Handpicked by the unread team

More curious questions. More unexpected answers. And more reasons to look at the ordinary world a little differently.In Verse: Volume Three continues the collection of short, playful rhymes written for inquisitive children — and for grown-ups who haven’t entirely forgotten how children think.Everyday things become much more interesting when viewed through a child’s eyes. Why do socks disappear in the washing machine? What are puddles really for? And if it’s raining cats and dogs, why doesn’t somebody open the door and let them in?With gentle humour, wordplay and a delight in taking f...

Meet a curious collection of characters in a world where imagination, humour and rhyme go hand in hand.In Verse: Volume Two is a collection of short, playful rhymes for young children, brought to life with warm and richly detailed illustrations.Meet a formally dressed penguin with nowhere in particular to go, a slow-moving turtle who never needs to pack a suitcase, a panda who could improve his table manners, a magnificent lion who expects a little respect, and many more memorable characters.Some poems are silly, some are curious, and some simply celebrate the wonder children find in the world...

The world is full of things to wonder about when you're young.Why are carrots orange? What do food labels mean? What happens when a baby goes for a very fast ride in a pram? And does size really matter when everyone around you seems enormous?In Verse: Volume One is a collection of short, playful rhymes for young children, celebrating the everyday questions, observations and adventures that make childhood such fun.Told with gentle humour and accompanied by warm, richly detailed illustrations, each rhyme creates its own little world for children and adults to explore together.Some are silly. Som...

Pierre is a Pomeranian. And he’s PINK!People stare at him. People point at him. They think he’s different.But Pierre isn’t quite sure what all the fuss is about. He likes being Pierre — and perhaps being a little different isn’t such a strange thing after all.Pierre the Pink Pomeranian is a warm and gently humorous picture book about being different, being yourself, and discovering that what makes us unusual can also make us special.With bright, colourful illustrations and simple text for young readers, Pierre’s story offers a reassuring celebration of individuality, confidence and...

There’s plenty of ice. There are plenty of penguins. But is there room for just one more?One little penguin is bobbing about in the icy Antarctic water while a very crowded group of penguins stands safely on the ice above.Surely they could squeeze up just a little?He asks nicely.He tries persuasion.He becomes increasingly determined.But making room for one small penguin might not be quite as simple as it sounds!Squeeze Up Tight is a funny, colourful picture book built around rhyme, repetition and an increasingly exasperated little penguin who refuses to be ignored.With expressive illustratio...

When Lisa goes away on holiday, Spotswood stays behind with Grandma. He is determined to be a good boy - just as Lisa told him - but life without his favourite person isn’t quite the same.There is a garden to explore, a red ball that doesn't seem to want to be chased, and even a butterfly who might become a new friend. There are also plenty of comfortable places to sleep. But as the days pass, Spotswood begins to wonder whether Lisa knows just how much he misses her.Perhaps writing her a letter will bring her home sooner.Told through Spotswood’s affectionate and gently humorous letter, Lov...

An entertaining space adventure filled with danger, romance, and sarcasm!  Recent graduate Ralph Baker quickly learns that life aboard ship is very different than life at the Academy.  And he finds that new dangers, and new threats, lurk around every corner.

London, December 1895. Former Baker Street Irregular Tim Badger, and his detective partner Ben Watson, embark on one of their most deadly investigations yet! Why did a magician unknowingly stab to death his assistant in the basket trick in front of a horrified audience at the celebrated Royal Canterbury Theatre? The magician, though professing his innocence, is ridiculously tight-lipped even as he languishes in a cell at Scotland Yard. As Badger and Watson slowly pull back the layers of the conspiracy behind it, Ben must go undercover as a knife-thrower on the Canterbury's stage with the assis...

London, October, 1895. Former Baker Street Irregular Tim Badger and his colleague in crime-solving, Ben Watson, are hired by a man whose neighbours are convinced he is a vampyre and have threatened him and his home. The strange Mister Jonathan Wicker – pale, dark-haired, allergic to the sun, and who spends his time in the study of bats! – needs the detectives to prove to the villagers that he is just an ordinary scientist. He invites the duo to travel to the village of Ashwell in Herefordshire to stay at his grim manor house to assess the situation whilst he is engaged in business in Londo...

What can kicking a ball across a field teach us about life, about relationships, about striving for success and avoiding failure?  What can a game reveal about who we are, our desires, and our fears?  What does a reality TV hopeful, a 19'th Century industrialist, and the philosopher Albert Camus have to do with any of this?  The answers can be found in "Soccer On Sunday In The Park."   This novel, written in a diary format, follows a group of people who gather weekly for an informal game.  They come from different backgrounds and generations, and have diverse sens...

The Adventures of Maury continue in Giving Makes Maury Happy Too! As a continuation of the lessons learned in A Bell for Maury’s Bicycle and Maury Becomes a Super Saver!, Maury now discovers the joy of charitable giving and generosity as an important component of financial literacy. As he decides what to donate to a thrift store, volunteers at a food bank, and gives a special gift to a family friend, Maury learns that giving can make him happy, just like saving the nuts that he has earned does. Young readers and soon-to-be-readers can learn along with Maury as he discovers the benefits of he...

In this sequel to A Bell for Maury’s Bicycle, Maury has been carefully saving some of the nuts he earned from his allowance and chores but now he is running out of room to keep them in his special jar. Is there something else that he can do? In Maury Becomes a Super Saver!, his parents help him to open a savings account and to further his understanding of basic financial concepts. Young readers and soon-to-be-readers can learn along with Maury as he discovers the benefits of having a savings account and how to keep track of his progress.

For centuries, the island of Lathrill was the jewel of the kingdom — its grand temple serving as both palace and sanctum to rulers who shaped the fate of the realm. But time, war, and the sea claimed it. Now only ruins remain, half‑devoured by the waves, and beneath them a labyrinth of caverns where ancient rituals once scarred the stone. Most believe the place cursed. Some say it still breathes.Risten Vayne and his crew never meant to be drawn into its shadow. Their hunt began far from Lathrill, on the island of Pal Ortheen, where they found a village burned to its bones and the few survi...

Did you know that the ground-breaking optics of impressionism were influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e? While Japan’s influence over Western art is well-known among artists and art historians, the specific influence of Katsushika Hokusai’s 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, his seminal work, over modern movements like French Impressionism, is somewhat less discussed.In this book, I argue that understanding the influence of Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji (1832), is pivotal to understanding how Impressionism developed not only in France, but in Japan itself.From Hokusai to Monet, from Dutch Studies ...

In a collapsing empire built on wine, lies, corruption and absurd ambition, the old legionary Vespasianus claws his way from starving nobody to emperor of Rome.Together with the fiercely devoted Domitilla, a woman whose love survives every catastrophe imaginable, he creates a city, a dynasty, and eventually a disaster large enough to shake an empire. Around them grows a world of drunken senators, grotesque weddings, violent arena spectacles, scheming officials, starving citizens, wandering legionaries and impossible family loyalties.But beneath the absurdity lies something darker.A lonely man ...

No signal followed. No judgment arrived.After the watchers depart and the city falls silent, Earth is left with something far more unsettling than abandonment: full responsibility.The city still stands. Its archives remain intact. But the systems that once observed, predicted, and intervened have withdrawn. Humanity is no longer being measured against thresholds or timelines—there is no next stage, no external correction.As governments, institutions, and individuals adjust to a future without oversight, one truth becomes unavoidable: the greatest weight is not what the observers decided—bu...

The world has been noticed.Nothing will ever feel the same again.The signal has been sent.No answer follows.As Earth continues to react, escalate, and adapt, the city remains—open, present, and silent. The decision has already been made, but its meaning has not yet arrived.Inside the city, its inhabitants confront the final consequence of restraint: when prediction collapses, delay becomes action. Silence becomes isolation. Contact becomes evaluation. Neither choice can be undone.Beyond Earth, something listens.Or perhaps it simply records.The Closed City: Legacy is the powerful conclusion t...

The city has made its choice.The consequences are only beginning.As global pressure accelerates and fear fractures into competing truths, every attempt to stabilize the situation makes it worse. Decisions are made faster, with less certainty—and no room for reversal.Inside the city, its inhabitants confront a disturbing realization: the greatest danger is not conflict, invasion, or war—but the quiet, irreversible influence that coexistence itself may unleash.Humanity adapts too quickly.Power does not need to conquer when it can normalize.As trust collapses, systems fail, and time turns hos...

The city has been found. Now the world wants answers.Global attention turns into pressure as a select team is granted limited access inside a structure never designed for human presence. What they encounter is not decay or hostility—but restraint, precision, and intent.When the city awakens one of its inhabitants, calm replaces chaos—and unsettles humanity more than fear ever could. Words meant to clarify are twisted into threats, media narratives spiral out of control, and a single public conversation ignites an international crisis.As trust forms behind closed doors and unseen forces mov...

The ground breaks. The ocean moves. And something ancient answers.A silent impact strikes California’s most dangerous fault line—without fire, without warning.What follows is not a natural disaster, but a chain reaction that fractures the land and reshapes the coastline in real time.As the Pacific floods newly opened seams in the Earth, satellites uncover something impossible beneath the water: a vast, geometric city—sealed, intact, and untouched by time.It was never meant to be found.Scientists race to understand what has emerged, while the world watches a catastrophe unfold live across...

The kids moved out. The house is quiet. The fridge is full. The remote is yours.Congratulations. You survived parenthood.Now what?Congratulations! You Have Your House Back. is a funny and painfully relatable guide to life after the kids move out—when parents suddenly discover that the house has fewer people, more food, less laundry… and an alarming amount of silence.Inside, you’ll discover what really happens when you become an empty nester:The refrigerator finally keeps food overnight.The washing machine enters semi-retirement.Every bathroom is suddenly available.That old bedroom starts...

Congratulations... your life is about to change forever.Not because you'll suddenly know how to install a car seat.Or fold a stroller.Or survive three hours of sleep.But because you're about to become a dad.This funny and heartwarming gift book follows every unforgettable stage of first-time fatherhood—from hearing "We're having a baby" to counting down the days until you finally meet your little one.Inside you'll discover:The emotional rollercoaster every future dad secretly experiencesLaugh-out-loud moments every expecting father will recognizeFunny "Dad Level Unlocked" achievementsHeartwa...

Congratulations...Someone just handed you a brand-new title:Aunt.No interview.No training.No instruction manual.Just unlimited cuddles, noisy toys, emergency snacks, family group chats, pillow forts, and a lifetime of unforgettable memories.This funny and heartwarming gift book is the perfect way to celebrate the exciting news that someone special is about to become an aunt. Whether it's your sister, sister-in-law, best friend, or future auntie, this book turns one unforgettable announcement into a keepsake she'll treasure forever.Inside you'll discover:The unofficial rules of being the cool a...

The wedding lasts one day......but the stories will last forever.Planning a wedding sounds easy.Until someone asks about chair covers.Or napkin colors.Or invites Uncle Bob.Or tells you the flowers cost more than your first car.Suddenly you're juggling budgets, seating charts, family drama, DIY disasters, weather forecasts, vendors, and approximately 4,000 opinions from people who aren't paying for any of it.The Unofficial Survival Guide to Your Wedding Day is a laugh-out-loud celebration of everything that makes wedding planning wonderfully chaotic.Inside you'll discover:Why every wedding budg...

Becoming a dad is exciting.It's also terrifying.One minute you're celebrating a positive pregnancy test.The next, you're wondering if newborns can smell fear.Spoiler:They probably can.The Unofficial Survival Guide for First-Time Dads is the funny, lighthearted gift every future father secretly needs—but would never think to buy for himself.Inside you'll discover:Why coffee officially becomes medical equipmentHow every stroller somehow requires an engineering degreeThe real reason babies always wake up five minutes after you fall asleepThe truth about diaper blowouts, sleepless nights, and su...

Finding the perfect partner is one of humanity’s most ambitious fantasies.Against all logic, statistical probability, and overwhelming historical evidence,millions of people confidently believe they can locate a single human beingwhose habits, moods, and deeply questionable decisionswill somehow remain charming forever.This book celebrates that optimism.Inside, you’ll discover:• Highly Scientific Compatibility Tests (accuracy not guaranteed)• Red Flags You Will Absolutely Ignore• Green Flags (rare but theoretically possible)• Why Small Problems Become Ridiculous Fights• Things Co...

Well... This Just Got Interesting.Know someone who's about to become an uncle?This funny and heartwarming gift book is the perfect way to celebrate the exciting news.Filled with humor, unforgettable adventures, and heartfelt reminders about what childhood is really made of, it's a gift that any first-time uncle will enjoy long before the baby arrives—and treasure long after.Inside, they'll discover:The Five Stages of Becoming an UncleThe Official Uncle RulebookScience Experiments Nobody ApprovedAdventures That Somehow Got Completely Out of HandToys Parents Secretly RegretEmergency Uncle Surv...

Congratulations... you finally made it.No more alarm clocks.No more Monday morning meetings.No more pretending to look busy five minutes before quitting time.Now comes the part nobody ever prepared you for.Retirement.The Unofficial Survival Guide to Retirement is a hilarious retirement gift book packed with relatable humor, sarcastic observations, and laugh-out-loud moments that every new retiree will recognize.Whether you're celebrating your own retirement or searching for the perfect retirement gift for a friend, coworker, mom, dad, husband, wife, brother, sister, or anyone starting this exc...

So You're Going to Be a Grandpa! - The Unofficial Survival Guide for First-Time GrandpasLooking for a fun and memorable way to tell someone they're going to be a grandpa?This humorous gift book celebrates one of life's biggest milestones with laughter, heartwarming moments, and plenty of Grandpa-style adventures.From the unforgettable pregnancy announcement to first babysitting, playground adventures, blanket forts, sticky fingerprints, school performances, garage projects, and everything in between, this lighthearted survival guide follows the journey of becoming a first-time grandpa.Inside y...

One day, your son or daughter says four words guaranteed to make your heart skip a beat:"Mom, we need to talk."A few moments later, everything changes.You're going to be a grandma.Congratulations... and good luck.So You're Going to Be a Grandma! is a heartwarming and hilarious journey through all the joys, surprises, worries, and unforgettable moments that come with becoming a first-time grandma.From the shock of the pregnancy announcement and endless baby shopping adventures to first babysitting duties, sleepover disasters, sticky fingerprints, birthday parties, school performances, and the d...

Marriage is a beautiful institution.It is also a long-term social experimentinvolving love, patience, compromise…and an astonishing number of discussionsabout food, blankets, and thermostat settings.The Unofficial Survival Guide to Marriageis a hilariously honest, painfully accurate,and surprisingly relatable look at what married lifeactually feels like behind the scenes.Inside, you’ll find:Highly Scientific Marriage FactsCompletely Reliable (Highly Questionable) StatisticsUnofficial Marriage LawsWedding Night Survival NotesCompatibility TestsRed Flags You Should Probably IgnoreAnd many ot...

Parenthood Was Supposed to Be Beautiful.Nobody Mentioned the Sleep Deprivation.The first year with a baby is magical, unforgettable, and filled with love.It is also confusing, exhausting, slightly absurd, and occasionally smells like something you’d rather not identify.A Beginner’s Guide to Surviving Your Baby’s First Year is a hilariously honest look at what really happens when a tiny human quietly takes over your entire life.Inside you’ll discover:• why leaving the house now requires military-level planning• how sleep becomes a distant childhood memory• the mysterious science o...

Pregnancy.One moment you’re a normal, rational human being.The next, you’re crying because someone finished the snacks you didn’t even want five minutes ago.The Unofficial Survival Guide to Your First Pregnancy is a brutally honest, laugh-out-loud take on what really happens between conception and delivery — the panic, the cravings, the emotional plot twists, and the complete breakdown of all known logic.Inside you’ll discover:• The monthly reality shifts no one warns you about• Highly questionable (but suspiciously accurate) pregnancy facts• Survival strategies for both parent...

Becoming grandparents is one of life’s greatest plot twists.One minute you’re enjoying peaceful mornings and uninterrupted sleep.The next, you’re googling stroller reviews, practicing your “neutral reaction” face to a baby name you don’t understand, and wondering if you’re emotionally prepared for something called a “sleep regression.”So You’re Going to Be Grandparents! is a funny, slightly chaotic, and surprisingly heartwarming survival guide for first-time grandparents.Inside, you’ll discover:The five emotional stages of becoming a grandparentWhat absolutely NOT to say ...

Some of life's greatest adventures begin with four simple words..."We're having a baby."Congratulations! You're Going to Be Grandparents! is a heartwarming keepsake created to celebrate one of life's happiest milestones.Filled with love, gentle humor, and heartfelt reflections, this beautifully written gift book captures the excitement of becoming grandparents for the very first time. Through twelve touching chapters, it follows the emotional journey from the unforgettable pregnancy announcement to the joyful anticipation of meeting the newest member of the family.Inside, future grandparents w...

Introducing children to financial literacy at an early age can start them on a path that will serve them well throughout their lives. A Bell for Maury’s Bicycle is an age-appropriate and fun introduction to some basic financial concepts for young readers and soon-to-be-readers. Follow along as Maury learns the value of buying something he wants, has the patience to wait for it, and finds clever ways to save for his goal.

by Kemma MarShall (Author) Format: Paperback4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (405)4.8 on Goodreads266 ratingsBook 5 of 5: Hymns of Blue Hollow See all languages and editions   "Unforgettable… devastating… and deeply beautiful. This series owns my heart.”— Five-Star Reader ReviewIn the shadowed hills of 1940s Eastern Tennessee, love is hard-won. Survival is never guaranteed. And some secrets refuse to stay buried.Lost Beneath a Stone and Sky, the fifth installment of the best-selling Hymns of Blue Hollow saga, brings Esther and Ian Huggler into their darkest season yet—one t...

by Kemma MarShall (Author) Format: Kindle Edition4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (558)4.7 on Goodreads378 ratingsBook 4 of 5: Hymns of Blue Hollow See all languages and editions ★★★★★ “Readers call the Hymns of Blue Hollow series unforgettable—rich, poetic, and impossible to put down.”In Forged by Wind and Song, the fourth installment of the critically acclaimed Hymns of Blue Hollow series, author Kemma MarShall delivers a deeply emotional story of love, suspense, and forbidden longing.Returning from a Texas German internment camp, Ian Huggler longs for the peace of the Blue H...

by Kemma MarShall (Author) Format: Kindle Edition4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (616)4.6 on Goodreads407 ratingsBook 3 of 5: Hymns of Blue Hollow See all languages and editions ★★★★★ “Readers can’t put the Hymns of Blue Hollow series down—binge-reading it in record time.”In Held in the Rising Smoke, the third installment of the acclaimed Hymns of Blue Hollow series, author Kemma MarShall weaves a powerful story of survival, forbidden love, and haunting truths set against the turmoil of WWII.”Forced from her Tennessee home after Clive’s devastation, Esther finds herself ...

★★★★★ “This novel was as breathtaking as the first. I couldn’t put it down, and when I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen next.” — Reader ReviewerIn Where the River Settles, the second novel of the best-selling Hymns of Blue Hollow series, author Kemma MarShall delivers a gripping story of love tested and dark secrets unearthed.At the Old Reed Estate in 1940s Tennessee, Esther is still unraveling the foreign language of love, wary of its warmth yet aching for it in the same breath. All she has known is how to endure, not how to trust. Ian Huggler, the ste...