Lizzie's Lullaby


Book Description

Say you’re a wicked woman who calls herself Satin because she thinks she’s smoother than silk. You’re a talent scout for a perverted prince looking for the perfect little girl to be his next “daughter”—a very special girl he can train to fulfill his every twisted fantasy until she grows too old for his taste. So when you stumble on a runaway seven-year-old in a Portland shopping mall that you know from painful personal experience is a perfect fit, you snatch the kid and cash in, right? Satin tries to do exactly that in Lizzie’s Lullaby, launching a rollercoaster ride through the underside of Portland in the 1990s. The snatch goes without a hitch, but the process of cashing in reveals that this girl is actually the worst choice possible for this endeavor. She comes complete with Wiley, an imperfect father who would rather die than see her harmed; with Leon, a force of nature who combines the loyalty of a friendship forged in fire with the conscience of a shark; and with her own indomitable belief that she is very precocious for her age—a belief that she proves justified from one end of Lizzie’s Lullaby to the other.




Waking Up Is Hard to Do


Book Description

A unique offering of a book and CD recorded by Neil Sedaka, one of the most popular songs in music history becomes one of the most delightful children's books ever. Rise and shine! It's morning time. The alarm clock's ringing, the birds are singing. Everything's saying: get up, get going! Breakfast is warming, school is calling. The street's are bustling, all the world is stirring. It's sure to be a happy day with this bright and sunny picture book and CD, with new lyrics based on the hit song by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Daniel Miyares's delightful art opens the eyes with its vivid colors, playful details, and adorable collection of animal characters. And to make waking up just a little easier, there’s a CD with Neil Sedaka singing this happy song, plus two new songs with lyrics and music by Neil written especially for this CD: LIGHTNIN' JIM and SING. Warm and friendly and full of fun, this is a musical and visual celebration of the everyday joys of home, family, and neighborhood.




Tweencom Girls


Book Description

Tweencom Girls analyzes the different ways character tropes are portrayed in media targeted at eight- to twelve-year-olds, particularly female characters, over the last twenty-five years. The book focuses particularly on sitcoms produced by the cable giants Disney Channel and Nickelodeon because of their popularity and ubiquity. It provides extensive examples and alternative interpretations of the shows’ tropes and themes, particularly for those who are unfamiliar with the genre. The first section explores common tweencom tropes, focusing on different themes that are prevalent throughout the series. The second section includes a discussion of the big picture of how tropes and themes give insight into the female characters portrayed in the popular tweencom programming, as well as advice to parents and educators.




Sea Tigers & Merchants


Book Description

In 1790 the United States has a new Constitution. George Washington presides as the first elected president. Abroad, France and Britain are at war. And by 1795 seafaring Americans are accosted on the high seas by French privateers and British naval ships. Tensions rise as American merchants continue to trade. Among them, Hasket Derby and Captain George Crowninshield busily build maritime empires while their sons seek a new way forward. • Captain Elias Derby — Grew the Derby family business in Isle de France and India. Back in Salem, he’s ready to enter his father’s business. But Hasket Derby isn’t a man to relinquish control. • Edward Crowninshield — Seeks obscurity in Marblehead until his father forces him to return to the sea. • Captain Geordie Crowninshield — Sails Crowninshield family ships to ports from the West Indies to East Asia until his father calls him back to shore. • Captain Jacob Crowninshield — Brings the first elephant to America and makes his fortune. • Captain Nathaniel Silsbee — Defies every obstacle to rise from obscurity to captain his own ship. Meanwhile, women shape their roles in new ways. • Eliza Derby — Builds the largest mansion in New England. • Lizzie Rowell — Arrives in Salem with desperation, determination, and dreams. • Sarah Gardner — Bakes a bride cake before she’s a bride. Inspired by real people and true events, this is a story about early America.




Lizzie's Lullaby


Book Description




Bizzy Mizz Lizzie


Book Description

From a bestselling Caldecott Honor Illustrator, a tale buzzing with energy and humor about a busy bee who won’t slow down to enjoy the simple joys in life. Lizzie is the busiest, buzziest bee in Hivetown! David Shannon’s vivid artwork and Lizzie’s endearing efforts to “do it all” will make children laugh aloud at her frantic antics as she juggles school, multiple sports, dance, violin, and art. With charm and determination, she longs to impress the Queen by winning a spelling contest, but she studies to the point of exhaustion. When she dozes off in the middle of the competition, the only solution is rest—and her refreshing visit to the local Garden finally teaches Lizzie to stop and smell the flowers, “which . . . is exactly what bees are supposed to do.” Shannon’s exuberant book is funny and fresh, approaching the subject of over scheduled children (and adults) with breezy good humor and delivered with his signature fun and heart. “This picture book has a timely message for a generation of families who may find themselves overscheduled.” —School Library Journal “A powerful message in this time of overscheduling and de-emphasis of play.” —Kirkus Reviews “Shannon humorously advocates slowing down to appreciate the small things in life in this bee-themed fable . . . Shannon’s excited narration and bold bee caricatures befit a heroine who’s always on the move, bringing a jittery energy to the pages.” —Publishers Weekly




Lissy's Friends


Book Description

Lissy is the new girl at school and very shy, so she makes origami friends to keep her company.




A Thousand Days of Wonder


Book Description

In this beautifully written account of his daughter's first three years, psychologist and novelist Fernyhough combines his vivid observations with a synthesis of developmental theory, recreating what that time--lost to the memory of adults--is like from a child's perspective.




Exes


Book Description

[A] heartbreaking novel about the devastations of severed attachments.” —NPR For Clay Blackall, a lifelong resident of Providence, Rhode Island, the place has become an obsession. Here live the only people who can explain what happened to his brother, Eli, whose suicide haunts this heartbreaking, hilarious novel–in–fragments. A failed actor impersonates a former movie star; an ex–con looks after a summer home perched atop a rock in the bay; a broken–hearted salutatorian airs thirteen years’ worth of dirty laundry at his school’s commencement; an adjunct struggles to make room for her homeless and self–absorbed mother while revisiting a scandalous high school love affair; a recent widower, with the help of a clever teen, schemes to rid his condo’s pond of Canada geese. Clay compiles their stories, invasively providing context in the form of notes that lead always, somehow, back to Eli. Behind Clay’s possibly insane, definitely doomed, and increasingly suspect task burns his desire to understand his brother’s death, and the city that has defined and ruined them both. Full of brainy detours and irreverent asides, Exes is a powerful investigation of grief, love, and our deeply held yet ever–changing notions of home.




Drama Reloaded


Book Description

Using an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary drama texts from Australia and around the world, Drama Reloaded draws students into the world of drama with a particular focus on plays and the theatrical production process.