New York City's Israel Parade is extra special this year for 'timid and small' Meg Goldberg. This shy little girl with a big imagination finds plenty of ways to join the fun—and maybe, just maybe, earn the Grand Marshal's crown.

New York City's Israel Parade is extra special this year for 'timid and small' Meg Goldberg. This shy little girl with a big imagination finds plenty of ways to join the fun—and maybe, just maybe, earn the Grand Marshal's crown.

In 1918 a deadly influenza epidemic was sweeping across America. The pandemic ravaged families, leaving thousands of children as orphans. But in the tenement apartments of New York City's Lower East Side, one young girl is determined to keep her family safe. While her mother is sick with consumption, nine-year-old Loretta (Rettie) Stanowski does all the cleaning, washing, shopping, and cooking for her family. To earn money, she washes rags for the rag picker and cleans the halls and stairways of their apartment building. But Rettie knows the best way to get even more money is to participate in the Ragamuffin Parade that marches down Broadway Avenue on Thanksgiving morning. With the influenza outbreak, quarantines are ordered and large gatherings are banned. Will the parade be cancelled?

Liz and Jan plan a 'dress-up parade' during summer vacation.

The double act has been at the heart of the British entertainment scene for over 150 years: from its start in the music halls, through radio shows such as Hancock's Half Hour playing in virtually every household and on cinema and television, from Carry On films to Withnail and I. Explore the influence of comedy duos on their audience and how their performances evolved over time, the importance of the subtle art of the straight man next to the comic and discover some acts who might have passed you by. This book is a tribute to the comedians who have entertained the public for so long, dedicating their lives to adding a bit of laughter to the mundane everyday. The Double Act will appeal to all lovers of British comedy as it takes them through the golden moments of its history.

"From the bestselling author of Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge comes the dramatic conclusion of how conservatism took control of American political power"--