Central Kansas Library System

Two days before Christmas, an overworked family laments with a familiar rhyme that they had "too much to do, Our tree wasn't up yet, and Mom had the flu."

The Ingalls family moves to the Dakota territory, claims a homestead, and braves the hardships and perils of living on the frontier. Ma and the girls follow Pa west by train where they make their home at a rough railroad camp and plan for their own homestead.

When Santa falls ill and Christmas may have to be canceled, Pete the cat comes to the rescue.

Splat the cat is worried that he has not been good enough to deserve a visit and a present from Santa Claus.

A story in the style of the familiar poem, "The Night Before Christmas," tells how a housefull of monsters, goblins, witches and the like prepare for Halloween.

"Twas the night before Christmas, and dozens of rich, influential hostages are trapped inside a sprawling lakefront mansion in New Orleans. The perp? Detective Reed Ware, model cop turned outlaw. After receiving a panicked call from Hollis "Holly" Bayard, a teenage street tough with a penchant for amateur sleuthing who stumbles upon the scene of a drug-deal-turned- murder, Ware finds his and his friend's lives in dire danger. The crime Holly witnessed...

Archangel Gabriel and his three mischievous Prayer Ambassadors--Shirley, Goodness and Mercy--lend their celestial aid to three needy Christmas cases. Harry Alderwood, 86, prays that his increasingly forgetful wife, Rosalie, will agree to move into assisted living before he dies. Meanwhile, nine-year-old Carter Jackson begs God for a dog, even though his mother and father tell him that they can't afford to keep a pet, while Beth Fischer's mother prays...

Bear's friends awaken him the day before Christmas and help him to stay awake as they bake fruitcakes, fill stockings, and sing carols; then, while they sleep, he prepares his own surprise.

"In her youth, Molly Anderson couldn't help crushing on gorgeous bad boy Dylan Black-- even though he only had eyes for her older sister. When things didn't work out between them, he said goodbye to Molly as well, vowing they'd have a great adventure when she grew up. Years later, dumped by her fianc�e just before Christmas, she's finally ready to take Dylan up on his promise. A guarded Dylan always had a weakness for Molly, and when she waltzes...

A young seaman joins the crew of the whaling ship Pequod, led by the fanatical Captain Ahab in pursuit of the white whale Moby Dick in this children's version of Melville's Moby Dick.