Books with author Houston

Fans of narrative non-fiction, true dog stories, and African wildlife will want to check out "Bulu!" Born on a crocodile farm in Zambia's untamed South Luangwa Valley, the puppy seemed different from his littermates. Too quiet. Unresponsive. Terriers are usually full of energy and bouncing off walls. But not this one. Nobody wanted him. Enter Anna and Steve Tolan former police officers who had left behind their life in England to live in the African bush. People thought the Tolans were a bit different, too. The peculiar puppy suited them perfectly. They named him Bulu, or "wild dog" in the local Nyanja language. Living in the bush, Bulu not only found his voice, he also found his calling as a foster parent to the orphaned baby animals including warthogs, monkeys, elephants, baboons, bushbucks, and buffalo cared for by the Tolans. But Bulu's protective nature led him into terrifying situations in the wild. It's a miracle he survived! But survive he did, disarming people with his wacky ways and nurturing once-unwanted creatures like him until they too could be set free. Bulu's story is a joyful confirmation of dogs as unique spirits, capable of love, compassion, and bravery. Packed with vivid descriptions of encounters with crocodiles, lions, leopards, poisonous snakes, armed poachers, and more and illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs "Bulu: African Wonder Dog" is a great resource for meeting Common Core State Standards that will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. "From the Hardcover edition.""

The year is 1943. Rachel is an imaginative eight-year-old girl who lives on a dairy farm with her parents. Though her home in the green hills of Vermont is far from the daily tragedies of World War II, Rachel still feels the pain of loss. Her older sister, Emily, has recently died of pneumonia, leaving Rachel without her guiding light.Though Emily’s death makes Rachel feel as if the world has stopped spinning, she is called on to find reserves of imagination and grit—even channel her sister. As Rachel struggles to cope, she grapples with suspicions that her teacher is somehow to blame for Emily’s fatal illness. She also hones her story-writing skills, survives a night lost in the woods, and plays the queen in the school play.By the time the war is ending, Rachel is ten and beginning to understand that she has the ability and will to live outside her more extroverted sister’s shadow. Filled with bittersweet moments, The Quiet One is not just a heart-wrenching story about coping with loss and finding the strength to go on. It is also an inspirational tale for young readers who are ready to step up and take the lead in their own lives.

Running West, James Houston’s fifth novel, is an epic tale of harrowing adventure in the North of the early 1700s, which has at its heart one of the most unusual and compelling love stories ever told.Based on historical fact and real people, the story has its beginnings in the Highlands of Scotland and the treacherous world of Queen Anne’s London, then moves across the Atlantic to the desolate west coast of Hudson Bay. There, William Stewart, a Scottish clerk banished from his homeland, meets the extraordinary Thanadelthur – a young Indian woman of the Dene Nation, who had been taken into the Hudson’s Bay Company’s York Factory after her family was massacred.When the Company’s Governor, James Knight, interested in expanding the fur trade, sees the elegant “yellow” knife that had belonged to Thana’s mother, he sends the resourceful William and the indomitable Thana to find their way back to her homeland to bring back fur and valuable metals.Thus begins a heroic trek into uncharted wilderness, on which the courage and growing love between William and Thana is tested as they, accompanied by a dwindling band of Cree, endure deprivation, violence, and near starvation.Told in a rollicking historic style resonant of the period, Running West is peopled by memorable characters, and is enriched by James Houston’s wide knowledge of the North – its landscape, its native peoples and lore. This is gripping adventure in which James Houston’s narrative skills and meticulous research blend potently. Running West is a book to treasure.

Time is running out for Lily and Silas Blackwood in their hunt to destroy Pandora’s Box before the beings of Nightfall Gardens unleash its evil upon an unsuspecting world. Loyalties will be tested and friends will make the ultimate sacrifice as the two face off against an army of horrors that live in the Gardens. At the center of it all stands the Labyrinth, a maze haunted by dying gods and startling secrets that Lily must navigate to find Pandora’s Box. But will she be too late? The Labyrinth is the nail-biting conclusion to the “Nightfall Gardens” trilogy.

Laughing Gravy has a new job; it started on a Wednesday and it is an important job.He has to deliver the mail to all of the houses in his town. “I think I will like this job” says Laughing Gravy. “I will deliver the mail to all of the houses, even if it is raining, and I will always be on time because being on time is important when you are a postman. All of the people like to get their mail every day at the same time.”Laughing Gravy sets off with his bag full of letters and some small packages.The first house was Mr. Sparkles, he has 5 letters..“I wonder if Mr Sparkles gets 5 letters every day” says Laughing Gravy to Mr B, (Mr. B is Laughing Gravy’s imaginary friend, they have been friends as long as Laughing Gravy can remember) which is a long time for a dog. Next stop is Mrs. Johnston, Mrs. Johnston has 2 letters. “Mr B, do you think that Mrs. Johnston’s letter box is the smallest letter box in the street? I do hope that she never gets any more mail than 2 letters, because I don’t think that any more than 2 letters will fit in her letter box.”.Mr B agreed, though only Laughing Gravy can hear him.“I like my new job” said Laughing Gravy, “and the more letters I deliver the less weight in my satchel I have to carry.”The next stop is a block of 6 flats, Miss Lucy lives in the third flat, and she is a good friend of Laughing Gravy. Miss Lucy had four letters. “I must be sure that I don’t put the letters in the wrong boxes,” said Laughing Gravy as they all look the same, that would not do, would it Mr B.”Laughing Gravy couldn’t leave the letters and parcels on the door step as they might get wet from the rain or blow away with the wind. He remembered when he started his job how he said he would look after the mail.“Oh dear Mr B, what shall I do? Every day there are more and more parcels and letters to deliver and no room left in the mail boxes to put them in.”“I know that Miss Lucy is going to be away for the next week and won’t be back home until Christmas Eve. So are Mrs Simpson and the Jackson twins.”Each Day getting closer to Christmas was worse than the previous, with more and more mail, Laughing Gravy had to do something.

Precocious Lily Blackwood carries a responsibility far greater than other people. As the last female Blackwood, she must keep the evils in Pandora’s Box from destroying the world. With the help of her younger brother Silas, the dusk riders and her best friend Cassandra, she must protect Nightfall Gardens and ensure that the fairy-tale monsters, old gods and deathly shades stay separated from humanity. But now, the creatures bound to the Gardens are gaining strength and threatening to break loose. Bemisch, a malevolent witch, has escaped into the mist land to join forces with Eldritch, a powerful nature god. The mysterious Smiling Ladies hold the key to a dark secret from the Blackwood family’s past, and something once again roams the halls of the manor, trying to kill Lily. Worse yet, her fourteenth birthday is approaching and with it a dangerous rite of passage. Lily must enter the Shadow Garden, home of all that is nightmarish, and come face to face with her most terrifying threat yet.