Gigan Ticks foretell the end of time. The world is beginning to fade. As the NIGHTMARE army advances, can Fletcher and Scoop cross the Threshold into our world? Will they be able to reunite their creators, before they slip into oblivion? Fletcher and Scoop are apprentice adventurers at Blotting's Academy, where all Story Characters are trained. Join them on their final feat as they discover the cost of crossing the Boundary in Daniel Ingram Brown's thrilling conclusion to the Firebird Chronicles.

"The old couple had whirled into my life. I could never have seen then how large the whirling, how big the circles.” In The Princess Gardener, Princess Eugenie swapped places with Alyssa, a farm girl of her exact likeness, and they both got what they had longed for, Eugenie a chance to work on the land and Alyssa an education. The second installment, The Alyssa Chronicle, sees the upcoming wedding of Arbuckle Beauregard the III which is to be a state event. Everything must be perfect. With the help of a magical couple, the girls must swap back in order to stop a royal plot to steal all the flowers of the land. Will Alyssa and Princess Eugenie's friendship and determination be enough to defend the farmers and gardeners of the kingdom? And will the girls succeed in getting back to their preferred places?

The opposite of life isn't death; it is lifelessness. Firebird Alex died. When she was brought back to life, Alex discovered that she could communicate with all living things—the very life force itself. But with resurrection, comes responsibility—Life compels Alex to fight it's enemies. And Life's biggest enemy is the Cult of the Watchers. They destroy everything, leaving only lifelessness. The Cult of the Watchers has beaten Alex at every turn, leaving her bloody and broken, but everyone depends on Firebird Alex to be their champion. There's no amount of torment she won't endure to succeed. She won't fail her friends and those she's sworn to protect. She won’t waste her second chance.

They say only the dead can cross a Threshold, the dead and those who have faced a Nemesis Charm. When Apprentice Adventurers, Fletcher and Scoop, discover their mother has fallen under the curse of a strange sickness, they prepare to sail for its source, a Threshold, a doorway to the world beyond the Un-Crossable Boundary. But they are not the only ones seeking to cross the Threshold. Their old enemy, Grizelda, has heard that beyond the Boundary lives a woman with the same power as the Storyteller. With the help of a monster made with an undead heart, she plans to cross the Boundary and steal that power for herself. If she succeeds, the Academy, the island and everything in Fletcher and Scoop's world will be hers.

Historical events up to 1987.

Beichman's (Japanese literature, Daito Bunka U., Japan) scholarly and sensitive study succeeds in conveying the remarkable Yosano Akiko and the poetry she produced. Three-quarters of the book portray Akiko's youth up to age 22, the remainder is devoted to her most famous book of poems, Tangled Hair. The letters and documents on which Akiko's biography is based are quoted, as are her poems, which are translated into English, with romanized Japanese below. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

When the youngest son sets out to find the firebird which had been stealing golden apples from his father's tree, he meets a wolf who helps him win not only the bird but a steed with a golden mane and a beautiful princess.