Social Poetry

This heart-wrenching novel in verse describes the life of a poor girl surviving the Irish Land War and the everyday challenges she experiences.

Run run run. That's what twelve-year-old Annie loves to do. When she's barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating...Thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP. It's a rhythm that makes sense in a year when everything's shifting: Her mother is pregnant, her grandfather is forgetful, and her best friend, Max, is always moody. Everything is changing, just like the apple Annie's been assigned to draw a hundred times.

The former president’s visit to Tulsa woke up a great many Americans from different cultures of the historical ill-fated event that many had never heard of before. One person who did not need educating about the event was Paul S. Hickman. He was taught his Negro history in his all-African school system until 1970 in Oklahoma, and his African teachers made sure that he was aware of his history. In Days Gone By, Paul’s poems provide the listener some words to process in a manner that helps to plow through the daily chores of yesteryear until today.

Set in 1981 Guatemala, a lyrical debut novel tells the powerful tale of a boy who must decide what it means to be a man during a time of war. Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mama tells him not yet - he’s still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist.

The Girl with a Thousand Eyes takes the YA listener, bordering on the verge of adulthood, through a poignant journey of life’s unexpected, spirit-lifting triumphs and trials of personal transformation. From New York City club life and LGBTQ love poems to existential reflections on transmigration, Ji Strangeway’s poetic verses reveal a heartfelt narrative of self-discovery. Alliterative lines, bold stanzas, and lulling metaphors awaken the dreaming psyche with promise and lead us poem by poem, toward the heart of the divine.

"Happy Sad Octopus" brings you on a journey into a world where Happy Sad Octopus doesn't like his unpredictable roller coaster of emotions. With an unexpected ending, this heartwarming short story by The Wizard, shares a beautiful and wise life lesson about how not to allow sadness to overtake you.

When Crab finds a new shell, he doesn’t want to share it with anyone - especially not a blobby purple anemone and a tickly bristleworm. But life in the rock pool proves tougher than Crab thinks and he soon finds he needs his new housemates. Sharing a Shell is a charming underwater tale of friendship and fun from the stellar picture book partnership of Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, creators of What the Ladybird Heard. With brilliant rhythmic verse, charmingly read by Julian Clary, this is a firm favourite with children and parents alike.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die. In recent years non-religious funerals have become more common, but without an established canon of texts to fall back on, it can be difficult to plan an appropriate service for a loved one who had no religious belief or connections. Texts recommended by secular humanists, especially modern texts, can sometimes sound trite or overly informal.

Dean Bob and Lou Tweet can't wait to perform in the first-ever Bonefish Street Elementary School Pet Show. They've practiced their performances over and over again, and together with their pets, they're ready to shine! But it looks like their families, the Tweets, who are neat, and the Bobs, who are slobs, aren't going to make getting to the show easy. What will happen when the Tweets and Bobs have a showdown before the show? And what if all that fighting makes Dean Bob just a little nervous for his performance?

On Bonefish Street live two very different families...the Bobs, who are messy, and the Tweets, who are neat. How can these two strange families get along in the same neighborhood? And are all the Tweets really neat and all the Bobs slobs?