Charles Santoso

Meet Odder, the Queen of Play: Nobody has her moves. She doesn't just swim to the bottom, she dive-bombs. She doesn't just somersault, she triple-doughnuts. She doesn't just ride the waves, she makes them. Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she's known. She's a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry...

"For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He's the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world--even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor. When Janie gets a part in the school play and can't watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal. He just...

When his veterinarian mom brings home a stray baby skunk that needs rehabilitation before it can be placed in a wild animal shelter, Bat, who has austim, resolves to prove that he is up to the challenge of caring for the skunk permanently.

Unlike the other zombies in Quirkville, Reginald would rather eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich than brains, but getting his hands on one--and keeping the other zombies' hands off the girl who is carrying the sandwich--will not be easy.

Adam does not like his stuffed koala because of its terrible eyes, terrible face, and terrible paws, but each time he tries to get rid of it, Koala comes back until Adam realizes that Koala is on his side.

After hearing the terrible news that Christmas may be cancelled, Reginald the zombie, Zarfon the alien, and Abigail Zink rush to the North Pole, only to find Santa and his elves stuck in drifts of marshmallow.

"Gratitude transforms everything it touches. It enhances beauty, reveals character, amplifies possibility. It opens hearts and lifts spirits. Even challenges and setbacks become something different. Feeling grateful creates its own good energy and abundance, filling us with joy and gained perspective. It is a way of being, a way of caring a way of living. And when we are grateful, there is so much more to be grateful for"--

Gus lives in a big park in the middle of an even bigger city, and he spends his days with Ida. Ida is right there. Always. Then one sad day, Gus learns that Ida is very sick, and she isn't going to get better. The friends help each other face the difficult news with whispers, sniffles, cuddles, and even laughs. Slowly Gus realizes that even after Ida is gone, she will still be with him -- through the sounds of their city, and the memories that live...