Rescue and Jessica

Rescue and Jessica
Author: Jessica Kensky
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018-04-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763696048

A 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Winner Based on a real-life partnership, the heartening story of the love and teamwork between a girl and her service dog will illuminate and inspire. Rescue thought he’d grow up to be a Seeing Eye dog — it’s the family business, after all. When he gets the news that he’s better suited to being a service dog, he’s worried that he’s not up to the task. Then he meets Jessica, a girl whose life is turning out differently than the way she'd imagined it, too. Now Jessica needs Rescue by her side to help her accomplish everyday tasks. And it turns out that Rescue can help Jessica see after all: a way forward, together, one step at a time. An endnote from the authors tells more about the training and extraordinary abilities of service dogs, particularly their real-life best friend and black lab, Rescue.

Soldier Dogs

Soldier Dogs
Author: Maria Goodavage
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2012-12-31
Genre: Pets
ISBN: 0451414365

A leading reporter offers a tour of military working dogs' extraordinary training, heroic accomplishments, and the lasting impacts they have on those who work with them. People all over the world have been riveted by the story of Cairo, the Belgian Malinois who was a part of the Navy SEAL team that led the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. A dog's natural intelligence, physical abilities, and pure loyalty contribute more to our military efforts than ever before. You don't have to be a dog lover to be fascinated by the idea that a dog-the cousin of that furry guy begging for scraps under your table-could be one of the heroes who helped execute the most vital and high-tech military mission of the new millennium. Now Maria Goodavage, editor and featured writer for one of the world's most widely read dog blogs, tells heartwarming stories of modern soldier dogs and the amazing bonds that develop between them and their handlers. Beyond tales of training, operations, retirement, and adoption into the families of fallen soldiers, Goodavage talks to leading dog-cognition experts about why dogs like nothing more than to be on a mission with a handler they trust, no matter how deadly the IEDs they are sniffing, nor how far they must parachute or rappel from aircraft into enemy territory. "Military working dogs live for love and praise from their handlers," says Ron Aiello, president of the United States War Dogs Association and a former marine scout dog handler. "The work is all a big game, and then they get that pet, that praise. They would do anything for their handler." This is an unprecedented window into the world of these adventurous, loving warriors.

After the Shot Drops

After the Shot Drops
Author: Randy Ribay
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2018
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1328702278

A powerful novel about friendship, basketball, and one teen's mission to create a better life for his family. Written in the tradition of Jason Reynolds, Matt de la Pe a, and Walter Dean Myers, After the Shot Drops now has three starred reviews * "Belongs on the shelf alongside contemporary heavy-hitters like Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds's All-American Boys, and Nic Stone's Dear Martin."--School Library Journal, starred review Bunny and Nasir have been best friends forever, but when Bunny accepts an athletic scholarship across town, Nasir feels betrayed. While Bunny tries to fit in with his new, privileged peers, Nasir spends more time with his cousin, Wallace, who is being evicted. Nasir can't help but wonder why the neighborhood is falling over itself to help Bunny when Wallace is in trouble. When Wallace makes a bet against Bunny, Nasir is faced with an impossible decision--maybe a dangerous one. Told from alternating perspectives, After the Shot Drops is a heart-pounding story about the responsibilities of great talent and the importance of compassion.

Brave Enough

Brave Enough
Author: Jessie Diggins
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2020-03-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1452962006

Travel with Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins on her compelling journey from America’s heartland to international sports history, navigating challenges and triumphs with rugged grit and a splash of glitter Pyeongchang, February 21, 2018. In the nerve-racking final seconds of the women’s team sprint freestyle race, Jessie Diggins dug deep. Blowing past two of the best sprinters in the world, she stretched her ski boot across the finish line and lunged straight into Olympic immortality: the first ever cross-country skiing gold medal for the United States at the Winter Games. The 26-year-old Diggins, a four-time World Championship medalist, was literally a world away from the small town of Afton, Minnesota, where she first strapped on skis. Yet, for all her history-making achievements, she had never strayed far from the scrappy 12-year-old who had insisted on portaging her own canoe through the wilderness, yelling happily under the unwieldy weight on her shoulders: “Look! I’m doing it!” In Brave Enough, Jessie Diggins reveals the true story of her journey from the American Midwest into sports history. With candid charm and characteristic grit, she connects the dots from her free-spirited upbringing in the woods of Minnesota to racing in the bright spotlights of the Olympics. Going far beyond stories of races and ribbons, she describes the challenges and frustrations of becoming a serious athlete; learning how to push through and beyond physical and psychological limits; and the intense pressure of competing at the highest levels. She openly shares her harrowing struggle with bulimia, recounting both the adversity and how she healed from it in order to bring hope and understanding to others experiencing eating disorders. Between thrilling accounts of moments of triumph, Diggins shows the determination it takes to get there—the struggles and disappointments, the fun and the hard work, and the importance of listening to that small, fierce voice: I can do it. I am brave enough.

Awards for Good Boys

Awards for Good Boys
Author: Shelby Lorman
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2019-06-04
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0525506128

“Shelby and her art are extremely my shit. You need this book.” —Samantha Irby, New York Times bestselling author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life “The rare Instagram-turned-book that actually works.” —Jezebel A wickedly funny illustrated look at living and dating in a patriarchal culture that celebrates men for displaying the bare minimum of human decency Surely you’re familiar with good boys. They’re the ones who put “feminist” in their Tinder bio but talk over you the entire date. They ghost you, but they feel momentarily guilty. They once read a book by a woman author. (It was required, but they thought it was “okay.”) And of course, they bravely condemn sexual harassment (except when the perpetrator is their buddy Chad). This book explores why so-called and self-proclaimed good boys are actually not so great, breaking down our obsession with celebrating male mediocrity and rewarding those who clear the very low bar of not being outwardly awful. Through clever illustrations and written vignettes, Awards for Good Boys makes literal the tendency to applaud men for doing the absolute least and offers hilarious and cathartic cultural commentary through which we may begin to unravel our own assumptions about gender roles and how we treat each other, both on and offline.

When it Mattered Most

When it Mattered Most
Author: Samuel Ward Casscells (III)
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 534
Release: 2009
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Lists military medical personnel who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Includes a biography, portrait and family photos for each soldier listed.

When it Mattered Most

When it Mattered Most
Author: Samuel Ward Casscells
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2009
Genre: Afghan War, 2001-
ISBN: 9780160872525

8 Seconds of Courage

8 Seconds of Courage
Author: Flo Groberg
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2017-11-07
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1501165887

Describes the author's childhood relocation from France to the U.S., where as a naturalized citizen he joined the military and served multiple tours in Afghanistan before he was wounded while protecting his patrol from a suicide bomber.

Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold)

Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold)
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2012-09-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545281199

Master storyteller Christopher Paul Curtis's Newbery Honor novel, featuring his trademark humor and unique narrative voice, is now part of the Scholastic Gold line! Elijah of Buxton, recipient of the Newbery Honor and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. This edition includes exclusive bonus content!Eleven-year-old Elijah lives in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves near the American border. Elijah's the first child in town to be born free, and he ought to be famous just for that -- not to mention for being the best at chunking rocks and catching fish. Unfortunately, all that most people see is a "fra-gile" boy who's scared of snakes and tends to talk too much. But everything changes when a former slave steals money from Elijah's friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Now it's up to Elijah to track down the thief -- and his dangerous journey just might make a hero out of him, if only he can find the courage to get back home.

The Woods Are Always Watching

The Woods Are Always Watching
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2022-07-26
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0142424994

New from bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, and the perfect companion to her New York Times bestseller There's Someone Inside Your House, available now on Netflix! “The scares here are authentic, and the details meticulous, driven by a smart, distinct narrative voice. Hand this to fans of the film Midsommar who will delight in the eerie world building, the disintegration and rebuilding of interpersonal relationships, and the unseen forces of evil that threaten to break two friends apart.” –Booklist Bears aren’t the only predators in these woods. Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together—a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest. Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare … and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways. Stephanie Perkins, the bestselling author of There’s Someone Inside Your House, returns with a heart-stopping, gut-wrenching novel about friendship, survival, and navigating unmarked paths even as evil watches from the shadows.