Original, dazzling and unconventional, this brilliant first solo collection has a surprise on every page. Go on a night flight, have a monster's lunch, immerse yourself in birdsong. Shout out an Apatosaurus rap before checking out Alexander Fleming's petri dish. Find fairy tales with a twist, poems to make you laugh - and reflective poems to think about. Full of variety, wit and warmth, this is a spectacular debut from a poet to watch!
"Laura Mucha has found the proof that love actually is all around."--Richard Curtis, writer and director of Love, Actually and Notting Hill For Love Understood, Laura Mucha has interviewed hundreds of strangers, from the ages of 8 to 95 in more than 40 countries, asking them to share their most personal stories, feelings, and insights about love and relationships. These intimate and illuminating conversations raised important questions, such as: - How does your upbringing influence your relationships? - Does love at first sight exist? Should you "just know?" - What should you look for in a partner? - Is monogamy natural? - Why do people cheat? - How do you know when it's time to walk away? Drawing on psychology, philosophy, anthropology and statistics, Love Understood combines evidence, theory and everyday experience and is the perfect read for anyone who is curious about how we thing, feel and behave when it comes to love.
Be careful what you wish for!Rita really really really wanted a rabbit.Spike was NOT a rabbit.He was scaly, scary, scratchy, scrabbly, scrawny, speckled and spiky.Rita is so very sure she wants a fluffy pet rabbit and NOT a scaly, scratchy bearded dragon called Spike . . . But when a fussy, grouchy, messy rabbit comes to stay, she discovers they aren't necessarily as adorable as they seem. Spike saves the day and Rita is very glad to be rid of the rabbit and very in love with her speckled, scrawny, spiky pet.A very funny text wonderfully complemented by Hannah Peck's witty artwork.
When Kat accidentally rips apart an old picture book, she's magically transported into the world of Cinderella--as Katriona, one of the ugly stepsisters! Life turns upside down now that she's a highborn lady and must learn how to survive the social season, including how to get through the door in a huge metal hoop skirt. To get back, she'll have to complete the story, right to the end of happily ever after. But the odds are huge: the other stepsister is drop-dead gorgeous, the fairy godmother is nowhere to be found, and the prince, despite being insanely hot, openly dislikes balls. Can she ever return to the modern world?
Three gifted poets team up with a collection of poems dealing with worries and anxieties and find ways to develop empathy and mindfulness. Read about the Land of Blue, where it's ok to feel sad, find ideas for what to do with worries, or how to slow down when your head is full of hurry. Give yourself time to chill out, find quiet voices in noisy places, and discover kindness in yourself and others. Then maybe your own special thought machine will tell you, "This is going well. You're doing great. You've got this!" And you have! This important and unique anthology of 45 poems by three leading poets, well known for their empathy and perception, speaks to the heart of what children think and care about, offering understanding, support, and encouragement.
Lambda Literary Award Finalist - LGBTQ Anthology 2019 Over the Rainbow Recommended Book List Dedicated to trans women everywhere, this inspirational collection of letters written by successful trans women shares the lessons they learnt on their journeys to womanhood, celebrating their achievements and empowering the next generation to become who they truly are. Written by politicians, scientists, models, athletes, authors, actors, and activists from around the world, these letters capture the diversity of the trans experience and offer advice from make-up and dating through to fighting dysphoria and transphobia. By turns honest and heartfelt, funny and furious or beautiful and brave, these letters send a clear message of hope to their sisters: each of these women have gone through the struggles of transition and emerged the other side as accomplished, confident women; and if we made it sister, so can you!
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by debut author Joya Goffney is a story of an overly enthusiastic list maker who is blackmailed into completing a to-do list of all her worst fears. It’s a heartfelt, tortured, contemporary YA high school romance. Fans of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Kristina Forest’s I Wanna Be Where You Are will love the juicy secrets and leap-off-the-page sexual tension. “A hilarious and swoonworthy story.” —Kristina Forest, author of Now That I’ve Found You “A fun, emotionally rich romance with a sweet, imperfect character who will win your heart.” —Liara Tamani, author of All the Things We Never Knew Quinn keeps lists of everything—from the days she’s ugly cried, to “Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud” and all the boys she’d like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing . . . Then an anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn’t know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett—the last known person to have her journal—in a race against time to track down the blackmailer. Together, they journey through everything Quinn’s been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live in the moment, and to fall in love. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Epic Reads Recommended Pick at Target A Kirkus Children's Best Book of 2021
Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust. But what happens when you're the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect-read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice-stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you've had a thing for since you were nine years old? Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie's secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston. Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She'll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake. Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie's going to rule the school. And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.
Three sisters return to their southern hometown after the death of their difficult, demanding mother, in a novel by the author of Baby of the Family. In life, Esther Lovejoy was an intolerable mother. She raised her daughters with an iron fist, browbeat her husband into submission, and insisted they call her Mudear (an abbreviation of Mother Dear). As adults with successful careers, Betty, Emily, and Annie Ruth have scattered across the country to avoid Mudear’s influence. But now it’s time to lay her to rest, and the Lovejoy sisters have returned to Mulberry, Georgia, to pay their last respects. What they discover is that while Mudear may be dead, she is far from gone. With a large dose of compassion and a generous splash of humor, Tina McElroy Ansa serves up a powerful tale of family secrets and the ways our scars make us stronger. “A voice that is fresh and strong and just quirky enough to stand out from the crowd.” —The Boston Sunday Globe “An entertaining read . . . The author, like a good small-town gossip . . . paints a vivid picture of three bright, beautiful and emotionally scarred African-American sisters.” —Los Angeles Times
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead. Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?