Books published by publisher Island Press

This searing graphic novel goes inside the head of Ann Putnam, the only girl to apologize for sending 26 people to their death in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In Salem’s dark days of 1692 and 1693, young girls pointed fingers and accused others of witchcraft, sentencing them to torture or even death. When the cloud lifted, and accusations were shown to be false, the girls faced little, if any, penalty. Were they sorry? No one knows. Only one girl, Ann Putnam, Jr., felt moved to show remorse publicly. Fourteen years after the trials, Ann wrote a letter of apology. This is her story.

From out of the sea, from out of the spray, the crab family's going on holiday! And so begins a grand day out at the seashore, as a family of crabs ventures on land to picnic on the beach (yum, peanut butter and jellyfish!), play games in an arcade (not even a crab wins at The Claw), and slide and glide in a water park. This is no ordinary boardwalk. Here, a seagull runs the candy store, a shark sits in front of a tattoo parlor, a seahorse hawks prizes, and the water park's lifeguard is an octopus. Join Mom, Dad, two crablets, and Grannie as they create holiday memories like no other. Young readers will delight in the clever rhyming verses paired with wacky and wonderful illustrations from the imagination of acclaimed New Hampshire artist Marty Kelley.

The battle for Ayda heats up in the second book of The Five Stones Trilogy.Chase, determined to fulfill his promise to find the unifying Fifth Stone, finds the elusive Captain Nate and brings him back to the island of Ayda, where one of the realms is burning and two more are under siege from Dankar’s dark forces of Exor. Meanwhile, Knox and Evelyn must trust a mysterious guide to help them find a way back, though each has their own personal struggle to overcome. All three children must decide if they can put their own needs―and fears―aside to save their friends and family.G.A. Morgan, who "excels at world-building," (School Library Journal), introduced us to Ayda in "The Fog of Forgetting." Now, she raises the stakes with a deeper examination of the evil power at work in Dankar, the conflict between love and loyalty, and the pain of sacrifice.

Just as people schedule regular check-ups with physicians, our planet needs regular check-ups to catch issues as early as possible, before they become more serious and harder to heal. That is the much-needed service provided on a global scale by the Worldwatch Institute in this new book, Vital Signs 2012. By taking stock of global consumption, Vital Signs 2012 offers the facts that need to guide our stewardship of the Earth's resources-and some of these facts are shocking. The report covers topics from obesity to ecosystem services, from grain production to nuclear power. Taken as a whole, it paints a picture of skyrocketing population, disappearing forests, and increasing consumption peppered with bright spots like growing investment in high-speed trains and other efficient transportation systems. Vital Signs 2012 is based on Worldwatch's online project of the same name, which provides up-to-date figures on important global concerns, as well as the Institute's own additional research. The book compiles the most important of these into an accessible, informative resource for policymakers and anyone who wants a realistic look at the state of our planet.

Little Imani, a young Maasai girl, is the smallest one in her village. The other children make fun of her and tell her she'll never amount to anything. Imani begins to believe them.At bedtime, Imani's mama tells her traditional stories about the moon goddess Olapa and Anansi the spider. They accomplished what would seem impossible. When Imani decides she wants to touch the moon, she works hard to reach her goal, even though it seems impossible.Hazel Mitchell's warm and vibrant illustrations take young readers to the plains of Africa, to a place where the animals always have something to say and little girls can touch the moon.

The stakes have never been higher for Cooper Wilder. When an accident puts Cooper’s dad in the hospital, Cooper must shoulder some new responsibilities. But he’s distracted. First, he and his friends find a fox caught in an illegal trap on the campground’s land. Then kits start to go missing from the fox den. Who would want to catch foxes? And why? Cooper, Packrat, and Roy must protect the den, find the kits, and rule out Summer, the new girl who lives across the lake, as a suspect. Juggling new campground duties, feeling guilty over his father’s accident, and desperate to help the fox kits, Cooper must make some tough decisions about who―and what―should come first.

Boyce Thorne-Miller is marine science and policy coordinator at SeaWeb, based in Washington, D.C.SeaWeb is a nonprofit organization with the purpose of raising awareness about the marine environment and the life that abounds there in order to inspire a new and vigorous commitment to protecting oceans worldwide. Believing that the best tool is knowledge, SeaWeb strives to make credible scientific information about the ocean environment accessible to the public.

A birch tree is an unlikely champion and protector of the forest in this story inspired by Gluskap, the heroic and kind-hearted figure of Wabanaki legends. As rumors of coming cold and darkness spread through the woods, chaos and fear grow. In a panic to collect and store food, the animals do damage to their very homes. The birch, now only a stump, remains firmly rooted and, with the wisdom and dry humor that only a stump can possess, helps the animals put their fears to rest.Acclaimed fine art painter Scott Kelley used his portraits of Wabanaki tribal elders as a springboard for the extraordinary paintings that make this a children's book like no other.

It's a rare and exciting event when two giants of children's literature work on a book together in their careers. The Little Fisherman is one of those books. Written by noted author Margaret Wise Brown – just two years after her classic Runaway Bunny was released – The Little Fisherman was a milestone in the illustrious career of legendary illustrator, Dahlov Ipcar, as it was the very first children's book illustrated by the then twenty-eight-year-old artist when it was published in the spring of 1945. The story features the charming main character and his simple and imaginative day spent catching fish with the Big Fisherman. Children will love the size differences throughout the book, including both the fishermen and their boats, especially when the imaginative sizes are set against the riveting and realistic fishing scenes. With its authentic coastal scenes and bright palette, The Little Fisherman helped establish Ipcar's distinctive artistic style, and ignited a four-decade-long creative run that has seen her write and illustrate more than thirty children's books, all from a studio overlooking her farm on Georgetown Island, Maine. This loving reissue will be adored by children and children's literature fans alike.

Explore the wonders of the Berkshires― from rolling hills to tumbling waterfalls, from concert halls to dairy farms, from Tanglewood to tunnels. This alphabet book, written by Joan Duris and photographed by Berkshire Eagle photojournalist Gillian Jones, combines playful short verses for younger children with informative text for older readers, to describe in words and pictures the natural beauty and cultural richness of this thriving area midway between Boston and New York City.

Just as people schedule regular check-ups with physicians, our planet needs regular check-ups to catch issues as early as possible, before they become more serious and harder to heal. That is the much-needed service provided on a global scale by the Worldwatch Institute in this new book, Vital Signs 2012. By taking stock of global consumption, Vital Signs 2012 offers the facts that need to guide our stewardship of the Earth's resources-and some of these facts are shocking. The report covers topics from obesity to ecosystem services, from grain production to nuclear power. Taken as a whole, it paints a picture of skyrocketing population, disappearing forests, and increasing consumption peppered with bright spots like growing investment in high-speed trains and other efficient transportation systems. Vital Signs 2012 is based on Worldwatch's online project of the same name, which provides up-to-date figures on important global concerns, as well as the Institute's own additional research. The book compiles the most important of these into an accessible, informative resource for policymakers and anyone who wants a realistic look at the state of our planet.