When poor James Henry Trotter loses his parents in a horrible rhinoceros accident, he is forced to live with his two wicked aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. After three years he becomes "the saddest and loneliest boy you could find." Then one day, a wizened old man in a dark-green suit gives James a bag of magic crystals that promise to reverse his misery forever. When James accidentally spills the crystals on his aunts' withered peach tree, he sets the adventure in motion. From the old tree a single peach grows, and grows, and grows some more, until finally James climbs inside the giant fruit and rolls away from his despicable aunts to a whole new life. James befriends an assortment of hilarious characters, including Grasshopper, Earthworm, Miss Spider, and Centipede—each with his or her own song to sing. Roald Dahl's rich imagery and amusing characters ensure that parents will not tire of reading this classic aloud, which they will no doubt be called to do over and over again! With the addition of witty black and white pencil drawings by Lane Smith (of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs fame), upon which the animation for the Disney movie was based, this classic, now in paperback, is bursting with renewed vigor. We'll just come right out and say it: James and the Giant Peach is one of the finest children's books ever written. (Ages 9 to 12)

Enraged at the neighboring Gregg family's hunting practices, the little girl who lives next door to them turns her magic finger on them, and soon the entire Gregg family is the size of birds. Reissue. PW.

The success of the recent movie version should encourage kids to read the hilarious, thought-provoking original novel. Matilda is a genius who not only has to deal with loud, obnoxious, idiot parents who scapegoat her for everything but with "the Trunchbull"! "The Trunchbull" is actually Miss Trunchbull the ex-Olympic hammer-thrower, Head Mistress of Matilda's school who has terrorized generations of students and teachers. When "the Trunchbull" goes after Miss Honey, the one teacher, the one person, who supports and believes in Matilda, our heroine decides it's time to fight back. Her parents and "the Trunchbull" don't stand a chance! Ages 7-12.

This Roald Dahl classic tells the scary, funny and imaginative tale of a seven-year-old boy who has a run-in with some real-life witches! "In fairy tales witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy tale. This is about REAL WITCHES. REAL WITCHES dress in ordinary clothes and look very much like ordinary women. They live in ordinary houses and they work in ordinary jobs. That is why they are so hard to catch." Witches, as our hero learns, hate children. With the help of a friend and his somewhat-magical grandmother, our hero tries to expose the witches before they dispose of him. Ages 7-12.

Seven tales of fantasy and fun "are told with the special wit, the unexpected twists that have made Roald Dahl's short stories and children's books so popular with readers of all ages."—Book-of-the-Month Club News.

Seven tales of fantasy and fun "are told with the special wit, the unexpected twists that have made Roald Dahl's short stories and children's books so popular with readers of all ages."—Book-of-the-Month Club News.

Sleek Styles for the Savvy Knitter

This stylish knitwear collection features 30 knockout designs, inspired by original postwar patterns from Yesterknits, the world's largest collection of vintage knitting and crochet patterns. From delicate camisoles to sophisticated jackets, these pieces marry the design details of the forties and fifties with the best of today's yarns and contemporary floral-inspired colors. Inside, readers will find clear, simple instructions and stunning full-color photos of to-die-for pieces including:

sleek crewneckslacy, feminine cardiganstextured twin setsstunning striped sweaterscabled mittens, Fair Isle glovesand more!

As a gift for a friend or an indulgence for yourself, Vintage Knits is a must for every knitter's library.

Here are animals from every corner of the globe just waiting to become someone's best friend. From a colorful parrot to a friendly dolphin, a prowling tiger to farmyard ducks and hens, every project has easy-to-read patterns and clear advice on how to create just the right expression on each face. "An invaluable addition to any knitter's bookshelf." —Crafts Beautiful

Representing a fascinating spectrum of feelings and opinions about lesbianism, the friendships women share — or fear — and the rich diversity of personal choices women make today, this collection of brash and thoughtful essays, stories, and interviews offers
— Dorothy Allison on what it means to be a lesbian
— Carla Trujillo on the impact of "sexual betrayal" by an ex-lover
— Elizabeth Wurtzel on the creative freedom experienced only by lesbians
— Susie Bright on the sexual dance between lesbians and straight women
— Guinevere Turner on the pain of reconciling one's sexual orientation with past relationships

As Robyn Davidson writes in Desert Places, the Thar, a 230,000-square-mile expanse of formidably dry country in northwestern India, is a harsh land of "granite outcroppings, naked but for a few gullies of monsoon forest or a single, white-painted elephant stationed on a summit eternally surveying the farmlands below." Among the people who populate the Thar are the Rabari, who are quickly becoming modernized and dispossessed, wanderers on the fringes of urban civilization, people who are at home nowhere. After making a false start as a book of adventure travel, Desert Places becomes a work of cultural ecology and of amateur anthropology, reporting on the final days of a traditional nomadic culture once utterly at home in an inhospitable land.

This extraordinary account, by a participant who knew them all, offers vivid reminiscences of Robert Lowell, Adrienne Rich, Stanley Kunitz, Sylvia Plath, Richard Wilbur, Anne Sexton, W.S. Merwin, and many others who interacted with each other and shaped American poetry at mid-century.

Sexy, surprising, and subversively wise, Babyji is the story of Anamika Sharma, a spirited student growing up in Delhi. At school she is an ace at quantum physics. At home she sneaks off to her parents’ scooter garage to read the Kamasutra. Before long she has seduced an elegant older divorcée and the family servant, and has caught the eye of a classmate coveted by all the boys.
With the world of adulthood dancing before her, Anamika confronts questions that would test someone twice her age. Ebullient, unfettered, and introducing one of the most charming heroines in contemporary fiction, Babyji is irresistible.