Being Billy


Book Description

Fifteen-year-old Billy's spent eight years in a care home and it's made him angry: with the system, with the social workers and the mother who gave him away. All he has to keep him going are his little brother and sister, but will they be enough? First person recount. Suggested level: secondary.




The Year of Billy Miller


Book Description

Newbery Honor Book and New York Times Bestseller! Award-winning, nationally bestselling author Kevin Henkes introduces second-grader Billy Miller in this fast-paced and funny story about friendship, sibling rivalry, and elementary school. The Year of Billy Miller includes black-and-white art by Kevin Henkes and is perfect for fans of the Ramona books; Frindle, by Andrew Clements; and the Clementine series. The New York Times declared: "Henkes's delightful story is restrained and vivid . . . forgoing the overdramatic or zany, it shows the substance, warmth and adaptability of beautifully common family love." When Billy Miller has a mishap at the statue of the Jolly Green Giant at the end of summer vacation, he ends up with a big lump on his head. What a way to start second grade! As the year goes by, though, Billy figures out how to navigate elementary school, how to appreciate his little sister, and how to be a more grown up and responsible member of the family and a help to his busy working mom and stay-at-home dad. Newbery Honor author and Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes delivers a short, satisfying, laugh-out-loud-funny school and family story that features a diorama homework assignment, a school poetry slam, cancelled sleepovers, and epic sibling temper tantrums. This is a perfect short novel for the early elementary grades. Plus don't miss the follow-up, Billy Miller Makes a Wish!




Nearing Home


Book Description

New York Times best-seller and 2012 ECPA Book of the Year. Join Billy Graham as he reflects upon his life, recounts God's many gifts, and shares the challenges of fading bodily strength while still standing strong in his commitment to finish life well. Nearing Home—written by Reverend Billy Graham in his nineties—is a deeply personal memoir that explores how our strength can continually be found in the foundational truths of Scripture and inexhaustible love of Christ, despite the many trials of aging and the approaching end of our earthly time. Within these compassionate and restorative pages, you're invited to journey with Graham as he: Considers the golden years and the impact of the Gospel hope on his life. Encourages you to finish strong and keep the faith. Recounts the Bible's foundational truths, including death's ultimate defeat. Anticipates the hope of being reunited with loved ones in his heavenly home and finally seeing Christ face-to-face. "Explore with me not only the realities of life as we grow older but also the hope and fulfillment and even joy that can be ours once we learn to look at these years from God's point of view and discover His strength to sustain us every day." – BILLY GRAHAM




Billy and Me


Book Description

In this utterly sweet and moving women's fiction novel, a celebrity comes to town and sweeps a young woman - who is used to being overlooked - off her feet. Sophie May is content with her life in her small English village, working in the local coffee shop and living with her mom. But when famous actor Billy comes to town to play Mr. Darcy in a new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Sophie's quiet life is quickly turned on its head. Billy is adored by women around the world, but he only wants Sophie on his arm. But being with Billy comes at a price, and Sophie is thrown in the spotlight after years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant scrutiny that comes with being with Billy? Brimming with humor, wit, and genuine warmth, Billy and Me is a book about taking a chance on life and on love.




Unprotected


Book Description

From the incomparable Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner, a powerful and revealing autobiography about race, sexuality, art, and healing—now in paperback It’s easy to be yourself when who and what you are is in vogue. But growing up Black and gay in America has never been easy. Before Billy Porter was slaying red carpets and giving an iconic Emmy-winning performance in the celebrated TV show Pose; before he was the groundbreaking Tony and Grammy Award–winning star of Broadway’s Kinky Boots; and before he was an acclaimed recording artist, actor, playwright, director, and all-around legend, Porter was a young boy in Pittsburgh who was seen as different, who didn’t fit in. At five years old, Porter was sent to therapy to “fix” his effeminacy. He was endlessly bullied at school, sexually abused by his stepfather, and criticized at his church. Porter came of age in a world where simply being himself was a constant struggle. Billy Porter’s Unprotected is the life story of a singular artist and survivor in his own words. It is the story of a boy whose talent and courage opened doors for him, but only a crack. It is the story of a teenager discovering himself, learning his voice and his craft amid deep trauma. And it is the story of a young man whose unbreakable determination led him through countless hard times to where he is now; a proud icon who refuses to back down or hide. Porter is a multitalented, multifaceted treasure at the top of his game, and Unprotected is a resonant, inspirational story of trauma and healing, shot through with his singular voice.




Billy


Book Description




Heroic


Book Description

'For the past five weeks I'd prayed that I'd never see my brother's name spelt out in poppies. In the weeks that followed I often wished I had.' Jammy and Sonny McGann are brothers, but that's where the similarities end. One is calm when the other is angry; one has a plan while the other lives purely in the moment. When Jammy returns from Afghanistan a very different man to the one who left, it's Sonny who is left to hold things together. But just how far will he go to save the brother who always put him first? Inspired by S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and by the battles facing young soldiers all over the world, this is a devastating novel about brotherhood and sacrifice, from the award-winning author of Being Billy and Saving Daisy. ** Being Billy won the 2012 weRead Book Award, and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and Branford Boase Award. ** Visit Phil Earle's author website at www.philearle.com. Phil Earle was born, raised and schooled in Hull. His first job was as a care worker in a children's home, an experience that influenced the ideas behind Being Billy and Saving Daisy. He then trained as a drama therapist and worked in a therapeutic community in south London, caring for traumatized and abused adolescents. After a couple of years in the care sector, Phil chose the more sedate lifestyle of a bookseller, and now works in children's publishing. Phil lives in south-east London with his wife and children, but Hull will always be home.




Billy Be Kind


Book Description

Lucy-Lou is a shy little girl that has a hard time making new friends. Will Lucy -Lou overcome her fear? How will Billy Be Kind help her? Making a new friend when you're shy isn't always easy. It often requires putting in a little effort. Billy Be Kind the kind little mouse is there to help! This wonderful, short, rhyming story is part of the Billy Be Kind Children's series. Billy Be Kind is a kind, little magical mouse created to teach and encourage young children to be honest, brave, kind, to listen and so much more. Parents, teachers and caregivers understand how challenging it is to grab and retain the attention of children. These engaging, short, rhyming stories will grab and keep their attention from the beginning to the very end. Come join the Billy Be Kind family and make this series a part of your child's library. Reviews This touching book takes place in a park; a beautiful setting to develop a lasting friendship. If I were a baseball player, I would say that Billy Be Kind is a HOME RUN!!! The author, Kim Adams hit the ball out of the park with this heartwarming story of three powerful messages: kindness, friendship, and overcoming your fears of shyness. This is a great resource for teachers to use on the first day of school. We really don't know our students on the first day and this book will surely make a child feel more comfortable after hearing the powerful messages of kindness, friendship, and overcoming our fears. As an author, our goal is hook a reader in the beginning, Kim did that by using rhythm and rhyme, which works all the time. Can't wait to read the first book in her series, Billy Be Kind the kind little mouse. Get your book today!!! Darren Fisher About the Author 2021 Black Caucus American Library Association Best of the Best book list -Honorable Mention Kim Adams is a wife, mother, and the author of the Billy Be Kind children's series. She fell in love with the art of storytelling at a very young age and has been inspired ever since. Kim hopes to simplify some of life's important lessons as well as strengthen social and emotional skills through her short, rhyming stories. She has always taught her children to lead with kindness and hopes to help spread her message to every little boy and girl.




A History of My Brief Body


Book Description

Billy-Ray Belcourt's collection of personal essays opens with a tender letter to his kokum and memories of his early life in the hamlet of Joussard, Alberta, and on the Driftpile Cree Nation. From there, it expands to encompass the big and broken world around him, in all its complexity and contradictions: a legacy of colonial violence and the joy that flourishes in spite of it, first loves and first loves lost, sexual exploration and intimacy, and the act of writing as a survival instinct and a way to grieve. What emerges is not only a profound meditation on memory, gender, anger, shame and ecstasy, but also the outline of a way forward. With startling honesty, and in a voice distinctly and assuredly his own, Belcourt situates his life experiences within a constellation of seminal queer texts, among which this book is sure to earn its place. Eye-opening, intensely emotional and excessively quotable, A History of My Brief Body demonstrates over and over again the power of words to both devastate and console us.




Flowers on the Moon


Book Description

Social media sensation Billy Chapata shares insight and advice into the powerful world of love, heartbreak, and what comes next. This collection of poetry and prose will justify heartache and inspire the fortitude to survive and prosper. From Chameleon Aura author Billy Chapata comes his second major poetry collection, Flowers on the Moon. Chapata presents his signature blend of experience and advice through a chaptered series of prose and poetry. Filled with the familiar themes of love, loss, resilience, and growth From Chameleon Aura but with fresh poems and new advice, his touching narrative celebrates humanity for its undeniable worth, and this collection will leave readers warm with hope for growth, rebirth, and, most prominently, self-acceptance.