Cañon City Public Library

An account of how the author came to be a writer and selections from his writer's notebook augment stories juxtaposing fantasy and truth, and peopled with outrageous and courageous characters.

"Exiled after a battle that left all five Clans devastated, ThunderClan's deputy, Squirrelflight, reveals the identity of the fake Bramblestar and fights for the return of the real one"--

"When Papa doesn't return from a nocturnal honey-gathering expedition, Cress holds out hope, but her mother assumes the worst. It's a dangerous world for rabbits, after all. Mama moves what's left of the Watercress family to the basement unit of the Broken Arms, a run-down apartment oak with a suspect owl landlord, a nosy mouse super, a rowdy family of squirrels, and a pair of songbirds who broadcast everyone's business. Can a dead tree full of annoying...

"It's the most wonderful time of the year—for driving a sleigh! 'Tis also the season—for driving a sleigh! Oh, and joy to the—driving a sleigh! The Pigeon has made a list and checked it once. Can his holiday dream come true? Or will The Pigeon be left out in the cold?" --publisher's website.

Charlie Carlisle's grandfather is ill. Charlie's friend, Singing Bird, a Teton Sioux, tells him that ravens have curing powers, so Charlie steals a baby bird from its nest. Granddad, a retired naturalist, encourages Charlie to record his observations of the bird and study the effect it has on humans. Charlie just hopes that the raven will make Granddad well.

He may be slow but Truman the turtle is determined to find his girl Sarah, who has boarded a city bus on her way to preschool.

It's time for the little red chicken's bedtime story -- and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But the chicken can't help herself! Whether the tale is "Hansel and Gretel" or "Little Red Riding Hood" or even "Chicken Little," she jumps into the story to save its hapless characters. When it's the little red chicken's turn to tell a story, will her yawning papa make it to the end without his own kind of interrupting?

"Louie doesn't have the best luck when it comes to nurturing small creatures. So when his father brings home a sickly newborn mini donkey, he's determined to save him. He names him Winslow. Taking care of him helps Louie feel closer to his brother, Gus, who is far, far away in the army. Everyone worries that Winslow won't survive, especially Louies quirky new friend, Nora, who has experienced loss of her own. But as Louie's bond with Winslow grows,...

"From beloved authors Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko and with illustrations from Wallace West, Dogtown is at once an uplifting story and a page-turning adventure, sure to find a forever home in readers' hearts. Dogtown is a shelter for stray dogs, misbehaving dogs, and discarded robot dogs, whose owners have outgrown them. Chance, a real dog, has been in Dogtown since her owners unwittingly left her with irresponsible dog-sitters who skipped...

Bear thanks his friends for bringing food dishes to his dinner party and finds a way of sharing something of his own.