The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean


Book Description

From master storyteller David Almond comes a gripping, exquisitely written novel about a hidden-away child who emerges into a broken world. Billy Dean is a secret child. He has a beautiful young mother and a father who arrives at night carrying the scents of candles and incense and cigarettes. Birds fly to his window. Mice run out from his walls. His world is a carpet, a bed, pictures of the holy island, and a single locked door. His father fills his mind and his dreams with mysterious tales and memories and dreadful warnings. But then his father disappears, and Billy’s mother brings him out into the world at last. He learns the horrifying story of what was saved and what was destroyed on the day he was born, the day the bombers came to Blinkbonny. The kind butcher, Mr. McCaufrey, and the medium, Missus Malone, are waiting for him. He becomes The Angel Child, one who can heal the living, contact the dead, bring comfort to a troubled world. But there is one figure who is beyond healing, who comes looking for Billy himself — and is determined on a kind of reckoning.




Billy's Monster


Book Description

A poignant and personal account of the progressive ravages of Early-Onset Alzheimer's disease, not only on Billy's memory and quality of life, but also the relationship between a husband and a wife, as the disease steadily dissolved the partnership of marriage far too soon. The transition of Billy's fiery independence into that of a childlike dependent was consistent and confounding, and a stark contrast to the vibrant personality he had always embodied. The Monster of Alzheimer's grew fierce quickly, but with determination to fill the final chapter of their love story with moments of joy, they attempted to ignore the Monster for a small bit of time and live intentionally in each gifted moment together. With defiance against the Monster's inevitable conquest of Billy's beautiful mind, and a desire to fill that final chapter with sustaining memories, the conservative boundaries of a planned out future were forfeited and Billy's natural tendency to live life with wild abandon embraced. Uprooting a life of security built together in rural Montana and transplanting it on Oregon's serene central coast, ushered in one significant summer in which to search out adventure, reconnect with distant family members, and settle into a temporary bubble to share a precious season together. The Giver allowed a whirlwind of adventure and wild abandon before the Monster could no longer be ignored and The Taker threatened to step in. The depth of love and strength often realized only through battle, teamed with frustration and panic, became weapons in this heart-wrenching war and eventually led them back to Montana where the inevitable surrender took place on the battlefield of home. Early-Onset Alzheimer's without a genetic component itself is quite rare, but a twist in the last days of Billy's war revealed a possible and yet rarer diagnosis of Multiple System Atrophy. And, although Alzheimer's disease has become a research priority and has been deemed an epidemic in many articles, awareness of the lack of support and compassion for those suffering with dementia left a bruised spirit in the wake of battles fought and lost. Perhaps Billy's story will inspire the courage necessary to face one day at a time for anyone searching for answers throughout the same dark tunnels, and help them to discover God's grace and presence where they would least expect it.




Billy's Monster


Book Description

Billy has always lives a hard life with her mother. She has been doing chores and errands since she was seven, because she wants to help her mother. She goes to school and waters her neighbor's small urban garden for a few dollars when she goes home. Billy doesn't have friends because she is just too busy to have fun. She is afraid that if she does have friends, they will just hate her for always leaving them to do chores or errands. One day, as she was watering her neighbor's plants, a small creature jumps inside her pocket. When Billy sees the little creature, she takes care of it. The creature becomes a monster that lives inside her closet.




Billy Monster's Daymare


Book Description

In a darkish, spooky house in a darkish, gloomy bedroom there was a SCREAM!! Billy Monster is scared. He keeps having daymares aboutchildren! It's up to Daddy Monster to find a way to help Billy sleep soundly through the day, without daymares about dreaded children. So he searches behind the curtains and in the closet to reassure his young monster that his fears are only dreams. Set in a topsy-turvy monster world, this is a warm and funny story perfect for chasing away bedtime fears--for children and little monsters alike!




Monsters Go to School


Book Description

Billy's Mini Monsters really want to go to school with him. But Billy really doesn't want them to. He's got enough trouble with the school bully, Basil Brown. But perhaps having MONSTERS around will be more helpful than Billy imagines... Original, illustrated fiction with easy reading texts and full colour illustrations throughout. With entertaining comic strips to encourage reading, and pet monsters for added child appeal. Series deals with everyday fears, including fear of swimming, fear of the dark and bullying at school. Now in paperback, this is a new edition of 9781409593409.




Zia Erases the World


Book Description

"Luminous, empowering, and full of heart-healing truths, this is a novel that belongs on every shelf."—Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award winning author For fans of Crenshaw and When You Trap a Tiger comes the extraordinary tale of a headstrong girl and the magical dictionary she hopes will explain the complicated feelings she can't find the right words for—or erase them altogether. Zia remembers the exact night the Shadoom arrived. One moment she was laughing with her best friends, and the next a dark room of shadows had crept into her chest. Zia has always loved words, but she can’t find a real one for the fear growing inside her. How can you defeat something if you don’t know its name? After Zia’s mom announces that her grouchy Greek yiayia is moving into their tiny apartment, the Shadoom seems here to stay. Until Zia discovers an old family heirloom: the C. Scuro Dictionary, 13th Edition. This is no ordinary dictionary. Hidden within its magical pages is a mysterious blue eraser shaped like an evil eye. When Zia starts to erase words that remind her of the Shadoom, they disappear one by one from the world around her. She finally has the confidence to befriend Alice, the new girl in sixth grade, and to perform at the Story Jamboree. But things quickly dissolve into chaos, as the words she erases turn out to be more vital than Zia knew. In this raw, funny, and at times heartbreaking middle grade debut, Bree Barton reveals how—with the right kind of help—our darkest moments can nudge us toward the light.




Monsters Go Swimming


Book Description

Billy hates swimming. It's cold and wet and horrible. And just when Billy thinks things can't get any worse, his pet Mini Monsters turn up at his swimming lesson and make one very big SPLASH... Part of the popular 'Billy and the Mini Monsters' series, now being re-launched in paperback. The first book in the series was nominated in the 'Sheffield Children's Book Award' Early Readers category in 2018. A book in the series has been chosen three years in a row as part of the Reading Agency's Summer Reading Challenge.




Billy and Monster


Book Description

From Best selling Author David Chuka Join Billy and Monster in this second episode of the series -The Fartastic adventures of Billy and Monster. Billy and Monster love going to school as they learn so much stuff like the planets in outer space, counting to twenty-seven and spelling chewing gum. However, most afternoons, school get's a bit boring and they both end up sleeping in class. At such moments Billy wishes he could be a superhero! If he was a superhero, Billy could save stray cats from trees, help old ladies across the street and make sure his class had a constant supply of chocolate. He could also count on Monster to confuse the bad guys with his fart powers! One day at a fancy dress party, Billy and Monster come in contact with a thief whose been stealing people's jewelry. Will they let him get away or will their superhero powers save the day? Get your copy today and find out how fart powers can be used for good in this funny book for kids of all ages.




Monsters on a School Trip


Book Description

Billy's Mini Monsters really want to go to school with him. But Billy really doesn't want them to. He's got enough trouble with the school bully, Basil Brown. But perhaps having MONSTERS around will be more helpful than Billy imagines... Meet Billy and the Mini Monsters in this laugh-out-loud adventure series for young readers, with colourful illustrations throughout.




The Very Worst Monster


Book Description

Since the baby monster arrived, no one notices big sister Hazel's talents anymore--like growling, bending bars in her teeth, and scaring the postman. And, when Billy wins the Worst Monster in the World contest, she must prove that she is truly the worst.




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