Willow S Smile

Willow is worried that she won't smile right for her school picture. She chooses the perfect outfit and practices her smiles, but at the sight of the big lights and the camera's flash Willow's smile disappears! When an understanding teacher gives her the job of shaking a rubber chicken to help make her classmates laugh, Willow discovers that no two smiles are the same. And when itÕs her turn, she delivers a picture-perfect expression all her own. Parents and teachers will welcome this third story in the Willow series as a lead-in to Picture Day and to discussions about feelings. Willow's experience will help bring a level of comfort and familiarity to this sometimes-intimidating annual event. Charmingly told and illustrated, Willow's Smile will leave readers grinning from ear to ear.

The Willows Two friends are midway on a canoe trip down the Danube River. Throughout the story Blackwood personifies the surrounding environment - river, sun, wind - and imbues them with a powerful and ultimately threatening character. Most ominous are the masses of dense, desultory, menacing willows, which ""moved of their own will as though alive, and they touched, by some incalculable method, my own keen sense of the horrible."" ""The Willows"" is one of Algernon Blackwood's best known novellas or novelettes. American horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. ""The Willows"" is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction. And seven other novellas or novelettes, including the famous "The Wendigo."

The accidental death of her father, a prominent citizen of Corona, leaves Victoria Moreno full of doubt, questions and anger. Suicide rumors heighten her grief. Why would her father, a devout Catholic kill himself? Was the death accidental? Struggling to cope with his actions, the 17-year old, finds solace in the inspiring and calming presence of Father John Collins rather than Ricardo, her betrothed childhood match. The bond between Victoria and Father John strengthens and evolves into a deep friendship riddled with confusion, complications, challenged beliefs and the discovery of a compelling, tender and sensual love that holds them captive and others in consternation. With mounting passion, they strive to reconcile the desires of the heart, mind and soul as they struggle with a culture defined by duty, tradition and religion, and a family saga steeped in secrets, guilt and greed. This is a strong, human story of a panorama of relationships of real people with hopes and fears that brings out the magic and beauty within us all besides the dark secrets that haunt us. Will their love prevail or will "duty and reputation" dictate its course? The intrigue entwines the relationship of an imperfect mankind to something higher, as it poses difficult questions, defies convention, and yet affirms age-old truths. Moving, original and provocative the tale turns and twists deepening our understanding of the vicissitudes of our humanity. Set in South Texas, in cinematic, vibrant and imaginative settings, the Texas/Hispanic culture gives the narrative its direction. Heartbreaking and soaringly uplifting, The Willows of Corona is told with candor, sensitivity and a perceptive observation as it treads delicately in one of the more complex paths of life.

At sixteen, Alexandra Chenard gave birth to a baby she desperately wanted to keep but was never allowed even to see. Nine years later, she has strong reasons for finding the adopted child, but her search has led from one roadblock to another, and it appears that her father, a powerful U. S. senator, is the reason. One person can help, Alex's beloved grandmother, Rose. But Rose has suddenly died. When Alex travels from her home in France to America to attend the funeral, her life is turned upside down. Finding she must care for her now ill grandfather, Alex is also asked to manage Three Willows, the family estate. No problem . . . until she realizes she must work alongside Shay Colton, the father of her child and the only man Alex has ever loved, but who is now engaged to another and will barely give Alex the time of day. Making everything more difficult is the continual interference of Alex's parents. Fortunately, childhood pal Justin Hathaway shows up, offering Alex friendship . . . and possibly more. Still clinging to the dream of finding her little girl, Alex begins to regain control of her life. But then, a staggering secret comes to light and Alex learns she's been terribly betrayed by nearly everyone she loves. In a single moment, a simple truth has torn her world apart. Or has it? Could a heartbreaking secret also contain a hidden blessing? And if so, will it be enough to bring Alex to a place of forgiveness? Readers of Three Willows will be entertained and touched by a story that crosses generations and weaves family, friendship, romance, and betrayal into an uplifting message of love and the healing power of forgiveness.

It’s an all-out boys vs. girls summer camp prank war in this hilarious M!X novel from the author of The Classy Crooks Club! Izzy Cervantes and her best friend, Mackenzie, have spent summers together at Camp Sweetwater since they were eight. So when their parents decide to ship them off to Camp Foxtail instead, the girls find themselves completely out of their element—and worse yet, in different cabins! Izzy feels like an outsider in Willow Lodge. But when she hears about the time-honored prank war between the Willows and the Wolverines, the rival boy cabin, she sees a chance to make her mark. Convinced the girls will never accept her as one of them unless she has roots at Camp Foxtail, she boasts that her older brother is the most respected prankster in the camp’s history and would be happy to help them win the war. In reality, Izzy doesn’t even have an older brother, but the Willows embrace her as their new secret weapon, and Mackenzie agrees to help her hatch a series of epic stunts. As the hijinks escalate, so does Izzy’s popularity. But she becomes so focused on impressing her new friends that she starts neglecting Mackenzie, putting her friendship and her secret prank-master identity in serious jeopardy. Can Izzy keep the truth under wraps and win her best friend back, or will she end up on the wrong side of her allies as well as her enemies?

THE PHOENIX BELLS Long ago and far away, there was a wondrous land... A land of everlasting spring where willow trees grew as blades of grass. A land where all the dragons of the world dwelt in peace, filling the fragrant air with their silver song. Then one day the wise men came to the emperor to warn him of a darkness that threatened the land and all within. He must leave his palace, they urged, and travel to strange and distant places to seek a bride. He must find an empress for the land, who can light the dragonleaf with her touch and hear the silvery music of the dragons. Or their song will cease forever. THE BLACK JADE ROAD Long ago, when it was always spring.… A road ran between what would someday be Europe and the Land of Ten Thousand Willows, where sleepy dragons stretched in the sun. It was in this age that two were bound together, first by fate, then by love: the young Emperor Ty-Sun, and the Puritan girl, Blessing Dunncaster. He from a cultured land where magic and manners were one. She from dark, brooding Britain, with the witch-power wild in her blood. Together, they must fight and find their way to the Black Jade Road, where each step counts as five — and each danger, ten. For the pearls that are days are running low. A darkness is falling over the land. And the dragons are singing a mournful song of Death.… THE WILLOW GARDEN LONG AGO, WHEN A SILENT SNOWFALL BLANKETED THE EASTERN LAND … The brave young Emperor Ty-Sun traveled the Black Jade Road with Blessing Dunncaster, the bewitched and beautiful Englishwoman who would be his empress. Together they made their way back to the Land of Ten Thousand Willows. Pursuing them was the evil Darkness that felled Ty-Sun's loyal followers one by one. Ahead, far beyond the Jade Mountains, the Wall of Living Stone, and the palaces of the god-judges from Hell, lay Ty-Sun's once-glorious kingdom, now ravaged by his enemies. Has time run out for the Dragons of the Earth? Now Ty-Sun and Blessing prepare for a final struggle of fearsome battle — and wondrous magic — to save the dragons, their love, and … the Willow Garden.