Every day, we wake up hungry. Every day, we break our fast. Hunger explores the range of this primal experience. Sharman Apt Russell, the highly acclaimed author of Anatomy of a Rose and An Obsession with Butterflies, here takes us on a tour of hunger, from eighteen hours without food to thirty-six hours to seven days and beyond. What Russell finds-both in our bodies and in cultures around the world-is extraordinary. It is a biological process that transcends nature to shape the very of fabric of societies. In a fascinating survey of centuries of thought on hunger's unique power, she discovers an ability to adapt to it that is nothing short of miraculous. From the fasting saints of the early Christian church to activists like Mahatma Gandhi, generations have used hunger to make spiritual and political statements. Russell highlights these remarkable cases where hunger can inspire and even heal, but she also addresses the devastating impact of starvation on cultures around the world today. Written with consummate skill, a compassionate heart, and stocked with facts, figures, and fascinating lore, Hunger is an inspiring window on history and the human spirit.
Filled with “honest” writing and “wise” observations, “Russell’s well-written essays describe her life as an urban immigrant to the rural Southwest” (Library Journal). In 1981, newlywed Sharman Apt Russell moved with her husband to an agricultural valley in southwestern New Mexico, hoping to create a simpler life. From building their adobe house to the home-birth of their firstborn to growing their own food and navigating the seasonal flooding of the Mimbres River, these luminous essays chart Sharman’s journey toward self-sufficiency in a land as mythical and remote as the image of the prehistoric fluteplayer found on the pottery in trading posts throughout the Southwest. Replete with wisdom and a reverence for the Native American people whose relics Sharman discovers everywhere on the land around her, this award-winning memoir pays tribute to the power and grace of nature, our deep connection to our prehistoric past, and the beauty of living in communion with the land. “A fine contribution to the literature of the modern American Southwest . . . [Russell] achieves just the right mix of fact and metaphor, humor and poetics.” —Booklist “These essays say much about the difficulty of maintaining an alternate lifestyle.” —Publishers Weekly “A lovely little book. To be kept and read and read again.” —Tony Hillerman, bestselling author
On a hotter and more volatile earth in the twenty-third century, humans like Clare and Jon live in utopia, hunting and gathering in small tribal bands, engaged in daily art and ritual, reunited with old friends like the shaggy mammoth and giant ground sloth. Even better, they still have solar- powered laptops and can communicate with each other around the world. The understanding of physics has also advanced. When scientists first cloned extinct species from the Pleistocene, they discovered that many of them were telepathic—that consciousness travels in waves. For most people, animism has become the preferred religion, a panpsychism compatible with the laws of a fractal holographic universe. As Clare tells one of her students, the return to an older, Paleolithic lifestyle is “one of humanity’s greatest achievements.” It’s too bad that utopia had to come at such a cost: a genetically engineered super-virus that wiped out most of earth’s human population. Humanity was shaken by that event, and humanity vowed to change. Now, on the 150th anniversary of that catastrophe, a small group of men and women—as well as a smarter-than-average dire wolf and saber-toothed cat—are suddenly faced with decisions in which the stakes are higher than ever before. Will earth repeat the cycle of unbridled hubris? Or is humanity’s destiny even stranger than that? Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
An important, hopeful book that looks at the urgent problem of childhood malnutrition worldwide and the revolutionary progress being made to end it. A healthy Earth requires healthy children. Yet nearly one-fourth of the world’s children are stunted physically and mentally due to a lack of food or nutrients. These children do not die but endure a lifetime of diminished potential. During the past thirty years, says Sharman Russell, we have seen a revolution in how we treat these sick children and in how—with a new understanding of the human body and approach to nutrition, and new ways to reach out to hungry mothers and babies—we have gone from unwittingly killing severely malnourished children to bringing them back to health through the “miracle” of ready-to-eat therapeutic food. Intertwined with stories of scientists and nutrition experts on the front lines of finding ways to end malnutrition for good, Russell writes of her travels to Malawi, one of the poorest and least-developed countries in the world and also the site of pathbreaking, cutting-edge research into childhood malnutrition. (Eighty percent of Malawians are farmers subsisting on less than an acre of land and coping with erratic weather patterns due to global warming; fifty percent live below the poverty line; and forty-two percent of Malawi’s children are affected by a lack of food or nutrients.) As she writes of her personal exploration of new friendships and insights in a country known as “the warm heart of Africa,” Russell describes the programs that are working best to reduce childhood stunting and explores how malnutrition in children is connected to climate change, how vitamins and minerals are preventing these harmful effects, why the empowerment of women is the single most effective factor in eliminating childhood malnutrition, and what the costs of ending childhood malnutrition are. Sharman Russell, much-admired writer of luminous prose and humane heart, whose writing has been called, “elegant” (The Economist) and “extraordinarily well-crafted, far-reaching, and heart-wrenching” (Booklist), winner of the John Burroughs Medal for distinguished natural history writing, has written an illuminating, inspiring book that makes clear the promise of what is today, gratefully, within our grasp.
In Anatomy of a Rose , Sharman Apt Russell eloquently unveils the "inner life" of flowers. From their diverse fragrances to their nasty deceptions, Russell proves that, where nature is concerned, "wonder is not only our starting point, it can also be our destination." Throughout this botanical journey, she reveals that the science behind these intelligent plants-how they evolved, how they survive, how they heal-is even more awe-inspiring than their fleeting beauty. Russell helps us imagine what a field of snapdragons looks like to a honeybee, and she introduces us to flowers that regulate their own temperature, attract pollinating bats, even smell like a rotting corpse. She also delves into cutting-edge research on everything from flower senses to their healing power. Long used to ease everything from depression to childbirth, flowers are now our main line of defense against childhood leukemia and the deadly Ebola virus. In this poetic rumination, which combines graceful writing with a scientist's clarity, Russell brings together the work of botanists around the globe, and illuminates a world at once familiar and exotic.
Argues that the mythology of the cowboy should be replaced by new icons reflecting the realities of the modern West, including water shortages, overgrazing, and the need to protect western wildlife and wilderness.
An important, hopeful book that looks at the urgent problem of childhood malnutrition worldwide and the revolutionary progress being made to end it. A healthy Earth requires healthy children. Yet nearly one-fourth of the world's children are stunted physically and mentally due to a lack of food or nutrients. These children do not die but endure a lifetime of diminished potential. During the past thirty years, says Sharman Russell, we have seen a revolution in how we treat these sick children and in how--with a new understanding of the human body and approach to nutrition, and new ways to reach out to hungry mothers and babies--we have gone from unwittingly killing severely malnourished children to bringing them back to health through the "miracle" of ready-to-eat therapeutic food. Intertwined with stories of scientists and nutrition experts on the front lines of finding ways to end malnutrition for good, Russell writes of her travels to Malawi, one of the poorest and least-developed countries in the world and also the site of pathbreaking, cutting-edge research into childhood malnutrition. (Eighty percent of Malawians are farmers subsisting on less than an acre of land and coping with erratic weather patterns due to global warming; fifty percent live below the poverty line; and forty-two percent of Malawi's children are affected by a lack of food or nutrients.) As she writes of her personal exploration of new friendships and insights in a country known as "the warm heart of Africa," Russell describes the programs that are working best to reduce childhood stunting and explores how malnutrition in children is connected to climate change, how vitamins and minerals are preventing these harmful effects, why the empowerment of women is the single most effective factor in eliminating childhood malnutrition, and what the costs of ending childhood malnutrition are. Sharman Russell, much-admired writer of luminous prose and humane heart, whose writing has been called, "elegant" (The Economist) and "extraordinarily well-crafted, far-reaching, and heart-wrenching" (Booklist), winner of the John Burroughs Medal for distinguished natural history writing, has written an illuminating, inspiring book that makes clear the promise of what is today, gratefully, within our grasp.
“In the tradition of Jean Auel, this well-researched novel authentically recreates the world of the Clovis people.” —Publishers Weekly These children had never seen a tapir. They had never seen a mammoth. So reflects Willow, clan elder of the Clovis tribe, hunters and gatherers who lived on the grassy plains of the great Southwest more than eleven thousand years ago. Looking back on her life, Willow tells the story of when the land was abundant with bison, camels, mammoths, and lions. When communication with animals, plants, and even stones was possible, even essential, for survival. Inventively linking Willow’s chronicle with that of the woolly mammoth matriarchs, award-winning author Sharman Apt Russell explores the impact of human interaction with the environment, shedding light on the archaeological mystery surrounding the mass extinction at the end of the Pleistocene. Recreating the lives of a prehistoric people while highlighting our deep connection to the past and the world around us, The Last Matriarch is a book for our times. “Books like this one can teach us not only the facts of the Paleolithic past, but also allow us to share the experiences of our ancestors. The Last Matriarch does both and does them beautifully.” —Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Social Life of Dogs and Reindeer Moon “With a fluidly poetic style and vivid characterizations, Russell brings the ancient Southwest alive.” —Booklist
Every day, we wake up hungry. Every day, we break our fast. Hunger explores the range of this primal experience. Sharman Apt Russell, the highly acclaimed author of Anatomy of a Rose and An Obsession with Butterflies, here takes us on a tour of hunger, from eighteen hours without food to thirty-six hours to seven days and beyond. What Russell finds-both in our bodies and in cultures around the world-is extraordinary. It is a biological process that transcends nature to shape the very of fabric of societies. In a fascinating survey of centuries of thought on hunger's unique power, she discovers an ability to adapt to it that is nothing short of miraculous. From the fasting saints of the early Christian church to activists like Mahatma Gandhi, generations have used hunger to make spiritual and political statements. Russell highlights these remarkable cases where hunger can inspire and even heal, but she also addresses the devastating impact of starvation on cultures around the world today. Written with consummate skill, a compassionate heart, and stocked with facts, figures, and fascinating lore, Hunger is an inspiring window on history and the human spirit.
A critically acclaimed nature writer explores the citizen scientist movement through the lens of entomological field research in the American Southwest. Award-winning nature writer Sharman Apt Russell felt pressed by the current environmental crisis to pick up her pen yet again. Encouraged by the phenomenon of citizen science, she decided to turn her attention to the Western red-bellied tiger beetle, an insect found widely around the world and near her home in the Gila River Valley of New Mexico. In a lyrical, often humorous voice, Russell shares her journey across a wild, rural landscape tracking this little-known species, an insect she calls “charismatic,” “elegant,” and “fierce.” What she finds is renewed optimism in mysteries still left to be explored, that despite the challenges of climate change, there is a growing diversity of ways ordinary people can contribute to the research needs of scientists today in the name of environmental activism. Offering readers a glimpse into the pioneering field of citizen science, Diary of a Citizen Scientist documents one woman’s transformation from a feeling of powerlessness to engaged hopefulness. Winner of the John Burroughs Medal and the WILLA Literary Award for Best Creative Nonfiction Named one of the top ten best nature books of 2014 by GrrlScientist in The Guardian
Sharman Apt Russell again blends her lush voice and keen scientific eye in this marvelous book about butterflies. From Hindu mythology to Aztec sacrifices, butterflies have served as a metaphor for resurrection and transformation. Even during World War II, children in a Polish death camp scratched hundreds of butterflies onto the walls of their barracks. But as Russell points out in this rich and lyrical meditation, butterflies are above all objects of obsession. From the beastly horned caterpillar, whose blood helps it count time, to the peacock butterfly, with wings that hiss like a snake, Russell traces the butterflies through their life cycles, exploring the creatures' own obsessions with eating, mating, and migrating. In this way, she reveals the logic behind our endless fascination with butterflies as well as the driving passion of such legendary collectors as the tragic Eleanor Glanville, whose children declared her mad because of her compulsive butterfly collecting, and the brilliant Henry Walter Bates, whose collections from the Amazon in 1858 helped develop his theory of mimicry in nature. Russell also takes us inside some of the world's most prestigious natural history museums, where scientists painstakingly catalogue and categorize new species of Lepidoptera, hoping to shed light on insect genetics and evolution. A luminous journey through an exotic world of obsession and strange beauty, this is a book to be treasured by anyone who's ever watched a butterfly mid-flight and thought, as Russell has, "I've entered another dimension.
An award-winning science and nature writer “presents a lively, confident, and free-flowing history of archaeology in America” (Booklist). Digging up the relics of the past is not without controversy. With insight and eloquence, Sharman Apt Russell reveals here that when it comes to archaeological study, there is more than one way to examine history. Raising provocative questions anew about subjects such as the role of humans in the extinction of the large land mammals of the Pleistocene epoch and the repatriation of Native American graves, Russell, winner of the John Burroughs Medal—whose recipients include Rachel Carson—explores the question of what we owe to our past. Through a series of interviews with archaeologists and activists who have helped modernize the field, Russell provides fascinating ideas about the role of archaeology in the stewardship of antiquity, as well as the implications for our common future. “Russell’s work is thoughtful, beautifully written, and well documented. A good way for lay readers to become more informed.” —Library Journal “Agile, cerebral, ruminative, entirely satisfying.” —Kirkus Reviews
An award-winning science and nature writer “presents a lively, confident, and free-flowing history of archaeology in America” (Booklist). Digging up the relics of the past is not without controversy. With insight and eloquence, Sharman Apt Russell reveals here that when it comes to archaeological study, there is more than one way to examine history. Raising provocative questions anew about subjects such as the role of humans in the extinction of the large land mammals of the Pleistocene epoch and the repatriation of Native American graves, Russell, winner of the John Burroughs Medal—whose recipients include Rachel Carson—explores the question of what we owe to our past. Through a series of interviews with archaeologists and activists who have helped modernize the field, Russell provides fascinating ideas about the role of archaeology in the stewardship of antiquity, as well as the implications for our common future. “Russell’s work is thoughtful, beautifully written, and well documented. A good way for lay readers to become more informed.” —Library Journal “Agile, cerebral, ruminative, entirely satisfying.” —Kirkus Reviews
Sharman Apt Russell again blends her lush voice and keen scientific eye in this marvelous book about butterflies. From Hindu mythology to Aztec sacrifices, butterflies have served as a metaphor for resurrection and transformation. Even during World War II, children in a Polish death camp scratched hundreds of butterflies onto the walls of their barracks. But as Russell points out in this rich and lyrical meditation, butterflies are above all objects of obsession. From the beastly horned caterpillar, whose blood helps it count time, to the peacock butterfly, with wings that hiss like a snake, Russell traces the butterflies through their life cycles, exploring the creatures' own obsessions with eating, mating, and migrating. In this way, she reveals the logic behind our endless fascination with butterflies as well as the driving passion of such legendary collectors as the tragic Eleanor Glanville, whose children declared her mad because of her compulsive butterfly collecting, and the brilliant Henry Walter Bates, whose collections from the Amazon in 1858 helped develop his theory of mimicry in nature. Russell also takes us inside some of the world's most prestigious natural history museums, where scientists painstakingly catalogue and categorize new species of Lepidoptera, hoping to shed light on insect genetics and evolution. A luminous journey through an exotic world of obsession and strange beauty, this is a book to be treasured by anyone who's ever watched a butterfly mid-flight and thought, as Russell has, "I've entered another dimension.
Filled with “honest” writing and “wise” observations, “Russell’s well-written essays describe her life as an urban immigrant to the rural Southwest” (Library Journal). In 1981, newlywed Sharman Apt Russell moved with her husband to an agricultural valley in southwestern New Mexico, hoping to create a simpler life. From building their adobe house to the home-birth of their firstborn to growing their own food and navigating the seasonal flooding of the Mimbres River, these luminous essays chart Sharman’s journey toward self-sufficiency in a land as mythical and remote as the image of the prehistoric fluteplayer found on the pottery in trading posts throughout the Southwest. Replete with wisdom and a reverence for the Native American people whose relics Sharman discovers everywhere on the land around her, this award-winning memoir pays tribute to the power and grace of nature, our deep connection to our prehistoric past, and the beauty of living in communion with the land. “A fine contribution to the literature of the modern American Southwest . . . [Russell] achieves just the right mix of fact and metaphor, humor and poetics.” —Booklist “These essays say much about the difficulty of maintaining an alternate lifestyle.” —Publishers Weekly “A lovely little book. To be kept and read and read again.” —Tony Hillerman, bestselling author
From the bestselling author of An Obsession with Butterflies comes a magical story of America in the time of the conquistadors. In 1528, the real-life conquistador Cabeza de Vaca shipwrecked in the New World where he lived for eight years as a slave, trader, and shaman. In this lyrical weaving of history and myth, the adventurer takes his young daughter Teresa from her home in Texas to walk westward into the setting sun, their travels accompanied by miracles--visions and prophecies. But when Teresa reaches the outposts of New Spain, life is not what her father had promised. As a kitchen servant in the household of a Spanish official, Teresa grows up estranged from the magic she knew as a child, when she could speak to the earth and listen to animals. When a new epidemic of measles devastates the area, the sixteen-year-old sets off on her own journey, befriending a Mayan were-jaguar who cannot control his shape-shifting and a warhorse abandoned by his Spanish owner. Now Teresa moves through a land stalked by Plague: smallpox as well as measles, typhus, and scarlet fever. Soon it becomes clear that Teresa and her friends are being manipulated and driven by forces they do not understand. To save herself and others, Teresa will find herself listening again to the earth, sinking underground, swimming through limestone and fossil, opening to the power of root and stone. As she searches for her place in the New World, she will travel farther and deeper than she had ever imagined. Rich in historical detail and scope, Teresa of the New World takes you into the dreamscape of the sixteenth-century American Southwest. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
On a hotter and more volatile earth in the twenty-third century, humans like Clare and Jon live in utopia, hunting and gathering in small tribal bands, engaged in daily art and ritual, reunited with old friends like the shaggy mammoth and giant ground sloth. Even better, they still have solar- powered laptops and can communicate with each other around the world. The understanding of physics has also advanced. When scientists first cloned extinct species from the Pleistocene, they discovered that many of them were telepathic—that consciousness travels in waves. For most people, animism has become the preferred religion, a panpsychism compatible with the laws of a fractal holographic universe. As Clare tells one of her students, the return to an older, Paleolithic lifestyle is “one of humanity’s greatest achievements.” It’s too bad that utopia had to come at such a cost: a genetically engineered super-virus that wiped out most of earth’s human population. Humanity was shaken by that event, and humanity vowed to change. Now, on the 150th anniversary of that catastrophe, a small group of men and women—as well as a smarter-than-average dire wolf and saber-toothed cat—are suddenly faced with decisions in which the stakes are higher than ever before. Will earth repeat the cycle of unbridled hubris? Or is humanity’s destiny even stranger than that? Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
In Anatomy of a Rose, Sharman Apt Russell eloquently unveils the "inner life" of flowers, showing them to be more individual, more enterprising, and more responsive than we ever imagined. From their diverse fragrances to their nasty deceptions, Russell proves that, where nature is concerned, "wonder is not only our starting point; it can also be our destination." Throughout this botanical journey, she reveals that the science behind these intelligent plants--how they evolved, how they survive, how they heal--is even more awe-inspiring than their fleeting beauty. Russell helps us imagine what a field of snapdragons looks like to a honeybee; she introduces us to flowers that regulate their own temperature, attract pollinating bats, even smell like a rotting corpse.In this poetic rumination, which combines graceful writing with a scientist's clarity, Russell brings together the work of botanists around the globe, and illuminates a world at once familiar and exotic.
Did a red fox pass this way? Could that be a bobcat print there in the dirt? Do those tracks belong to a domestic dog or a coyote? Combining lyrical memoir with an introduction to wildlife tracking, What Walks This Way explores the joys of learning to recognize the traces of the creatures with whom we share our world. The nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. With wit and compassion, she guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks left by browsing deer, predatory weasels, and inquisitive bears, skunks, and raccoons. Closely observing these traces, Russell also finds community, a sense of place, and a renewed connection with the nonhuman world. She explores the health of mammal populations in North America and questions common wildlife-management practices, calling for new approaches that better reflect current understandings of ecology. Above all, What Walks This Way is a celebration of all the wild animals secretly, stubbornly, and triumphantly roving through our cities, suburbs, and countryside.
“In the tradition of Jean Auel, this well-researched novel authentically recreates the world of the Clovis people.” —Publishers Weekly These children had never seen a tapir. They had never seen a mammoth. So reflects Willow, clan elder of the Clovis tribe, hunters and gatherers who lived on the grassy plains of the great Southwest more than eleven thousand years ago. Looking back on her life, Willow tells the story of when the land was abundant with bison, camels, mammoths, and lions. When communication with animals, plants, and even stones was possible, even essential, for survival. Inventively linking Willow’s chronicle with that of the woolly mammoth matriarchs, award-winning author Sharman Apt Russell explores the impact of human interaction with the environment, shedding light on the archaeological mystery surrounding the mass extinction at the end of the Pleistocene. Recreating the lives of a prehistoric people while highlighting our deep connection to the past and the world around us, The Last Matriarch is a book for our times. “Books like this one can teach us not only the facts of the Paleolithic past, but also allow us to share the experiences of our ancestors. The Last Matriarch does both and does them beautifully.” —Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Social Life of Dogs and Reindeer Moon “With a fluidly poetic style and vivid characterizations, Russell brings the ancient Southwest alive.” —Booklist
A critically acclaimed nature writer explores the citizen scientist movement through the lens of entomological field research in the American Southwest. Award-winning nature writer Sharman Apt Russell felt pressed by the current environmental crisis to pick up her pen yet again. Encouraged by the phenomenon of citizen science, she decided to turn her attention to the Western red-bellied tiger beetle, an insect found widely around the world and near her home in the Gila River Valley of New Mexico. In a lyrical, often humorous voice, Russell shares her journey across a wild, rural landscape tracking this little-known species, an insect she calls “charismatic,” “elegant,” and “fierce.” What she finds is renewed optimism in mysteries still left to be explored, that despite the challenges of climate change, there is a growing diversity of ways ordinary people can contribute to the research needs of scientists today in the name of environmental activism. Offering readers a glimpse into the pioneering field of citizen science, Diary of a Citizen Scientist documents one woman’s transformation from a feeling of powerlessness to engaged hopefulness. Winner of the John Burroughs Medal and the WILLA Literary Award for Best Creative Nonfiction Named one of the top ten best nature books of 2014 by GrrlScientist in The Guardian
Did a red fox pass this way? Could that be a bobcat print there in the dirt? Do those tracks belong to a domestic dog or a coyote? Combining lyrical memoir with an introduction to wildlife tracking, What Walks This Way explores the joys of learning to recognize the traces of the creatures with whom we share our world. The nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. With wit and compassion, she guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks left by browsing deer, predatory weasels, and inquisitive bears, skunks, and raccoons. Closely observing these traces, Russell also finds community, a sense of place, and a renewed connection with the nonhuman world. She explores the health of mammal populations in North America and questions common wildlife-management practices, calling for new approaches that better reflect current understandings of ecology. Above all, What Walks This Way is a celebration of all the wild animals secretly, stubbornly, and triumphantly roving through our cities, suburbs, and countryside.
From the bestselling author of An Obsession with Butterflies comes a magical story of America in the time of the conquistadors. In 1528, the real-life conquistador Cabeza de Vaca shipwrecked in the New World where he lived for eight years as a slave, trader, and shaman. In this lyrical weaving of history and myth, the adventurer takes his young daughter Teresa from her home in Texas to walk westward into the setting sun, their travels accompanied by miracles--visions and prophecies. But when Teresa reaches the outposts of New Spain, life is not what her father had promised. As a kitchen servant in the household of a Spanish official, Teresa grows up estranged from the magic she knew as a child, when she could speak to the earth and listen to animals. When a new epidemic of measles devastates the area, the sixteen-year-old sets off on her own journey, befriending a Mayan were-jaguar who cannot control his shape-shifting and a warhorse abandoned by his Spanish owner. Now Teresa moves through a land stalked by Plague: smallpox as well as measles, typhus, and scarlet fever. Soon it becomes clear that Teresa and her friends are being manipulated and driven by forces they do not understand. To save herself and others, Teresa will find herself listening again to the earth, sinking underground, swimming through limestone and fossil, opening to the power of root and stone. As she searches for her place in the New World, she will travel farther and deeper than she had ever imagined. Rich in historical detail and scope, Teresa of the New World takes you into the dreamscape of the sixteenth-century American Southwest. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
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