Books published by publisher Front Street Press

There is a skeleton in the Mattatuck Museum in Connecticut. It has been in the town for over 200 years. In 1996, community members decided to find out what they could about it. Historians discovered that the bones were those of a slave name Fortune, who was owned by a local doctor. After Fortune's death, the doctor rendered the bones. Further research revealed that Fortune had married, had fathered four children, and had been baptized later in life. His bones suggest that after a life of arduous labor, he died in 1798 at about the age of 60. Merilyn Nelson wrote The Manumission Requiem to commemorate Fortune's life. Detailed notes and archival photographs enhance the reader's appreciation of the poem.

Reveals how our survival depends on embracing complexity consciousness and relating to nature and all life as sacred • Rejects the “survival of the fittest” narrative in favor of sacred symbiosis, creative cooperation, interdependence and complex thinking • Provides examples from complexity studies, cultural history, philosophy, indigenous spirituality, biomimicry, and ecology to show how nature’s intelligence and creativity abound everywhere • Documents how indigenous cultures lived in relative harmony with nature because they perceived themselves as part of the “ordered whole” of all life In Future Sacred, Julie J. Morley offers a new perspective on the human connection to the cosmos by unveiling the connected creativity and sacred intelligence of nature. She rejects the “survival of the fittest” narrative--the idea that survival requires strife--and offers symbiosis and cooperation as nature’s path forward. She shows how an increasingly complex world demands increasingly complex consciousness. Our survival depends upon embracing “complexity consciousness,” understanding ourselves as part of nature, as well as relating to nature as sacred. Morley begins by documenting how indigenous cultures lived in relative harmony with nature because they perceived themselves as part of the “ordered whole” of all life--until modernity introduced dualistic thinking, thus separating mind from matter, and humans from nature. The author deconstructs the fallacy behind social and neo-Darwinism and the materialist theories of “dead matter” versus those that offer a connection with the sentient mind of nature. She presents evidence from complexity studies, cultural history, philosophy, indigenous spirituality, biomimicry, and ecology, highlighting the idea that nature’s intelligence and creativity abound everywhere--from cells to cetaceans, from hydrogen to humans, from sunflowers to solar panels--and that all sentient beings contribute to the evolution of life as a whole, working together in sacred symbiosis. Morley concludes that our sacred future depends on compassionately understanding and integrating multiple intelligences, seeing relationships and interdependence as fundamental and sacred, as well as honoring the experiences of all sentient beings. Instead of “mastery over nature,” we must shift toward synergy with nature--and with each other as diverse expressions of nature’s creativity.

A story of hope during a time of desolation. The Pestilence has arrived. A young girl is hastened out of her dying town and told by her mother, "Run far, run fast." The child travels from village to castle, castle to countryside, in search of shelter. Wherever she turns, the Pestilence has already appeared. Scared and tired, she finally meets a stranger who knows something of this plague. He is kind and learned, but will his knowledge be enough to save her family? Timothy Decker explores the bleak yet breathtaking world of fourteenth-century Europe. Stark pen-and-ink drawings emphasize the realism of this romanticized period, and straightforward prose creates a truly haunting tale.

A raw, poignant story of a band of Brazilian street kids who survive -- if they can -- by their wits alone. Asphalt Angels centers around a boy named Alex, a street child of 13 in Brazil who has been kicked onto the city streets by his stepfather after his mother dies. He is alone and scared. This is the story of how he adapts to life in the streets with a group of other children. Hazards are everywhere: drug-dealing, theft, glue-sniffing, harassment, brutality, even murder. It is not easy steering clear of them, yet Alex manages to survive, eventually making a home with 14 other boys in a house, working in an office, and attending evening school. This story grew from the real-life drama the author observed while on assignment. In an afterword, she reports that some 10,000 children sleep in Rio's streets, and many more roam them by day, victims of inadequate nutrition, education, and shelter, and prey to drugs and violence. Alex does exist, but under another name.

Translated from the original Sanskrit by the noted Victorian Orientalist, Sir Richard Burton, these ancient Indian folk tales influenced such later works as 1001 Arabian Nights and Boccaccio's Decameron. As revealing today as they were in their own time, these stories will entertain and delight modern readers while illuminating the life and customs of classical India. This reprint from the 1893 limited edition contains 34 black-and‑white illustrations, including the frontispiece designed especially for that edition.

Three Steps from a Mermaid's HeartAmaya longs to swim in the sea and, on her tenth birthday, she finally gets her wish. Unfortunately, as these stories often go, getting her wish may be more than Amaya's heart can handle.The Little Human is a modern story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. Fans of classic fairytales and strong female characters will enjoy this imaginative adventure that centers science, curiosity, and every person's right to choose their own destiny.

Three Steps from a Mermaid's HeartAmaya longs to swim in the sea and, on her tenth birthday, she finally gets her wish. Unfortunately, as these stories often go, getting her wish may be more than Amaya's heart can handle.The Little Human is a modern story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. Fans of classic fairytales and strong female characters will enjoy this imaginative adventure that centers science, curiosity, and every person's right to choose their own destiny.

High in the mountains of the Lake District is a secret valley where the Vikings have their last stronghold--their Shield Ring. The Normans seek to crush this group of Northmen and to bring all of England under their control. They build a castle in Carlisle and send an army north. Meanwhile, the Northmen lamb and harvest as though life were normal, but Ari Knudson sharpens Wave-flame and the Jarl prepares his War Host. Two youths of the village--Frytha, a Saxon girl who fled to the valley when the Normans burned her home, and Bjorn, the foster-son of the old harper--make ready, too. As the Norman's approach the secret valley, the Northmen recruit able bodies, and Bjorn volunteers to enter the Norman camp as a spy. Frytha knows Bjorn's deepest fear: that if he is captured, he will fall to Norman torture and reveal the location of the Shield Ring.

Geography Fun for Kids! Grab your crayons and join Swift Walker on his amazing adventures around the world. Learn about the continents and oceans as you join Swift Walker for stops in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, and Africa. The coloring book features images from the popular Swift Walker series along with maps to help you learn where you are in the world. Perfect for home, school, or homeschoolers. Ages 4-8