Whether she’s up or down, whirling or twirling, dressing or bathing, snacking or snoozing, the busy raccoon in this story enjoys each moment of the day. But like many toddlers, she can’t decide if she’d rather explore on her own or climb back into her mama’s arms. Thank goodness Mama Raccoon loves to snuggle. With a lively, rhyming text and lush illustrations, this book is just right for the scores of little ones who waver between wanting to be carried by a grown-up and yearning to toddle about on their own two feet.
A spirited homage to the ups and downs of toddlerhood, Pick Me Up, Mama! is now available for the first time as a board book—perfect for story time! Whether she’s up or down, whirling or twirling, dressing or bathing, snacking or snoozing, the busy raccoon in this story enjoys each moment of the day. But like many toddlers, she can’t decide if she’d rather explore on her own or climb back into her mama’s arms. Thank goodness Mama Raccoon loves to snuggle! With a lively, rhyming text and lush illustrations, this story is just right for the scores of little ones who waver between wanting to be carried by a grown-up and yearning to toddle about on their own two feet.
Pandora grew up in hardship, child abuse, sexual abuse, rape, drug abuse, and jail. Pandora was taken from her mother when she was ten years old. Her parents were on drugs. The choices she made in her life turned her life upside down. Pandora learned how to amend her oppressed life; she learned how to deal with life in a positive way. This novel is all about empowerment and showing people how they can overcome negative situations without having to continue on a self-destructive path that leads them to nowhere good. It’s all about self-discovery and the love of self and the love of life in the desire to live a normal life.
Understanding Storytelling Among African American Children: A Journey From Africa to America reports research on narrative production among African American children for the purpose of extending previous inquiry and discussion of narrative structure. Some researchers have focused on the influence of culture on the narrative structures employed by African American children; some have suggested that their narrative structures are strongly influenced by home culture; others posit that African American children, like children in general, produce narrative structures typically found in school settings. Dr. Champion contributes to previous research by suggesting that African American children do not produce one structure of narratives exclusively, but rather a repertoire of structures, some linked to African and African American, and others to European American narrative structures. Detailed analyses of narratives using both psychological text analysis and qualitative analysis are presented. An informative introduction provides background for the study, including a history of storytelling within the African American community. Part I offers a framework for understanding narrative structures among African American children. In Part II, evidence is presented that African American children produce a repertoire of narrative structures that are complex in nature. Part III connects the research findings to implications for educating African American children. Researchers, students, and professionals in the fields of literacy education, language development, African American studies, and communication sciences and disorders will find this book particularly relevant and useful.
Mishaps Abound as Second Chance Ranch Struggles to Get Its Start Grab a lap dog to cuddle and relax into a fun small-town mystery as a new dog rescue project turns into a three-ring circus of calamities in book 2 of the Gone to the Dogs series. Trina Potter, Nashville country music star, buys a ranch near her hometown in Brenham, Texas, to help her niece open a rescue facility for dogs. Her presence in town stirs up some old high school rivalries—and romance. Finding property to buy is a challenge, convincing her mother to move there with her is daunting, and navigating a string of strange accidents is perplexing. Sometimes Trina feels like she’s purchased her own three ring circus instead of a beautiful piece of land. But her first priority will be figuring out who wants Second Chance Ranch shut down before they even have the grand opening. More in the Gone to the Dogs Series: Book 1 - Off the Chain by Janice Thompson Book 2 - Dog Days of Summer by Kathleen Y'Barbo Book 3 - Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson
Journey is eleven the summer his mother leaves him and his sister, Cat, with their grandparents. He is sad and angry, and spends the summer looking for the clues that will explain why she left. Journey searches photographs for answers. He hunts family resemblances in Grandma's albums. Looking for happier times, he tries to put together the torn pieces of the pictures his mother shredded before her departure. And he also searches the photographs his grandfather takes as the older man attempts to provide Journey with a past. In the process, the boy learns to look and finds that, for him, the camera is a means of finding things his naked eye has missed--things like inevitability of his mother's departure and the love that still binds his family.
Our Town is the debut of a striking literary voice, one that captures the disillusion at the fringes of Hollywood as seen through a haze of drugs, alcohol, abuse, and fallen aspirations. An unseen narrator guides us through the dark fairy tale of Dorothy White, an aspiring actress who "never quite figured how to get out of her own way." Her perfect marriage to an equally golden actor, Dale, quickly turns into one of jealousy and violence. Dorothy ends the marriage yet begins a legacy of self–destruction for the failed couple, as well as their two children, Clover and Dylan. But we see the pathos in Dorothy's attempts to get back on track, to be a good woman, mother, and grandmother. Throughout the novel, she is left in the wake of decisions that turn disastrous. Her downward spiral from elusive fame into consistent infamy—a series of DUIs, the continuing neglect of her children, a string of failed and unhealthy relationships—is not without its grace, with the warmth of her character shining through her spackled makeup and cloud of acrid perfume. In many ways, Dorothy White is an anti–heroine for the ages—"vanilla voiced," bewigged, loving, and ever radiant —a sympathetic character caught in the riptide of her transformation from small–town southern girl to one–time toast of Hollywood to embarrassing tabloid fodder. Our Town is an original and startling debut novel, one whose fresh voice and expert perspective reinvents the Hollywood story for a new generation of readers.
The first deaf athlete to play offense in the NFL--and win a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks--relates his story of hard work and determination on his challenging journey to become a professional football player.
