Miss Communication

Now in paperback! In this hilarious installment of the Tales from the Locker series, Babymouse has a smartphone, and she's not afraid to use it. . . . Ping! Ping! The sound of texting is in the air. Everyone at middle school has a cell phone. Babymouse just has to get one, too. But having a phone is a lot of work! Building up a following on SoFamous, learning text lingo, keeping up with all the important koala videos . . . Babymouse is ready to tear her whiskers out. Why does it suddenly feel like she has no friends? Somehow, Babymouse needs to figure out how to stop worrying and love her smartphone . . . if Locker doesn't eat it first. #Typical.

*Cosmopolitan Must-Read* *InStyle Book Club Pick* *Glamour Book Club Pick* *#1 May read on POPSUGAR.COM* *Featured on NPR* *Featured on HuffPost Live* This unforgettable debut novel asks us to look up from our screens and out at the world . . . and to imagine what life would be like with no searches, no status updates, no texts, no Tweets, no pins, and no posts Evie Rosen has had enough. She's tired of the partners at her law firm e-mailing her at all hours of the night. The thought of another online date makes her break out in a cold sweat. She's over the clever hashtags and the endless selfies. So when her career hits a surprising roadblock and her heart is crushed by Facebook, Evie decides it's time to put down her smartphone for good. (Beats stowing it in her underwear—she's done that too!) And that's when she discovers a fresh start for real conversations, fewer distractions, and living in the moment, even if the moments are heartbreakingly difficult. Babies are born; marriages teeter; friendships are tested. Evie may find love and a new direction when she least expects it, but she also learns that just because you unplug your phone doesn't mean you can also unplug from life.

Watch out, middle school! Babymouse graduates from graphic novels in the first of the Babymouse Tales from the Locker series--now in paperback! For Babymouse, middle school is like a monster movie. You can never be sure who’s a friend and who’s an enemy, and the halls are filled with mean-girl zombies. Instead of brains, the zombies hunger for stuff—the perfect wedge sandals or the right shade of sparkly lip gloss—and they expect everyone to be just like them. But Babymouse doesn’t want to fit in—she wants to stand out! So she joins the film club to write and direct a sweeping cinematic epic. Will making the film of her dreams turn into a nightmare? Highly illustrated with black-and-white art throughout and a dozen or so comic pages, this is the perfect showcase for bestselling authors Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm's signature humor. Middle school may never be the same!

50 Scientifically-Supported Techniques to Create More Confident and Compelling Speakers

The beloved Newbery Honor book by the author of The Fourteenth Goldfish, about a spirited heroine growing up with trying circumstances, a sense of adventure, and tremendous heart. It isn't easy being a pioneer in the state of Washington in 1899. It's particularly hard when you are the only girl ever born in the new settlement. With seven older brothers and a love of adventure, May Amelia Jackson just can't seem to abide her family's insistence that she behave like a Proper Young Lady. She's sure she could do better if only there were at least one other girl living along the banks of the Nasel River. And now that Mama's going to have a baby, maybe there's hope. Inspired by the diaries of her great-aunt, the real May Amelia, three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Jennifer Holm gives a beautifully crafted tale of one young girl whose unique spirit captures the courage, humour, passion and depth of the American pioneer experience.

Back in the early 1600s, Rene Descartes, the father of modern philosophy was struggling with the meaning of life, and wondering if he really existed, or if he was just some kind of awareness fl oating around in the universe. He fi nally resolved that he really did exist. His proof was stated, I think, therefore I am. Too bad for him there werent any old time cowboys around yet, or they could have saved him all that soul searching. Very early in the life of a cowboy, as he picks himself up out of a pile of rocks after being bucked off his horse, he knows for absolute certain of his existence. In the words of author and old time cowboy, Jon Garate, I HURT, THEREFORE I AM. Who would ever believe that growing up as a wild cowboy in the Old West would nurture the developing mind of a self-made philosopher? Herein, a reader can harvest-in-full, or glean piece-meal, nuggets ofhorse sense (country wisdom), feasting on the thoughts and ideas presented throughout this work of art.