Books published by publisher David R Godine Pub

The uproarious true adventures of a dog who doesn’t understand that he’s a dog ― and the boy who loved him. Funny, heartwarming, and true, this is a classic story of a very imaginative kid and one very unusual dog.Funny and poignant, The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be is a lively portrait of an unorthodox childhood and an unforgettable friendship. Growing up in on the frontier of Saskatoon, Canada, the legendary adventurer and naturalist, Farley Mowat, received a gift from his mom: a dog she bought for four cents. Farley quickly named him “Mutt.”Mutt displayed skills at hunting and retrieving that were either pure genius or just plain crazy ― once going so far as to retrieve a plucked and trussed ruffed grouse from the grocer. Mutt also loved riding passenger in an open car wearing goggles and climbing both trees and ladders ― the perfect companion for a child with a love for animals and misadventures.Originally published for young people, this is a memoir by the author Never Cry Wolf that will delight dog lovers of all ages.

Little Polly Flowerdew lives with her two maiden aunts, and she is absolutely sure that something special is going to happen this Christmas. She leaves her bedroom window open on Christmas Eve, just in case the three wise men decide to come visit. When she wakes up on Christmas morning, more than one miracle seems to have taken place.A moving, lyrical, and endearing chapter book, celebrating the magic as well as the mystery of Christmas, this is our first title by Elizabeth Goudge, mistress of the art of storytelling. Charmingly illustrated with ink drawings by Margot Tomes, it is a perfect Christmas read-aloud for young children and parents looking for something slightly sentimental and bracingly wholesome.

Friendship, resourcefulness, adventures! Here’s the classic tale of two families of children who band together against a common foe: an uncle who claims he’s too busy for his nieces.The Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) are on school holiday in the Lake District and are sailing a borrowed catboat named “Swallow,” when they meet the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail the boat, “Amazon.” The children camp together on Wild Cat Island where a plot is hatched against the Blackett’s Uncle Jim who is too busy writing his memoirs to be disturbed. Fireworks―literally―ensue along with a dangerous contest, a run-in with houseboat burglars, and the theft of Uncle Jim’s manuscript. How all this is resolved makes for an exciting and very satisfying story. Uncle Jim ends up apologizing for missing his nieces’ adventures all summer―thankfully, readers won’t miss a thing. Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series has stood the test of time. More than just great stories, each one celebrates independence and initiative with a colorful, large cast of characters. Like the entire series that follows, this book is for children or grownups, anyone captivated by a world of adventure and imagination, exploring and setting sail.

You are the detective with these 24 fiendishly clever picture mysteries. Eli P. Harvard was found dead inside his ski lodge, a revolver in his hand and a bullet in his brain. He’d broken up with Sally the night before. Had despondency driven him to suicide? Or had the vengeful Sally done him in? The clues are in the picture; it’s up to you to find out who killed Harvard and why. Here's how... * Read the story* Ponder the picture* Seize pencil in fist* And solve it yourself! Match wits with Edgar Award-winning author Lawrence Treat and discover detecting powers you never dreamed you had. Who stole the Van Bliven necklace? Did Mrs. Falwell really fall out of her twelfth-floor window? Where did Little William go? You find out!

What would happen if every creature on land and sea were free to be as rotten as possible? If every day was a free-for-all; if plants grew barbed wire; if the ocean were poison? That’s life on Rotten Island. For creatures that slither, creep, and crawl (not to mention kick, bite, scratch, and play nasty tricks on each other), Rotten Island is paradise. But then, on a typically rotten day, something truly awful happens. Something that could spoil Rotten Island forever. Out of a bed a gravel on the scorched earth, a mysterious, beautiful flower begins to grow… This is a wonderfully raucous, fantastically colorful, reminder that nothing rotten lasts forever.

When Nan, Robert, Timothy, and Betsy's father went off to explore in Egypt, he left the children with their grandmother who lived in the English countryside. Unfortunately she did not much like children, much less their dog, Absalom. So the children ran away to stay with their Uncle Ambrose, an eccentric, strict, and loveable retired school teacher who was determined to give them an Education, but in addition to Greek, Latin, and Literature, the Linnet children learned much more — about nature and magic, the power of the past and Pan, and, of course, the importance of the bees. They used their knowledge to find the lost Valerians, undo some very wicked, ancient spells, and reunite a divided family. The word "enchanting" is overused, but in this case it applies.

For anyone who loves sailing and adventure, Arthur Ransome's classic Swallows and Amazons series stands alone. Originally published in the UK over a half century ago, these books are still eagerly read by children, despite their length and their decidedly British protagonists. We attribute their success to two facts: first, Ransome is a great storyteller and, second, he clearly writes from first-hand experience. Independence and initiative are qualities any child can understand and every volume in this collection celebrates these virtues.. The third book in Arthur Ransome's wonderful series for children, Peter Duck takes intrepid explorers John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker and fearsome Amazon pirates Nancy and Peggy Blackett onto the high seas. Under the command of the infamous Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim), the children brave a real-life pirate and his cutthroat crew, fogy, sharks, and the ravenous crabs of Crab Island in the search of buried treasure.

It all started with a coot’s nest. Dorothy and Dick meet Tom Dodgeon, Port and Starboard, and three pirate salvagers — all members of the Coot Club Bird Protection Society. When one of the coot’s nests is disturbed by a shipful of “Hullabaloos” — rude holiday boaters — trouble begins. Frantic chases, calamitous boat collisions, and near drownings fill the pages of this exciting fifth addition to Ransome’s classic children’s series.For anyone who loves sailing and adventure, Arthur Ransome’s classic Swallows and Amazons series stands alone. Originally published in the UK over a half century ago, these books are still eagerly read by children, despite their length and their decidedly British protagonists. We attribute their success to two facts: first, Ransome is a great storyteller and, second, he clearly writes from first-hand experience. Independence and initiative are qualities any child can understand and every volume in this collection celebrates these virtues.

Jules is a Zert. He lives on DeZert Isle with his best friend Ned the Nail, and he's in love with a brick.Jules's life is happy and busy; he has plenty of friends, lots of games to play, and sausages to tempt the brick of his dreams. But there are certain things he detests: being hammered by SledgeHead, being swallowed by BigMouths, and being captured by SmotherHen (why does she keep trying to hatch him?)DeZert Isle offers a guided tour of Jules's marvelous world, an up-close and personal visit to the high life and occasional low points of a sun-drenched place where new friends are just around the corner and gifts are offered with an open heart and where there's always enough hippopotamelon juice to go around.Claude Ponti writes and illustrates children's books with an imagination, style, and wit we find especially captivating. His lively drawings invite us into a technicolor landscape full of excitement, and wonder. Each story, rich with puns and jokes, inhabits a delicious world of imaginary creatures, where toys spring to life and the sun just may bump into the moon. Like the best books for youngsters, DeZert Isle sees the world from a child's perspective; the improbable becomes the possible, and all things, even the most bizarre, have perfectly reasonable explanations even being in love with a brick.

One of England's best-loved children's book writers spins a magical adventure with animals, magic, and danger.When Nan, Robert, Timothy, and Betsy's father went off to explore in Egypt, he left the children with their grandmother who lived in the English countryside. Unfortunately she did not much like children, much less their dog, Absalom. So the children ran away to stay with their Uncle Ambrose, an eccentric, strict, and loveable retired school teacher who was determined to give them an Education, but in addition to Greek, Latin, and Literature, the Linnet children learned much more ― about nature and magic, the power of the past and Pan, and, of course, the importance of the bees. They used their knowledge to find the lost Valerians, undo some very wicked, ancient spells, and reunite a divided family.This is a story filled with Elizabeth Goudge's trademark mixture of realism and magic ― and like her classic The Little White Horse (adored by J. K. Rowling) it is set in Devon and inspired by its folklore and legends. A wonderful chapter book for fantasy-loving independent readers.

Susan Hills remarkable Woman in Black is as close a cross-section of Jane Austen and Stephen King as our era can provide. Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero Arthur Kipps, a promising young solicitor who has come north from London to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a childs scream in the fog, and most dreadfully and for Kipps most tragically The Woman in Black.