Babes in Toyland burst onto the Minneapolis music scene in the late 1980s and quickly established itself at the forefront of punk/alternative rock. The all-female trio featured a shy, seventeen-year-old Jewish teen from the suburbs on bass guitar—an instrument she had never played before joining the band. Over the next few years, Michelle Leon lived the rock-and-roll lifestyle—playing live concerts, recording in studios, touring across the United States and Europe, and spending endless hours in stuffy vans, staying in two-star motels, and sleeping on strangers’ couches in town after town. The grind and drama of life in the band gradually wore on Leon, however, and a heartbreaking tragedy led her to rethink her commitment to the band and the music scene. Leon’s sensitive, sensory prose puts readers right on stage with Babes in Toyland while also conveying the uncertainty, vulnerability, and courage needed by a girl who never felt like she fit in to somehow find her place in the world. “A crucial and compelling account of what it was to be a woman making music in the nineties. . . . Fantastic and ferocious.”—Jessica Hopper, music and culture critic and author of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic “Profound, poetic, badass, tender, and inspiring.”—Will Hermes, author of Love Goes to Buildings on Fire “I Live Inside feels as real and personal as reading your own memories. . . . Parts read like a fairy tale while others are so haunting they will never leave you.”—Kelli Mayo, musician (Skating Polly) “Leon draws you right into the Babes in Toyland van, shows you the after party tensions and what is in the mind of this particular girl in a band.”—Darcey Steinke, author of Sister Golden Hair: A Novel and others “[Leon’s] prose is stunning, her eye is wry, and her heart enormous; the result is a compelling memoir filled with pop culture, travel, intrigue, and a young artist’s quest to find her voice.”—Laurie Lindeen, musician (Zuzu’s Petals) and author of Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story “By the end of this lyrical, tough, and moving memoir, you’ll not only feel like you know Michelle Leon, you’ll also want to talk and dance and listen to music with her.”—Scott Heim, author of Mysterious Skin and We Disappear “A vivid, poetic memoir.”—Mark Yarm, author of Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge “This is Planet Leon.”—David Markey, filmmaker, author, and musician

This cherished holiday classic takes readers on a nostalgic trip back to Toyland. Originally published as a Golden Book in 1961, Babes in Toyland features artwork created by Earl and Carol Marshall of the Disney Studios. Based on the operetta by Victor Herbert and Glenn McDonough, this latest Walt Disney Classic Edition will once again warm the hearts of children, and chidlren at heart.

A game that's fun for all ages! Some assembly required. . . . . . Step One: Open Box Warning: Some Pieces May Have Sharp Edges Former art student Toby Morris is twenty-five, and she knows she's supposed to be out there . . . somewhere . . . building a career by day and filling up her nights with an endless parade of men. Instead, she's working at Toyland, designing instruction sheets for one of the biggest toy companies around . . . and if she never sees hot pink doll hair, cardboard game spinners, or glow-in-the-dark mini race cars again, it'll be too soon. Step Two: Insert Metal Tab (a) Into Plastic Base (b) Toby is bored . . . what she needs is some excitement, some change in the emotional weather. And she gets it the day she tunes into the weekend TV news and gets a good look at cute meteorologist J.P. Cody. Suddenly, the clouds break, and Toby decides to make J.P. her very own action figure. Only trouble is, J.P. has no idea who Toby is. At least, not yet . . .

"Journey through Toyland with characters from Mother Goose as they battle to save the town from the evil clutches of Mr. Barnaby. Tom-Tom, the Piper's son, Simple Simon, and Little Bo Peep are just a few of the nursery rhyme favorites who appear in this colorful, fun-filled adventure"--Back cover

Natalie boldly goes where no girl has gone before in this fresh, funny peek inside the male mind! Natalie writes the relationship column for her high school newspaper. Then she is accused of knowing nothing about guys and giving girls bad relationship advice, so she decides to disguise herself as a guy and spend a week at Underwood Academy, the private all-boys boarding school in town. And in the process, she learns about guys, though in ways she never expected. But when she starts to fall for her dreamy roommate, things get even more complicated. The fun doesn't stop in this light, lively offering for teen girls.

A DILF in need is a DILF indeedBeing a Special-ed teacher and part-time shop girl has given me an impressive resume, but not enough money to pay off my student loans any time before retirement. When grinchy DILF Logan Fenton waltzes through Toyland's doors and offers me a boatload of cash to be his nanny for the holidays, I agree. He might be a Dad I'd Like to F?but a Scrooge who outsources Christmas is on my naughty list, for sure.All she wants for Christmas are a few days offFive days before Christmas with the biggest deal of my career on the line, the last thing I want is to play happy effing family. My plans for a silent night implode when my ex-wife drops off our children for a surprise visit. I'll move heaven and earth NOT to be the dad who ruins Christmas, and my neighborhood toy store has everything we could want. Too bad the only package I want to unwrap is Paige Piper, the plus-sized angel behind the counter, whose curves were meant for sin.Can this fa-la-la-la-ling turn into something else?Christmas in New York City with kids in tow should be a holly jolly journey through a winter wonderland. But once the kids are nestled all snug in their beds, we can't ignore the steamy heat between us, or how it starts to melt our icy hearts. Tis the season to be horny, but a relationship isn't on either of our lists for Santa. Even if love could be the Christmas miracle we've both been praying for.

Babes in Toyland was one of the most influential and underrated bands of the 1990s. They rode the wave of the Minneapolis grunge scene crafting a unique sound composed of self-taught instrumentation and unabashed banshee raging vocals. Their stage presence was enigmatic, their lyrics vitriolic, and their Kinderwhore fashion ironic and easy to emulate. But what made them most inspiring was their ethos and a unique brand of sisterhood that inspired fans to create Riot Grrl and form legendary bands such as 7 year Bitch, Bikini Kill, and Hole. Despite the media's politicization of them as an "all-female" band, the Babes insisted their music wasn't a political statement but about personal expression. They would dismiss labeling their act as feminist, but their actions sent a positive message of what a female space within music could look like. Now, almost 30 years after their most seminal record, Fontanelle, was released, the legend of the band is being resurrected and re-spun to reclaim their proper space and context in the history of music and women in rock.

This delightful biography conveys the warmth and humour of the much-loved duo whose hilarious escapades convulsed a generation of movie-goers and who continue to acquire new worldwide audiences via the medium of television. Describing the book as 'positively miraculous', the Times Literary Supplement was moved to add 'it is difficult to see how this book could be improved upon'.

The Fifth Daughter is a stunning new love storythat sweeps from the somber moors of Yorkshire to theTuscan hills of sunny Italy. Born of tragedy and nurtured by scandal,Maresa Fairweather was a fifth daughter, all butabandoned by her widower father. Wild andheadstrong, she was fortunate to have Percy Bronwellto keep her from harm’s way. Now the childhoodfriends have grown up, but realizing his love forMaresa is unrequited, Percy enlists in the Royal Navy. Always attracted to the wrong man, Maresacontinues her flirtatious ways until increasinggossip dictates a change of scene. She travels to Italy,but old habits are hard to break and, desperate to endanother engagement, she pleads for Percy’s help. Hesaves her the only way he can—by offering a marriageof convenience. After only one night together, Percy returns to hisnaval command…and Maresa becomes the womanshe was destined to be. Learning that Percy’s life is indanger at the hands of the French, she risks her ownlife to save him—and to give him something he hasalways given her: unwavering love. But is it too late?