Books published by publisher Thorndike Press Large Print

A New York Times Bestselling AuthorA LibraryReads PickTen years after her teenage daughter disappears, a woman crosses paths with a charming single father whose young child feels eerily familiar. The unanswered questions she's tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Did Ellie really run away from home, as the police suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?

In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy's mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967-68 school year in Long Island, New York. Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like Holling-he's sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation-the Big M-in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

Not since Gone with the Wind has a single-volume family saga so brilliantly portrayed the triumphs, trials, and sins of a family in the American South. ERIKA ROBUCK, author of The House of HawthorneFrom her earliest days, Patsy Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson s oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mother s death, traveling with him when he becomes America s minister to France.It is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of the French Revolution, that fifteen-year-old Patsy learns about her father s troubling liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in love with her father s protege, William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Torn between love, principles, and the bonds of family, Patsy questions if she can choose a life as William s wife and still be a devoted daughter.Her choice will follow her in the years to come to Virginia farmland, to Monticello, and even to the White House. And as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family, Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father s reputation, in the process defining not just Jefferson s political legacy but that of the nation he founded. Delectable and poignant. . . . You re going to want to savor this one. Bravo. Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author"

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King, the most riveting and unforgettable story of kids confronting evil since It--publishing just as the second part of It, the movie, lands in theaters. In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis's parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents--telekinesis and telepathy--who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, "like the roach motel," Kalisha says. "You check in, but you don't check out." In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don't, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute. As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is Stephen King's gut-wrenchingly dramatic story of good vs. evil in a world where the good guys don't always win.

A New York Times BestsellerIt's the darkest year yet for Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling's hero in the Harry Potter series. In Rowling's fifth book Harry finds himself and Dumbdelore under scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic which refuses to alert the community and acknowledge the terrifying truth that Voldemort has returned. Harry's other challenges include: - Hogwarts having a High Inquisitor - Facing an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels examinations (O.W.L.s) - Distressing changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team lineup - Vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors - Ever-increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar Harry faces the difficult transition into adulthood, when adult heroes are revealed to be fallible, and matters that seemed black-and-white suddenly come out in shades of gray. Readers, on the other hand, will be thrilled and eagerly waiting for the next title in the spectacular, magical series. (AR) For ages 13-18 No Canadian Rights for the Harry Potter SeriesHARRY POTTER and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter publishing rights (c) J. K. Rowling. (s05)

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER! For fans of A Man Called Ove comes a funny, big-hearted tale about an old man who is young at heart."Tears were streaming down my face - from laughing so hard. I couldn't stop grinning for three days." - Ouderenjournaal (Holland) Hendrik Groen may be old, but he is far from dead and isn't planning to be buried any time soon. Granted, his daily strolls are getting shorter because his legs are no longer willing and he has to visit his doctor more than he'd like. Technically speaking he is...elderly. But surely there is more to life at his age than weak tea and potted geraniums? Hendrik sets out to write an expose a year in the life of his care home in Amsterdam, revealing all its ups and downs--not least his new endeavor the anarchic Old-But-Not-Dead Club. And when Eefje moves in--the woman Hendrik has always longed for--he polishes his shoes (and his teeth), grooms what's left of his hair and attempts to make something of the life he has left, with hilarious, tender and devastating consequences. The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen will not only delight older readers with its wit and relevance, but will charm and inspire those who have years to go before their own expiry date.

Book 6 in the Harry Potter seriesA New York Times BestsellerIn the fifth and most recent book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the last chapter, titled The Second War Begins, started: 'In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more. It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord -- well, you know who I mean -- is alive among us again, said Fudge.'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at this point in the midst of the storm of this battle of good and evil. The author has already said that the Half-Blood Prince is neither Harry nor Voldemort. And most importantly, the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been brewing in J. K. Rowling's mind for 13 years.No Canadian Rights for the Harry Potter SeriesHARRY POTTER and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter publishing rights (c) J. K. Rowling. (s05)

"This Was a Man opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives and who dies? In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife Karin from the Cabinet Secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game? Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus, while his wife Emma completes her ten years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job. Sebastian Clifton becomes chairman of Farthings Kaufman bank, but only after Hakim Bishara has to resign for personal reasons. Sebastian and Samantha's talented daughter, Jessica, is expelled from the Slade School of Fine Art, but her aunt Grace comes to her rescue. Meanwhile, Lady Virginia is about to fleethe country to avoid her creditors when the Duchess of Hertford dies, and she sees another opportunity to clear her debts and finally trump the Cliftons and Barringtons. In a devastating twist, tragedy engulfs the Clifton family when one of them receivesa shocking diagnosis that will throw all their lives into turmoil. This Was a Man is the captivating final installment of the Clifton Chronicles, a series of seven novels that has topped the bestseller lists around the world, and enhanced Jeffrey Archer's reputation as a master storyteller"--