Shrinking Violet Is Totally Famous

The fourth book in this hilarious series - with lovely illustrations throughout. Violet Potts is CRAZY about Ancient Egypt. When Gran wins a cruise down the River Nile, Violet thinks she might EXPLODE with excitement. Especially when her cousin Anthony is invited along too! But when they're drawn into a SPOOKY mystery of cursed tombs and vanishing cats, Violet starts to wonder whether the other tourists might not be all they seem... Sometimes being little brings history to LIFE!

It's the BIGGEST day in Violet's life. She is finally TALL enough to ride Plunger, the scariest rollercoaster around. But just as Violet is about to climb on, she shrinks! She never wants to shrink again... But then Granny is accused of stealing, and tiny Violet is the only one who can catch the thief.

Violet loves the milkshakes at Udderly Perfect, the coolest cafe around. But Udderly Perfect is threatened with closure, all because of a mistake Violet made. She must find a way to keep it open. Perhaps she can persuade her favourite celebrity stunt woman, Stella Lightfoot, to join the campaign when she comes to town on a book tour?

The author of Armchair Nation and On Roads examines shyness in a“sparkling cultural history rang[ing]from Jane Austen to Silicon Valley” (The Guardian). Shyness is a pervasive human trait: even most extroverts know what it is like to stand tongue-tied at the fringe of an unfamiliar group or flush with embarrassment at being the unwelcome center of attention. And yet the cultural history of shyness has remained largely unwritten—until now. With incisiveness, passion, and humor, Joe Moran offers an eclectic and original exploration of what it means to be a “shrinking violet.” Along the way, he provides a collective biography of shyness through portraits of such shy individuals as Charles Darwin, Charles Schulz, Garrison Keillor, and Agatha Christie, among many others. In their stories often both heartbreaking and inspiring and through the myriad ways scientists and thinkers have tried to explain and “cure” shyness, Moran finds hope. To be shy, he decides, is not simply a burden; it is also a gift, a different way of seeing the world that can be both enriching and inspiring. “Fantastic and involving . . . [A] feat of empathy. Every page radiates understanding; every paragraph, its (shy) author’s gentle wit.”—The Observer “Whether you’re boldly outgoing or reticent and self-effacing, you’ll find something to inspire, inform, or surprise in this thoughtful, beautifully written, and vividly detailed cultural history.”—Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet

Orange is for energy, pink means love, and I, Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red—my passion—this summer. I’m giving basketball a chance. But what I really want to score this summer is Graham—a.k.a. Cutebutt. But when Dad agrees to mentor Graham with his art project, all of Cutebutt’s attention is on him—leaving me feeling colorless.

When it comes to movie reviews, critic Violet Epps is a powerhouse voice. But that’s only because she’s learned to channel her literary hero Dorothy Parker, the most celebrated and scathing wit of the twentieth century. If only Violet could summon that kind of strength in her personal life. Violet visits the Algonquin Hotel in an attempt to find inspiration from the hallowed dining room where Dorothy Parker and so many other famous writers of the 1920s traded barbs, but she gets more than she bargained for when Parker’s feisty spirit rematerializes. An irreverent ghost with problems of her own—including a refusal to cross over to the afterlife—Mrs. Parker helps Violet face her fears, becoming in turn mentor and tormentor…and ultimately, friend. READERS GUIDE INSIDE

A pitch-perfect, emotionally riveting novel about the fracturing of a marriage and a family: “A gripping debut” (People) from an award-winning young writer with superb storytelling instincts. Life hasn’t always been perfect for Abe and Cassandra Green, but an afternoon on the San Francisco Bay might be as good as it gets. Abe is a rheumatologist, piloting his coveted new boat. Cassandra is a sculptor, finally gaining modest attention for her art. Their beautiful daughter Elizabeth is heading to Harvard in the fall. Somehow, they’ve made things work. But then, tensions overflow, and they plunge into a terrible fight. In a fit of fury, Abe throws himself off the boat. “A bittersweet tale of breakup and forgiveness” (O, The Oprah Magazine), The Violet Hour follows a modern family through past and present. As Cassandra, Abe, and Elizabeth navigate the passage of time—the expectations of youth, the concessions of middle age, the headiness of desire, the bitterness of loss—they must come to terms with the fragility of their intimacy, the strange legacies they inherit from their parents, and the kind of people they want to be. Exquisitely written, The Violet Hour is “a rewarding family saga reminiscent of Anne Tyler’s novels...Hill’s story unfurls from the kind of sensational marital spat that makes you feel better about your own imperfect union…wonderfully witty and assured” (The Washington Post Book World).

Violet is desperate for a dog, but she's not allowed one. Luckily there's a dog walking scheme that she and her friend Nisha can join. The girls love playing with their designated puppy. Until Violet surprises Nisha by shrinking to the size of a dog biscuit! Sometimes being tiny is terrifying! But then disaster strikes at the dog show, and Violet discovers her small size might win her a prize... The fantastically funny SHRINKING VIOLET series in a brand new package.