Books with author Linda Schenck

There’s trouble in paradise.When a scurrying horde of giant Gambian rats threaten to bring chaos to the easy living, fun-loving Conch nation, who will step forward to save the day?*A lightning-zapped veterinarian now trying his hand as a street-fair fortune teller?*A Scottish monk whose ambition is to rehab the rats, and ship them off to SouthAmerica where they can selflessly serve humanity by sniffing out landmines anddisease?*A pampered runaway Hemingway house cat who teams up with an aspirationalGambian rodent seeking a greater purpose?*A floundering young man from the wintery north fleeing his past, and hoping to find afuture?And what’s the weapon of choice in this battle against ecological disaster?*Poison? Swords? Heavy artillery?Nope. Try bagpipe music. Who but our unlikely heroes and Scottish gypsies would know that the keening, mournful sound of the pipes is banana pudding to the sensitive souls of ratties?It’s all here in sunny Key West—colorful characters, both human and animal, coming together in a versatile conga line of off-beat adventure and personal discovery.

Come Along With Me will transport eight-to twelve-year old children, their parents, and their grandparents to another world when they read Come Along With Me, an adventure about friendship and caring, the unfortunate consequences of jealousy, and the power of hope.Meet Gracie, a ditzy dwarf kangaroo from the Thirty-sixth Universe--a creature who lives in a perfect realm. Because she is bored, Gracie longs for an adventure to St. Petersburg, Russia, a place she imagines is filled with beauty and enchantment. Much to the tiny ‘roo’s surprise, her ability to transport herself to the land of the czars has failed. She ends up at a dairy farm in St. Clair, Pennsylvania, where she saves the life of Gibson, an abandoned Maine coon cat.The unlikely pair become fast friends. While Gracie tries to find her way back home, Gibson carves a life for himself on a farm with his newly adopted mistress, the farmer’s young daughter. There’s one hitch: The overworked farmer demands that Gibson earn his keep. Gibson’s task is thwarted somewhat when he experiences strange visions. But are these visions the result of a thrashing he received from the farmer’s two dogs? Or, maybe Gibson sees parallel universes?As outsiders the little kangaroo and the cat from the city negotiate the perils of farm life. They meet two malicious rats who hate anyone who is happy. The two devoted friends must contend with stampeding cows and a barnyard of critters that have little use for newcomers.Will Gibson keep his sanity and become the little girl’s pet? Will Gracie ever see the splendor of the Russian Versailles? Will the farmer survive the evil machinations of the rats, Bratwold and Eastman? Drift back to the days of Barbie dolls, hula hoops, and Sputnik to find out.

Here she goes again!Gracie, a dwarf kangaroo from the thirty-sixth universe, is skipping across the cosmos to her dream destination: St. Petersburg, Russia. She’s traveling with Gibson, a Maine coon cat whose life she saved when he was unceremoniously dumped in front of a Pennsylvania corn field.Expectations and reality quickly collide. What she expected to find was a city of wintery white nights, a city dotted with a hundred islands linked by dozens of imposing bridges, all book-ended by majestic sculptures cast in bronze.She expected to feast her eyes on historic buildings splashed with pink, yellow and blue pastels.Instead, she finds herself back in the 18th century, in Russia’s Imperial Golden Age. This is not the city I expected, she laments as she stands bewildered near the entrance to the city’s center of activity, the perpetually busy post office.Then, when Empress Catherine arrives in her royal carriage and points a bejeweled finger at the ever-so-handsome Gibson, and declares: I want that cat…the fun begins.

St. Petersburg, Russia 1958Nikita Khrushchev, head of the mighty Soviet Union, has a problem. Actually, he has more problems than he can count: rampant bureaucratic inefficiency, low corn production, ingrained police corruption, a slippery KGB chief—and now this: A riotous, file shredding insurrection of rodents at the infamous Kresty prison.The instigator? Why it’s none other than Gracie, that jaunty, kind-hearted, intrepid dwarf kangaroo from the thirty-sixth universe.What begins innocently enough as a dream vacation for the ’roo and her steadfast feline companion Gibson, soon turns into a richly imagined romp that takes us from the enchanting streets of St. Petersburg to the glamour of a Van Cliburn piano recital to the creepy corridors of a harsh “rehabilitation” center.Along the way you’ll discover a Khrushchev as you never imagined, as well as ride along with Van Cliburn as he takes a midnight train journey into the heart of Russia.It’s all here. Candy-colored palaces, rousing music, a host of colorful characters (human and otherwise), treachery and ultimately, thanks to Gracie’s determined efforts, justice in a city where beauty and hanky-panky are never far apart.

Here she goes again!Gracie, a dwarf kangaroo from the thirty-sixth universe, is skipping across the cosmos to her dream destination: St. Petersburg, Russia. She’s traveling with Gibson, a Maine coon cat whose life she saved when he was unceremoniously dumped in front of a Pennsylvania corn field.Expectations and reality quickly collide. What she expected to find was a city of wintery white nights, a city dotted with a hundred islands linked by dozens of imposing bridges, all book-ended by majestic sculptures cast in bronze.She expected to feast her eyes on historic buildings splashed with pink, yellow and blue pastels.Instead, she finds herself back in the 18th century, in Russia’s Imperial Golden Age. This is not the city I expected, she laments as she stands bewildered near the entrance to the city’s center of activity, the perpetually busy post office.Then, when Empress Catherine arrives in her royal carriage and points a bejeweled finger at the ever-so-handsome Gibson, and declares: I want that cat…the fun begins.

Come Along With Me will transport eight-to twelve-year old children, their parents, and their grandparents to another world when they read Come Along With Me, an adventure about friendship and caring, the unfortunate consequences of jealousy, and the power of hope.Meet Gracie, a ditzy dwarf kangaroo from the thirty-sixth universe--a creature who lives in a perfect realm. Because she is bored, Gracie longs for an adventure to St. Petersburg, Russia, a place she imagines is filled with beauty and enchantment. Much to the tiny ‘roo’s surprise, her ability to transport herself to the land of the czars has failed. She ends up at a dairy farm in St. Clair, Pennsylvania, where she saves the life of Gibson, an abandoned Maine coon cat.The unlikely pair become fast friends. While Gracie tries to find her way back home, Gibson carves a life for himself on a farm with his newly adopted mistress, the farmer’s young daughter. There’s one hitch: The overworked farmer demands that Gibson earn his keep. Gibson’s task is thwarted somewhat when he experiences strange visions. But are these visions the result of a thrashing he received from the farmer’s two dogs? Or, maybe Gibson sees parallel universes?As outsiders the little kangaroo and the cat from the city negotiate the perils of farm life. They meet two malicious rats who hate anyone who is happy. The two devoted friends must contend with stampeding cows and a barnyard of critters that have little use for newcomers.Will Gibson keep his sanity and become the little girl’s pet? Will Gracie ever see the splendor of the Russian Versailles? Will the farmer survive the evil machinations of the rats, Bratwold and Eastman? Drift back to the days of Barbie dolls, hula hoops, and Sputnik to find out.

The Grandcamp freighter held a deadly recipe in the port city of Texas City in 1947. As workers loaded bags of fertilizer made with ammonium nitrate into the ship's hold, particles from broken bags mixed with flammable debris in the freighter's hot underbelly. Heat caused the ammonium nitrate to combust, leading to one of the worst industrial disasters in U.S. history. In narrative detail, The Texas City Disaster recounts how the Grandcamp's explosion sent fireballs skyward to land on homes and stores, engulfing the city in flames. Through this drama, kids will learn how new safety procedures for chemical shipments help prevent such disasters today. A series of primary-source quotes from witnesses reveal the human drama, while a "Profiles" section lists players in Texas City.