An iguana. An island. And e-mail. Meet Nim–a modern-day Robinson Crusoe! She can chop down bananas with a machete, climb tall palm trees, and start a fire with a piece of glass. So she’s not afraid when her scientist dad sails off to study plankton for three days, leaving her alone on their island. Besides, it’s not as if no one’s looking after her–she’s got a sea lion to mother her and an iguana for comic relief. She also has an interesting new e-mail pal. But when her father’s cell-phone calls stop coming and disaster seems near, Nim has to be stronger and braver than she’s ever been before.And she’ll need all her friends to help her.

    Gradually the mystery of her family unravels.

    But when a devastating tragedy strikes, the family flies apart and Peter's mom becomes paralyzed by grief, drifting further and further from her family. Hoping to lift his mother's spirits, Peter decides to try out for Little League. But his plans become suddenly complicated when his strict and serious father volunteers to coach the team. His dad's unconventional teaching methods rub some of Peter's teammates the wrong way, and Peter starts to wonder if playing baseball again was the right idea -- and if it can even help his family feel less broken. Can the game they all love eventually bring them back together, safe at home?Acclaimed author Wendy Wan-Long Shang brings her signature warmth, gentle humor, and wisdom to this poignant story of healing and loss, family, and the great American pastime, baseball.

    He’d like nothing more than to fly away to a palm tree with his beloved sister, Aggie. But when Aggie is purchased by twelve-year-old Fritz, and Alastair is adopted by elderly dance-enthusiast and pie-baker Albertina Plopky, the future looks ready to crash-land.In-between anxiously plucking his feathers, eating a few books, and finding his own poetic voice, Alastair plots his way to a family reunion. But soon he’s forced to choose between the life he’s always dreamed of and admitting the truth: that sometimes, the bravest adventure is in letting go.

    Whenever he goes anywhere, he always relies on what Garis describes as "his candy-striped walking cane" - this is a cane striped red and white like a peppermint candy cane.The books are illustrated by August Lenox.

    That’s all Homer Jr.’s mother will say about his father, who died when he was 2, and any prodding for details results in silence, evasion, or sudden migraine headaches. So by age 12, Homer’s given up asking.But on an unexpected trip to Maine, Homer finds himself in a place where his father had lived. In this one coastal village there must be millions of facts about his father. Now Homer must face his biggest fear–maybe there’s a reason his father is such a secret. Maybe there are things he really doesn’t want to know.Still, Maine gives him courage. There’s something about the people he meets and the breadth of the sky that convince Homer to search for the truth–to solve the mystery of his own life.From the Hardcover edition.

    His companions were the wise old man Noom-Zor-Noom and the talking donkey Millitinkle.