Challenging or frightening strories before going to sleep do not encourage a deep, trouble free sleep. The story is intended to calm the children and make them feel safe from the time they go to bed until they are awake and are with their parents again. The repetition of Hummmmmmmmmm on each page is meant to assist parents in bringing the child to a state of drowsiness that will induce an irresistible urge to sleep. The Big Red Ball allows them to float safely above everything while interacting with friends and visiting interesting places. Prayers and Mantras have been used throughout history to calm and reassure people, and this story is intended to do the same for small children.

A beautiful and sunny day has Goober the Golf Ball enduring a short but scary adventure on the golf course. Goober's best friend Tommy is heartbroken, and this temporarily hinders Tommy's love for golf. A cute story with a happy ending.

Cindy, a small white dog with black spots, loves sports and becomes an unlikely hero in a soccer game. Dan Atherton's colorful illustrations capture the excitement and beauty of living and playing in Hawaii.

For more information about the book, please visit: http://atherton.50megs.com/cindy/cindy.cover.html

"F" is for Fishing began with a fishing trip. Larry and Melissa Barker invited Sarah and Josh Jones on a fishing trip on Lake Tarpon, Florida, about two years ago.

Their grandmother, Marje Monach, Melissa, Larry and the two children had a great time on the lake that day. The children each caught their first fish and were "hooked" from then on.

Larry has been a tournament bass fisherman and outdoor writer for years, and asked Josh and Sarah if they would like to help write a children's book about bass fishing. The children had no idea at the time what they were getting into, but both said "yes!" without hesitation. Over the past two years, the authors, Larry, Josh and Sarah have taken several exciting fishing trips. The photos at chapter openings were taken on some of those trips.

The writing process developed over time. The first few sessions involved talking through some of the possible topics to include in the book. After each session, Larry would write a draft and both children would read it and suggest improvements. Eventually, Marje, Melissa and her mother, Pat Fisher, became involved in the editing process. After many drafts and numerous inputs from all contributors, the book was completed. At this writing Sarah is 11 years old and Joshua is 13. They live in Clearwater, Florida. In addition to fishing, Sarah loves acrobatics. Joshua enjoys computer games and the outdoors. Both are enthusiastic readers.

Although some parts of the book are completely fi ctional, many scenes are based on real life fishing adventures. We hope that you enjoy reading the book as much as we enjoyed fishing and writing it!

-BEI Outdoor Publishing

A confident young hockey player learns the winning way to play hockey. It is through watching the play of a selfish and dominant bully player that he learns, that to win at hockey, and at life, requires more focus on teamwork and less focus on personal glory. One of three great lessons in life, from the "Life Lessons on Ice" series.

I was tired of reading teddy-bear books, and books about cute animals. There's nothing wrong with those types of books. I just wanted something a little more adventurous, and exciting. Every child likes motorcycles. Every child can relate to some kind of racing situation. Who gets some place first becomes a natural aspect of childhood. I was road-racing motorcycles, and I always saw families with children at the track. I wanted a motorcycle-racing story to read to my kids, but there were none to be found. So I wrote one. I met Jim Serfass while racing, and I knew he could translate the story into the perfect character. His artwork surpassed anything I had envisioned, and really brought the story to life. This book is true to racing and fun for children, and adults of all ages. I think you'll find there is no other picture book on the market today that is quite like this one. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have. There may be more to come...

You wouldn't think baseball and poetry would go together. But this collection of children's poetry and short stories from award-winning poet and filmmaker Noah Edelson proves that baseball and poetry fit together like hotdogs and buns.

Every poem in Cooperstown Dreams is full of the moments that make baseball an indelible part of growing up. From the excitement of the perfect game and the hope of catching a foul ball to the disappointment of the third strike, the poems bring the reader right into the moment, to laugh, cheer, or kick dirt on the ump.

And because there is more to life than baseball, this collection gives kids a look and a laugh at the important moments that make a kid's day. It's full of verses that poke fun of the ups and downs in the everyday lives of the not-yet-grown-up-people in the world.

Sitting down with this volume of verse is guaranteed to bring on a laugh from both girls and boys. From the agony of cold vegetables, annoying brothers and sisters, and pop quizzes, to the ecstasy of the ice cream truck, the perfect day shopping and, of course, letting out belches that rattle windows, kids will find a part of their lives on these pages.

In short, Cooperstown Dreams offers baseball, a laugh and a positive message about being a kid. And although it was written for kids, people of all ages will see a bit of themselves jumping off the pages of this book.

Because, let's face it, no matter how old we are, when it comes to playing baseball, we're all still kids.

When Sally decides she doesn't want to start swimming lessons, her pram and wild imagination take her on a magical sea adventure full of musical sea horses, dancing lobsters and many more bubbly new friends. However, a scary encounter soon lands her in deep water. Will her mum ever get her to the pool on time?

Jimmy is a simple man whose life changed forever after a fishing tournament. Bass fishing meant everything to Jimmy, but little did he realize how much it would effect him for the rest of his life. Thanks to his new friend, "One Eye'd", Jimmy will never be the same man he once was. Patience, Relax, Enjoy, and take your time - you can achieve anything in your life.

After losing his mother at the tender age of eight, Elias' emotional escape has been the sport of wrestling, which has worked well – that is, until he loses the high school state final for the fourth year in a row. Struggling to figure out why he cracks under pressure and overwhelmed by coming so close to something only to barely miss it, leads him to suicidal events. With the help of a careless and not so loyal girlfriend, an aimless trouble-minded best friend and love of a brother, Elias discovers what's been holding him back.

This book chronicles the 2006 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail by a nervous backpacker. Starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia, Marley meets an experienced woods dog who helps Marley gain confidence as they share the adventure of hiking 2176 miles to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Along the way Marley learns important lessons on how to hike safely while protecting the environment. Based entirely on Marley's actual 2006 thru-hike, the only fictitious part of the book is our hero - Blaze.

Counterfeit skateboards! Who is trying to put Mike Holt out of business? He's already had one tragedy in his life, will this be more than he can handle? Jim and Ben need to find out who is doing this quickly or their dreams of a skateboard park will be gone forever.

This is the story of five close friends who all share one common love - skateboarding. They live in the small city of Exton, Pennsylvania that is not known as a skateboarding haven. They have dreams of changing that by helping to open a new skate park in their city. Their plans are taking shape when disasters strikes. Mike's shop is in danger of being put out of business by a mysterious stranger and that would lead to the end of the 2nd Annual Boardzone Skateboard competition and their skate park dreams.

Like most kids they can't resist getting involved and jump right in to try and figureout what is going on - and of course, get into a load of trouble in the process. With the help of their Uncle, a retired policeman, the group of young people get into one precarious situation after another while searching for the identity of the counterfeiter. Each day leads our young group one step closer to facing their biggest challenge ever.

Will they solve the mysterious counterfeit skateboarding ring? Will Mike lose his store and cancel the big competition? Will corrupt city officials steal the land for the new skate park?

No one is going to take away their dream of the first skate park in their hometown. Even if they have to face their enemy head on - they will.

The book features a brief comment to Buckeye Fans from Jim Tressel, Head Football Coach.

Mark and I hope you enjoy reading Buckeyes, Bow Ties & Sweater Vests. It is our third collaboration. We first printed Little Brutus Buckeye Makes New Friends in 1995 (limited edition). During the fall of 2007, we published Troy and the Championship Trophy, a rhyming children’s story about good (and bad) sporting behavior and how we can all be winners if we just “Respect the Game.” Troy and the Championship Trophy is available at w w w .amazon.com.