Books by Jeffrey Zygmont

Harold is just learning how to ski when two aggressive children force him to the top of a ski trail. Unable to ski down on his own, Harold accepts the help of Francine, a friendly and reassuring senior woman. As Francine coaches Harold down the slope, he learns that the children who taunted him are less than they pretended. Harold gains skiing skill while he sees the value of trust, courtesy, respect and gratitude, and he feels the pride of accomplishment.Harold Skis the Steeps is filled with fast-moving action and puzzling predicaments that keep children interested and eager for the next page. While it entertains them, the story also shows children the problems of peer pressure and bullying. It demonstrates how positive character traits and good social skills can help them overcome difficult challenges. The book shows the advantages of trust, friendship and cooperation between young and old. It also encourages outdoor activity for the fun, companionship and sense of achievement it can bring to a child.

Under and Over the Snow is a warm and charming story, pleasantly illustrated, about five forest animals and their wise, friendly neighbor, the sheep farmer Grandmother Dori.After an early snowstorm, the animals travel together to get advice about where to find food. Grandmother Dori teaches the moose, rabbit, bear, deer and porcupine that nature has already prepared them very well for winter.Delightfully illustrated by watercolor paintings, Under and Over the Snow captivates young children with an engaging and adventurous tale. At the same time, it teaches them how some New England animals adapt to winter. Information about the forest animals was provided by wildlife biologists from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.Free People Publishing, the publisher of Under and Over the Snow, specializes in books that explore the New England experience. Children's books from Free People Publishing have a dual mission to both entertain and inform young people. While amusing and delighting children, the books also present accurate depictions of our natural world. And they convey constructive values and positive character trails, such as cooperation, generosity, gratitude and perseverance.

Harold only wants to help when he tries turning around a canoe tied to a dock. But he miscalculates, embarking on an adventure that introduces him to New England lake culture. With a boisterous frog as a companion, Harold engages with animals above and below the surface, encounters boaters, and learns some watercraft skills. He also learns to confront challenges, and to recognize limits. Teamwork, compromise, and human compassion combine to make Harold's lake trip an entertaining and educational drama.Harold Leaps into Lake Winnie is set on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, but the environment and the experiences depicted in the story relate to all New England lakes. While it delights and engages children, the book also promotes the qualities of responsibility, generosity and friendship. It warns against peer pressure and bad advice. Along the way, the story depicts animal habitats and animal relationships in the wild. While informing children, Harold Leaps into Lake Winnie captivates them with fast-moving, fun adventure.

This richly illustrated and artfully designed children's book features Harold as a reluctant hiker who doesn't want to journey with his parents to the top of a mountain. But along the way he encounters animals who encourage him and even join in Harold's adventure. Harold learns to be a helpful companion, while together the band of eager hikers discovers the importance of perseverance, cooperation and teamwork to overcome obstacles and attain the challenging goal of reaching the summit.Harold the Helpful Hiker is a pleasing and entertaining story that emphasizes positive values. At the same time, the book teaches children about nature and the natural environment, by accurately depicting the behaviors of animals and their relationships in the wild.Harold the Helpful Hiker celebrates nature and promotes desirable character traits, while it makes children smile.

As a school psychologist, Daniel Hectorman has lost all faith and confidence that meddling therapists like himself really help anyone at all. That''s too bad, because Hectorman could use some counseling of his own. His marriage is starved. His job is imperiled. His parents are deep in decline, with his mom shrunk by Alzheimer''s and his father enraged and suicidal. Even Hectorman''s doting secretary, Mrs. Tweed, has gone batty. Then there''s this kid. Trevor Winkle is a fourteen-year-old sharpie foisted on Hectorman by a vampy old flame who insists that the boy is his son. Hectorman knows he is not. But the boy is redeeming. Clever, industrious, unselfish and oddly sedate, he could open a path for Hectorman, if only the psychologist didn''t reject Trevor so relentlessly. Humorous and insightful, The Dropout is a novel about repairing human connections. As characters collide and careen, Daniel Hectorman must recognize that to end his travails he must embrace people he once strenuously neglected. That can begin as casually as conversation over one good meal.

A presidential conspiracy is foiled by small people brave enough to battle the big powers.Gab Darby is filled with nobility in a future age when nobility has no value. At least none that''s officially recognized. That national deficiency doesn''t matter while Darby reigns as a superstar in the Disneyfied America that exists some thirty-five years from today. But he tumbles after the president accuses him of treason. The president is lying. Still, Darby must flee for survival. He is tagged by surveillance cams, cornered by a thug lawyer, rescued by his housekeeper, and finally smuggled to a jungle country called Bortinca. The new country offers a second chance for the fallen idol. But Bortinca is at war with America. Therefore Darby must fight against his former homeland as he strives to reclaim his self-worth. To succeed, he must discover that honor and nobility are personal traits, not just titles attached to celebrity in the United States. Ad Man in the Games of 2046 shows a future America that has stripped culture of any high purpose or meaning. Working class people speak a crude dialect that segregates them from the ruling elite. America''s unionized military engages in eco-colonialism. Driving is outlawed, but roads remain crowded. Within that degenerate world, the novel shows how one person''s basic humanity triumphs over tyrants who would enslave him.

A smart, funny novel that laughs at aristocrats and strivers, but celebrates the quiet nobility found in ordinary creatures. We once knew Bill Gates as a plundering businessman who became the richest guy alive. Today he''s a noisy philanthropist. Let''s pretend that, in between those two identities, billionaire Bill Gates runs a secret campaign to buff up his public image. Then let''s pretend that some invading canines interrupt his plot to manipulate public opinion. It''s a mess. Gates schemes above. The dogs battle below. These canines have ambitions too, you see. Each yearns to become Bill Gates'' Dog, so each slyly maneuvers to undercut his kennel-mates and win the prize. Only one noble pooch deserves it. But he''s just a mutt. His rivals are highfalutin aristocrats who slap down the no-status mongrel. But remember, Bill Gates rules the kennel. Surprises arise when his whims distort the dreams and schemes of every creature beneath him. The novel I Am Bill Gates'' Dog is rollicking fiction that entertains and amuses while it stabs at cunning ambition. Concise and kinetic, the book swivels with plot twists and sudden revelations as it dashes to a boisterous climax. The novel enlightens you with its satire, because it grabs you as a comical, adventurous tale.

A fresh and clear-eyed look at how venture capital really works." -James Swartz, Founding Partner, Accel Partners