The Middle Kid: Selected Stories


Book Description

Middle-class, middle child, way uncool hair ― these are the true confessions of an aspiring outcast and lackluster altar boy at the crossroads of Hell and junior high. In this riotous memoir, Brandon Christopher reflects on life as an unusually tall, mischief-obsessed altar boy at a private school in Los Angeles. Set in the quirky mid-1980s, The Middle Kid skillfully weaves together the end of Christopher's childhood and the beginning of his journey toward manhood, as told through cringe-worthy yet hilarious stories from the author's irreverent and unabashedly honest perspective.




The Middle Kid


Book Description

A story about the wonderfully challenging realities of being a family's middle kid. Readers experience a day in the life of a middle kid, and all the highs and lows of a life in-between. When you're the middle kid, you're never the first nor the last to do anything. You're not the tallest or the smallest; you're babysitting one sibling but teased by the other. Stuck between a bossy older brother and a naive younger sister, Middle Kid feels left out of two worlds. But even if—and maybe especially because—it's always overlooked, this kid's own world is just as big and important as his siblings'. • From author-illustrator Steven Weinberg—a middle kid himself! • Gently funny and richly detailed • Starting in the morning and ending at night, readers experience a full day in Middle Kid's shoes Middle children have classically been sandwiched between the achievements of the older sibling and the needs of the younger one—The Middle Kid gives them a time to shine! • Perfect for beginning readers • A great empathy read • Fans of comical books about family




The Middle-child Blues


Book Description

A clever, bluesy riff on middle-kid angst Lee has the low-down, big-frown, sulkin?-all-aroundtown blues. His older brother gets all the big-kid privileges, and no one expects his little sister to do anything but be cute. And sometimes his family even leaves him behind! But when Lee breaks out his guitar and finally makes his voice be heard, he draws a big crowd. It turns out lots and lots of people share his middle-kid pain'and he loves how being stuck in the middle is making him the center of attention.




The Middle Stories


Book Description

Wildly acclaimed in Canada, this book marks the debut of a remarkable young writer first published by McSweeney's when she was twenty-three and living at home with her dad and brother. The Middle Stories is a strikingly original collection of stories, fables, and short brutalities that are alternately heartwarming, cruel, and hilarious. This edition, marking the 10th anniversary of The Middle Stories, will be designed in the newly iconic McSweeney's paperback style, and will be published shortly before Heti's newest novel, How Should A Person Be?, emigrates from Canada via Henry Holt & Co.




Be Kind


Book Description

A thoughtful picture book illustrating the power of small acts of kindness, from the award-winning author of Sophie's Squash.




Middle Me


Book Description

The first-born might feel pushed aside when a sibling is born. But being oldest has its perks. The youngest child may feel left out of activities. But everyone loves the baby in the family. Being the middle child is unique and comes with experiences only a middle child knows.




No Fixed Address


Book Description

For fans of Wendelin van Draanen and Cynthia Lord, a touching and funny middle-grade story about family, friendship, and growing up when you're one step away from homelessness. Twelve-and-three-quarter-year-old Felix Knutsson has a knack for trivia. His favorite game show is Who What Where When; he even named his gerbil after the host. Felix's mom, Astrid, is loving but can't seem to hold on to a job. So when they get evicted from their latest shabby apartment, they have to move into a van. Astrid swears him to secrecy; he can't tell anyone about their living arrangement, not even Dylan and Winnie, his best friends at his new school. If he does, she warns him, he'll be taken away from her and put in foster care. As their circumstances go from bad to worse, Felix gets a chance to audition for a junior edition of Who What Where When, and he's determined to earn a spot on the show. Winning the cash prize could make everything okay again. But things don't turn out the way he expects. . . . Susin Nielsen deftly combines humor, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society, and about the power of friendship and community to make all the difference.




Catawampus: Selected Stories


Book Description

catawampus: /kat-uh-wom-puh s/: Adj. 1: crooked; out of alignment 2: askew; awry No single word describes this collection of short stories better than the title itself: Catawampus. Told with Brandon Christopher's wry wit, unflinching humor and imaginative style, each story gives us a brief and sudden glimpse into the stranger side of ordinary lives. They beckon us to pull back the veneer of normalcy to dive headfirst into the odd, the eccentric, the heartbreaking, and the hilarious. From funeral crashers and Roman philosophers to feuding landlords and peculiar tea parties, Catawampus is a refreshing and strikingly original fiction collection.




No Middle Name


Book Description

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING JACK REACHER SERIES THAT INSPIRED TWO MAJOR MOTION PICTURES AND THE STREAMING SERIES REACHER The ultimate Jack Reacher experience: a thrilling new novella and eleven previously published stories, together for the first time in one pulse-pounding collection from Lee Child. No Middle Name begins with “Too Much Time,” a brand-new work of short fiction that finds Reacher in a hollowed-out town in Maine, where he witnesses a random bag-snatching but sees much more than a simple crime. “Small Wars” takes readers back to 1989, when Reacher is an MP assigned to solve the brutal murder of a young officer found along an isolated forest road in Georgia—and whose killer may be hiding in plain sight. In “Not a Drill,” Reacher tries to take some downtime, but a pleasant hike in Maine turns into a walk on the wild side—and perhaps something far more sinister. “High Heat” time-hops to 1977, when Reacher is a teenager in sweltering New York City during a sudden blackout that awakens the dark side of the city that never sleeps. Okinawa is the setting of “Second Son,” which reveals the pivotal moment when young Reacher’s sharp “lizard brain” becomes just as important as his muscle. In “Deep Down,” Reacher tracks down a spy by matching wits with four formidable females—three of whom are clean, but the fourth may prove fatal. Rounding out the collection are “Guy Walks into a Bar,” “James Penney’s New Identity,” “Everyone Talks,” “The Picture of the Lonely Diner,” “Maybe They Have a Tradition,” and “No Room at the Motel.” No suitcase. No destination. No middle name. No matter how far Reacher travels off the beaten path, trouble always finds him. Feel bad for trouble. Praise for No Middle Name “Captivating . . . classic [Lee] Child . . . This volume demonstrates what his fans already know: he’s a born storyteller and an astute observer.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Lee Child, like his creation, always knows exactly what he’s doing—and he does it well. Time in his company is never wasted.”—Evening Standard




Song of Middle C


Book Description

A little girl imagines her first piano recital and spends a lot of time practicing to make sure that she is prepared to perform and surprisingly discovers yet another skill when she performs.