Increasingly alienated from his widowed father, Vernon joins his friends in ridiculing the neighborhood outcasts'Maxine, an alcoholic prone to outrageous behavior, and Ronald, her retarded son. But when a social service agency tries to put Ronald into a special home, Vernon fights against the move. 1994 Newbery Honor Book Notable Children's Books of 1994 (ALA) 1994 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA) 1994 Young Adult Editors' Choices (BL) 1994 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library) Young Adult Choices for 1995 (IRA)

Crazy Cat Lady (noun): A badge of honor for people who know cats are awesome. Do you often wake up covered in cat hair? Do you keep adopting more and more cats—then staying home Friday nights to cuddle them? Proclaim your feline obsession proudly! Joyfully illustrated with cheeky mottoes, flowcharts, and fun facts throughout, this little book is an affectionate tribute to cats and the cool ladies who love them. Includes a bonus sheet of colorful stickers!

From the author of Mad Girls in Love comes this lively multigenerational tale of six charming, unforgettable Southern women -- a novel of love and laughter, pain and redemption. Though she was born in Tennessee, Miss Gussie is no country fool. A woman who can handle any situation, she has her hands full with two headstrong daughters who happen to be complete opposites -- dour Dorothy and sweet Clancy Jane. Hoping money will heal childhood wounds, Dorothy marries the owner of a five-and-dime, while Clancy Jane gets into a mess of trouble, running off with a randy tomcat who pumps gas at the Esso stand. And then there are Gussie's granddaughters, the smart but plain Violet and fancy-talking Bitsy -- a new generation whose lives will reflect a nation's tumultuous times. From Tennessee to New Orleans, from psychedelic San Francisco to a remote Southwestern desert ranch, this funny, poignant novel spans more than four decades as it vividly recounts the universal loves, sorrows, and joys of women's lives.

The story of the UFO Watchtower, conceived and built by San Luis Valley resident Judy Messoline in southern Colorado. Includes dozens of witness testimonials collected by the author on sightings of UFOs.

For the plant-obsessed woman of any age, this humorous, illustrated little book celebrates the devotion and quirky habits plants inspire. You know you’re a crazy plant lady when watering is a hobby, you can’t resist a cute pot, and just looking at succulents and monsteras makes you smile. This charming celebration of the plant lady lifestyle proves that plant love is the joy that keeps growing. There are sweet puns: Aloe you vera much. Plant lady dreams: thrifting the perfect vintage mister. Relatable mantras: Every day is a good day to go plant shopping. All featuring vibrant art by Isabel Serna throughout—plus, a bonus sheet of plant-themed stickers!

“A veritable fountain of exciting and practical suggestions for women who want to make sure that even though one cannot help growing older, she can indeed keep from growing old.”—Pamela Kramer, Examiner If you're a forty-to-forever woman who's interested in aging well, don't miss this motivating and inspiring book. Join New York Times bestselling author Claire Cook (Must Love Dogs, Never Too Late) on a transformative journey that will help you shake off all those worries about getting older and embrace what can be the most vibrant, creative and empowering chapter of your life. Claire wrote her first book in her minivan at 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of her novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. With another milestone birthday on the horizon, she was old enough to know the signs: "It was time to get my act together. Again." Shine On: How To Grow Awesome Instead of Old speaks to midlife women everywhere and is filled with Claire's trademark humor, heart, honesty and encouragement. “Full of inspirational quotes as well as practical suggestions, this is a perfect book to begin a new year on the right foot.”—Laurie Nerat, Looking on the Sunnyside Find out more about Claire and read excerpts of her books at ClaireCook.com. Stay in the loop for new releases and giveaways at ClaireCook.com/newsletter/. “I highly recommend this new book. You’re never too old to get started!”—Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews “Dedicated to “forty-to-forever women,” Shine On offers sage advice not just on aging well, but living well. With her trademark wit and honesty, Claire Cook covers everything from big picture motivation on following your dreams and remembering to have fun, to practical, hands-on tips on fitness, healthy eating, and her favorite beauty products . . . Claire Cook’s wisdom, candor, and effervescent enthusiasm shine on in every word she writes.”—Stephanie Burns, Book Perfume

Combining humor with faith, this new pick-me-up book is chock-full of Johnson's (the "geranium lady") patented wit and wisdom, love and laughter, and comfort and grace.

Magisterial, revelatory, and-most suitably-entertaining, What the Eye Hears offers an authoritative account of the great American art of tap dancing. Brian Seibert, a dance critic for The New York Times, begins by exploring tap's origins as a hybrid of the jig and clog dancing from the British Isles and dances brought from Africa by slaves. He tracks tap's transfer to the stage through blackface minstrelsy and charts its growth as a cousin to jazz in the vaudeville circuits and nightclubs of the early twentieth century. Seibert chronicles tap's spread to ubiquity on Broadway and in Hollywood, analyzes its decline after World War II, and celebrates its rediscovery and reinvention by new generations of American and international performers. In the process, we discover how the history of tap dancing is central to any meaningful account of American popular culture. This is a story with a huge cast of characters, from Master Juba (it was probably a performance of his in a Five Points cellar that Charles Dickens described in American Notes for General Circulation) through Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and Gene Kelly and Paul Draper to Gregory Hines and Savion Glover. Seibert traces the stylistic development of tap through individual practitioners, vividly depicting dancers both well remembered and now obscure. And he illuminates the cultural exchange between blacks and whites over centuries, the interplay of imitation and theft, as well as the moving story of African-Americans in show business, wielding enormous influence as they grapple with the pain and pride of a complicated legacy.What the Eye Hears teaches us to see and hear the entire history of tap in its every step.