Chip Tales

Grandparents are story tellers. Early-day lessons are learned while listening in their laps . . . in the rocking chairs . . . by the winter fireplaces . . . on the summer porches. These pages just pass on some tales my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and others of their generation told. And a few of mine. The tales were sent one at a time via e-mail to my children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends scattered from Texas to California, Canada, Virginia, and Florida. As the yarns were received and read, the readers responded, provided critical comments, and helped compose a book of remembrances for those yet to come. There may have been some enhancement in the lore and spiel of those who came before me. There might be a wee stretch in some of my contributions. But mostly this is the way it was.

This story, written in simple poetic form, is easy-to-read. In it, you will meet Chip, a slightly disgruntled carrier pigeon, who can't seem to find any reason for being what he is until he meets a nine-year-old boy named Lucas Lemon. Through this unique relationship with Lucas and events that follow, Chip discovers the true value of being what he is and gains a new found respect for himself and his kind.

The rescue rangers search for missing eggs.

In all the seasons of the year it seems Donald Duck works hard and chipmunks Chip and Dale just have fun.

This history of American sports fiction traces depictions of baseball, basketball and football in works for all age levels from early dime novels through the 1960s. Chapters cover dime novel heroes Frank and Dick Merriwell; the explosion of sports novels before World War II and its influence on the authors who later wrote for baby boom readers; how sports novels persisted during the Great Depression; the rise and decline of sports pulps; why sports comics failed; postwar heroes Chip Hilton and Bronc Burnett; the lack of sports fiction for females; Duane Decker's Blue Sox books; and the classic John R. Tunis novels. Appendices list sports pulp titles and comic books featuring sports fiction.

Tales for an Unknown City is a vibrant selection of almost fifty stories from among the many told at One Thousand and One Friday Nights of Storytelling, a weekly open gathering in Toronto begun by Dan Yashinsky in 1978 and still going strong. There are tales from Canada and many other parts of the world; each followed by a brief word from the teller, giving us the flavour of the "Friday Nights."

Chipmunk pals Chip and Dale embark on another detective adventure.

Contains stories first broadcast on NPR.