Books published by publisher Purple House Pr

George was one of those kids. You know, the kind that never stays still. And then one day, the doctor said he was going blind. Did that slow George down? Not for a single second. In fact, he was so fast, he went on to break a world record for blind runners. And now he is breaking more barriers because ironically, George Mendoza, blind painter, paints what he sees. George Mendoza started going blind at age 15 from a degenerative eye disease. It wasn't the sudden onset of blindness that many people experience. George lost his central vision and started seeing things that weren't there--eyes floating in the air, extraordinary colors, objects multiplied and reflected back. George describes this condition as having "kaleidoscope eyes." He triumphed over his blindness by setting the world record in the mile for blind runners, and later competing in both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics for the Disabled. Now a full-time artist, Mendoza's collection of paintings, also titled Colors of the Wind, is a National Smithsonian Affiliates traveling exhibit.

Alvin Fernald, possessor of the Magnificent Brain, faces his toughest challenge yet. When his class is assigned a pollution-fighting project, he is determined to dream up the most original scheme. As usual, he comes up with a stupendously wacky idea.Donning a costume made from an old potato sack, his long underwear, and a grinning Halloween mask, Alvin transforms himself into Superweasel, caped crusader against all the vile polluters of this planet!He is aided in his hilarious escapades by his best pal Shoie and his tag-along sister, the Pest. At first all goes well. Striking at night, Superweasel battles to a standstill the chemical company that is secretly polluting the river and publicly embarrasses its owner. Next he devises a daring scheme to smother an air-polluting factory with its own smoke. Superweasel is proclaimed the greatest hero in Riverton's history,But Alvin's success is short lived. Suddenly an impostor appears on the scene, determined to convert Superweasel into the town's number-one enemy.Thanks to the craziest community action plan ever devised, Alvin outwits the impostor, cleans up Riverton, and vanishes into the night. Fans of Alvin Fernald, possessor of the Magnificent Brain, are in for another zany adventure!

Only a few years ago (1950s) we walked on solid earth. Today we whirl through space. Space is big. It is not cozy. But with these verses and drawings... cheerfulness breaks in. Suddenly, science seems merry. And space begins, with the rhyme on page 1, to feel a little more like home. A witty collection of 1950's space age poetry accompanied by clever black and white line drawings by Marian Parry.

Foreword by Gregory Maguire. The Halls' house stood out like an exotic plant amidst all the neat, square houses in Concord. It had porches, domes and towers and a tiny window in the attic whose raised center pane shone out like a brilliant diamond. There had been jewels once in the house, the gift of an Indian prince to two children, Ned and Nora. The prince had devised ingenious games so that the hidden jewels could be found. And then, suddenly, mysteriously the children and then Prince Krishna disappeared... Years later, Eleanor and Eddy, niece and nephew of the lost children, set out to look for the jewels in order to save their home from being repossessed. They follow the clues of Prince Krishna's strange treasure hunt, a game harmless and exciting at first, but becoming increasingly filled with peril. The town of Concord, with its strong literary and philosophical heritage, is the background for Langton's fantasy. Erik Blegvad s illustrations completely capture its atmosphere.

Barnaby Jones, the hero of this tale, had an exceptional imagination, and he had no doubt that, with the proper design, he could build a craft that would lift him into the sky. Not for a moment did he doubt that a series of electric cords would provide the proper thrust for his vehicle or that a common fan could pull it high into the air, over tall buildings and across vast oceans. Surely such faith and determination will assure that his name will be forever linked with those other pioneers of flight history, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindberg and Neil Armstrong.

For sixty years children have been captivated by this classic story of Mary and her dolls. Mary's father was a sea captain who took long trips across the ocean, bringing back a doll from each journey. Soon Mary had six dolls and wished for a seventh one to become her Sunday doll. But Mary's father said six dolls were enough for any girl, so she set off to visit the Dollmaker and, oh, was she in for a surprise!

Why did Miss Twiggley live in a tree? Why did she send her dog, Puss, out to do the shopping? Why did she always run away and hide when people came to visit? And it was rumored that Miss Twiggley had even more peculiar habits...Old Miss TwiggleyWas friendly with bears."They shed on the sofa," she said,"But who cares?"And was it true, as the mayor's wife had heard, that she actually slept in her hat? "Simply disgraceful!" they said. But when a hurricane hits the town and the water rises, everyone is grateful to Miss Twiggley and her tree. Even better, Miss Twiggley herself learns a very important lesson, with a warm and happy ending.

Meet George. He's strong, as a giant dinosaur should be, strong enough to wreck a plane! (Of course he thinks it's his old enemy, the flying Pteranodon.) He's loyal. He'll do anything to help Joan and Joey save their mother's ranch at Cricket Creek, even chase a bank robber. He's shy. He's so shy he gets Joan and Joey into hilarious, dinosaur sized trouble!

Gus and Mouse have moved into the Historical Museum, living there with Mr. Frizzle and Cora the cat. Late one night, Cora came in from a moonlit walk and said, "A baby ghost's outside." "What do I do with it?" Gus cried. With Cora s help and a book about caring for ghostly babies, Gus manages just fine. However, cranky Mr. Frizzle soon demands that Gus gets rid of baby ghost. How do the two caretakers of the Historical Museum settle their differences? Well it turns out that not only is Gus a friendly ghost, but a smart one too!