Books published by publisher Lucky Valley Press

After decades of singing the music of J. S. Bach and lecturing about his life in the 18th century, renowned Bach tenor David Gordon has compiled this personal collection of historical anecdotes, scholarly explanations, vintage illustrations, time lines, bits of pathos, gritty descriptions of everyday life, and colorful glimpses of Bach and the world around him.The Little Bach Book is a series of vignettes of Johann Sebastian Bach as a life-long salaried professional musician. These Bach scenes are presented in a rich context of middle-class daily life in Saxony in the early 18th century. What did people eat, drink, and wear, how did they bathe and cook? What fuels heated and illuminated their homes? How many weekly church services were there in Leipzig in 1727, and how many taverns?The central subject of this richly illustrated book is J. S. Bach, but nearly half the pages are devoted to engaging and detailed descriptions of the everyday world that surrounded him. Both elements contain the unexpected.This book is a refreshingly down-to-earth look at Bach's life and times, not an analysis of his music. For the newcomer to Bach, for the experienced listener, and for the general history buff, this book will be entertaining, moving, and sometimes surprising.

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle – is supposed to be dead. Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: The chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions. As a sensitive sixteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall's offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined…

"Sunny Mae & Bird in Alaska" is the first book in the Sunny Mae & Bird series by Danny and Geebs. Nicknamed by their grandchildren, Danny (artist, Dai Thomas) and Geebs (author, Ginna BB Gordon) have joined forces in honor of children and grandchildren everywhere, and especially for the original Sunny Mae, a little girl in Fairbanks, Alaska, whose mother happens to love hippos. It all started right there. Sunny Mae (the hippo) and her friend Bird (the bird) follow their noses to new places, learning that they can do new things, make new friends (they actually meet a little girl named Sunny Mae!), and eat cake. Bud, the worm, says "Read this book aloud to your kids! You'll love it!"

Rising just south of San Francisco, through San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and western Santa Clara counties, the Santa Cruz Mountains offer amazing scenery and outdoor recreation opportunities for Bay Area residents and visitors. This compact, detailed reference guides hikers, bikers, bird watchers, naturalists, and other outdoor enthusiasts through redwood canyons, conifer and oak woodlands, along the rugged Pacific coast, and to breathtaking summit views of the Bay Area and beyond. Each chapter includes an overview of the park or preserve with directions on how to reach it; detailed trail maps; and descriptions of trail conditions, ecology, topography, geology, history, and points of interest. At the beginning of the book, a map illustrates all the public lands in the mountains, and a separate chapter lists each unit of public land alphabetically. Special sections highlight noteworthy features, including poison oak, acorn woodpeckers, logging history, interesting characters, banana slugs, the best places for dog walking, and more.

This award-winning novel is a captivating and profoundly relevant story about the struggles of a homeless pregnant teenager, set against a backdrop of murder and deceit. The novel won the 2011 Eric Hoffer Award in the Young Adult book category. It was also named a Finalist in the Popular Fiction category of the 2010 National Indie Excellence Book Awards. Midwest Book Review says, "'Tamara’s Child' is a thought provoking and heartstring jerking tale that should not be passed up.”Tamara Ames is sixteen years old, pregnant, and on her own when she arrives in the small lumber town of Fir Valley, Oregon, determined to make a new and better life for herself and her child. And when she falls victim to a diabolical scheme to steal her newborn baby from her, she is not about to give her child up without a fight, even if she has to take on the wealthiest and most powerful family in the county. But is Tamara fighting against her child's own best interests? Only she can decide. And it's a decision that she--and her child--will have to live with for the rest of their lives. In "Tamara's Child," B K Mayo weaves from sensuous detail a storyline as gritty and complex as life itself. Loss, treachery, greed, even murder play roles in this riveting tale. But in the end, it is the redemptive value of unconditional love that drives the pivotal action of the novel. One part suspense, one part drama, and wholly satisfying, "Tamara's Child" plumbs the psyche of a dynamic cast of characters, some motivated by self-interest, some by self-sacrifice, some by self-doubt, but all clinging to the hope that they can ultimately wring from life the happiness and fulfillment that has thus far been denied them.“It took me less than 24 hours to read this book because I couldn’t put it down.”—Tricia Dias, Douglas County News

Big Valley Press is pleased to announce the publication of Books In a Box: Lutie Stearns and the Traveling Libraries of Wisconsin. Lutie Stearns established hundreds of traveling libraries in Wisconsin between 1895 and 1914. A founder, and later employee, of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, Lutie’s mission of sharing books and opportunity brought her to North Woods lumber camps, to farming communities, and to industrial centers throughout the state. Despite a devastating stutter, she gave thousands of book talks and, later in her life, became a famous public speaker. Along the way, she met and worked with such historical luminaries as State Senator Joseph Stout, Zona Gale, Jane Addams, and Robert LaFollete. Books in a Box is a fictionalized biography for children aged 8-14. It is drawn from Lutie’s correspondence, magazine articles, and other historical accounts. Turn of the century Wisconsin is the backdrop for her story, and period photographs illustrate both the character of the state at the time and the particulars of traveling libraries. Lutie emerges as a passionate advocate for literacy, as a Progressive political activist, as a women’s rights advocate, and as an astute community organizer. People of that time said that Lutie Stearns proclaimed the Gospel of the Village Library with the same conviction as a revival preacher. Books in a Box brings Lutie Stearns to life in an accessible story that students and adults will savor and remember.

A biography exploring the life of lyricist Yip Harburg. Yip was a master craftsman, a poet, a Broadway luminary, and a social activist. He was also responsible for not only the songs of the Wizard of Oz, but also for shaping the arc and details of the final script and story. Yip was funny, clever, and deeply committed to social justice. His political views and associations led to his blacklisting in the 1950s. But he never recanted his views or named names, maintaining a strong sense of freedom and love for his country.

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle – is supposed to be dead. Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions. As a sensitive sixteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall’s offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined...

Meet Lilo – an inflatable, blue-and-red seaside accessory. Being an inanimate object in a story grounded firmly in reality, Lilo cannot talk, think or make decisions for himself; so when he is blown from the hand of his first owner onto the open sea, his fate (and survival) will be decided by chance. Chance, ocean currents, and the actions – brutal or tender – of the humans and animals whose paths he crosses.As Lilo joins the huge fleet of flotsam travelling our globe, he becomes the driving force in a narrative which extends across hundreds of years, forwards and backwards in time. Felix Hodcroft’s imaginative, lyrical first novel is written for readers aged eleven to a hundred and eleven, an epic modern fable that provides a sweeping description of the world (or worlds) in which we live, and proves that even a lilo – even the dream, or the memory of a lilo – can have an effect, significant or imperceptible, on the lives of all those it encounters.

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle - is supposed to be dead.Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions.As a sensitive sixteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall’s offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined. . . .

It was a bittersweet victory for Joel Suzuki and his fellow Wavemakers: The Six States under the Shroud were liberated, Spectraland was spared a possible invasion, and the Earth was kept safe for now. But it all came at a heavy cost.There’s no time to wallow in sorrow, however. After Joel gains some amazing new abilities—time travel among them—an unexpected attack occurs, placing Spectraland in jeopardy once more and fatally injuring the one person who can safely guide Joel to his potential destiny as the most powerful Wavemaker ever to live.Now it appears that the only way to make things right is for Joel to travel back in time and prevent the attack long before it even happens. But doing so might mean that he never discovers Spectraland in the first place! Will Joel be able to change the past, preserve the present, and save the future…all at once?

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle – is supposed to be dead.Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions.As a sensitive sixteen-year-old on the autism spectrum living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall’s offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined...