Books published by publisher Lost City Publishers

Les likes to run away, but he never makes it very far. Usually it ends with a trip escorted home from the police station. Today, however, Les got lucky. Today, on Les's eleventh birthday, he was hit by a car and broke his leg.The hospital was too clean and quiet to pretend he was in a military hospital overseas after a terrific air battle with the Nazi Luftwaffe, but a nurse gave him a goodie bag of supplies for his secret lab. And his trip to the hospital was ending escorted home by his perfect, older brother James. Les and his brother Charlie feel poky and worthless compared to James, but this put off facing mother a little longer. Plus James bought him ice cream and cake from the diner - because he probably wouldn't get any at home.And today he actually talked to James, told him he wanted to fight in the war and be a hero. But James was going to beat him to it. He told Les he was going to join the war just after graduation, and he and his dad would break the news to mother tonight. Suddenly, Les's birthday, even with all the trouble he'd caused, was going to be all about James. Victory on the Home Front is Les's story, as well as his brothers' James, Charlie and little Johnny. While his parents aren't watching, Les finds adventure. And trouble. After his secret laboratory inquiries lead him to tap phone lines and the FBI arrives, Les decides it's time for his great escape. Based largely in truth from family reminisces and the real-life brothers' wisdom, D.S. Grier has incorporated charming scenes, historically accurate language and details, and a young boy's troubles and escapades into a novel for middle grades kids, their teachers and parents, and anyone with an interest in life in the states during WWII.

In 1768, at the age of nineteen, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe began to study hermetic literature. This exploration had a huge impact on the early aesthetic education of Europe’s great man of letters, the last renaissance titan. In the years that followed, Goethe immersed himself in the hermetic tradition, and even set up an alchemic laboratory and attempted to make an elixir of immortality. Although he eventually gave up his alchemical experiments, he was to believe in the validity of the Great Work for the rest of his life.Alchemic symbolism is prominent in many of Goethe’s works, and it is particularly abundant in the tales of self-mastery and transformation presented in this collection. Included here are new translations of “Fairy Tale” (“Märchen”), Goethe’s alchemical allegory; “The Counselor” and “The New Melusina,” stories of temptation and the tests of love; “The Good Woman,” a curious discourse on aesthetics and the rights of women; and the lyrical prose masterpiece “Novelle.” Here also for the first time in English is “The Magical Flute,” Goethe’s sequel to Mozart’s opera, with themes of initiation, the magical power of music and liberated genius.

Speedy is a sweet little turtle who was born on the beach. He follows the light of a lighthouse instead of the moonlight over the ocean, and ends up living in a fenced yard with Bizzy the bee, Maurice the rabbit, and Squiggle the squirrel. Speedy doesn’t feel like he belongs where he is and this has him feeling a little bit sad. A big dreamer, Speedy searches for a way to fit in and to make his heart happy. This is the story of Speedy’s journey to find his own special shine.

Sam hates his birthday... It’s not fair that he gets boring holiday sweaters or even worse—the dreaded “combo” gift—one present that’s supposed to be for both his birthday and Christmas. Even Champ, his dog, has a birthday in the summer. Sam hates his birthday. Until he finds out that there’s something worse than having a birthday on December 27th...

Meet Kristie, a curious little hamster who loves to sneak out of her cage and explore the world around her. Based on a true story, and using colorful illustrations and rhyming text, Kristie’s Excellent Adventures will take young readers on exciting journeys, where they’ll discover their own world all over again through the eyes of an adorable hamster.