mrs. Ruth was an elderly Jewish Christian women, who taught Bible Lessons to these children every Saturday afternoon. However, only Sam and Lydia McCarthy, who were Sharons parents, had ever met this lady. Sams coworker George Dickerson knew nothing about these lessons the lady was teaching and had to be encouraged to let his oldest son, Joey, attend. But eventually, about nine of Sharon and Joeys friends were involved in Mrs. Ruths home studies. These children and their families were unique because they truly loved their God, their parents, and Mrs. Ruth. But later on everyone, including the teacher would be introduced to Obadiah, as he called himself and who was a very strange young man indeed, yet they all learned to love him deeply. The parents and other adults, too, felt sad and devastated when he suddenly left them one evening in a very fantastically strange way. Who was this man, and where did he come from?

Miss Fazio marked the roll, like she did every morning. Everyone said "yes" when their name was called - except for Bruno, who always said "present". "Pascal?" asked Miss Fazio. Pascal said something that sounded like "wee". Brook and Beatrice giggled. Everyone stared at Pascal. He hid behind his hair. "Do you want a pencil, Pascal?" aksed Leon. "Wee," said Pascal, looking up.

Zebra can hardly contain his excitement when he receives a dinner party invite from Lion - the king of the jungle! Elephant on the other hand is more sceptical about Lion's motives. She sets out to prevent Zebra from going to the party, but Zebra thinks Elephant is jealous because she hasn't been invited! Elephant tries to keep Zebra busy - telling him to have a bath, comb his mane and touch up his stripes, and in the meantime the invitation blows across the savanna ... leading Porcupine and Rhino to believe it is addressed to them. Lion is less than impressed when the wrong guests arrive at his party. He is left soggy and covered in prickles when he bounces from the bushes and tries to eat Porcupine and Rhino. When clever Elephant disguises herself as Zebra, Lion ends up very squashed and confesses all. Zebra is truly sorry for how he treated his friend Elephant and is grateful to her for saving his life.

The holiday season has arrived, and Richmond is bustling with activity. But for the Reids, this Christmas marks the first anniversary of the accident that changed their lives forever. Sixteen-year-old Scott Reid is working Christmas weekend when he meets an elderly man dressed in clothes as outdated as his automobile. The stranger explains he was passing through when his car broke down. Realizing that the man is stranded, Scott invites him home to spend Christmas with his family. Soon after the guest arrives, unexpected things begin to happen, leaving the Reids to wonder if something more than coincidence has brought this stranger to their home. Then, on Christmas morning they discover who their special guest really is. What they learn may be the most wondrous part of all.

A vision—and detailed road map to power—for a new party that will champion America’s rational center. From debt ceiling standoffs to single-digit Congress approval ratings, America’s political system has never been more polarized—or paralyzed—than it is today. As best-selling author and public policy expert Charles Wheelan writes, now is the time for a pragmatic Centrist party that will identify and embrace the best Democratic and Republican ideals, moving us forward on the most urgent issues for our nation. Wheelan—who not only lectures on public policy but practices it as well (he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2009)—brings even more than his usual wit and clarity of vision to The Centrist Manifesto. He outlines a realistic ground game that could net at least five Centrist senators from New England, the Midwest, and elsewhere. With the power to deny a red or blue Senate majority, committed Centrists could take the first step toward giving voice and power to America’s largest, and most rational, voting bloc: the center.