Meet Umbrella! But first you must be warned. Umbrella isn’t like other umbrellas. He is a snobby, self-centered, and downright nasty fellow. Convinced that he was created for fame, Umbrella is thrust into an unexpected and sometimes dangerous journey in pursuit of world-wide celebrity. Nothing or no one will stop his ambition to be famous. Follow Umbrella on this unpredictable and poignant adventure. Will his unwavering quest for acclaim come true or will Umbrella discover what he was truly meant to do in the world...

"A brother is as easily forgotten as an umbrella."--James Joyce, "Ulysses" 1918 Audrey Death--feminist, socialist and munitions worker at Woolwich Arsenal--falls ill with encephalitis lethargica as the epidemic rages across Europe, killing a third of its victims and condemning a further third to living death. 1971 Under the curious eyes of psychiatrist Dr. Zack Busner, assumed mental patient Audrey Death lies supine in bed above a spring grotto that she has made every one of the forty-nine years she has resided in Friern Mental Hospital. 2010 Now retired, Dr. Busner travels waywardly across North London in search of the truth about that tumultuous summer when he awoke the post-encephalitic patients under his care using a new and powerful drug. Weaving together a dense tapestry of consciousness and lived life across an entire century, in his latest and most ambitious novel, Will Self takes up the challenge of Modernism and reveals how it--and it alone--can unravel new and unsettling truths about our world and how it came to be.

The Red Umbrella is a moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution. In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. And soon, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl? The Red Umbrella is a touching story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home. “Captures the fervor, uncertainty and fear of the times. . . . Compelling.” –The Washington Post “Gonzalez deals effectively with separation, culture shock, homesickness, uncertainty and identity as she captures what is also a grand adventure.” –San Francisco Chronicle

On a windy day, a little dog finds an umbrella in the garden. Just when the dog picks up the umbrella, it catches the wind and pulls the dog up into the sky. This is the start of a fantastic journey around the world. The wind carries the umbrella and the dog all over the world, from the desert to the sea, from the jungle to the North Pole. . .

The weather has never been worse. The man with the stormy heart is soaked and he's going to be late! His mood is as black as the sky. Outside a nearby patisserie, a little boy stands under the shelter of its awning, gazing at the beautiful treats on display. When the wind snatches the man's umbrella and drops it at the child's feet, can this hasty curmudgeon slow down long enough for an unlikely friendship to blossom? Catherine Buquet's touching debut in lyrical rhyme, accompanied by Marion Arbona's bold and stylish illustrations, celebrates intergenerational friendship and the magic of sharing. It also reminds children and adults alike that bright moments can be found on even the gloomiest of days.

"A collection of ten short stories that all take place in the same day about kids walking home from school"--

A fun, illustrated history of the umbrella's surprising place in life and literature Humans have been making, using, perfecting, and decorating umbrellas for millennia--holding them over the heads of rulers, signalling class distinctions, and exploring their full imaginative potential in folk tales and novels. In the spirit of the best literary gift books, Brolliology is a beautifully designed and illustrated tour through literature and history. It surprises us with the crucial role that the oft-overlooked umbrella has played over centuries--and not just in keeping us dry. Marion Rankine elevates umbrellas to their rightful place as an object worthy of philosophical inquiry. As Rankine points out, many others have tried. Derrida sought to find the meaning (or lack thereof) behind an umbrella mentioned in Nietzsche's notes, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote essays on the handy object, and Dickens used umbrellas as a narrative device for just about everything. She tackles the gender, class, and social connotations of carrying an umbrella and helps us realize our deep connection to this most forgettable everyday object--which we only think of when we don't have one.

If there is an X PRIZE for collaborative thought leadership of the social ecosystem, this book would get it. Dr. Peter H. Diamandis Chairman and CEO, X PRIZE Foundation The World that Changes the World is thought leadership at its best—envisioning the future through reflection and analysis of past trends and contemporary challenges. Senator the Hon. Ursula Stephens Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector The multifaceted, multinational, multisectoral insights in this volume offer inspiration, ideas, and opportunity for action and impact. Dr. Melissa A. Berman President and CEO, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc. This is a comprehensive primer representing the diversity of perspectives that comprises the evolving global social ecosystem. Dr. Pamela Hartigan Director, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, Oxford University The World that Changes the World puts together the pieces of this puzzle by explaining how these varied actors of the social ecosystem function and interact with each other. Matthew Bishop Co-Author, Philanthrocapitalism: How giving can save the world A valuable one-stop resource for the many players in, and observers of, the social ecosystem. Doug Miller Honorary President, European Venture Philanthropy Association The World that Changes the World should become the pocket guide for changemakers of the world in the same way that The Lonely Planet is for travelers of the world. Gib Bulloch Founder and Executive Director, Accenture Development Partnerships

Jan Brett's New York Times bestselling picture book The Umbrella has all the rollicking fun of the woodland animals that crowd into a mitten in the snow in The Mitten. Only this time it's in a lush cloud forest as one by one, tree frog, toucan, kinkajou, baby tapir, quetzal, monkey, and jaguar crowd into an open, upside down banana umbrella until a tiny hummingbird lands and they all fall out. A shortened text for toddlers and simple Spanish phrases like "Hola!" add to the fun of reading aloud this lively board book.

Sometimes in London it drizzles. Sometimes it mizzles. Other times it pelts and showers and spits. And Jonas Hanway hates getting wet. How can he go about his day as a proper London gentleman when his shoes are soggy, his coat is always collecting puddles, and his wig looks like a wet cat? Fed up with damp and dreary London, Jonas sails far away, to places where the sun always shines. But what he sees when he gets there is.... scandalous! Shocking! Sensational! Perhaps also...quite genius? Now all Jonas has to do is convince the rest of London that they need an umbrella, too. All about the real gentleman who introduced umbrellas to 1750’s London society, this is the perfect story of persistence, problem-solving, and how good ideas hold (off) water.