ISBN: 9781416990543

ONE Josephine Russing owned 387 pairs of gloves. She had them in wool and cotton and silk. She had them in plaid and paisley and print. She even had a pair that had been made from the fur… More...

ONE Josephine Russing owned 387 pairs of gloves. She had them in wool and cotton and silk. She had them in plaid and paisley and print. She even had a pair that had been made from the fur of an albino sloth. Josephine, her gloves, and her father, Leopold Russing, lived in a big empty farmhouse miles and miles away from the nearest neighbor or trading post. Josephine had no friends to speak of, but even if she had, she would never have invited them to visit her home. Other children might expect her father to say hello, to ask their names, or to serve them iced lemonade. And when he didn’t, they might learn Josephine’s most horrible, most shameful, most unspoken secret. Her father ignored her completely. Mr. Russing skulked around their house in silence, reading, cooking meals, or washing clothes, occasionally glancing at Josephine as if she were a neighbor’s cat who’d sneaked in the window. Since her mother had died, Josephine’s only indication that her father remembered she existed was that each week he brought her a new pair of gloves. He never said anything about them, or acknowledged when she wore them, but every Friday evening when Josephine checked her chest of drawers, there would be a brand-new pair of gloves inside. Josephine would have preferred a conversation or the occasional “How was school today?” but she wore the gloves dutifully, accepting each new pair as some minute sign that her father actually cared for her. But it was hard to believe that Mr. Russing cared for anything. He was an imposing presence, tall with salt-and-pepper hair that he slicked back, exposing an intimidating widow’s peak. His brown eyes were inscrutable and never seemed to rest on anything for long. Josephine was fairly certain he couldn’t name her eye color (amber) or her age (twelve). He wore expensive suits that were always perfectly pressed, along with his own special pair of gray silk gloves. He was extremely unpopular in the town, and it wasn’t just because he was strangely quiet and wore the expression of someone who’d just smelled sour milk. People hated him because he was responsible for the most outrageous law ever to be passed in the town’s history: Every citizen was required to wear gloves at all times. This might be fine if one was a banker or an accountant or something of that sort, but imagine what it was like for the farmers and carpenters and bakers, who worked with their hands. They hated the law, but if they were caught not wearing gloves, they were fined. How did this silly law get passed in the first place? It happened one night many years ago when Mr. Russing was in the middle of a heated game of five-card stud with the city mayor. Mayor Supton had four jacks and was feeling a bit cocky. But Leo Russing had a straight flush, and when he won, he decided to forgo his monetary winnings and demand that the mayor pass a new law on his behalf. The mayor quickly acquiesced, happy to escape with his wallet intact. Mr. Russing was the only man who manufactured gloves in the town, so one can imagine how much this law improved his business. He had three factories lined up in a row like ducks—that is to say, they were actually shaped like ducks (Josephine’s father had bought the buildings from a man in the bathtub toy business who was down on his luck). In one building the gloves were designed. In another they were cut and pinned. And in the third they were sewn, by hand, by women who’d been shipped over from an island across the ocean and who didn’t mind sewing gloves . . . while wearing gloves. He was the wealthiest man in town. And people hated him, for his money and for his stupid law. And the children hated Josephine. As they sat in the classroom, hands sweating and itching from their gloves, they would glare at her and whisper mean things. But she was too shy to defend herself, to try to explain that she had nothing to do with the gloves and that she hated wearing them too. Josephine barely remembered her mother, and the recollection was less of a picture and more of a sensation, an ethereal feeling that Josephine couldn’t pinpoint but that most children know very well. It was a sense of safety and love. For Josephine this feeling was elusive, as if she were sopping wet and couldn’t remember what it was to be dry. Surprisingly, the vision from her early childhood that haunted Josephine the most was not of her mother, but of her father. She could recollect him standing on the front lawn, his hair a rich brown, smiling and waving to her mother inside the house. He was, as always, wearing a crisp suit and the gray gloves, but he was smiling and—Josephine was just sure of it—he was happy. It was very difficult to reconcile the joyful man on the lawn with the father she now lived with. But she clung to the memory desperately, only letting it out at night when she could sink into it like a Digital Content>E-books>Juv Young Readers>Juv Young Read Mystery>Juv Mystery PB, Aladdin Digital >16<

2010, ISBN: 9781416990543

Josephine Russing owns 387 pairs of gloves. She´s given a new pair every week by her father, a sullen man known best for his insistence that the citizens in town wear gloves at all times.… More...

Josephine Russing owns 387 pairs of gloves. She´s given a new pair every week by her father, a sullen man known best for his insistence that the citizens in town wear gloves at all times. A world away, the children of Gulm have been taken. No one knows where they might be, except the mysterious and terrifying leader of the land: The Master. He rules with an iron fist, using two grotesque creatures to enforce his terrible reign. When a peculiar boy named Fargus shows up on Josephine´s property and then disappears soon afterward, she follows him without a second thought and finds herself magically transported to Gulm. After Fargus introduces her to his tough-as-nails friend Ida, the three of them set off on an adventure that will test everything Josephine has ever thought about the rules of the universe, leading to a revelation about the truth of the land of Gulm, and of Josephine´s own life back home. Josephine Russing owns 387 pairs of gloves. She´s given a new pair every week by her father, a sullen man known best for his insistence that the citizens in town wear gloves at all times. A world away, the children of Gulm have been taken. No one knows where they might be, except the mysterious and terrifying leader of the land: The Master. He rules with an iron fist, using two grotesque creatures to enforce his terrible reign.When a peculiar boy named Fargus shows up on Josephine´s property eBook ePUB 09.02.2010 eBooks>Fremdsprachige eBooks>Englische eBooks>Kinder- & Jugendbücher, Simon + Schuster, .201<

ISBN: 9781416990543

Twelve-year-old Josephine Russing lives alone with her father.Mr. Russing is a distant, cold man best known for his insistence that every member of their town wear gloves at all times, ju… More...

Twelve-year-old Josephine Russing lives alone with her father.Mr. Russing is a distant, cold man best known for his insistence that every member of their town wear gloves at all times, just as he does--even at home--and just as he forces his daughter to do as well.Then one day Josephine meets a boy named Fargus. But when she tries to follow him, he mysteriously disappears and Josephine finds herself in another world called Gulm.Gulm is ruled by the "Master," a terrifying villain who has taken all the children of Gulm.With Fargus by her side, and joined by Fargus's friend Ida, Josephine must try to find her way home.As the trio attempt to evade the Master, they encounter numerous adventures and discover the surprising truth about the land of Gulm, and Josephine's own life back home.; EPUB; Children's > Fiction & true stories > Traditional, B&H Publishing Group<

ISBN: 9781416990543

Twelve-year-old Josephine Russing lives alone with her father. Mr. Russing is a distant, cold man best known for his insistence that every member of their town wear gloves at all times, j… More...

Twelve-year-old Josephine Russing lives alone with her father. Mr. Russing is a distant, cold man best known for his insistence that every member of their town wear gloves at all times, just as he does--even at home--and just as he forces his daughter to do as well. Then one day Josephine meets a boy named Fargus. But when she tries to follow him, he mysteriously disappears and Josephine finds herself in another world called Gulm. Gulm is ruled by the "Master," a terrifying villain who has taken all the children of Gulm. With Fargus by her side, and joined by Fargus's friend Ida, Josephine must try to find her way home. As the trio attempt to evade the Master, they encounter numerous adventures and discover the surprising truth about the land of Gulm, and Josephine's own life back home. JUVENILE FICTION,Fairy Tales & Folklore,General, eBooks.com<

2010, ISBN: 9781416990543

eBooks, eBook Download (EPUB), [PU: Aladdin], Aladdin, 2010