Jumped

Sam has the rules of slackerhood down: Don't be late to class. Don't ever look the teacher in the eye. Develop your blank stare. Since his mom left, he has become an expert in the art of slacking, especially since no one at his new school gets his intense passion for the music of the Pacific Northwest—Nirvana, Hole, Sleater-Kinney. Then his English teacher begins a slam poetry unit and Sam gets paired up with the daunting, scarred, clearly-a-gang-member Luis, who happens to sit next to him in every one of his classes. Slacking is no longer an option—Luis will destroy him. Told in Sam's raw voice and interspersed with vivid poems, Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott is a stunning debut novel about differences, friendship, loss, and the power of words.

On July 19, 2004, an amazing story, accompanied by incredible police camera video footage, broke across network and cable news programs. After a high-speed chase to the top of Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a young woman stopped, stepped out of her car, walked to the edge of the bridge--and jumped. State trooper Les Boldt raced over, thrust out his hand, and in a miracle of timing and determination, snagged the woman's wrist as she started the plunge. Other officers ran to his aid, and they pulled the woman to safety while the on-dash police cam captured the action. That woman on the edge was Tina Zahn, and in Why I Jumped she tells her story. In this gripping book, now available in paperback, Zahn gives readers a look at what led to such severe depression that suicide seemed the only answer. Readers won't be able to put down this powerful true story of crippling depression, dramatic rescue, and a return to hope.

Beloved author Rita Williams-Garcia intertwines the lives of three very different teens in this fast-paced, gritty narrative about choices and the impact that even the most seemingly insignificant ones can have. A National Book Award finalist. One day. One huge New York City high school. Three girls, headed toward one slow-motion collision. There’s Trina, a pretty, self-involved artist who’s sure she’s bringing beauty and color to the lives of everyone around her, regardless of what they really think. There’s Leticia, who skates by on minimal effort; she’s more interested in her cell phone, her nails, and gossip than school. And there’s Dominique, an angry basketball player who’s been benched for low grades. When Trina unknowingly offends Dominique, Dominique decides that it’s going down—after school, she’s going to jump Trina. Trina has no idea. And Leticia is the only witness to Dominique’s rage, the only one who could stop the beatdown from coming. But does she want to get involved in this mess?

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Jeremy Jackrabbit is excited to enter the jump rope contest. Will he get the jitters—or will his joyful jumping win him a trip to the Jump Rope Hall of Fame?

When someone leaves a window open, Cat jumps in! So begins the tale of an outdoor cat who finds his way into a tidy house, wreaking havoc at every turn. Bright watercolors by Caldecott Medalist McCully are buoyed by a playful text by the author of "Opera Cat." Full color.

When a bug sleeping on a jug is chased by a frog, he has to jump to get away. But then that frog (who’s sleeping on a log) is in for a similar surprise! He’s attacked by a cat…who needs to jump away from a dog…and on it goes, until not even a shark is free from getting a little fright! Building on repetition that’s fun to read and fun to listen to, Jump! is a rip-roaring, read-aloud with simple rhymes and lively illustrations that leap off the pages.

From the Newbery Honor–winning author of Genesis Begins Again comes a shimmering picture book that shines the light on Zora Neale Hurston, the extraordinary writer and storycatcher extraordinaire who changed the face of American literature. Zora was a girl who hankered for tales like bees for honey. Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, “to jump at de sun”, because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you’d get off the ground. So Zora jumped from place to place, from the porch of the general store where she listened to folktales, to Howard University, to Harlem. And everywhere she jumped, she shined sunlight on the tales most people hadn’t been bothered to listen to until Zora. The tales no one had written down until Zora. Tales on a whole culture of literature overlooked…until Zora. Until Zora jumped.

The life experiences revealed in GIRL, DON’T YOU JUMP ROPE! make this memoir by Betty Anne Jackson, truly engrossing. There were no signs that read “colored” or “white”, yet everyone knew where the boundaries were in 40’s and 50’s Chicago. And, being ‘colored’ meant there was no way to escape the limits that segregation imposed on one’s life. The author describes attending a ghetto school, as well as encountering a hostile experience at university level, and then a cross-burning on the lawn of the vacation home she and her husband shared with friends. With humor, she paints a heartfelt portrait of the contrasts between the tree-lined neighborhood of her very early years and the harsh realities of how ghetto living can engulf the human spirit. Betty Anne had no choice other than to grow up in one of the earliest housing projects on the south side of Chicago, but she always struggled to be FROM the project...not OF the project! This is the story of that struggle.