I’m a former reading specialist/educational specialist who still enjoys reading aloud to students, helping kids learn to read, and introducing them to quality literature. I love reading picture books...and I write them to entertain and empower kids.
Under the light of a silvery moon, inquisitive Bear ventures into People Town, where he makes quite the curious discovery. What is this? A springy thing—a bouncy thing—a sit-on-it, jump-on-it thing!
This Thingity-Jig is way too heavy to bring back to the woods by himself, however, so Bear runs home to tell his friends. But nobody wants to get out of bed to help! So Bear invents a Rolly-Rumpity to wheel the Thingity-Jig home, and then it all gets stuck in the mud. How will Bear tackle this bump in the road? With a Lifty-Uppity, of course!
This book inspires happiness and laughter. I used to throw my voice when I read it aloud to students. I’d stop reading halfway through the story and ask students to make a few predictions. Where could the dog be going? Why is he dressed up? Why is he sneaking out of the house at night? What could be going on inside the building?
A story which looks at what dogs do at night when their owners are asleep, featuring a dog who runs a nightclub for stressed dogs. Illustrated in colour by the author.
This book inspires hope and is based on a true story. Think about the pros and cons of a dog being allowed in a hospital. What could go wrong with a dog walking the halls and visiting patients? Is it possible for patients to actually benefit from being visited by a dog?
An illustrated depiction of a real-life story that celebrates the eternal, life-affirming bond between animals and humans Everyone loves Dr. White, a furry practitioner with four paws, a wagging tail, and an unorthodox bedside manner who day by day works his magic on very ill children at the hospital. Although his treatment is unconventional, it has a great success rate. But one day the health inspector arrives and bans Dr. White from the hospital. Who could have predicted the terrible coincidence that ends up bringing Dr. White back to the patients who love him? Based on a true story from…
This is a gentle, lyrical story. This book inspires love. If you read it, you’ll feel the loving relationship the girl has with her grandfather...and with butterflies. You’ll wonder why the butterflies visit the girl once she’s grown up. What do the butterflies who visit her seem to know or sense? Why aren’t the butterflies visiting her neighbors?
With the help of her grandfather, a little girl makes a house for a larva and watches it develop before setting it free, and every summer after that butterflies come to visit her. By the author of Smoky Night.
This story inspires empathy. You may recall a time when you lost something you treasured. Reading this book will get you caring for both the boy and the man in the story. Who needed the teddy bear more? How does the boy change from the beginning of the story to the end? Have you ever been generous like the main character?
"The Teddy Bear had a good home . . . a warm, cozy place to sleep . . . many friends . . . and someone who loved him."
The little boy and his teddy bear were always together. Every night, when the little boy went to sleep, his teddy bear was right there next to him. When the little boy went on a trip, his teddy bear went too-until one terrible day when the teddy bear was left behind . . .
The story inspires sadness, hope, and happiness. At first, you’ll feel sorry for Mr. Hatch. You’ll care about him and wonder why he is the way he is. You’ll watch him receive a gift that has a lasting effect on him. Then, with a turn of events, you’ll feel sorry for him again. But by the end, you’ll be rooting for him.
One wintry day, a postman delivers a mysterious package with a big pink bow to a lonely man named Mr. Hatch.
"Somebody loves you," the note says. "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch sings as he dusts his living room. "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch whistles as he does his errands in town. "But who," Mr. Hatch wonders, "could that somebody be?"
When Mr. Hatch discovers just who his secret admirer is, the answer is even better than he could have guessed!
I grew up in Green Bay and my dad was the official scorer for the Packers, so I was immersed in pro football history even as a child. During my careers as a newspaper feature writer and editor and as an advertising copywriter, I also became a sports historian. My magnum opus was “The Encyclopedia of North American Sports History,” 650,000 words. But my favorite by far is my biography of Johnny Blood. I was 12 or 13 when I decided I wanted to write it, 33 when I began working on it, 38 when I finished it, and 78 when it was finally published.
From Kirkus Reviews: "This debut short-story collection paints the wistful life of a newspaper journalist as seen through his sexual and romantic encounters...
Throughout, Hickok writes in an assured style, pulling readers along. The narrow sexual focus results in a distorted picture, yet other aspects of Art's life emerge at the edges—his intelligence, his career as a journalist, and even the sincerity with which he gives in to his male urges and construes sex as love...
Subdued yet alluring; a pensive reflection on the male psyche."
Love, Sex, and Other Calamities: 15 Stories and a Poem by Ralph Hickok
A man arrives in a new city, hoping to start a new life, but he’s still haunted by memories of past loves… A 12-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl have a brief romantic encounter when their families are vacationing in neighboring lakeside cottages… Two teenagers enjoy sexual experimentation when she babysits for her little brother while her parents are out drinking… A high school boy has a crush on an older woman who identifies with Molly Bloom… A college freshman falls in love with a high school freshman and is amazed at the depths of her passion… A guy wins…
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