About the book: Based on the NPR series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty Americans—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that the book’s title begins. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with […]

About the book: For a reader unaccustomed to reading poetry, or who has fallen away from the custom, this collection offers an inviting way into the art, or back into it. For readers devoted to poetry, it offers illuminating examples of the infinitely various ways a poem reaches a reader. About the editor: Robert Pinsky […]

About the book: In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part […]

About the book: How many times has a book changed the course of history? Silent Spring did exactly that. The book earned marine biologist, Rachel Carson, a place on the Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People of the Twentieth Century. She laid out a painstaking description of the hazardous, deadly effects of pesticide use, […]

About the book: John Hough’s superbly readable historical novel, the revealing coming-of-age story of two young brothers fighting in the civil War, evokes the hardships and camaraderie of ordinary soldiers and civilians set against the bloody drama of the battle of Gettysburg. About the author: John Hough, Jr. grew up in Falmouth, Massachusetts and now […]

Animal Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life is the account of a family’s locavore year on their farm in Southern Appalachia. Kingsolver and her coauthors unearth the secret lives of vegetables and the unexpected satisfactions of knowing their food producers — and sometimes their dinner — on a first-name basis. The family’s year-long experience leads […]

About the book: Since its publication in 1818, Frankenstein has been considered the first true science fiction story. In it, scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment, a decision that haunts him. The novel has had a considerable influence across literature and popular culture, and continues to engage discussion in […]

About the book: In the book, Dr. Bates tells of her journey into teaching in prisons alongside the story of Wabash Valley Correctional Facility prisoner Larry Newton’s path to Shakespeare. Newton, who was convicted of murder, spent more than 10 years in the segregated housing unit, in solitary for 23 hours a day for a variety […]

We have an Ellison machine and access to an Accucut machine. They are both able to cut out shapes, numbers, and letters using paper, card stock, foam sheets and felt. The dies come in several sizes, and are compatible with either machine, enabling you to create dozens of fun craft and curriculum based projects. Need a little help getting started? Both the Ellison […]