Beauty abounds in Finland. Every season of the year, everywhere one turns, there is a picture just waiting to be taken. Statuesque trees lining a pristine, clear lake; an isolated cabin in the woods; awesome tree art in abandoned felled tree roots. From the warm...

As one person commented on Zap Tales' blog, “I honestly don’t know where to begin.” The Fourth Side: A Prison Odyssey zapped me too…and how! When I began reading, I knew I was about to enter a world I knew only from movies and TV...

A Dog's Kiss by Matt Wanicur is a beautiful story that captures the love between humans and dogs. Elijah has moved away from his house located in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He now lives in San Diego, California and is happy with the way his life...

Emma and Sonnet, two look-alike girls, are suddenly transported into each other’s lives due to identical, ongoing, local mystical storms when each teenage girl enters the same closet space a century apart. Culture and identity shocks initially wreak havoc for them, but as they each...

Max thinks he’s too old to play with the younger children. Gloria, the once bright red London bus, now painted with vividly colored pictures to attract children, provides a fun, safe place for children to play during the holidays. Gloria is a Playbus. But Max...

The Orange Curse by Kristina Kamaera is a story of love, fortune, and a magical adventure. It is about the journey, not the destination—one filled with legendary myths, enchanting fairies, and frightening baddies. Three fairy sisters (as different as night and day) live in the...

Tender Was the Lie by Christine Dixon is a women's fiction novel that follows forty-two-year-old Marnie Fraser, a renowned country singer who seemingly has it all. However, her life takes a dramatic turn when she receives heartbreaking news while on tour for her new album....

Samantha Smee: A Pirate's Life by M.C. Dingman is a charming adventure that puts a fun spin on Neverland with a clever heroine at the helm. Before the legends you know, there were stories you’ve never heard and a hero you have yet to meet....

Jane Dougherty is in for the detour of a lifetime as her car suddenly dies out in the middle of nowhere, forcing her to make a stop at the small town of Radio Springs. Filled with strange sights and even stranger people, Radio Springs welcomes...

Queen Bea by Scott Evan Davis is a comical and educational picture book for children. One day, a bee called Bea wakes up to find herself surrounded by hundreds of other bees. She’s confused as they all shout, “It’s the new queen!” She couldn’t believe...

Thomas Kudla’s poetry is fresh, inventive, playful, wise, insightful, musical, revealing (in the particular way that only simple questions, simply asked, can be), and always engaging. In Commencement, Kudla leads his reader through an abecedary of poetic observations, followed by similar riffs based on numbers,...

“I wish they had told me / when I was a kid / that my allowance wouldn't buy me / a sustainable smile.” (p.16) If there is one poetry book you should read in your whole lifetime, it is How I Am Different by Thom Kudla,...

From Madness to Mad Pride by Thom Kudla is a telling memoir of a man grappling with a bipolar mental condition. The only child of a teacher and a professor, Thom is an above average junior high student. In Hudson High School, he is quite...

Disorder: Poems by Thom Kudla is a collection of clever, witty poems that help readers feel the weight and the resilience of navigating mental disorders every day. The anthology is divided into three parts: Clinical, Social, and Spiritual. It is a collection of wry little...

In Doves In A Tempest by Bill Schweitzer, it’s the summer of 1958, and a group of smart preteens wants nothing more than to enjoy the summer together. That peaceful dream is shattered when they come across a strange anomaly that none of them can...

The first book in Rebecca Holmes’ Equilibria series, Beyond the Gloaming Pass, is an emotional high fantasy adventure. Celessilian friends Molindra and Rubriel moved from their native country in search of “greener pastures” but ended up working hard and earning little. Despite having scant knowledge...

No Dog Food, Please! by Linda Costarella is a heartwarming and profoundly educational narrative for young people, told from the point of view of its central character, Jack – a yellow Labrador Retriever transplanted from his Florida home to a farm in upstate New York....

Lucas The Lion Makes A Friend by Ana Cecilia Moreno is a children's picture book that tells the story of a lion named Lucas, who is the king of his jungle. Despite his status, Lucas is lonely and longs to have friends. Unfortunately, the other...

The Bronson Escapades by Alison Bellringer takes readers on a delightful journey with the lively Bronson family. The book’s episodic, slice-of-life structure follows the Bronsons through various humorous and heartfelt episodes centered around a family mystery or challenge. Each chapter highlights the children's unique personalities...

Is it possible for one small act of kindness to make a big difference? Alison Bellringer’s The Wolf Cub tells the gentle, heartfelt tale of Lewis, a shy young boy living in a quiet village. His closest companions are the forest animals that live nearby,...