"Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...An amusing, highly readable book about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world."—Kirkus Starred Review on How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1) AnaWright's life is a zoo—literally Ana Wright's summer just got terrifying. She's finally getting used to living in a zoo (no, seriously—she lives with her family in an actual zoo), when she's assigned to work in the new shark tank. With her worst enemy. Forget about sharks! Ashley is the ultimate predator. And after Ana's favorite croc peed on Ashley's shoes, she's probably out for revenge. This can't be good. Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied: "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics."—Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart."—Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes "Keating, a zoologist, enriches her debut novel with fascinating animal facts, awkward moments with a variety of wild species, and "creature files" Ana uses to amusingly classify her peers"—School Library Journal "An absolutely perfect summer read."—Girls' Life Magazine.com "Life is literally a zoo for shy 12-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." —Los Angeles Times

"A wild romp, filled with humor and heart."—Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes and the Charmed Life series Ana Wright's social life is now officially on the endangered list: she lives in a zoo (umm, elephant droppings!?), her best friend lives on the other side of the world, and the Sneerers are making junior high miserable. All Ana wants is to fade into the background. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Creature File for Ana Wright: Species Name: Anaphyta Normalis Kingdom: The Zoo, Junior High Phylum: Girls Whose Best Friend Just Moved To New Zealand; Girls Who Are Forced To Live In A Zoo With Their Weirdo Parents And Twin Brother Weight: Classified Feeds On: Daydreams about Zackardia Perfecticus and wish cupcakes Life Span: Soon to become extinct due to social awkwardness

What would middle school be like if you lived in a zoo? Just ask Ana Wright, star of the hilarious, award-nominated My Life is A Zoo series that combines first crushes, friendship fails...and pack dynamics. Surprise! Ana's long distance BFF is finally coming back to visit. But with her purple hair and new attitude, Liv is barely the girl Ana remembers. This new Liv probably thinks a birthday party at the zoo is lame. Maybe if Ana has a super-secret sleepover instead, she'd never have to introduce Liv to Ashley, former enemy and now Ana's best-ish friend. What could go wrong? Creature File for Liv: Species Name: Best Frendicus Kingdom: New Zealand Phylum: girl who used to be Ana Wright's best friend, girl who used to like getting milkshakes at Shaken, Not Stirred Feeds on: video chats with Leilani, attention from boys Life span: undetermined, but if things keep going the way they are, the lifespan of Ana and Liv, BFFs isn't going to be the "forever" they thought... Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1): 2015 Red Maple Award nominee 2015-2016 Georgia Children's Book Award nominee "Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world." Kirkus STARRED Review "Life is literally a zoo for shy twelve-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." Los Angeles Times "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics." —Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart." ~ Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes

"Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...An amusing, highly readable book about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world."— Kirkus Starred Review on How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1) Ana Wright's summer just got terrifying. She's finally getting used to living in a zoo (no, seriously—she lives with her family in an actual zoo), when she's assigned to work in the new shark tank. With her worst enemy. Forget about sharks! Ashley is the ultimate predator. And after Ana's favorite croc peed on Ashley's shoes, she's probably out for revenge. This can't be good. Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied: "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics." —Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart." — Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes "Keating, a zoologist, enriches her debut novel with fascinating animal facts, awkward moments with a variety of wild species, and "creature files" Ana uses to amusingly classify her peers" —School Library Journal "An absolutely perfect summer read." —Girls' Life Magazine.com "Life is literally a zoo for shy 12-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants." —Los Angeles Times

What would middle school be like if you lived in a zoo? Just ask Ana Wright, star of the hilarious, award-nominated My Life is A Zoo series that combines first crushes, friendship fails...and pack dynamics. Surprise! Ana's long distance BFF is finally coming back to visit. But with her purple hair and new attitude, Liv is barely the girl Ana remembers. This new Liv probably thinks a birthday party at the zoo is lame. Maybe if Ana has a super-secret sleepover instead, she'd never have to introduce Liv to Ashley, former enemy and now Ana's best-ish friend. What could go wrong? Creature File for Liv: Species Name: Best Frendicus Kingdom: New Zealand Phylum: girl who used to be Ana Wright's best friend, girl who used to like getting milkshakes at Shaken, Not Stirred Feeds on: video chats with Leilani, attention from boys Life span: undetermined, but if things keep going the way they are, the lifespan of Ana and Liv, BFFs isn't going to be the "forever" they thought... Jess Keating combines the quirky humor and animal-centric plots of Carl Hiaasen with the awkward adolescent antics of Lauren Myracle in this fresh new middle grade series! Praise for How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life is a Zoo Book 1): 2015 Red Maple Award nominee 2015-2016 Georgia Children's Book Award nominee "Keating delivers a fun-filled, pitch-perfect book...about the perils of being 12 in a snake-eat-snake world."—Kirkus STARRED Review "Life is literally a zoo for shy twelve-year-old Anna, who is trying to avoid seventh-grade bullies while hiding that her family lives among crocodiles and elephants."—Los Angeles Times "A menagerie of laugh-out-loud antics."—Anna Staniszewski, author of The Dirt Diary "A wild romp, filled with humor and heart."—Lisa Schroeder, author of It's Raining Cupcakes

Just Like Me is the perfect book for middle school girls and doubles as an adoption book for kids, as three adopted sisters navigate their relationship with one another while at summer camp. From the award-winning author of This Journal Belongs to Ratchet, comes a funny, uplifting summer camp story about unlikely friendships and finding your place in the world, making this the perfect growing up book for girls. Told through a mix of traditional narrative and journal entries, don't miss this funny, surprisingly sweet summer read! Who eats Cheetos with chopsticks?! Avery and Becca, my "Chinese Sisters," that's who. We're not really sisters—we were just adopted from the same orphanage. And we're nothing alike. They like egg rolls, and I like pizza. They wave around Chinese fans, and I pretend like I don't know them. Which is not easy since we're all going to summer camp to "bond." (Thanks, Mom.) To make everything worse, we have to journal about our time at camp so the adoption agency can do some kind of "where are they now" newsletter. I'll tell you where I am: At Camp Little Big Lake in a cabin with five other girls who aren't getting along, competing for a camp trophy and losing (badly), wondering how I got here...and where I belong. Told through a mix of traditional narrative and journal entries, don't miss this funny, surprisingly sweet summer read! "A tender and honest story about a girl trying to find her place in the world, and the thread that connects us all."—Liesl Shurtliff, author of Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin "A heartwarming story about the universal struggle of yearning to be an individual while longing to fit in."—Karen Harrington, author of Sure Kinds of Crazy

Only a few years ago, the U.S. financial system and economy were near collapse. Global financial institutions teetered and fell, while at once-mighty U.S. companies, panicked CEOs slashed jobs. The financial chaos inflicted catastrophic damage: double-digit unemployment; crashing house and stock prices; federal budget deficits in the trillions, and a wider gap between the country’s haves and have-nots. Today many Americans still feel shell-shocked. But while there remains much to be nervous and frustrated about, it is impressive how much progress has been made in righting the wrongs that got us into this mess. The economy is growing and steadily creating jobs; house prices are stable and stock prices are up; debt burdens have eased for most households and the financial system has shored up its foundations to an impressive degree. American companies are as competitive globally as they have been in a half century. This dramatic turn in the economy’s fortunes occurred because of what government did to stem the financial panic and combat the effects of Great Recession. Policymakers’ unprecedented actions – from Congress’ auto and bank bailouts and fiscal stimulus, to the Federal Reserve’s zero interest rates and quantitative easing – remain intensely controversial, but ultimately they will be judged a success. Serious problems remain, including the government’s mounting debt load and a burgeoning number of disenfranchised workers, but we are on our way to addressing them. Our economic future has arguably never been brighter.

Lifeguard Training Activities and Games is a complete resource for aquatics managers or lifeguard supervisors responsible for conducting site-specific on-the-job training for lifeguards. The compilation of games, skill drills, activities, and guidance enhances training and conditioning of lifeguards and creates a high-performing staff. Throughout the book, the focus is on keeping activities fun and engaging to promote participation and ensure your lifeguards acquire the skills they need in order to take action in an emergency. The book contains more than 70 proven training activities divided into chapters by type of lifeguard skill. Each activity is short enough to be part of an in-service or class warm-up session. Most have variations, allowing for continued challenges of participants' performances through increasing levels of difficulty. The drills, games, and activities improve lifeguards' -general aquatic skills and physical fitness; -surveillance, emergency response, and rescue skills; and -teamwork and problem-solving skills. With this knowledge and training, you will be able to develop and maintain a high-performing lifeguard staff. Certification as a lifeguard is the first step in the overall training process. The real training begins on the job, and the responsibility for that training is left to the aquatics manager or lifeguard supervisor. Lifeguard Training Activities and Games makes that training fun, engaging, meaningful, and practical.

Determined to save a damsel in distress, the Sunshine State’s favorite serial killer and encyclopedia of Florida lore Serge Storms dances a tango of death and mayhem in this funny and dementedly entertaining crime caper from Tim Dorsey, author of the New York Times bestseller The Riptide, Ultra-Glide. Thanks to the Internet, America has become a playground for ruthless scam artists out to make an easy buck. And where do these models of entrepreneurship hail from? Why, the Sunshine State of course! No one loves Florida more, or can keep it safe from invasive criminal species better than self-appointed Sunshine Sheriff Serge Storms. When a particular scam leads to the death of a few innocents and a young woman's disappearance, Serge and his perpetually self-bent sidekick Coleman—aided by his new pal, latter-day noir private eye Mahoney—load up the car for a riotous road trip to do right. Packed with seafood, mayhem, blood, Coleman’s deep thoughts, Floridian lore, and more, Tiger Shrimp Tango is a hilarious treat from the incomparable Tim Dorsey.

"Cats of Instagram" meets National Geographic in this hilarious picture book about nature's cutest weirdos from the author of Pink Is for Blobfish! The Internet pretty much runs on cute animal photos, but "cute" is so much more than clickbait kittens and insta-pups. Cute is for feathery-gilled axolotls (pronounced: ax-uh-LOT-ulz), shy pygmy hippos, poisonous blue dragons, and armored pangolins. All of these animals are cute, but they've also adapted remarkable ways to survive in their unique environments. With her signature blend of humor and zoological know-how, Pink Is for Blobfish author Jess Keating shows how cute animals can be more than just a pretty face in this latest installment of the World of Weird Animals.