Showing results by narrator "Marni Penning" in All Categories

A handful of sixth-graders have been chosen to attend an exclusive weekend at the Octagon Valley Institute, the mysterious, high-tech lab of the uber famous multimillionaire, genius, recluse Onassander Octagon. What will they do there? No one is telling. Which just makes everyone want to get in. Edwin has high hopes for the weekend—hopes he’ll meet other kids like him—kids who will accept him even though he’s got a photographic memory, genius level math skills and some very specific personality quirks. But when he meets the other kids, he starts to wonder if they’re all in the right place.

The 18 acres surrounding the White House have been an unwitting witness to history—kings and queens have dined there, bills and treaties have been signed, and presidents have landed and retreated. Throughout it all, the grounds have remained not only beautiful, but also a powerful reflection of American trends. In All the Presidents' Gardens bestselling author Marta McDowell tells the untold history of the White House grounds with historical and contemporary photographs, vintage seeds catalogs, and rare glimpses into Presidential pastimes.

American roots music, also known as Americana music, can be challenging to categorize, spanning the genres of jazz, bluegrass, country, blues, rock and roll, and an assortment of variations in between. In The Downhome Sound, Mandi Bates Bailey explores the messages, artists, community, and appeal of this seemingly disparate musical collective. To understand the art form's intended meanings and typical audiences, she analyzes lyrics and interviews Americana artists, journalists, and festival organizers to uncover a desire for inclusion and diversity.

At first, Erika Bolstad knew only one thing about her great-grandmother, Anna: she was a homesteader on the North Dakota prairies in the early 1900s before her husband committed her to an asylum under mysterious circumstances. As Erika's mother was dying, she revealed more: their family still owned the mineral rights to Anna's land—and oil companies were interested in the black gold beneath the prairies. Their family, Erika learned, could get rich thanks to the legacy of a woman nearly lost to history.