Most Perfect You

Jazmyn Simon's debut is a moving love letter to children struggling to accept themselves inside and out—exactly as they are. This gorgeous picture book was inspired by a conversation between the author and her daughter. I was shown all the smiles in the entire world. I looked at all of the many bright smiles until I found my favorite: your smile. After comparing herself to other little girls, Irie confides in her mama that she feels something is wrong with her, that she’s not perfect as she is. And so Irie’s mama tells the magical story of how Irie was intentionally and wonderfully made. In fact, Irie is made up of all her mother's favorite things: sparkling eyes, a bright smile, and a kind heart. Actor and activist Jazmyn Simon's tender picture book emphasizes the unique beauty and strength of all children, encouraging them to love their most perfect selves.

There are a lot of personality and intelligence tests out there designed to label you and put you in a particular box. But Dr. Caroline Leaf says there's much more to you than a personality profile can capture. In fact, you cannot be categorized! In this fascinating book, she takes readers through seven steps to rediscover and unlock their unique design--the brilliantly original way each person thinks, feels, relates, and makes choices--freeing them from comparison, envy, and jealousy, which destroy brain tissue. Readers learn to be aware of what's going on in their own minds and bodies, to lean in to their own experience rather than trying to forcefully change it, and to redefine what success means to them. Released from the suffocating box of expectations, they'll embrace their true identity and develop a clear sense of divine purpose in their lives. Knowing and understanding our identity empowers our choices. Unlocking one's you quotient is not optional--it is essential.

Should Your Heart Be Tested or Trusted? Many believers are convinced they have a “deceitful” and “wicked” heart that is not to be trusted. Theirs is a faith of duty and obligation—only a faint imitation of the full and abundant life Jesus promised. This provocative book invites you to a radically different approach, an inspiring move from head to heart that affects every aspect of your life: how you handle conflict, how you communicate with and love others, and how you view yourself and God. There’s a place of purity within you where Jesus lives. God calls you to live from this perfect place—not merely from your head, but from your heart. Knowing the perfect you means no more waiting for closeness with God. Knowing the perfect you brings a freedom in Jesus that you’ve never experienced before. “In this captivating book, Andrew Farley and Tim Chalas invite you to celebrate God’s perfect (and accurate!) view of you.” —BART MILLARD, singer/songwriter for MercyMe

Tex just wants to find a friend but gains a whole lot more! Tex is a little T-rex with a big heart. After being teased by some of the other young dinosaurs, he wanders off, feeling sad and lonely. When he comes across several dinosaurs in trouble, Tex does his best to help them and learns that what makes you different is also what makes you special. In this heartwarming adventure, Tex shares valuable life lessons about empathy, kindness, and self-acceptance, even in the face of bullying. This beautifully illustrated picture book helps children build reading skills through rhyme while reminding them to love themselves just the way they are.

Jazmyn Simon's debut is a moving love letter to children struggling to accept themselves inside and out—exactly as they are. This gorgeous picture book was inspired by a conversation between the author and her daughter. I was shown all the smiles in the entire world. I looked at all of the many bright smiles until I found my favorite: your smile. After comparing herself to other little girls, Irie confides in her mama that she feels something is wrong with her, that she’s not perfect as she is. And so Irie’s mama tells the magical story of how Irie was intentionally and wonderfully made. In fact, Irie is made up of all her mother's favorite things: sparkling eyes, a bright smile, and a kind heart. Actor and activist Jazmyn Simon's tender picture book emphasizes the unique beauty and strength of all children, encouraging them to love their most perfect selves.

"Wise romantic and painfully relatable."—BECKY ALBERTALLI, award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda For fans of Adam Silvera and Nina LaCour comes a timely novel about a teen?s struggle when academic success and happiness pull him in opposite directions. Senior Ariel Stone has spent his life cultivating the perfect college résumé: first chair violinist, dedicated volunteer, active synagogue congregant, and expected valedictorian. He barely has time to think about a social life, let alone a relationship...until a failed calculus quiz puts his future on the line, forcing Ariel to enlist his classmate, Amir, as a tutor. As the two spend more time together, Ariel discovers he may not like calculus, but he does like Amir. When he's with Amir, the crushing academic pressure fades away, and a fuller and brighter world comes into focus. But college deadlines are still looming. And adding a new relationship to his long list of commitments may just push Ariel past his limit. Full of empathy, honesty, and heart, You Asked for Perfect is a story for anyone who has ever questioned the price of perfection. Praise for You Asked for Perfect: "Silverman's novel hit me straight in the heart... It was powerful enough to make me want to be a better—yet still imperfect—person." —Bill Konigsberg, author of The Music of What Happens "A coming-of-age novel that will charm readers with its relatable and diverse characters, quirky storyline, and interweaving of faith, queerness, and the everyday lives of seniors navigating the pressures of college applications, grades, and relationships. Heartwarming and engaging."—Kirkus

A bird's egg is a nearly perfect survival capsule--an external womb--and one of natural selection's most wonderful creations. Shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016.One of Forbes' Best Books About Birds and Birding in 2016. Renowned ornithologist Tim Birkhead opens this gripping story as a female guillemot chick hatches, already carrying her full quota of tiny eggs within her undeveloped ovary. As she grows into adulthood, only a few of her eggs mature, are released into the oviduct, and are fertilized by sperm stored from copulation that took place days or weeks earlier. Within a matter of hours, the fragile yolk is surrounded by albumen and the whole is gradually encased within a turquoise jewel of a shell. Soon the fully formed egg is expelled onto a rocky ledge, where it will be incubated for four weeks before a chick emerges and the life cycle begins again. THE MOST PERFECT THING is about how eggs in general are made, fertilized, developed, and hatched. Birkhead uses birds' eggs as wondrous portals into natural history, enlivened by the stories of naturalists and scientists, including Birkhead and his students, whose discoveries have advanced current scientific knowledge of reproduction.

A stand-up comedian who was brought up as a Jehovah's Witness describes how her childhood was haunted by perpetual doomsday prophecies about an imminent apocalypse in which her non-believing neighbors and schoolmates were doomed.