New Releases by Patrick Jennings

A young woman embarks on a journey into fire in this second novelette set in a broad new universe that intertwines mythology and folklore from all around the world. Keahi is the daughter of a powerful goddess. Powerful and dangerous. Sent to a distant corner of the Otherworld until she can master her burgeoning powers, Keahi struggles to do precisely that, forcing her to undertake the most harrowing journey of her young life in a final, desperate gambit. If she succeeds, she will have power, and more importantly control over that power, like never before. But only if the effort doesn''t kill her first, for the sands of the Unseelie are treacherous and home to many perils. Keahi will need all her courage and skill to survive.

This book compiles many of the stories and poems inspired by an afternoon photographing the shifting patterns of sand and crushed seashell on Chesterman Beach on Vancouver Island''s Pacific coastline, British Columbia, Canada. It was published as part of a 2018 gallery exhibit, Harmony in Word and Form, which featured an installation of nine photographs taken that day. The book was displayed with the photographs so gallery visitors could read the stories and poems the photographs had inspired. The title is taken from the story which was forming in my mind even as I was combing the beach for photographs.

Any product can become obsolete. Products becoming obsolete causes increased costs to organizations due to the interruption of the usual flow of business. These interruptions can be seen in product and component shortages, stockpiling, and forced redesigns. To minimize the impact of product obsolescence, businesses must integrate forecasting methods into business processes to allow for proactive management. Proactive management enables organizations to maximize the time to make a decision and increases the number of viable decisions. This dissertation seeks to demonstrate new obsolescence forecasting methods and techniques, along with frameworks for applying these to business processes.There are four main types of product obsolescence: (1) technical, (2) functional, (3) style, and (4) legislative. In technical obsolescence, old products can no longer compete with the specifications of newer products. In functional obsolescence, products can no longer perform their original task due to aging factors. The third is style; many products no longer are appealing visually and become obsolete due to changes in fashion (e.g., wood paneling on cars). The last is legislative; if a government passes laws that forbid certain materials, components, chemicals in manufacturing process, or creates new requirements in a market, this can often lead to many products and designs becoming obsolete. The focus in this research is on technical and functional obsolescence. Technical obsolescence is especially prolific in highly competitive consumer electronic markets such as cell phones and digital cameras. This work seeks to apply traditional machine learning methods to predict obsolescence risk levels and assign a status of discontinued or procurable depending on the availability in the market at a given time. After these models have been investigated, a new framework is proposed to reduce the cost impact of mislabeled products in the forecasting process. Current models pick a threshold between the discontinued and procurable status that minimizes the number of errors rather than the error cost of the model. The new method proposes minimizing the average error cost of status misclassifications in the forecasting process. The method looks at the cost to the organization from false positives and false negatives; it varies the threshold between the statuses to reduce the number of more-costly errors by trading off less-costly errors using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. This technique draws from practices in disease detection to decide the tradeoff between telling a healthy person they have a disease (false positive) and telling a sick person they do not have a disease (false negative). Early work and a case study using this method have demonstrated an average reduction of 6.46% in average misclassification cost in the cell phone market and a reduction of 20.27% in the camera market.Functional obsolescence management has grown with the increased connectivity of products, equipment, and infrastructure. In the alternative energy industry, as solar farms and wind turbines transform from emerging technologies to a fully developed one, these industries seek to better monitor the performance of aging equipment. Similar techniques to forecasting technical obsolescence is applied to predict whether equipment is functioning properly. A case study is used to predict functional obsolescence of wind turbines. Obsolescence forecasting models are quite useful when applied to aid business decisions. In business, the classic tradeoff is between longer life cycles and lower costs. This research seeks to create a generalized model to estimate the total life cycle cost of a component and the life cycle of a product before it becomes obsolete. These models will aid designers and manufacturers in better understanding how changes in usage and manufacturing factors shift the life cycle and total cost. A genetic optimization algorithm is applied to find the minimal cost given a desired life cycle. An alternative model is developed to find the maximum life cycle given a set cost level.

Claudine doesn''t think Santa should be allowed to just barge into her house-that''s not polite at all! The only way to keep him out? Get on his Naughty List . . . If you think about it, Santa is a pretty rude guy. He watches you while you sleep. He withholds presents if he decides you weren''t good this year. And he sneaks into your house! Uninvited! Claudine wants none of it-she is determined to keep Santa away from her house this Christmas! And the only way to do it? Be as NAUGHTY as possible. Too bad Claudine''s actually a pretty good kid at heart . . . This out-of-the-ordinary perspective on the beloved holiday figure will have kids rolling with laughter, while letting them know that it''s okay to have an opinion different from the norm!

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting to engage reluctant readers! Readers who loved Guinea Dog have been sitting, begging, and rolling over for a sequel. The beloved Patrick Jennings returns with the follow up to his award-winning and state list hogging title! When his classmates learn about Fido, the guinea pig that acts like a dog, they all want a piece of Rufus, her owner. But Rufus hates the attention, the demands, the "celebrity." So he decides to make Fido learn how to be an actual guinea pig. But when she goes missing, he feels terrible. Was she lost, "dognapped," or did she run away, because he no longer liked her just the way she was? Offering the same offbeat humor and pacing of the first Guinea Dog, this novel will prove to be a reader''s best friend.

Hissy Fitz lives with some two-legged creatures who are destined to serve him in every possible way and understand his every whim. Sadly, these creatures are sorely lacking in their skills. For one thing—they touch him when they want to touch him. Don''t they know that the two-legged are there for him to touch when he wants to—meaning when he wants food? Petting wakes him up! They speak to him—don''t they know the two-legged should be seen (so Hissy knows where to demand food from) and not heard?! It''s becoming intolerable. What is this irascible cat to do?

Reviews for Guinea Dog: "Short, manageable chapters; a breezy, conversational style; and identifiable characters . . . make this a good choice."--Booklist "...an intriguing twist on the typical boy-and-dog story...a bouncy and animated pet story."--BCCB "Early-chapter book readers will enjoy..."--School Library Journal "A humorous story about an unusual pet...the undeniably funny plot moves along and readers should enjoy this wry story."--Kirkus Reviews "...a pretty fun, silly story about not quite getting what you want."--Wired "The writing is strong, the characters are a lot of fun, and the story just plain enjoyable . . . There''s a little something everyone can enjoy in this last Jennings number."--Betsy Bird, Fuse8 Praise for Guinea Dog 2: "...playful, quick-paced tale...Short chapters and a slightly larger-than-usual font makes this an easy read...leaves readers begging for another."--Kirkus Reviews Praise for Guinea Dog 3: "Youngsters will eagerly jump in for another fast, fun read."--Kirkus Reviews

Petopia, by the author of Guinea Dog, is the first in a funny middle-grade series just right for kids who love pets and humor. Add a little touch of magic and you have all the ingredients to appeal to animal-loving readers who enjoy Bruce Coville, James Howe, and Louis Sachar. Iowa Diamond, a quiet middle-school girl, wishes she had siblings. Her grandmother decides that she needs a sweet, soft, fuzzy, quiet pet to cheer her up. A bunny is the perfect choice! Fluffy. Not demanding. Not intrusive. Quiet. So how did they end up with a bunny that talks like a parrot? That is Talkative. Chatty. That will get you in trouble? Because Petopia, the magic pet shop, knows exactly what you really need. Reviews of Patrick Jennings''s books: "...playful, quick-paced tale...leaves readers begging for another."--Kirkus Reviews on Guinea Dog 2 "Short, manageable chapters; a breezy, conversational style...make this a good choice."--Booklist on Guinea Dog "An amusing, fast paced tale....Humorous, enjoyable..."--Kirkus Reviews on My Homework Ate My Homework *"...a warm and funny tale..."--Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Odd, Weird & Little "...short chapters, with plenty of humorous dialogue and descriptions, keep the story moving at a quick pace."--School Library Journal on Lucky Cap You may follow Patrick on his website, www.patrickjennings.com or follow him on Twitter @PJenningsWrites.

"When Pedro admits that he has a paralyzing fear of water, his friends try to cheer him up with a pet. Only this one won''t leave the water! The third installment of the Guinea Dog series"--

The works of William Shakespeare hold many treasures for those who read them. From the laughter we experience during his comedies to the tears invoked by his tragedies, his plays inspire emotional responses in us, and, as a result, we are entertained and enlightened. But, for some readers, Shakespeare''s works hold another kind of treasure. Throughout the ages, many historians and theorists have argued that there are hidden messages concealed within the great bard''s writings, some of which raise questions of authenticity and authorship—if not of something far more subversive. These arguments, however, have failed the test of time and proven more speculative than substantial. But now, Patrick Jennings presents a fresh new argument—and, though he does not hold it out as conclusive, he offers it as a point of reference to bring us closer to the final answers. The Key to Hidden Messages in Shakespeare''s Works identifies the various encipherment methods used to conceal messages in Shakespeare''s First Folio and provides proofs of how these methods were, and can be, applied to extrapolate hidden messages and their meaning. Easy to read, and sure to spark controversy, it will appeal to both novice Shakespeare students and established scholars alike.

When Zaritza is assigned to care for her class ferret Bandito over winter break, he escapes and eats her other assignments, leaving her with an unbelievable excuse, in this exciting new novel by the author of "Faith and the Electric Dogs."

Readers will find this charming, funny, easy-to-read middle-grade novel from the beloved Patrick Jennings an absolute hoot! When the new kid joins his class, Woodrow agrees with his schoolmates—Toulouse is really weird. He''s short—kindergarten short—dresses in a suit like a grandpa, has huge eyes, and barely says a word. But Woodrow isn''t exactly Mr. Popularity. The frequent target of the class bully himself, he figures that maybe all Toulouse needs is a chance. And when the two are put together in gym to play volleyball, they make quite the team. Toulouse can serve, set, and spike like a pro. He really knows how to fly around the court. But when the attention and teasing switch back to Woodrow, he learns that the new kid is great at something else: being a friend. Full of heart and laughs, Odd, Weird, and Little is another winner from the author of the Guinea Dog series.

Rufus''s first Christmas with Fido, the guinea pig that acts like a dog, is not what he expected. Shredded wrapping paper, opened presents, a toppled Christmas tree are only some of the ingredients, but the main one is humor.

One night at the Hotel Midnight, the lyrics written and sung by jazz musician Rat are those inspired by his friendship with Bat, who plays the piano and writes the tunes. Full color.

When dogs go missing, one boy will find out why. And the answer is out of this world. Nothing gets past Logan. When he observes that the neighborhood’s dogs are mysteriously vanishing, he suspects nothing less than a full-scale alien dognapping invasion. The adults don’t believe him, of course, so he enlists his friends to investigate and soon they make a shocking discovery. Now man’s best friend needs help. Fast. Suddenly, Logan and his team are on a mission unlike anything known to man. A hilarious, heartwarming tale of hound-saving heroics, Invasion of the Dognappers will be gobbled up by middle-grade readers. Ages 8-12

Enzo starts middle school after an amazing summer trip with his father, a new manager at a popular sporting goods company, with a prototype baseball cap that seems to bring Enzo popularity and success.

Audisee eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Rufus has been dreaming of getting a dog. His best friend has one. His worst friend has one. But his dad has a few objections: They whine. They gnaw. They bark. They scratch. They beg. They drool. Rufus pays no attention when his mom offers her think-outside-the-box suggestion, because she can''t be serious. She can''t be. She can be. And she actually comes home with a guinea pig. And if Rufus''s dad thinks dogs are a problem, he won''t know what hit him when he meets the Guinea Pig That Thinks She''s a Dog. She barks. She bites. She''ll eat your homework.

Crusher the snake will charm readers in this entertaining, funny novel about a snake in captivity and how she turns the tables on her human captor. I am a snake. No, not a rattlesnake. I just look like one. I’m a gopher snake. One day an oily, filthy, fleshy human child crossed my path. As luck would have it, he knew the difference between a gopher snake and a rattlesnake. He has imprisoned me in a terrarium. His name is Gunnar. He calls me Crusher. He thinks I’m male. I’m not. He dropped in a dead mouse and hoped I’d eat it. I buried it. He then dropped in a live one, which he called “Breakfast.” I didn’t lay a coil on it. Gunnar thinks I’ll be his adoring pet. He’s wrong. In fact, I am planning my escape. I may take breakfast with me.

Fifteen-year-old Dusty, a ward of the state, is forced to work in a logging camp during the Depression. Despite the bleakness of her life, spirited Dusty dreams of escape. One day, a mysterious seagull delivers some unusual seeds to Dusty. Her whole life changes when she plants them. Perhaps it is the strength of her wishes, or the magic of the forest, but some unknown power transforms the tiny seeds into an astonishing creature—and a possible means of deliverance. Now Dusty and her friends have a way to navigate the enchanted, though dangerous, forest, and escape the wretched existence they’ve been trapped in all their lives. Richly layered with fairy-tale lore and steeped in both the familiar and the darker elements of the Cinderella story, Patrick Jennings’s inspired novel weaves a compelling tale about finding freedom, and finding oneself./DIVDIV

B: Hello, is this Jeff?J: Yeah, Who''s this?B: It''s not important. I''m just a messenger. I''ve been asked to inform you that Viv doesn''t want to go with you anymore. At all.Welcome to Barb and Dingbat''s Crybaby Hotline. Jeff can hardly believe it when he gets the second-hand news that his girlfriend is dropping him. And what''s with Barb anyway-why does she keep calling him, and why does he get the feeling she''s not telling him the whole truth? Much like Barb, this warm and clever novel written entirely in phone calls has more than a few tricks up its sleeve.

Named after baseball legend Ty Cobb, Ty Cutter is a lousy right fielder, catcher, and batter. Although he''s terrible at baseball, he loves the game too much to quit.

In France during a time of witch-hunts, in a village with a corrupt priest, thirteen-year-old Lazlo longs to be able to turn into a wolf as his parents can, but also desires the friendship of a village girl.

Ike feels bad about not saying anything to neighborhood bully Dave when Dave insists on killing lightning bugs to separate their glowing parts from their bodies to make "lightning rings" for the other children''s fingers.

When Ike and his little sister Mem spend the weekend at their grandparents'' farm, they resent all the work they must do, until they realize that there is more to their visit than just doing chores, and that everyone must cooperate and pitch in if they are to get along.

While trying to build a tree house for guys, Ike and his best friend Buzzy argue so much that Ike builds his sister Mem a play house instead, but still misses his friend.

A tornado warning is announced in Ike''s town, and the sky fills with gray clouds. His little sister, Mem, worries that a tornado will carry away their house.Ike looks up tornado in the encyclopedia and finds out that tornadoes can come at night, when everybody is asleep. He knows he must look out for them--he must keep watch.After his bedtime, Ike hides a portable TV in his bed. He waits up all night, watching, in case another tornado warning is announced. Otherwise, how would his family know to go down to the basement? Who would protect them?This gentle young chapter book offers comforts and frights, and a cozy home to wait out the storm.

Eleven-year-old Nickel, a boy with a great affinity for both animals and photography, moves into an apartment building run by the strange and mysterious Mr. Beastly and discovers a secret about the other tenants.