This book always brings a tear to my eye on the last page. I bought it for my daughter for my son's first Christmas. I was amazed at how similar our family traditions are to the family in the story. And they have a cat just like us! My daughter LOVES it and reads it year round. And ever since she got it, she's taken to calling my son "our present" because he is "the best gift of all" (that's the part that always gets me).
Intermediate readers explore the difference between climate and weather. Weather and climate shape the world in which we live. Weather is the current condition of the atmosphere. It includes temperature, wind speed, and precipitation. Weather is always changing. Climate is the pattern of weather over years or decades.
Fabulously wealthy entrepreneur Sir William Benedict has always dreamed of being accepted amongst society's elite, despite his working class roots. When fast-rising Tory MP Andrew Maynard enters his life, William suddenly finds that he has gained the social status that he has always craved. But when a political scandal erupts around him, William is shunned by the socialites he once called friends, and his reputation is left in tatters. Now the worm is ready to turn... With the help of the wild and enigmatic Justin Chalmers and his exquisite yet reclusive sister Laura, William's island paradise will become the scene of his revenge.
Mr. Hood's Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful rounds of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied...There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood's wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences.
In my eyes she had always been old, always been mine, always been Granny Dan. But in another time, another place, there had been dancing, people, laughter, love...
