William Alexander

The tomato gets no respect. Never has. Lost in the dustbin of history for centuries, accused of being vile and poisonous, subjected to being picked hard-green and gassed, even used as a projectile, the poor tomato has become the avatar for our disaffection with industrial foods - while becoming the most popular vegetable in America (and, in fact, the world). Each summer, tomato festivals crop up across the country; the Heinz ketchup bottle, instantly recognizable, has earned a spot in the Smithsonian; and now the tomato is redefining the very nature of farming, moving from fields into climate-controlled mega-greenhouses the size of New England villages. Supported by meticulous research and told in a lively, accessible voice, Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World seamlessly weaves travel, history, humor, and a little adventure (and misadventure) to follow the tomato's trail through history. A fascinating story complete with heroes, con artists, conquistadors, and-no surprise-the Mafia, this book is a mouth-watering, informative, and entertaining guide to the food that has captured our hearts for generations.

National Book Award winner William Alexander conjures up a spooky adventure full of excitement in this entertaining sequel to A Properly Unhaunted Place. Rosa Ramona Diaz, the ghost appeasing assistant librarian, has unleashed all the ghosts who were previously shut out of the small town of Ingot. Now ghosts are everywhere, and the town's living residents are either learning to cope or trying to do the one thing no one can successfully do--banish the ghosts. At school, something supernatural is stealing kids' voices and leaving them speechless. And it's Rosa's job to solve the mystery and set things right. Meanwhile her best friend Jasper is dealing with what remains of the Renaissance Festival, where ghosts from Ingot's past are now battling it out with the ghosts of the Renaissance reenactors. And Rosa is experiencing a haunting of her own--could her father's ghost have followed her here? Somehow Rosa and Jasper are going to have to find a way to bring Ingot back to normal--in a world where the living are now residing side-by-side with the dearly departed.

From National Book Award-winning author William Alexander comes "a fun and fast-paced supernatural mystery with secret depths" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Rosa Ramona D az has a very special talent. She comes from a family of librarians who specialize in ghost appeasement. So she can't understand why her mother has moved them to Ingot, the world's only unhaunted town. What are they supposed to do there, with no poltergeists to quiet and no specters to soothe? Frankly, Rosa doesn't think anyone should want to live in a place where the biggest attraction is a woefully inaccurate Renaissance Festival. But Jasper Chevalier has always lived in Ingot, working at the festival while his parents hold court. Jasper has never seen a ghost, and can't imagine his unhaunted town any other way...until an angry apparition thunders into the fairgrounds and turns Ingot upside down. Jasper is astonished...and Rosa is delighted. Mist is building in the hills, and something otherworldly is about to be unleashed. Rosa will need all her ghost appeasement tools--and a little help from Jasper--to try to rein in the angry ghosts in this hilariously spooky adventure.