This story of a stay-at-home mother’s misadventures is “a fun read that ‘imperfect mums’ everywhere will adore” (The Sun). While her husband Matt’s career takes off, Marnie Martin is left with the task of pairing socks and locating Lego. His late nights at the office are turning into late nights who knows where else, and they haven’t had a proper conversation in weeks, sex in months, or a full night’s sleep in years. Marnie’s journalism career has morphed into writing a food column. But even that turns into disaster when Marnie gets distracted by a daydream about her movie-star crush, Maddox Wolfe—which leads to a missed deadline and a case of food poisoning. There’s only one option left for Marnie: blogging. As the anonymous “Mrs Make Believe,” Marnie starts spilling secrets and becomes the voice of messed-up mothers everywhere. But she never could have imagined that her celebrity daydream would walk off the screen and into her reality, turning her already muddled world totally on its head . . . This “compulsively readable and entertaining” novel (Daily Mail) is “a funny, sexy, clever book which brilliantly reflects the chaos of motherhood and marriage” (Alison McGarragh-Murphy, editor of The Motherload). “Funny . . . fabulously fresh and achingly honest . . . I couldn’t put it down.” —Alex Brown, #1 bestselling author of The Secret of Orchard Cottage

Marcus offers this animated history of the visionaries--editors, illustrators, and others--whose books have transformed American childhood and American culture.

This is the deliciously entertaining memoir by the coal miner's son who became an international star of stage, screen, and television. Keel speaks his mind about his many co-stars, including Judy Garland, Betty Hutton, Tammy Grimes and Katherine Greyson, to name a few.

"On Christmas Eve, Mr. Penguin makes a surprising discovery: an elf that has fallen out of Santa's sleigh! But what's even more surprising is that he has never heard of elves, or sleighs, or santa--and he has never celebrated Christmas! Join Mr. Penguin as he enjoys his first ever Christmas."--Back cover.

Dark days for Hal Andrews, New York artist and scion of an eccentric New England family. His cat has just died in a plunge from his apartment window. His brother Beck, manic-depressive and hopelessly nostalgic, is about to marry Lisa Lyman, heiress to the Family Wipes fortune and certifiably the world's most abominable girl. Their sister Fishie, an Olympic swimming champion who uses her television appearances to berate Hal, has recently shaved her head bald. And their father is withholding Hal's inheritance until he becomes more responsible, or at least until he's sixty-five. Hal's artwork clutters the floors of his girlfriend's apartment and does about as much for his putative gallery. Hoping for a genius grant and settling for a decrepit dog and a derisive girlfriend, Hal's optimism begins to wane as he descends into a moody twilit world of obscure urban horror. Therefore, when a wrong number from out of town walks into his life, the situation is grim. Mary-Ann Beavers and her hostile brother arrive in New York via Greyhound, in search of celebrities and success, both rare commodities back home in Patent, Texas. She snaps her chewing gum and writes wretched poetry; her brother has bad teeth and a temper to match. While Mary-Ann stalks Liza Minnelli in the supermarket and treasures the autograph of Dustin Hoffman's agent's sister, a darkness that lasts for days falls over Hal's new but awful apartment. There is light, however, at the end of the tunnel, and Hal, in spite of himself, will bask in it. Make-Believe Ballrooms captures the true contemporary dilemma in this tale of Hal's decline and rehabilitation in much-too-postmodern New York.

In The Case for Make Believe, Harvard child psychologist Susan Linn tells the alarming story of childhood under siege in a commercialized and technology-saturated world. Although play is essential to human development and children are born with an innate capacity for make believe, Linn argues that, in modern-day America, nurturing creative play is not only countercultural—it threatens corporate profits. A book with immediate relevance for parents and educators alike, The Case for Make Believe helps readers understand how crucial child's play is—and what parents and educators can do to protect it. At the heart of the book are stories of children at home, in school, and at a therapist's office playing about real-life issues from entering kindergarten to a sibling's death, expressing feelings they can't express directly, and making meaning of an often confusing world. In an era when toys come from television and media companies sell videos as brain-builders for babies, Linn lays out the inextricable links between play, creativity, and health, showing us how and why to preserve the space for make believe that children need to lead fulfilling and meaningful lives.

Recovering from a long illness, Boston businessman Carl Stanton is unable to accompany his fiancée Cornelia on a mid-winter trip to warm and sunny Jacksonville. Lonely, bored, and disappointed in Cornelia's lack of affection, Carl decides to answer an advertisement from the Serial-Letter Company, which promises real letters, delivering comfort and entertainment, from imaginary persons. Carl signs up for their love letter program, thinking he might have a bit of fun, and teach his fiancée a lesson in the process.

Kindness, caring, and reliance on our neighbors are more important now than ever before. We all need more Mister Rogers in our lives. In difficult times, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood provided a refuge for children and their families alike; a way to understand and talk about what was happening, and find hope for a brighter tomorrow. Groundbreaking in a quiet, generous way, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood introduced a generation of children to the wonders of the world in the comfort of their own living rooms. Fred Rogers took young viewers to art museums, introduced them to different professions, and talked through difficult subjects like losing a loved one, or experiencing parents' divorce, with compassion and reassurance. Share that deep respect, care, and quiet joy in the day-to-day with the only authorized picture book biography of Fred Rogers--lovingly created by Caldecott Medalist Matt Cordell. Lively, colorful illustrations explore Fred Rogers' early life and the events that led him to create his enduring show. Exclusively published archival photographs, provided by Fred Rogers Productions, offer a behind-the-scenes look at this historic show and the people whose hard work made it possible. A brief biography of Mister Rogers and a history of the show is included, as well as a note from author-illustrator Matt Cordell about his inspiration and longtime admiration for Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Perfect for fans of the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks, or anyone who wants to bring home the ideals of compassion, kindness, and patience that make us all good neighbors, this captivating picture book should not be missed. A Junior Library Guild Selection A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year!

Derrick Jensen takes no prisoners in The Culture of Make Believe, his brilliant and eagerly awaited follow-up to his powerful and lyrical A Language Older Than Words. What begins as an exploration of the lines of thought and experience that run between the massive lynchings in early twentieth-century America to today's death squads in South America soon explodes into an examination of the very heart of our civilization. The Culture of Make Believe is a book that is as impeccably researched as it is moving, with conclusions as far-reaching as they are shocking.