Books published by publisher David R. Godine

Tom is so good at fooling around that he does little else. His Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong, who thinks this is too much like having fun, calls upon the fearsome Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen to teach him a lesson. So the Captain challenges Tom to three rounds of womble, muck, and sneedball, certain that he will win. However, when it comes to fooling around, Tom doesn't fool around, and his skills prove so polished that the results of the contest are completely unexpected. . .

Friendship, resourcefulness, adventures! Here’s the classic tale of two families of children who band together against a common foe: an uncle who claims he’s too busy for his nieces.The Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) are on school holiday in the Lake District and are sailing a borrowed catboat named “Swallow,” when they meet the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail the boat, “Amazon.” The children camp together on Wild Cat Island where a plot is hatched against the Blackett’s Uncle Jim who is too busy writing his memoirs to be disturbed. Fireworks―literally―ensue along with a dangerous contest, a run-in with houseboat burglars, and the theft of Uncle Jim’s manuscript. How all this is resolved makes for an exciting and very satisfying story. Uncle Jim ends up apologizing for missing his nieces’ adventures all summer―thankfully, readers won’t miss a thing. Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series has stood the test of time. More than just great stories, each one celebrates independence and initiative with a colorful, large cast of characters. Like the entire series that follows, this book is for children or grownups, anyone captivated by a world of adventure and imagination, exploring and setting sail.

You are the detective with these 24 fiendishly clever picture mysteries. Eli P. Harvard was found dead inside his ski lodge, a revolver in his hand and a bullet in his brain. He’d broken up with Sally the night before. Had despondency driven him to suicide? Or had the vengeful Sally done him in? The clues are in the picture; it’s up to you to find out who killed Harvard and why. Here's how... * Read the story* Ponder the picture* Seize pencil in fist* And solve it yourself! Match wits with Edgar Award-winning author Lawrence Treat and discover detecting powers you never dreamed you had. Who stole the Van Bliven necklace? Did Mrs. Falwell really fall out of her twelfth-floor window? Where did Little William go? You find out!

What would happen if every creature on land and sea were free to be as rotten as possible? If every day was a free-for-all; if plants grew barbed wire; if the ocean were poison? That’s life on Rotten Island. For creatures that slither, creep, and crawl (not to mention kick, bite, scratch, and play nasty tricks on each other), Rotten Island is paradise. But then, on a typically rotten day, something truly awful happens. Something that could spoil Rotten Island forever. Out of a bed a gravel on the scorched earth, a mysterious, beautiful flower begins to grow… This is a wonderfully raucous, fantastically colorful, reminder that nothing rotten lasts forever.

When Nan, Robert, Timothy, and Betsy's father went off to explore in Egypt, he left the children with their grandmother who lived in the English countryside. Unfortunately she did not much like children, much less their dog, Absalom. So the children ran away to stay with their Uncle Ambrose, an eccentric, strict, and loveable retired school teacher who was determined to give them an Education, but in addition to Greek, Latin, and Literature, the Linnet children learned much more — about nature and magic, the power of the past and Pan, and, of course, the importance of the bees. They used their knowledge to find the lost Valerians, undo some very wicked, ancient spells, and reunite a divided family. The word "enchanting" is overused, but in this case it applies.

Inspector Mantis, Dr. Hopper, and their creeping, crawling coterie return for another series of thrilling tales in this long awaited sequel to Trouble in Bugland-and this time they're facing more deadly foes than ever. These four new adventures will once again have readers of all ages laughing aloud, while gasping with horror. In these Sherlockian escapades, one meets unforgettable bugs such as the relentless spring-cleaner Mrs. Inchworm, the bespectacled Professor Booklouse, the fearless Captain Flatfootfly, and the pleasant Miss Allegra Warblefly. Many others help along the way, providing clues, witty conversation, and candy to fuel Inspector Mantis and Dr. Hopper's Holmesean efforts to defeat the devious lepidopterans and arthropods. Joe Servello's vibrant color illustrations, paired with hilarious dialogue from Bill Kotzwinkle compel readers to faithfully follow along as this all-insect cast pursues justice.

For anyone who loves sailing and adventure, Arthur Ransome's classic Swallows and Amazons series stands alone. Originally published in the UK over a half century ago, these books are still eagerly read by children, despite their length and their decidedly British protagonists. We attribute their success to two facts: first, Ransome is a great storyteller and, second, he clearly writes from first-hand experience. Independence and initiative are qualities any child can understand and every volume in this collection celebrates these virtues.. The third book in Arthur Ransome's wonderful series for children, Peter Duck takes intrepid explorers John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker and fearsome Amazon pirates Nancy and Peggy Blackett onto the high seas. Under the command of the infamous Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim), the children brave a real-life pirate and his cutthroat crew, fogy, sharks, and the ravenous crabs of Crab Island in the search of buried treasure.

Henrietta has big dreams for a little chicken: learning to sing, to swim, to fly, and, most important of all, to lay golden eggs. Even when her three thousand, three hundred thirty-three fellow inmates in the old henhouse laugh at her ambitions, Henrietta holds fast, practicing day and night. And while she's honing her talents, she's also getting ready to move on to the bigger, brighter world she can see through the tiny hole in the henhouse wall.Our heroine is no fool; she knows her limitations, but doesn't let them destroy her ambitions, any more than she lets the henhouse walls keep her a prisoner. And she's not above causing a little havoc along the way once the other three thousand, three hundred thirty-three chickens find her escape route, chaos reigns in the barnyard, by the pond, and among the wheat fields.Whether Henrietta achieves her dreams is debatable, but through her persistence and her resolute belief in herself, she does manage to change the lives of everyone in the henhouse for the better.This delightful fable is the first book by Hanna Johansen to be published in English. The spirited pen-and-ink illustrations by Käthi Bhend, printed in two colors, capture the henhouse denizens and their frenetic escapades down to the last feather.

It all started with a coot’s nest. Dorothy and Dick meet Tom Dodgeon, Port and Starboard, and three pirate salvagers — all members of the Coot Club Bird Protection Society. When one of the coot’s nests is disturbed by a shipful of “Hullabaloos” — rude holiday boaters — trouble begins. Frantic chases, calamitous boat collisions, and near drownings fill the pages of this exciting fifth addition to Ransome’s classic children’s series.For anyone who loves sailing and adventure, Arthur Ransome’s classic Swallows and Amazons series stands alone. Originally published in the UK over a half century ago, these books are still eagerly read by children, despite their length and their decidedly British protagonists. We attribute their success to two facts: first, Ransome is a great storyteller and, second, he clearly writes from first-hand experience. Independence and initiative are qualities any child can understand and every volume in this collection celebrates these virtues.

Here, at last is a book of "uncommon common sense" for young people by someone who has worked with them for thirty-five years. F. Washington Jarvis is one of the nation s most eminent educators, now in his twenty-eighth year as headmaster of Boston's Roxbury Latin School, the oldest school in continuous operation in North America.Jarvis s approach is anecdotal. "If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, it is ten times as true when you are speaking to young teenagers. They are gripped by the story of how real people cope with real situations. They are interested when you share with them the concrete realities of your own life and experience, and they are almost always willing to listen to adults who actually believe in something, who actually stand for something."Jarvis's addresses, reprinted from his school's publications, have enjoyed something of a cult "underground" circulation among young people - and their parents and grandparents. Now his "top hits" have been brought together in a single volume for wider circulation.The author never talks down to his audience. He knows that - appearances to the contrary - students are asking the deepest questions, questions about whether life has meaning and purpose. He also knows that teenagers often find themselves caught by surprise in situations where they have to make tough decisions. And he believes that they are willing, even eager, to know how others have coped in similar situations.This is a book of deep and practical wisdom, one of our surprise "bestsellers" in hardcover, and now available in softcover to serve an even wider audience.Winner of the 2001 Christopher Award

This charming book will delight any child or adult who appreciates ballet, Paris, New York, childhood, and mystery (not necessarily in that order). The book's plot is deceptively simple: Catherine, the eponymous heroine, begins her story watching her own daughter demonstrate jazz steps in their ballet school on a snowy afternoon in New York. Memory takes her (and the reader) back to her childhood, spent in the tenth arrondissement of Paris. In her youth, Catherine lives with her gentle father, Georges Certitude, who runs a shipping business with his partner, a loud, failed poet named Casterade. The real partners in this story, however, are the father and daughter who share the simple pleasures of daily life: sitting in the church square, walking to school, going to her ballet class every Thursday afternoon.Behind this gossamer storyline, Catherine Certitude is filled with mystery. Why did Georges change his name to Certitude? What kind of trouble with the law did Casterade rescue him from? Exactly what does Georges do, and what kind of deals is he always discussing with men in worn raincoats? Why did Catherine's mother, herself a ballerina, leave Georges to return to New York? That these mysteries remain mysteries is part of the book's charm. But that Catherine and her father love the ballet, music, and City of Lights, is certain.

One of England's best-loved children's book writers spins a magical adventure with animals, magic, and danger.When Nan, Robert, Timothy, and Betsy's father went off to explore in Egypt, he left the children with their grandmother who lived in the English countryside. Unfortunately she did not much like children, much less their dog, Absalom. So the children ran away to stay with their Uncle Ambrose, an eccentric, strict, and loveable retired school teacher who was determined to give them an Education, but in addition to Greek, Latin, and Literature, the Linnet children learned much more ― about nature and magic, the power of the past and Pan, and, of course, the importance of the bees. They used their knowledge to find the lost Valerians, undo some very wicked, ancient spells, and reunite a divided family.This is a story filled with Elizabeth Goudge's trademark mixture of realism and magic ― and like her classic The Little White Horse (adored by J. K. Rowling) it is set in Devon and inspired by its folklore and legends. A wonderful chapter book for fantasy-loving independent readers.