The Happiest Book Ever

What could be happier than a book with a dancing cake, a candy parade, and a hug monster? A book with all those things (and more) plus YOU! Your happy, happy thoughts will make this book super happy happy! But something seems off. Could it be that frowny frog? Perhaps we could shake some sense into him, or slap a Post-it over his face. No? Well then, maybe its time for that frog to SCRAM! Hooray! He's gone! Time for a happy dance! Wait, what's wrong? Now NO ONE seems happy! Let's see if we can't do something to truly make this the happiest book ever. In his most interactive book yet, Bob Shea proves that happiness is more than just a piece of chocolate cake. (Though that comes pretty close!)

“Propulsive, transfixing, and disturbing. I could not set the book down. Harrowing and fearlessly honest, The Happiest Girl in the World is a haunting read because it couldn't have done justice to its subjects – fictional and real – any other way.” —Popsugar One of Good Morning America's Best Books of April! From the acclaimed author of Mercy House comes a gripping new novel about a young woman’s dreams of Olympic gymnastic gold—and what it takes to reach the top For Sera Wheeler, the Olympics is the reason for everything. It’s why she trains thirty hours a week, starves herself to under 100 pounds, and pops Advil like Tic Tacs. For her mother, Charlene, hungry for glory she never had, it’s why she rises before dawn to drive Sera to practice in a different state, and why the family scrimps, saves, and fractures. It’s why, when Sera’s best friend reports the gymnastics doctor to the authority who selects the Olympic Team, Sera denies what she knows about his treatments, thus preserving favor. Their friendship shatters. But Sera protected her dream—didn’t she? Sera doubles down, taping broken toes, numbing torn muscles, and pouring her family’s resources into the sport. Soon she isn’t training for the love of gymnastics. She’s training to make her disloyalty worthwhile. No matter the cost. The Happiest Girl in the World explores the dark history behind an athlete who stands on the world stage, biting gold. It's about the silence required of the exceptional, a tarnished friendship, and the sacrifices a parent will make for a child, even as a family is torn apart. It’s about the price of greatness.

"Meet the happiest animals in the world and discover what makes them smile! From cute and joyful quokkas to silly, grinning chimpanzees, these happy critters are sure to put a smile on your face"-- Back cover.

'We all have our own battles and in this book, I've decided to be completely honest about mine. I've struggled with my weight, tried multiple fad diets, binged on tubs of ice cream and, in darker times, been scarily obsessed with food. It's been tough seeking that healthy balance in life: trying to lose weight and maintain it has been one of the hardest challenges I've faced. But I've finally found the answer, I've successfully sustained the results and am sharing my recipes and tips with you in this book, so that is why this is the happiest weight loss book ever! I promise that once you read this book, you will never look back.' Connie Simmonds Connie Simmonds, former marketing manager and make-up artist decided to get HEALTHY after years of yo-yo dieting and all sorts of attempts to get 'skinny'. A shocking visit to the doctors aged just 24 Connie was diagnosed with a severe stomach infection and a fatty liver. This was the wake-up call she needed and since focusing on her long-term health rather than quick fixes and instant weight loss, she has dropped 2 dress sizes, sustained it and inspired thousands to do the same. Healthy Forever comes with 60 delicious, well balanced meals that Connie has personally devised using her nutritional knowledge and complete and utter love and passion for food. You'll find an array of comforting dishes, chocolate recipes and even recipes for those days that you simply cannot be bothered to cook. Healthy Forever is like no other recipe book, it is refreshingly fun and light hearted with touching moments of struggle and fight. Connie Simmonds' first cookbook takes you on the most personal and honest journey as she reflects on her past and what brought her here today as a credible advocate for healthy weight loss. Connie wants her readers to understand that they are not alone, the struggle to lose weight is real but it doesn't have to be forever. You can finally get healthy, lose weight and be happy, just like she did - not just for today but forever!

Alphonse, a young hippopotamus too big, green, and different to fit in, leaves the circus where his family lives and goes to New York City, where he finally finds a friend who likes him just the way he is.

While all the other animals are busy arguing over who is the best, only the Raccoon is happy for all of them. Although each animal is different, can they learn to appreciate each other and live together happily?In a sunny meadow there’s everything the animals could dream for. But they often argue and always try to decide who is better. Everyone’s saying what their quality is without appreciating the others. The giraffe is proud to be the tallest, the hedgehog is the spikiest, the pig the most round, the frog the most green… Everyone disagrees. Only the raccoon is happy for the others, he’s so happy for them that he’s the happiest animal that needs to dance his happiest dance. In the end his sincere joy is so catching that all the animals join in his happy dance.Author Information: Anna Shuttlewood studied mural painting and fine arts at the National Academy of Arts in Bulgaria. She has since turned her talents to children’s illustration and designing greetings cards. This is the first book Anna has written.

“[A] dark and funny satire . . . Infidelities, secret identities and double-crosses . . . Reflects the absurdity of any country obsessed with spying on its own people.” —The Wall Street Journal Take the format of a spy thriller, shape it around real-life incidents involving international terrorism, leaven it with dark, dry humor, toss in a love rectangle, give everybody a gun, and let everything play out in the outer reaches of upstate New York--there you have an idea of Brock Clarke’s new novel. Filled with wonder and anger in almost equal parts,The Happiest People in the World is a ripped-from-the-headlines tale of paranoia and the all-American obsession with security and the conspiracies that threaten it. “A literary first: a book that feels like the love child of Saul Bellow and Hogan’s Heroes, full of authorial cartwheels of comedy and profundity.” —GQ “The Happiest People in the World begins with a raucous bar scene featuring party streamers, smoke, prone bodies, spilled fluids and a stuffed moose with a surveillance camera in its left eye . . . [Clarke has] success in dreaming up oddball originals that have instant appeal.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times “[Clarke] creates books that taste like delicious cuts of absurdity marbled with erudition.” —The Washington Post “A whiz-bang spy satire bundled in an edgy tale of redemption . . . His comedy of errors is impossible to put down.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “A darkly hilarious novel . . . The writing is clever, the dialogue snappy and understated, and the effect is as pleasantly unsettling as anything Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ever wrote.” —The Portland Sun “A zany and fast-paced book that explores the myriad ways people of all nations make themselves and others unhappy.” —Chicago Tribune, Printer’s Row “Ranks among the funniest and most relevant social satires I’ve read . . . It might just make you the happiest reader in the world.” —The Dallas Morning News

Reader beware! This is the scariest book ever! Or so claims its melodramatic ghost narrator. You can go ahead and turn the page, but don't expect him to come with you. Anything might pop out of that black hole in the middle of the forest. What do you mean it's just a bunny? Well, it's probably a bunny with big fangs. Watch out, it's--picking pumpkins with its friends, you say? Actually, despite the ghost's scare-mongering, none of the animal characters in the illustrations seem scary at all. . . . What's up with that? Many delights, such as surprises after the page turn, an alarmist narrator, and punch lines to anticipate make this book a scream for both kids and parents.