Alison McGhee

" Bink and Gollie] join the ranks of George and Martha, Frog and Toad, Zelda and Ivy, and all the other resilient pairs that celebrate the challenges and strengths of a great friendship." --The New York Times Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls -- one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.

From a Pulitzer Prize-nominated author and a New York Times bestselling illustrator comes a heartfelt story about moving somewhere new, the meaning of home, and making new friends. A little girl sends a message in a bottle as she says goodbye to the home she has always known. With the bags packed and the farewells said, she begins her journey to a new place, and she wonders: Will the moon and stars look different when she's gone? But soon it will be time to say hello--to her new world...and maybe even to a new friend? This touching picture book is a tribute to the power of new beginnings and the simple joy of human connection.

Collect the complete--and completely marvelous --Bink & Gollie series in a beautifully designed edition full of visual and textual humor. Whether exploring the wonders of the state fair, attempting to set a world record, or just relaxing with some pancakes and peanut butter, Bink and Gollie are irresistibly witty, imaginative, and adventurous -- just the sort of friends young readers love. Kids can savor all of their outrageously funny escapades, created by the brilliant pairing of authors Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee with illustrator Tony Fucile.The collection includes: Bink & Gollie Bink & Gollie: Two for One Bink & Gollie: Best Friends Forever

An unforgettable story of grief and the support of community as a young girl, faced with aching loss, begins to understand that what we love will always be with us. Ayla and her best friend Kiri have always been tree people. They each have their own special tree, and neighbors and family know that they are most likely to be found within the branches. But after an accident on their street, Kiri has gone somewhere so far away that Ayla can only wait and wait in her birch, longing to be able to talk with Kiri again. Then a mysterious, old-fashioned telephone appears one morning, nestled in the limbs of Ayla's birch tree. Where did it come from? she wonders. And why are people showing up to use this phone to call their loved ones? Especially loved ones who have passed on. All Ayla wants is for Kiri to come home. Until that day comes, she will keep Kiri's things safe. She'll keep her nightmares to herself. And she will not make a call on that telephone.

In this touching novel by the acclaimed author of Telephone of the Tree, an intriguing new boy at school helps Daisy cope with both bullying and past trauma. Daisy has been working on invisibilizing herself--ever since living with her mother's violent ex-boyfriend, and now to avoid the school bullies who are targeting her. She keeps a low profile, eating lunch with the librarian instead of in the Lunchroom of Terror and secretly counting whenever she's anxious. But things are looking up. A new boy has befriended her and seems able to stand up to the bullies, and the stray cat she's been feeding is starting to almost trust her. Maybe she can finally focus on futurizing rather than invisibilizing.

An unforgettable story of grief and the support of community as a young girl, faced with aching loss, begins to understand that what we love will always be with us. Ayla and her best friend Kiri have always been tree people. They each have their own special tree, and neighbors and family know that they are most likely to be found within the branches. But after an accident on their street, Kiri has gone somewhere so far away that Ayla can only wait and wait in her birch, longing to be able to talk with Kiri again. Then a mysterious, old-fashioned telephone appears one morning, nestled in the limbs of Ayla's birch tree. Where did it come from? she wonders. And why are people showing up to use this phone to call their loved ones? Especially loved ones who have passed on. All Ayla wants is for Kiri to come home. Until that day comes, she will keep Kiri's things safe. She'll keep her nightmares to herself. And she will not make a call on that telephone.

Dads of all varieties bounce and groove with their babies, letting them know the best thing they can be is themselves, in this exuberant picture book ode to the joy of fatherhood. Baby High five Down low You ready? Let's go Dads got moves Dads got grooves. From shoulder rides to sleepy time snuggles, dads have their own special relationships with their babies, their own way of showing their great big love for one another, and those beats, those boogies, those moments together will live in their hearts forever.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid gets a little sister twist in this wildly funny and highly illustrated companion to middle grade novel Dear Sister from New York Times bestselling author Alison McGhee that brings sibling rivalry--and love--to life through a series of letters. Sister has been the overlooked younger sibling for her WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE. She knows the drill. Her brother's banjo band is praised while no one acknowledges Sister's bongo skills. Sister does the grunt work, but Brother gets the credit. But this time, the blatant injustice has gone too far. This time, America's Famous Nothing has been granted the incredible power of choosing the family pet. And what does he choose? Certainly not a dog, the pet Sister has begged and pleaded for HER WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE--a pet the whole family could love. No, Brother chooses a bearded dragon. Sister is outraged. The picture of injured dignity, she refuses to acknowledge the creature's existence. It doesn't matter how much it stares at her or bobs its head to her bongo-ing, Sister is unmoved. Then, adding insult to injury, Brother gets to go to summer camp, leaving Sister at home to take care of his disgusting lizard. Sister refuses to suffer in silence. She sends Brother letter after letter detailing her disdain for the scaly burden he's saddled her with--even if the aptly nick-named Frightful isn't too awful. To her surprise, Brother's letters in reply reveal camp may not be everything he thought--and as their correspondence continues, the two siblings begin to find common ground. Sister may even develop a newfound appreciation for Brother--and the bearded dragon...maybe.

WINNER OF THE 2021 OLEB BOOKS POETRY PRIZEFace Up: A Collection of Outlaw Poems is a volume of unmistakable power. Defying social expectations, Suzanne Nielsen writes "I was born in the mid-fifties with fists for hands because / in utero / I knew life wasn't fooling around." As she explores recurrent themes of physical illness, depression, and addiction, she demonstrates self-awareness gleaned from a life lived fully.Suzanne Nielsen's poems are peopled with wry survivors attending to their lives with purpose and humor. A newly sober friend will "jingle his medallion in his pocket / and mimic a canine sense of direction." An adult navigating clinical depression will "climb into bed wearing . . . street clothes that haven't seen the streets for weeks." Relationships form in unexpected ways. Bertha from the Midway "swore to sit on them, / and I swore to watch her back, / and we became best friends for those ten days." In these poems of tenderness and grit, sorrow is always accompanied by wonder.

From New York Times bestselling author Alison McGhee comes a stunning and heartbreaking story of two teens who fight to reunite when one of them is caught in the web of a sinister cult. Micah and Sesame are true best friends. They safeguard each other's secrets and entwine their dreams. Micah wants to save his parents from the cult leader who calls himself "the Prophet." Sesame recently lost the last of her own family--her grandmother--and, to avoid foster care, plans to keep a low profile until she turns eighteen. Together, they never doubt they can build the futures they want. Until Micah disappears. The Prophet has taken Micah, his parents, and the rest of his followers underground. And trying to take on the Prophet in isolation, surrounded by his followers, proves to be a dangerous mistake that leaves Micah at the Prophet's mercy and losing all hope. Sesame, left alone, is wracked with fear over what could be happening to Micah. Never before have the two of them been so far apart--or needed each other more. But their faith in each other never wavers, and that might just be enough to save them both.

Who gets to choose? When a young woman emerges from a lengthy coma-like state she must face the decisions that were made about her body--without her consent--in this powerful novel of reclamation and hope. Twenty-one-year-old Mallie Williams--scrappy, headstrong, and wise beyond her years--has just landed on her feet following a tumultuous youth when the unthinkable happens: she is violently assaulted. The crime leaves her comatose, surrounded by friends and family who are hoping against hopes for a full recovery. But soon Mallie's small community finds themselves divided. The rape has left Mallie pregnant, and while some friends are convinced that she would never keep the pregnancy, others are sure that a baby would be the only good thing to come out of all of this pain. Who gets to decide? How much power, in the end, do we have over our own bodies? Mallie, her family, and her town find themselves at the center of a media storm, confronting questions nobody should have to face. And when Mallie emerges from the fog, what will she think of the choices that were made on her behalf? The Opposite of Fate is an intense and moving exploration of the decisions we make--and don't make--that forever change the course of our lives.

Who gets to choose? When a young woman emerges from a lengthy coma-like state she must face the decisions that were made about her body--without her consent--in this powerful novel of reclamation and hope. Twenty-one-year-old Mallie Williams--scrappy, headstrong, and wise beyond her years--has just landed on her feet following a tumultuous youth when the unthinkable happens: she is violently assaulted. The crime leaves her comatose, surrounded by friends and family who are hoping against hope for a full recovery. But soon Mallie's small community finds themselves divided. The rape has left Mallie pregnant, and while some friends are convinced that she would never keep the pregnancy, others are sure that a baby would be the only good thing to come out of all of this pain. Who gets to decide? How much power, in the end, do we have over our own bodies? Mallie, her family, and her town find themselves at the center of a media storm, confronting questions nobody should have to face. And when Mallie emerges from the fog, what will she think of the choices that were made on her behalf? The Opposite of Fate is an intense and moving exploration of the decisions we make--and don't make--that forever change the course of our lives.

"While books on sibling rivalry abound, Dear Sister] brings freshness to the topic with McGhee's gentle humor and poignant scenarios...Dear indeed." --Kirkus Reviews "A meaningful look at...siblinghood and all its foibles." --Publishers Weekly What do you do when you have an incredibly annoying little sister? Write her letters telling her so, of course From New York Times bestselling author Alison McGhee comes a wickedly funny, illustrated, heartwarming, and searingly honest collection of letters from an older brother to his little sister. Whininess, annoyingness, afraid of the darkness, refusal to eat lima beans, and pulling brother's hair. These are the criteria on which little sisters are graded. Inspired by the notes Alison McGhee's own kids would write each other, this heavily illustrated collection of letters and messages from an older brother to his little sister reveal the special love--or, at the very least, tolerance--siblings have for each other.

"An artful exercise in melancholy...Every reader will love openhearted Will." --Booklist (starred review) "Haunting, introspective." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Emotionally raw... A] piercing narrative." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "McGhee artfully illustrates the tangled web wherein grief intertwines with the mundane." --BCCB After his dad dies of suicide, Will tries to overcome his own misery by secretly helping the people around him in this exquisitely crafted story made up of one hundred chapters of one hundred words each, by award-winning and bestselling author Alison McGhee. Sixteen-year-old Will spends most of his days the same way: Working at the Dollar Only store, trying to replicate his late father's famous cornbread recipe, and walking the streets of Los Angeles. Will started walking after his father committed suicide, and three years later he hasn't stopped. But there are some places Will can't walk by: The blessings store with the chest of 100 Chinese blessings in the back, the bridge on Fourth Street where his father died, and his childhood friend Playa's house. When Will learns Playa was raped at a party--a party he was at, where he saw Playa, and where he believes he could have stopped the worst from happening if he hadn't left early--it spurs Will to stop being complacent in his own sadness and do some good in the world. He begins to leave small gifts for everyone in his life, from Superman the homeless guy he passes on his way to work, to the Little Butterfly Dude he walks by on the way home, to Playa herself. And it is through those acts of kindness that Will is finally able to push past his own trauma and truly begin to live his life again. Oh, and discover the truth about that cornbread.

What do you do when you have an incredibly annoying little sister? Write her letters telling her so, of course From New York Times bestselling author Alison McGhee comes a wickedly funny, illustrated, heartwarming, and deeply honest collection of letters from an older brother to his little sister. Whininess, annoyingness, afraid of the darkness, refusal to eat lima beans, and pulling brother's hair. This is the criteria on which little sisters are graded. Inspired by the notes Alison McGhee's own kids would write each other, this heavily illustrated collection of letters and messages from an older brother to his little sister reveal the special love--or, at the very least, tolerance--siblings have for each other.