When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Reflecting on her own reading life, Nancy Malone "explores the connection between what we read and who we are" (Library Journal). She examines the spiritual value and the influence of reading on readers' lives-how and why particular books stay with readers, how they shape and enlarge readers' humanity.

Three's a crowd — or is it?

A trio of pals who, on their own, have utterly lost the dating game, decide to team up. They trust each other with their lives; now they've got to trust each other with their love lives. Ruby, Louisa and guy friend Martin do the desperate deed and pen personal ads, sort replies and plan dates — for each other.

Friends don't let friends settle . . .

Which is why Martin won't let Ruby make her usual mistake of being a just-divorced egomaniac's "transitional lay," Lou is mad to match Martin with a girl with a brain and Ruby is determined to find the blond stranger who captured Lou's eye on the underground one morning.

A hilarious triple blind date at the same restaurant results in one split check, one spark-filled encounter and one very distraught young man handcuffed to a towel rack. But to find true love, the friends realize they've really got to broaden their horizons without losing sight of what's in front of them.

When a skeleton is all that's left to tell the story of a crime, Mary H. Manhein, otherwise known as "the bone lady," is called in. For almost two decades, Manhein has used her expertise in forensic pathology to help law enforcement agents—locally, nationally, and internationally—solve their most perplexing mysteries. She shares the extraordinary details of the often high-profile cases on which she works, and the science underlying her analyses. Here are Civil War skeletons, cases of alleged voodoo and witchcraft, crimes of political intrigue, and the before-and-after of facial reconstruction.

Written with the compassion and humor of a born storyteller, The Bone Lady is an unforgettable glimpse into the lab where one scientist works to reveal the human stories behind the remains.

"Whether reporting the stench, suffocating heat, or brutal sorties by biting insects in steamy bayous . . . Manheim is at once straightforward and appropriately droll. . . . She teaches us a great deal, often puncturing popular misconceptions." —Book Page

"A subtly creepy collection of stories . . . A rare, effective blend of entertainment and education." —Kirkus Reviews

Young adults and adult learners at intermediate levels of English proficiency will love this collection of plays. Each one represents theater at its best - spiked with humor and written in lively, colloquial American English. Brief, inexpensive, and flexible, these plays are the ideal supplements to any reading, speaking, or conversation class. The plays can be used in different ways to improve reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, and each student book is packed with a variety of pre- and post-reading activities that test comprehension and spark lively classroom discussion. Each of the four plays is adapted from authentic, well-known sources, but rewritten to be accessible to non-native speakers. The Teacher's Edition/Production Notes includes detailed guidelines for actually producing each play, along with annotated copies of each play, complete answer keys, bibliographies, and much more. Class sets of each play (10 per set) are also available for a discounted price.

These tales capture all the hilarity, magic, and chaos of raising the complex little people we call toddlers. Poised between the baby’s and the child’s world, toddlers teach us to take joy in the roundness and the texture of a ball, in the comfort of a blanket, in the beauty of a spider web. They help us see the world differently with their wacky interpretations of everyday objects. They exasperate, defy, and devastate us, yet they fill us with a profound sense of awe. Readers share in the joy a father feels when his daughter looks at him and exclaims “dada!” (and the disappointment that follows when she addresses her sippy cup by the same name); in the struggle of a blind mother in keeping track of her very mobile two-year-old; in the frustration a mother—a family doctor—feels when the potty-training advice she routinely gives to worried parents doesn’t work with her four-year-old triplets; and in the hilarious resignation of a father who comes to realize that even his bathroom time is now a family event. Toddler mirrors the commonality of raising toddlers and reflects the joy and wonder that define this vital time in a child and parent’s life.

One casualty of the feminist movement was the importance of motherhood.Stay-at-home childrearing came to be portrayed as wageless drudgery, while the mother who worked a full-time job and also took care of her family was celebrated as Supermom. But Supermom is at the end of her rope.And MATERNAL DESIRE is here to show that there is another way. In bracingly clear and powerful chapters, Daphne de Marneffe breaks open the long-ignored truth that for many women, having and rearing children is their life's most important work. Emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, nurturing a child gives many women a sense of meaning that life seldom affords. Giving equal credit to women who choose to work (or who must work) and to women who choose to rear their children full-time, Daphne de Marneffe gives powerful voice to the most deeply felt conflict in most mothers' lives.She explores maternal enjoyment as fully as she does maternal anxiety and offers not just understanding but the exhilaration of seeing a universal frustration discussed clearly for the first time.MATERNAL DESIRE is a revolutionary, joyous, and transforming book, one that will provoke a heated debate about one of our most crucial conflicts.

The perfect gift for animal lovers everywhere, these unique books abound with adorable cats and dogs on postcards that are easily removed for mailing. 30 postcards.

With the wit, tact, and wisdom that have made Miss Manners a household name, America's foremost authority on civilized behavior takes you through every aspect of your personal, professional, and social life with ease and charm.

From somewhat classic queries:

* What do I wear to a job interview/felony trial/jacuzzi?
* Where does the soup spoon/seafood fork/butter knife go?

To comments on truly modern phenomena:

* Call waiting is like a child screaming for attention
* Leaky earphones are the equivalent of humming

To strictly personal do's and don'ts:

* Don't communicate everything in a marriage ("I had the wildest dream about a man at my office...")
* Do continue the ancient custom of mealtimes, that is, breakfast, lunch, and dinner

And professional guidelines:

* Don't start grabbing company property after being fired
* If a candy dish is on the visitor's side of a receptionist's desk, it is for visitors...

Miss Manners offers consistently sound, sage advice to her Gentle Readers.

With a tipping guide (including coat checks and pizza deliveries), sections devoted to both traditional and nontraditional households, details on protocol for ceremonies and celebrations, invitations and disinvitations, insights on courtship and romance, and much more, this is the comprehensive guide to a kinder, gentler, more civilized society.

Miss Manners' down-to-earth collection of wisdom and pithy wit is a joy to read. Under the chapter on Table Manners, she notes "the inevitable slippage of spaghetti from the fork back onto the plate is Nature's way of controlling human piggishness" and suggests "a quick motion of the wrist, such as one uses to shake down a thermometer, will remove excess ketchup" from French fries. From common courtesy and proper attire to the etiquette of weddings, Martin knows right from wrong and sensible from rude. But this is no prissy, preachy tome. Miss Manners is very funny and has impressive insight into life.

Rafe Martin understands the power of imagination and its importance in growing up. In a few words he brings to life Will, a boy who believes in his mammoth. "A marvelous imaginary journey that will strike a responsive chord in young and old alike."—School Library Journal, starred review. Full-color illustrations.

Steve Martin's first foray into fiction is as assured as it is surprising. Set in Los Angeles, its fascination with the surreal body fascism of the upper classes feels like the comedian's familiar territory, but the shopgirl of the book's title may surprise his fans. Mirabelle works in the glove department of Neiman's, "selling things that nobody buys any more." Spending her days waiting for customers to appear, Mirabelle "looks like a puppy standing on its hind legs, and the two brown dots of her eyes, set in the china plate of her face, make her seem very cute and noticeable." Lonely and vulnerable, she passes her evenings taking prescription drugs and drawing "dead things," while pursuing an on-off relationship with the hopeless Jeremy, who possesses "a slouch so extreme that he appears to have left his skeleton at home." Then Mr. Ray Porter steps into Mirabelle's life. He is much older, rich, successful, divorced, and selfish, desiring her "without obligation." Complicating the picture is Mirabelle's voracious rival, her fellow Neiman's employee Lisa, who uses sex "for attracting and discarding men."

The mutual incomprehension, psychological damage, and sheer vacuity practiced by all four of Martin's characters sees Shopgirl veer rather uncomfortably between a comedy of manners and a much darker work. There are some startling passages of description and interior monologue, but the characters are often rather hazy types. Martin tries too hard in his attempt to write a psychologically intense novel about West Coast anomie, but Shopgirl is still an enjoyable, if rather light, read. —Jerry Brotton