Books with author Roger Garland

One of the redeeming features of the small shabby town was that its citizens stood loyally together. It was no surprise therefore to find a group of retired men met regularly each Saturday morning at the little coffee shop.This morning a tall skinny man was holding forth on the virtues of taking a walking holiday. The others scoffed and jeered in good humoured, ribald jesting as he continued to push his point of view. At last he stopped talking and the conversation returned to hip replacements, prostate cancer diagnosis and the selection of the current All Black team.Mike leaned over to the tall skinny man. "If you want to do it, do it now while you can," he confided in a direct tone.The next time they met they sat in almost the same chairs. The tall skinny man looked across to where Mike had sat last time. The chair was empty. Of course the chair was empty - they had all attended his funeral that past week. His last words remained in the skinny man's memory as he looked at the empty chair. The tall skinny man drained his coffee cup, excused himself from the gathering and left the cafe. At home he began to research the walk he planned - the Via Francigena. With excitement he discovered the first part of the walk travelled along the front line of the First World War.In 1916 his grandfather's brother had been killed at Longueval. His grandfather had named his son after his brother. His son had been killed at Malta in the Second World War. As he reflected on the cost of the loss of these two eldest sons to their families, he resolved to make his pilgrimage.The year was 2016. He would walk this journey and he would walk it alone.

Every neighborhood has one of those annoying, quirky, kids who like to challenge the status quo.That is Jelly Douglas.And before the next school semester starts, Jelly’s best friend Madison Winterbaum loses a dear family member. Asked to become a member of the Douglas family; Madison joins Jelly, Anna, and April on a grand adventure to summer camp.Camp American Wish is the second book in the Tanglewood Series, the first book in this series is titled Cowlicks & Freckles.The Douglas girls celebrate Madison Winterbaum a special needs child joining the family and commemorate this special occasion by going to summer camp for a week. Located within the rural areas in Tanglewood’s mountains Camp American Wish has plenty of hiking trails, trees, lakes, and horses.At camp Jelly, Madison, Anna, and April meet Hazel Steadman the owner of Camp American Wish. Hazel a no-nonsense woman, Bob Isaac the camp’s manager, and Grady Bonner the camp’s counselor join forty diverse children of all ages who are experiencing summer camp for the first time. However; their excitement is interrupted when Lea Dauber a stuck-up and angry young pre-teen stays in the same cabin who enjoys aggravating Jelly.Jelly and Madison volunteer to help with the camp’s daily chores and enjoy riding horses. Inside the barn Jelly and Madison listen to Hazel give a talk about horses, and they meet Ben Scales a sight-impaired boy who wants to ride Hazel’s favorite horse Heaven; who is willing to help groom Heaven for the chance. Bob and Hazel use their imaginations to come up with an intriguing and safe way to help Ben make this happen.