Michael de Guzman

Newboy hasn't spoken in three years. By the age of twelve he's lived in eleven foster homes. His present situation is the worst yet. The time has come for him to flee the coop and make his way in the world on his own. He escapes with only a few possessions and $27.50. He knows he has to keep an eye on everything. His former foster parents will be looking for him. He's part of their meal ticket. The police could pick him up and return him. The streets are dangerous. Filled with villains. Then, in a Dumpster, he finds a dirty, ratty ventriloquist dummy with no hands, backward feet, a chunk of its nose missing and a permanently closed right eye who he names Stinko. With the discover of Stinko, Newboy has met the first of several new friends who will help him not just survive, but triumph.

According to Henrietta, her life in the circus should be the envy of any kid. She's never lived in a house. She's never been to school. All she cares about is learning how to be a great clown like her father. In fact, life is so perfect, Henrietta wants it to stay exactly the same. Which is the last thing that life ever does.

According to the adults who rule his existence, the boy is guilty of asking questions, of wanting to live his own life, of being a misfit. At the age of twelve, he's sent on a mission that he must complete if he is to move on with his life. When he returns home, he's judged a failure. He's adjusted and sent off to work in a garbage dump for the rest of time. His daring escape returns him to the land of his mission. His arch enemy pursues him. The boy knows that if he's caught, he'll be taken back and turned into illuminated drool. Instead of hiding, he risks it all to find the human who means the most to him.

Los libros de Michael de Guzman son acerca de ni os que habitan en los m rgenes de la sociedad convencional, que tienen un gran desaf o al que enfrentarse, que act an por si mismos, y que reciben el apoyo y la ayuda de adultos que tambi n viven en los mismos m rgenes. Mientras crec a, de Guzman vi injusticia e hipocres a por todos lados. A n las ve. La batalla contra estas amenazas contin a. Hay que remar contra marea o el poder del romance desaparecer y el mundo empeorar a causa de ello. Antes de escribir libros para lectores j venes, de Guzman escribi guiones de pel culas para televisi n. Fue nominado para un Emmy, un premio de Writers Guild of America y un Razzie. Le han otorgado una beca de National Endowment for the Arts. Es miembro de Writers Guild of America y de Author's Guild. El Sr. de Guzman asisti a Trinity School en Nueva York y a University of Rhode Island. l y su esposa viven en Seattle, Washington.

Twelve-year-old Beekman O'Day has spent his entire life moving from place to place with his wheeler-dealer father, Leo. They've lived everywhere in Manhattan, from hotels to apartments to rented rooms, and Beekman has attended nine schools. Now Beekman is in a new home and about to enter school, ready to go through the motions of meeting new kids and teachers. He knows that this lifestyle has got to go; that it's time to make a deal with Leo and put an end to their pick-up-and-go shenanigans. And with a little help from the neighbors and his first best friend, Beekman is going to do all it takes to make his big deal happen. This sly and wise second novel charts the course of a young man who is discovering how to go somewhere new by standing his ground and staying in place.

A road novel for young readers Twelve-year-old Sidney T. Mellon has an unfortunate name considering that his head is round and much too large for his body, his red hair stands straight up in a long crew cut, and his expression is perpetually flushed. A cantaloupe is what usually comes to mind. So does the nickname Melonhead. What chance does Sidney have, looking like this, yo-yoing back and forth between Seattle and Los Angeles, living part of each year with each of his divorced parents? He is disconnected from both distracted parents; he is disconnected from his own distracted self. No wonder he gets on a bus in Los Angeles one day and heads for New York City, making up ridiculous names and stories about himself at the drop of a hat whenever he meets somebody new. But each of the people Sidney meets on his diesel-powered journey across America contributes something to his understanding of who he is and where he's going. What he will do when he gets there, what he will discover about the unhappiness in his life, he has no idea. He just knows that he has to find out.