A charming story about the importance of gardens, of grandparents and of families doing things together. When our dads say, 'Money doesn’t grow on trees you know,' Grandma smiles and says, 'Mmm, but knickers do.' WHAT?! Grandma’s got an underpants tree? She sure has and you know what else? It blooms all year round with all kinds of knickers to suit everyone in the family. But one morning, Grandma finds her precious tree has been attacked, with knickers strewn all over the garden. Grandpa and the grandkids spring into action, setting up an after dark stakeout. Will the kids be able to stay awake long enough to find out whodunnit?
Tony Vicar is setting his sights on new (mis)adventures in this laugh-out-loud follow-up to The Liquor Vicar. Tony Vicar, now an internationally known celebrity — due to greatly exaggerated news reports of his nearly miraculous powers — has turned his attention to renovating his recently inherited crumbling old hotel in the wacky town of Tyee Lagoon. It’s a good thing his level-headed girlfriend, Jacquie O, is on board to temper his more outlandish ideas, because the pair plan to turn the hotel’s dumpy old beer parlour into the Vicar’s Knickers — a lavish and beautiful pub. Of course, building a tiny empire is not without challenges, shocks, oppositions, and calamities. Vicar’s celebrity is threatened as he is assailed by Hollywood gossip journalist Richard X. Dick — a cynic determined to undermine Vicar at every turn. On top of that, a surprise that changes everything is unexpectedly left on Vicar and Jacquie O’s doorstep late one night in a heavy blizzard. Vicar feels the pressure mounting and fears he may be cracking. He’s beginning to see and hear things that simply cannot be accounted for. Surrounded by forces both invisible and all too obvious, he must tackle the greatest misadventure of his life: parenthood.
A glimpse into a beloved novelist’s inner world, shaped by family, art, and literature. In her fiction, Claire Messud "has specialized in creating unusual female characters with ferocious, imaginative inner lives" (Ruth Franklin, New York Times Magazine). Kant’s Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write opens a window on Messud’s own life: a peripatetic upbringing; a warm, complicated family; and, throughout it all, her devotion to art and literature. In twenty-six intimate, brilliant, and funny essays, Messud reflects on a childhood move from her Connecticut home to Australia; the complex relationship between her modern Canadian mother and a fiercely single French Catholic aunt; and a trip to Beirut, where her pied-noir father had once lived, while he was dying. She meditates on contemporary classics from Kazuo Ishiguro, Teju Cole, Rachel Cusk, and Valeria Luiselli; examines three facets of Albert Camus and The Stranger; and tours her favorite paintings at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. In the luminous title essay, she explores her drive to write, born of the magic of sharing language and the transformative powers of “a single successful sentence.” Together, these essays show the inner workings of a dazzling literary mind. Crafting a vivid portrait of a life in celebration of the power of literature, Messud proves once again "an absolute master storyteller" (Rebecca Carroll, Los Angeles Times).
Hail! Hail! I come from another galaxy. Discover the wierd and wonderful world of martians, woolly saucepans and centrally heated knickers in 100 poems about science and technology from the delightfully irreverent, Michael Rosen, Children's Laureate 2007 - 2009.
Big Girl Panties! features a light, positive approach to motivate toddlers to become toilet trained. What could be more rewarding for a little girl than wearing big girl panties, just like mommy? Adult caregivers and toddlers alike will love the snappy, rhyming text and colorful, hip illustrations. Valeria Petrone's stylized artwork ensures that this commercial yet heartwarming book will have a special place on little girls' favorite bookshelves. Soon they'll all be saying, "Bye, bye diapers!"
In the haunting era of the Second World War, Mary Wood’s stirring saga, Brighter Days Ahead, follows the journey of two courageous women, Molly and Flo, who brave the storms of life and war. Molly, hardened by the streets of London's rough East End, is kidnapped by a gang and forced into their underworld . . . her future seems bleak. Flo, an orphan turned teacher, receives an intriguing job offer – a chance to be part of the British war effort at Bletchley Park. When the threat of war looms, will the girls' friendship be enough to weather the hard times ahead? From the author of In Their Mother’s Footsteps, with Brighter Days Ahead, immerse yourself in a gripping exploration of friendship and survival during history's darkest hour.
'The finest writing in the land. Limitless, joyous and terrifying' - RUSSELL T. DAVIES Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's darkly comedic creations are an endlessly dazzling masterclass in storytelling. Inside No. 9: The Scripts features every episode from Series 4-6 of the award-winning BBC2 anthology, including the live Halloween special and an original foreword for each series from the show's creators. 'One of the best pieces of British television in years' - INDEPENDENT
EMPTY ROOMS What is it about empty rooms, what lingering presence is sensed when you walk in, what dark secrets do the silent walls hold... Thirteen authors have come up with innovative and dark stories on this theme, guaranteed to stay in your mind. MISSING What's missing, who's missing, how did they/it go missing... another themed collection from talented Thirteen authors who have delved into the depths of their dark imaginations and produced a range of stories to haunt your sleep.
An important horticultural memoir articulating a new landscape art that's both environmentally sensitive and rich in creativity. Janet Marinelli left her comfortable city garden to join a botanist colleague in search of the rare Seabeach Amaranth--one of our many native species that is in danger of extinction. The result of the ensuing seven-year odyssey, Stalking the Wild Amaranth is a work of science and a work of art. Marinelli tells the story of her discovery that contemporary gardening is out of sync with theories evolving on the frontiers of science and philosophy. She also tells of her quest for a new garden art that nurtures a greater richness and variety of earthly life. Inspired by the legacy of Henry David Thoreau, Marinelli blends history, horticulture, erudition, and personal insight into a narrative that ponders the relationship between humankind and nature. She fleshes out a vision for a new, ecologically wise landscape art, disagreeing ultimately with those who insist that growing native plants is the only way to recover our environmental equilibrium. Gardeners, she writes, should be free to experiment, to let our imaginations run wild, to learn how to be the creators of biodiversity as well as the preservers and restorers.
