"Sammie, a budding naturalist, knows of a secret and wonderful place: Winghaven, an abandoned lot in the middle of the suburbs where wildlife flourishes. She spends hours making notes and drawings...When Bram, a new boy, turns up with his camera, Sammie worries he'll give away her hidden haven...But Bram is a scientist like Sammie, and together they observe tiny pond creatures, pileated woodpecker with a red crest like a pirate's bandana, and thriving...

"In this enlightening legend shared by Lakota Elder Kevin Locke, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka (The Great Spirit) created the entire world in seven days; leaving the most precious creation for last. In order to protect this precious creation, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka needed to hide it where it would always be safe and turned to our animal relatives for help. Together, they found the perfect place. Do you know where they chose?"--

In the novels of R. K. Narayan (1906-2001), the forefather of modern Indian fiction, human-scale hopes and epiphanies express the promise of a nation as it awakens to its place in the world. The three novels brought together in this volume, all written after India's independence, are masterpieces of social comedy, rich in local color and abounding in affectionate humor and generosity of spirit. Mr. Sampath--the printer of Malgudi is the story of a...