Randall Platt

A gripping historical fiction friendship story that will grab everyone by the heartstrings and never let go.A giant, a dwarf, and three doomed circus animals . . .By her fourteenth birthday, Babe Killingsworth measures 6'9" and weighs 342 pounds. In 1896, what other options does a giant have but to join a carnival?Her only real talent is handling animals: “Critters is folks to me.” The cheap outfit her feckless father sells her off to offers critters galore; an escape from Neal, Idaho; and a bit of fame. It also opens the doorway to exploitation and neglect.But Babe’s love for Euclid (a chimp) and Jupiter (a bear) keeps her anchored, and in Professor Renoir’s Collection of Oddities, Curiosities, and Delights, she is among her own kind.Enter Carlotta Jones, billed as the world’s smallest girl, whose elephant act leaves much to be desired. At thirty inches tall, Carlotta is beautiful, spoiled, and demanding and has very little talent—Egypt, her elephant, dances better than she does.How can a giant like Babe and a dwarf like Carlotta ever see eye to eye? They don’t at first, but soon they understand that a common enemy can bring anyone together—even a giant and a dwarf."Platt proves again she is unafraid to tackle intensely emotional issues for young readers in this beautifully written piece. Like its title, it inspires both curiosity and delight.” —Booklist

A gripping historical fiction friendship story that will grab everyone by the heartstrings and never let go.A giant, a dwarf, and three doomed circus animals . . .By her fourteenth birthday, Babe Killingsworth measures 6ʹ9ʺ and weighs 342 pounds. In 1896, what other options does a giant have but to join a carnival?Her only real talent is handling animals: "Critters is folks to me." The cheap outfit her feckless father sells her off to offers critters galore; an escape from Neal, Idaho; and a bit of fame. It also opens the doorway to exploitation and neglect.But Babe's love for Euclid (a chimp) and Jupiter (a bear) keeps her anchored, and in Professor Renoir's Collection of Oddities, Curiosities, and Delights, she is among her own kind.Enter Carlotta Jones, billed as the world's smallest girl, whose elephant act leaves much to be desired. At thirty inches tall, Carlotta is beautiful, spoiled, and demanding and has very little talent--Egypt, her elephant, dances better than she does.How can a giant like Babe and a dwarf like Carlotta ever see eye to eye? They don't at first, but soon they understand that a common enemy can bring anyone together--even a giant and a dwarf.

A gripping historical fiction friendship story that will grab everyone by the heartstrings and never let go.A giant, a dwarf, and three doomed circus animals . . .By her fourteenth birthday, Babe Killingsworth measures 6ʹ9ʺ and weighs 342 pounds. In 1896, what other options does a giant have but to join a carnival?Her only real talent is handling animals: "Critters is folks to me." The cheap outfit her feckless father sells her off to offers critters galore; an escape from Neal, Idaho; and a bit of fame. It also opens the doorway to exploitation and neglect.But Babe's love for Euclid (a chimp) and Jupiter (a bear) keeps her anchored, and in Professor Renoir's Collection of Oddities, Curiosities, and Delights, she is among her own kind.Enter Carlotta Jones, billed as the world's smallest girl, whose elephant act leaves much to be desired. At thirty inches tall, Carlotta is beautiful, spoiled, and demanding and has very little talent--Egypt, her elephant, dances better than she does.How can a giant like Babe and a dwarf like Carlotta ever see eye to eye? They don't at first, but soon they understand that a common enemy can bring anyone together--even a giant and a dwarf.

Just about everyone is incommunicado in the small, sleepy Oregon coastal town of Sea Park during the winter of 1941. That is, until Pearl Harbor is attacked. Then Sea Park springs to patriotic life. But is Ruby Opal Pearl (aka Jewels) Stokes the only person to see what’s really happening here? Tommy Kaye, the one person in her life who has provided security, shelter, and a smidgeon of respect—and who owns the biggest resort on the coast—is now the cause of the town’s rage. Tommy’s Japanese ancestry makes him the prime target of an angry mob, not to mention he’s also rich, has a shady past (which includes Jewels’s eccentric mother), and everyone in town owes him money. As the town’s patriotism blossoms into paranoia and turns violent, Jewels has to do something to protect Tommy from internment (or worse), even if that something is going up against the town and the government, not to mention the FBI. Thus begins a twelve-year-old girl’s war within a war.

Just about everyone is incommunicado in the small, sleepy Oregon coastal town of Sea Park during winter. Until Pearl Harbor, that is, when it springs to patriotic life. But is Ruby Opal Pearl (a.k.a. Jewels) Stokes the only person to see what’s really happening here? Tommy Kiramoto, the one person in her life who has provided security, shelter, and a smidgeon of respect?and who owns the biggest resort on the coast?is now the cause of the town’s rage. Tommy’s Japanese ancestry makes him the prime target of an angry mob, not to mention he’s also rich, has a shady past, and everyone in town owes him money. As the town's patriotism blossoms into paranoia and turns violent, Jewels has to do something to protect Tommy from internment (or worse), even if that something is going up against the town and the government, not to mention the FBI. Thus begins a twelve-year-old girl’s war within a war. Randall Platt’s Incommunicado is both timely and timeless. It's about the meaning of courage and the willingness to stand up for what's right, even when it goes against the prevailing attitudes of the time and place. It's also about the insidious way groups and communities can nurture ignorance and prejudice. But most of all, it’s an adventure story set in a town full of unforgettable characters, during a time of great intrigue and peril, no matter which enemy or on what front you fight. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers?picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Like most everybody else in the middle of the Great Depression, sixteen-year-old Liberty Justice Jones is, well, stuck. But living smack-dab in the Lost Pines of Texas, where anyone can walk into the forest and chop a tree for free, with a debt-burdened mom who's trying to make a go of a newfangled idea called a Christmas tree farm? That's stuck bad.Especially if your dream is college. Liberty's younger brother, Jefferson, is no help, and neither is their addled grandmother. Liberty's only hope is her own wits. But if she's so smart, she wonders, why can't she figure out a way to help their family and get off this wreck of a farm?Learning of the five-hundred-dollar prize for the most beautiful Christmas tree delivered to the state capitol in Austin, Liberty hatches a plot. With the aid of their aging draft horse, Quiller; their derelict tractor, Stella; and Rudy, a kid pulled between America and Mexico and fresh off the rails, she's determined to take home the honours. With the sparkling dialogue and spunky humour that fans have come to love in her heroines, and a perceptive eye and ear for historical detail, award-winning author Randall Platt takes readers young and old on a spirited adventure set in a time when dreams were all many folks had.