Books published by publisher Bright Works Press

From the Award-winning Author of Spider Silk, Stone Fly, and Not Before Midnight Bitter's Run is a spirited and adventurous tale. Told in three parts, it portrays the realities and uncertainties of life on the Oregon Trail, of the war-weary men seeking or returning to a homestead in Oregon, and of the courageous women who rode with them.Following Lee's surrender of the Army of Virginia to Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox, Captain John Bitter of Abiqua Creek, Oregon musters out of the 40th Missouri. A loner, Bitter plans a quick ride home over the Oregon Trail. The good Lord, however, has other plans for him.After a month on the Trail, two gun battles, a bruising fistfight to settle a blood feud, a new wife, and two adopted sons, Bitter tells Rockford, his big, mean, black horse, "This sure complicates the business of getting back to Oregon."Bitter now finds himself the leader of a mixed entourage going west: a black pioneer family earlier wagon trains shunned; an Irish rebel turned galvanized Yankee; a dispossessed Cherokee turned Cheyenne medicine man; the rescued sister of a Bannock chief; a white boy adopted by the Cheyenne; and a scout for the Union Army who is also one of the richest men in Oregon.If you like well-researched historical fiction that delivers entertainment as well as passion and suspense ... you'll love Bitter's Run.

SET IN CHERNOBYL: A girl's 11th birthday always brings big changes to her world, but for Katya Dubko, it is truly the end of the world as she knows it. In the northern Ukraine, an area of dense forests, abundant wild life, and sparkling rivers, Katya's little village of Yanov has been a fairytale home. Her family life is rich with ancient traditions and magical beliefs, and her father has a good job working for the government at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, a complex bigger than her whole village.Steeped in the imagery of her people, Katya believes that the station is a magical factory, and she looks for men in white robes, the angels she has heard push buttons to create electricity. When she asks her father about the station, he reassures her that it is safe: "so safe I would let you and Mama sleep there. I'd let a baby sleep there." Yet when Katya is sent into the forest to play while her family prepares her birthday dinner, she meets Vasyl, a mysterious otherworldly boy who tells her the agonizing truth: her world will be destroyed in an explosion. What is she to believe?On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, and the Soviet government refused to acknowledge the extent of the disaster. As Katya struggles to survive in the aftermath, Vasyl reenters her life and helps her to realize that there can be no healing without truth, however difficult it may be to face. As she reconnects with her friends from before the explosion, she begins to learn more about the scientific concepts that have changed their world, and she discovers that blind patriotism like her father's can be the undoing of a country as well as a man. With the help of friends she could have never imagined in her old life, Katya begins to understand that the things that are most important about her homeland and herself have survived the disaster. Combining the mythological truths of her ancestors with an understanding of the science behind the Chernobyl explosion, Katya finds the strength to fulfill a promise she made to herself many years before. And from her new vantage point she realizes that she is no longer the little girl in the fairy tale, she has become the author of her own story.Radiant Girl weaves history, fantasy, photographs and illustrations together to create a fictional coming of age tale that offers readers insight on surviving the powerful forces of change that rock their own lives, both from within and without.

Crazy about basketball, twelve-year-old Sam Davis longs to be a part of the team that practices outside his window. But Sam’s different from the other boys: he has cerebral palsy. Confined to a wheelchair, Sam’s never touched a basketball. He’s never even been to school.It’s 1968, and only a few enlightened educators understand that a boy like Sam might have a brain that’s as good as anybody else’s. When the Stirling Junior High principal finally agrees to let Sam enter sixth grade, Sam gets his chance to move into the world beyond his window.All Sam knows about school, he’s learned from Miss Perkins, the English lady who cleans his apartment. Perkins spends hours reading to Sam about Winston Churchill. Sam knows so much about him that Winnie— as they call him—starts talking to Sam in his head. At first, Sam doesn't understand what a boy in a wheelchair has in common with one of the world’s greatest leaders, but Winnie says, Don't you see Sam? I was just a boy once, too. A boy nobody believed in.Junior High school can be difficult, not just for boys in wheelchairs. Sam learns that if he can't make it work at Stirling, there are places for boys like him. When the challenges seem overwhelming, Winnie reminds Sam, Our lives are what we choose to make of them. If Sam can only believe in Winnie, he‘ll finally be part of the team—a window boy no longer.

Following Lee’s surrender of the Army of Virginia to Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox, Captain John Bitter of Abiqua Creek, Oregon musters out of the 40th Missouri. A loner, Bitter plans a quick ride home over the Oregon Trail. The good Lord, however, has other plans for him. After a month on the Trail, two gun battles, a bruising fistfight to settle a blood feud, a new wife, and two adopted sons, Bitter tells Rockford, his big, mean, black horse, “This sure complicates the business of getting back to Oregon.”Bitter now finds himself the leader of a mixed entourage going west: a black pioneer family earlier wagon trains shunned; an Irish rebel turned galvanized Yankee; a dispossessed Cherokee turned Cheyenne medicine man; the rescued sister of a Bannock chief; a white boy adopted by the Cheyenne; and a scout for the Union Army who is also one of the richest men in Oregon.Bitter’s Run is a spirited and adventurous tale. Told in three parts, it portrays the realities and uncertainties of life on the Oregon Trail, of the war-weary men seeking or returning to a homestead in Oregon, and of the courageous women who rode with them.

When a beloved grandmother becomes ill and unable to be out in the sun, her creative grandchild is inspired to help her feel better. With Poppa's help, the child secretly transforms Nana's garden into a place where she can once again be with creatures and plants that bring her joy. At first, unfamiliar night sounds seem frightening, but soon they learn the call of the crickets, the sad song of the whip-poor-will, the rustles of a family of raccoons stealing into the garden for a midnight snack. They cultivate moonflowers, star jasmine, and dozens of other luminous, fragrant plants, discovering the sensory beauty of the garden at night. Will Nana discover their surprise before the garden is ready? Join them as together they find the healing power of their new "shadow" garden - a true gift of love. Educational sidebars introduce nocturnal plants, animals and insects and give tips to build a garden. All illustrations created by children battling cancer at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and proceeds from the book go back to the Children's Cancer Hospital.

Children experience the renowned Frank Lloyd Wright house that boldly cantilevers over a waterfall in the western Pennsylvania mountains through the eyes of the Kaufmann family's most beloved dog in residence. Beginning with the initial site survey, the loveable dachshund reflects on the myriad details that make the Big House so special. Moxie and her siblings' preferred picnic site, the rock, becomes the foundation that supports the residence's dramatic design, and the grand fireplace built around the big rock provides a warm stone where the dogs nap whenever they want. Fallingwater's steep, cascading staircase mimics the waterfall and parallels the house's dramatic descent down the hillside, and the plunge pool built into the stream is just right for a brisk, refreshing swim. A handy glossary features both images and text to explain key architectural terms.

Inspired by true events and a family tradition spanning over 30 years, The Magic Gingerbread House tells the story of 5 of Santa’s Elves-Hans, Grietal, Kirsten, Franz, and Stefan who teach sisters Meghan and Mollie, and their friend Sammy, about the power of hope and believing in the magic of Christmas. Once the house is built, the elves come to live with the girls at night to get a respite from the North Pole. Each night the Elves come alive and have fun at the house and leave a special note of encouragement to the girls. Sammy is lonely as both her parents have been deployed to the Middle East, and she has moved to town to live with her grandparents. With the help of the Elves, the girls learn to have hope and believe in the magic of Christmas.

When he was quite young, the Word Burglar desperately wanted to learn to read, but his mother and father were too busy working and caring for his big brothers and sisters to stop long enough to teach him. Please, he begged. The words look good enough to eat. Please, somebody! Teach me how to read! Children at the cusp of reading will understand the insatiable desire that turns this quiet little boy to a life of crime, stealing words from the books of friends and neighbors with the faint hope that one day he will be able to read. The Word Burglar reveals the beauty and power of language and helps children understand that without reading skills they become diminished. With a glossary of the Word Burglar's purloined words and intriguing art that puts the power of books in proper perspective, this tongue-in-cheek tale will delight logophiles of all ages and encourage new or struggling readers to persevere.

The president of the Unites States is the world's most powerful person. Despite the remarkable talents of those who have served as our country's chief executive, totally successful governance has never been possible, meaning subjective assessment of presidential lives and characters is required. How then should we jusge these powerful leaders, since even the best works of history raise questions needing answers before final conclusions can be drawn? As a civil litigator for almost four decades, Talmage Boston's business has been to seek the truth from witnesses and use it to bring focus toward final resolution. Recognizing that a history book constitutes the author's thorough direct examinination of his subjects, and knowing ultimate credibility can only be derived following cross-examination, over a three-year period, he interrogated those who have performed the heavy lifting of research and analysis about our commanders-in-chief. Cross-Examining History delivers the answers to questions Boston posed to many of today's most renowned presidential historians and some esteemed high-level Oval Office insiders. The results expand our awareness far beyond book learning and increase our knowledge of the most important aspects in our presidents' lives. Boston then brings his case to a close with an insightful analysis of the essential qualities demanded of those who have called the White House their home. At a time when evaluating presidential leadership has never been more critical to the American people, readers of Cross-Examining History will be better positioned to make their own final judgments.

Join the Crooked River cowboys on a trail ride! Saddle up and find your way from ranch headquarters to the cattle pens out on the range, and to the cowboys' camp for a chuck-wagon meal, and then head on back home to the ranch, this time by a different path. Roxie Munro, with her eye-popping and intricate artwork, invites children to trail through aerial mazes, each one dovetailing into the one following, making discoveries deep down in every canyon and over each hill.

This lift-the-flap, fold-out book contains fifty flaps to lift, plus a unique rodeo event on every brilliantly colored spread-Grand Entry Parade, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Cutting Competition, Mutton Busting, Calf Scramble, Barrel Racing, Calf Roping, Bull Riding, and a Square Dance with a cowboy band to round out the fun. Wild broncs and bucking bulls will leap across the pages of this colorful, engaging book, and young readers will be enticed to lift the flaps on each page over and over.