Books published by Slack Water Press

The six stories and twelve illustrations of Bird Tales are intended for five to nine year olds. The book attempts to present the world as children see it, and at the same time, to make them more aware of birds and the natural world they live in. Bird Tales Why the Blue Heron is Blue Why the Kingfisher is King Why the Woodpecker Pecks Why the Cuckoo says Cuckoo Why the Crow says Caw Caw Why the Blackbird Sings

Roots of American EnvironmentalismWith an Introduction, Notes, and Critical CommentaryRoots of American Environmentalism is an anthology that explores the various attitudes toward land and its use from the American colonial period to the end of the nineteenth century. The major focus is on the differing concepts of "land," "wilderness," and "nature" and the way they are represented in historical texts. In order to facilitate access to the historical text, each is provided with a commentary that focuses on its significance for environmental issues.In selecting the texts included here, the editors have concentrated on three major archetypes in the attitudes toward the American environment: the primitive, as represented in James Fenimore Cooper's frontier hero, Natty Bumppo, the pastoral, as represented in Jonathan Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, and the commercial, as represented in Washington Irving's restless Yankee, Ichabod Crane.

Origins of the American Short Story is an anthology of prose texts that first appeared in various American magazines in the latter half of the 18th century. These magazines, most of them short lived, represented a struggling literary culture that began to flourish only later in the next century.In selecting the stories included here, the editors concentrated on three key features: the use of American topics, settings, and characters; the evidence of artistic form in shaping the narrative; and the potential for multiple, even ambiguous readings. In addition to these features, the anthology reveals how various types of short prose, such as the tale, sketch, historiette, and anecdote, were crucial in the formation of the American short story, especially as it was later developed in the works of Irving, Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville.