If you think pirates are just colorful, swashbuckling fantasy characters--like Melinda Long's Captain Braid Beard or Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow--think again! The real pirates of history were certainly swashbuckling, but also much more. Some were true criminals, some were simply misunderstood, and all contributed to the image of pirates that remains fascinating to us to this day. What was the real story behind Blackbeard, Sir Francis Drake, Madame...

A curmudgeon hides a terrible personal loss beneath a cranky and short-tempered exterior while clashing with new neighbors, a boisterous family whose chattiness and habits lead to unexpected friendship.

"Henri "Halti" Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University. There is only one person who seems immune to Henri's charms: his "intense" classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri's less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself. Soon what...

Audio book features three thrillers by James Patterson. At first, Laura Sherman is thrilled to meet a fresh face, but will her relationship with the man next door go too far before she realizes he's not what he seems? Detective Andrew McGrath knows the only way to find six girls that have vanished without a trace is to get close to the suspect's wife, but will he get too close? Robert Barnett, a disgraced scientist, receives a shocking message that...

"1965: Growing up in the well-to-do town of Round Hill, North Carolina, Ellie Hockley was raised to be a certain type of proper Southern lady. Enrolled in college and all but engaged to a bank manager, Ellie isn't as committed to her expected future as her family believes. She's chosen to spend her summer break as a volunteer helping to register black voters. But as Ellie follows her ideals fighting for the civil rights of the marginalized, her scandalized...

"Sadie Montogmery has had good breaks and bad breaks in her life, but as a struggling artist, all she needs is one lucky break. Things seem to be going her way when she lands one of the coveted finalist spots in a portrait competition. It happens to coincide with a surgery she needs to have. Minor, they say. Less than a week in the hospital they say. Nothing about you will change, they say. Upon recovery, it begins to dawn on Sadie that she can see...

"When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children set out to build the best, most magical healing garden in Harlem--in spite of a locked fence, thistles and trash, and the conflicting plans of a wealthy real estate developer"--Provided by the publisher.

This uplifting New York Times bestseller reminds us that if we're open to new experiences, life is full of surprises. Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. Following one family's momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow. When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first...