Thomas Hoobler ist ein produktiver Autor, bekannt für seine Zusammenarbeit mit seiner Frau Dorothy sowie für seine Solowerke. Gemeinsam schufen sie die Samurai Detective Series, eine Krimireihe, die im Japan des 18. Jahrhunderts angesiedelt ist und einen jungen Protagonisten zeigt, der seinem Samurai-Vater bei der Lösung von Verbrechen hilft. Ihr umfangreiches Werk umfasst historische Erzählungen für Kinder, Jugendliche und Erwachsene und zeigt eine breite Anziehungskraft sowie ein beständiges Engagement, die Vergangenheit durch fesselndes Geschichtenerzählen zu erkunden.
Der junge Samurai Seikei ist am Boden zerstört. Dieser Auftrag ist gründlich misslungen: Der 14-jährige Kaiser ist spurlos verschwunden, im Kloster nichts als die schaurigen Reste eines blutigen Massakers und das ganze Reich bedroht von Panik und Chaos - irgendwie muss es Seikei gelingen, seine Ehre und damit die seines Ziehvaters Richter Ooka wiederherzustellen. Seikeis letzte Hoffnung ist das sagenumwobene göttliche Schwert Kusanagi.
Japan 1735: Nichts fasziniert Seikei mehr als die Geschichten über die Samurai, Japans große Krieger. Ihre Ehrenhaftigkeit, ihr Mut und ihre bedingungslose Loyalität gegenüber dem Shogun imponieren dem Jungen. Sein größter Wunsch wäre es, eines Tages selbst die zwei Schwerter eines Samurai tragen zu dürfen. Doch Seikei weiß, dass seine Zukunft schon lange vorherbestimmt ist und er wie sein Vater Teehändler werden muss. Als allerdings in einer Herberge, in der Seikei und sein Vater Station machen, ein wertvoller Rubin gestohlen wird, scheint Seikei seinem Traum ein Stückchen näher zu kommen. Denn ausgerechnet er soll dem Samurai und Richter Ooka helfen, das mysteriöse Verbrechen aufzuklären.
Open this book to all the joys and troubles, the triumphs and disappointments, of being an American girl. Here is the chance to read selections from private diaries and look at the portraits of real girls across two centuries. From best friends to boyfriends, hair problems to homework problems, it seems there will always be some things only girls can understand. Maybe you'll be surprised at how similar these girls' diaries are to your own. They took walks in the woods and read novels, had trouble learning English as a second language, wrote essays about George Washington for history class, experienced their first kisses and first periods, and struggled to prove they were just as good as boys. But you'll probably also find that a lot of things were very different for girls who lived a century or more ago. For instance, have you ever named your bedposts after boys you like? Is the word pants considered improper at your school? Do you wear a skate key around your neck on a string, or shop for calico at a dry goods store? In these excerpts and images, girls of all ages will find surprises and revelations and meet some new friends along the way. Here are American girls from a vast array of backgrounds: wealthy and poor, from urban and rural areas, both famous and not-so-famous. Be there as they share friendships, school days, get into mischief, have fun, fall in love, and become real American women.
In The Hunters, an alien expedition arrives on earth to hunt the most dangerous game...In a quiet Montana town, one dusty day is like anotheruntil the boredom is shattered by a mysterious couple promising the answers to people's dreams. The townspeople are more than willing to board a futuristic bus to Paradise. But the bus goes only as far as a long-abandoned ghost town. Instead of a journey to a better world, the travelers find themselves descending into hellin the most shocking alien encounter ever imagined.
Set against the backdrop of a fateful night in 1816, this narrative explores the origins of two iconic literary works: Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and John William Polidori's vampire novel. The story delves into the lives of renowned figures like Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, highlighting their creative competition and the eerie atmosphere that inspired their masterpieces. The authors, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, weave a tale of obsession and the dark consequences that followed, including the tragic fates of the participants.
Learn about the love story behind the creation of one of the most beautiful and famous buildings in the world. The Taj Mahal may look like a palace, but it's actually a tomb and a lasting testament to one of the world's great love stories. In 1612, Mogul emperor Shah Jahan married Mumtaz Mahal. It had been love at first sight and for nineteen years they were so inseparable that Mumtaz even accompanied Shah Jahan to battlefields. When she died suddenly giving birth to their fourteenth child, the emperor set about building a magnificent memorial to his wife. Everything about the Taj was perfectly planned, from the white marble walls that shimmer in the sunlight and sparkle by moonlight, to the countless decorative flowers made from precious gems that still astound visitors today. Recent discoveries at the site make this a timely account of a timeless monument.
