While trying to find a new best friend after feuding with Rowley, middle-school slacker Greg Heffley is warned by older family members that adolescence is a time to act more responsibly and to think seriously about his future.

In "Why Grow Up? "the philosopher Susan Neiman asks not just why one should grow up but how. In making her case she draws chiefly from the thought of Kant and Rousseau, who articulated very different theories on the proper way to "come of age." But these thinkers complement each other in seeking a "path between mindlessly accepting everything you're told and mindlessly rejecting it," and in learning to live without despair in a world marked by painful...

What can be learned from a tree? If we watch and listen... a tree has much to teach us about life--like how you can be small and strong at the same time and how to weather the storms. The author, a philosopher, offers an intriguing look at how children can navigate this thing we call "life" as they grow and change.

"From the author of the "lyrical and compelling" (USA Today) novel A Good American comes a powerful story of two friends and the unintended consequences of friendship, loss, and hope. For Robert Carter, life in his coastal Maine hometown is comfortably predictable. But in 1976, on his first day of eighth grade, he meets Nathan Tilly, who changes everything. Nathan is confident, fearless, impetuous--and fascinated by kites and flying. Robert and Nathan's...

"Emmy-Award winning writer and comedian Josh Gondelman's collection of personal stories of best intentions and mixed results"--

A celebration of all the things that hope can mean and how to reach for your dreams, whether they are as big as the night sky or as small as a bowl of ice cream.

On his first vacation without his parents, eight-year-old Myron faces a scary grandfather, teasing older cousins, his first dive off the ten-foot board, and his grandmother's encouragement to write his mother daily, telling her of his adventures.

Illustrations and simple, rhyming text remind the reader that any achievement may be preceded by mistakes, and learning from them makes accomplishments sweeter.

"Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town--Little Wing--and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One of them never left, still farming the family's land that's been tilled for generations. Others did leave, went farther afield to make good, with varying degrees of success; as a rock star, commodities trader, rodeo stud. And seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence...