Books published by publisher Hoyden Press LLC

Botany in a Day, now available in a full-color version, is the plant identification method that thousands have used and learned. Looking for a faster, easier, and engaging way to identify plants? Related plants have similar characteristics, and they often have similar uses. Rather than learning new plants one-at-a-time, it is possible to learn them by the hundreds, based on plant family patterns.Each family of related plants has unique patterns for identification. Learn to recognize these patterns, and discover them again and again in the plants you encounter. It is possible to instantly recognize a plant never before seen, and in many cases, to know its edible or medicinal properties on the spot-even before you have identified it down to the species!Botany in a Day is changing the way people learn about plants. A one-day tutorial introduces eight of the world's most common plant families, applicable to more than 45,000 species of plants. Master these eight patterns and have the skills to recognize an astonishing number of plants on any continent. Add to your repertoire by keying out entirely unknown plants and learning additional family patterns.Botany in a Day is principally written for North America, but used and adored by readers all over the world. It is used as a textbook in numerous universities, high schools, and herbal schools. This book is widely used in nature programs and promoted in national parks. Botany in a Day is your passport connection to nature and discovering the amazing world of plants!

In a mythical world where time is a liquid that falls as rain upon the land, young Shanleya paddles her canoe out to the tree islands to learn the plant traditions of her people. Each island is home to a separate family of plants and an unforgettable Guardian with lessons to teach about the identification and uses of those plants. Shanleya's Quest is a truly unique educational book that presents botanical concepts and plant identification skills in an easy and fun metaphorical format for children as well as for adults who are young at heart. The book begins with a creation myth that parallels evolutionary concepts, where life begins as bubbles in a puddle of soup under the radiance of Father Sun and the gentle glow of Mother Moon. The evolutionary tree of life becomes a literal part of the story, buried up to its branch-tips (the "islands") in an ocean of Time that just keeps getting deeper and deeper. This is the world that Shanleya explores by canoe, learning the essential characteristics of closely related plants on each island she visits. Readers young and old can join Shanleya's Quest, learning the patterns to correctly identify more than 45,000 species of plants to their proper families. The Quest will change the way you see the world, enabling you to experience nature in a new and magical way that you probably never imagined possible. Written by outdoor educator Thomas J. Elpel, author of Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. Wonderfully illustrated by Gloria Brown, who blended botanical accuracy with fantasy to produce artwork that both captivates and educates!

It only took a couple of weeks for Sally Cotton to become one friend's unwitting cohort in extortion and another friend's best hope of exoneration for murder. That's quick work for a third-year law student who has just transferred to Dallton Law School in Tampa.Throw in a few wrong assumptions and some independent sleuthing and you've got a mess that threatens the lives of Sally and her friends.Just wait until you discover what else they find out...

A stirring collection of poetry that will appeal to fans of The Sobbing School and A Fortune for Your Disaster.They Talk Different Here, Etienne Toussaint’s much anticipated second collection of poetry, explores the journey of sons and daughters of immigrants across the contemporary American urban landscape. Each poem strings together a complex and rich story of the interiority of oppressed communities. A dynamic representation of figures with diverse ages and experiences are placed in conversation across the page, reflecting a shared search for belonging in a nation of foreign tongues. With poetic narrative storytelling that is simultaneously personal and political, They Talk Different Here provides a searing polemic against narratives of poverty in an age of social unrest. Toussaint’s work is a clarion call for empathy and love. But most of all, it bears witness to the immigrant’s unwavering quest for freedom.

It only took a couple of weeks for Sally Cotton to become one friend's unwitting cohort in extortion and another friend's best hope of exoneration for murder. That's quick work for a third-year law student who has just transferred to Dallton Law School in Tampa. Now Sally and her friends must solve two murders to save their own skins. Suddenly their classroom debates about the death penalty and the criminal justice system are much more than academic.

Thirteen-year-old Maggie Pugh has lived in Kinship, Georgia, all her life. In all that time almost nothing has changed. If you are poor, you live on the west side of town. If you are rich, you live on the hill in the north end and get to go boating at the country club in Troy. If you are white you use one bathroom at Byer’s Drugs, and if you are colored you use another. All that beings to change in the summer of 1960. It is the summer when Maggie’s younger sister, Gardenia, triumphs in the Hayes County Little Miss Contest. It is the summer when Maggie must decide whether to tell anyone about the horrible thing she saw. Most of all it’s the summer of Maggie’s first camera, a tool that becomes a way for her to find independence and a different kind of truth.

The "love" experience with a child's first blanket can't be predicted but is very special. Presenting a blanket for a baby gift is one of the most personal and endearing ways to reach a new mother's heart. Perhaps it is a plush purchased treasure that just can't be resisted from the baby store. Or maybe the blanket is cut from fleece and tufted or fringed but the fabric has been chosen with the child in mind and conveys a personal message in the design. A quilt brings another dimension of time, love and devotion to the gift, a labor of love in itself. Sometimes the quilt is just for display, cherished by all and brought out on special occasions. But then there is the blanket that your child will adopt, drag around, put in their mouth, run for when happy, snuggle in when sad. No matter how we try or how beautiful the selection, only the child can choose that blanket. And, that treasure becomes the child's first blanket, to remember in pictures, worn to a scrap and saved in a trunk. The child chooses the "love" experience. Alene presents this scenario in an attractive way in "Big" the Quilt sharing the simple game played with a mother and child at bedtime.

Mom sat down next to me, put her arm around my shoulder, pulled me in tight, and said in that sweet, soft voice of hers......You know what she said. I couldn't believe it. "What!?" I yelled, standing to my feet. I couldn't believe it, and I was sure it was some kind of practical joke or maybe that I'd fallen asleep and now I was having a nightmare. I looked at my parents, searching for any sign of a smirk or a smile, hoping it was all some kind of joke or mistake. My name is Michael, and boy do I have a story to tell you. It's a story you would not believe. I didn't even believe it. What was I supposed to do with this new development? How did my parents actually expect me to react? Now that I know the story I want to share it with you. It's a story everyone should know. Come with me and learn how to bring CHRISTMAS CHEER to everyone you come into contact with.

What would you do if you were haunted by the loss of your father? Sharktooth's nightmares kept getting worse and worse. They finally got so bad he begged his best friend, Hammer, to help him find out the truth about what really happened to his father years ago in a battle against their sworn enemies, The Sharks From The East. Defying the elders, Sharktooth and Hammer leave the safety of their colony to search for others who might know all about the past wars. They also hoped to learn more about The One who they thought might hold the key to putting an end to Sharktooth's nightly torment. However, to their surprise, their journey sets off a chain of events that puts them and their entire colony in danger - and not just with The Sharks From The East. This is the first book in The Legendary Tales adventures.

What would you do if you were haunted by the loss of your father? Sharktooth’s nightmares kept getting worse and worse. They finally got so bad he begged his best friend, Hammer, to help him find out the truth about what really happened to his father years ago in a battle against their sworn enemies, The Sharks From The East.Defying the elders, Sharktooth and Hammer leave the safety of their colony to search for others who might know all about the past wars. They also hoped to learn more about The One who they thought might hold the key to putting an end to Sharktooth’s nightly torment. However, to their surprise, their journey sets off a chain of events that puts them and their entire colony in danger – and not just with The Sharks From The East.This is the first book in The Legendary Tales adventures.