Out Of The Clouds

In the bestselling tradition ofthe The Eighty-Dollar Champion, the propulsive, inspiring Cinderella story of Stymie, an unwanted Thoroughbred, and Hirsch Jacobs, the once dirt-poor trainer who bought the colt on the cheap and molded him into the most popular horse of his time and the richest racehorse the world had ever seen. In the wake of World War II, as turmoil and chaos were giving way to a spirit of optimism, Americans were looking for inspiration and role models showing that it was possible to start from the bottom and work your way up to the top-and they found it in Stymie, the failed racehorse plucked from the discard heap by trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Like Stymie, Jacobs was a commoner in "The Sport of Kings," a dirt-poor Brooklyn city slicker who forged an unlikely career as racing's winningest trainer by buying cheap, unsound nags and magically transforming them into winners. The $1,500 pittance Jacobs paid to claim Stymie became history's biggest bargain as the ultimate iron horse went on to run a whopping 131 races and win 25 stakes, becoming the first Thoroughbred ever to earn more than $900,000. The Cinderella champion nicknamed "The People's Horse" captivated the masses with his rousing charge-from-behind stretch runs, his gritty blue-collar work ethic, and his rags-to-riches success story. In a golden age when horse racing rivaled baseball and boxing as America's most popular pastime, he was every bit as inspiring a sports hero as Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis. Taking readers on a crowd-pleasing ride with Stymie and Jacobs, Out of the Clouds -- the winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award -- unwinds a real-life Horatio Alger tale of a dauntless team and its working-class fans who lived vicariously through the stouthearted little colt they embraced as their own.

A young Mexican woman adrift in post-unification Berlin encounters romance, violence, and revelation in this “stirring and lyrical first novel” (Paul Auster, award-winning author and filmmaker). Having escaped her overbearing family in Mexico, Tatiana settles in the newly reunified city of Berlin, where she hopes to cultivate a life of solitude. But when she takes a job transcribing notes for the reclusive historian, Doktor Weiss, Tatiana’s simple life becomes more complex—and more perilous. Through Weiss, she meets a young meteorologist who, as a child in East Germany, took solace in the sky’s constant shape-shifting, an antidote to his grim and unchanging reality. As their three conflicting worlds begin to merge, the tension culminates in an act of violence that will leave none of them untouched. Unfolding with the logic of a dream, Book of Clouds is both “a stunningly accurate portrait of Berlin” and a beautiful exploration of the myths we cling to in order to give our lives meaning. From a crowded U-Bahn where Hitler appears dressed as an old woman to an underground Gestapo bowling alley whose walls bear score marks from games long settled, Chloe Aridjis guides us through layers of history with wit and compassion, blurring the lines between real and imagined. Her debut novel is “required reading of the most pleasurable sort” (The New York Times). Named one of the 10 Best Books Set in Berlin by The Guardian.

Clouds are simple enough, just a collection of ice crystals or water droplets visible to everyone. Yet they are a source of endless wonder. They appear in an infinite number of shapes and forms. Some are beautiful, some awe inspiring, and some, like the whirling funnel cloud, are terrifying. Clouds inspire artists, poets, songwriters. They have reminded astronauts, looking down from space, that Earth, a seemingly abstract orb, is a place of life and movement. those great swirls of white-as they change shape, swell, evaporate into wisps, disappear and come back, glow with sunlight or darken with rain-are a constant reminder of how dynamic our planet is.

The clouds drift across the bright blue sky--all except one. Little Cloud trails behind. He is busy changing shapes to become a fluffy sheep, a zooming airplane, and even a clown with a funny hat. Eric Carle's trademark collages will make every reader want to run outside and discover their very own little cloud.

A Mother's Prayer, a Son's Goodbye, and a Song that Moved the World

A novella set in post–climate disaster Alberta; a woman infected with a mysterious parasite must choose whether to pursue a rare opportunity far from home or stay and help rebuild her community The world is nothing like it once was: climate disasters have wracked the continent, causing food shortages, ending industry, and leaving little behind. Then came Cad, mysterious mind-altering fungi that invade the bodies of the now scattered citizenry. Reid, a young woman who carries this parasite, has been given a chance to get away — to move to one of the last remnants of pre-disaster society — but she can’t bring herself to abandon her mother and the community that relies on her. When she’s offered a coveted place on a dangerous and profitable mission, she jumps at the opportunity to set her family up for life, but how can Reid ask people to put their trust in her when she can’t even trust her own mind? With keen insight and biting prose, Premee Mohamed delivers a deeply personal tale in this post-apocalyptic hopepunk novella that reflects on the meaning of community and asks what we owe to those who have lifted us up.

Deep in the forest, Theo has finally found the mysterious Doctor, whose medicine might save Mia’s life. In exchange, Theo must find what the Doctor desires most and bring it back to him. Theo agrees without thinking, but how will he even figure out this riddle, not to mention find what the Doctor’s looking for in this vast, forbidding wood full of fairies and monsters? The clock is ticking as Mia lies in her sickbed, and the unknown enemies who attacked her plot their next move…

A luminous journey into the sky for daydreamers and cloud enthusiasts big and small, from renowned paper-diorama artist Elly MacKay. A bored and curious little girl wishes for a bit of sunshine on a cloudy day. But a friendly bird soon whisks her off for an adventure in the sky, where she can contemplate questions both scientific and philosophical in nature: how do clouds float? Or carry the rain? Where do they go when they disappear? Are there clouds on other planets? Do they have memories? Have they ever seen a girl like her? This dreamy picture book from the inimitable Elly MacKay features her trademark stunning, light-infused spreads that beautifully capture the wondrousness of clouds and the power of nature to inspire and stimulate imaginations.