Popular Titles in the Media

What's important is our story, our whole story, including those moments when we feel a little vulnerable . . . Michelle Robinson started life sharing a bedroom with her older brother Craig, in their family's upstairs apartment in her great-aunt's house. Her parents, Fraser and Ma...rian, poured their love and energy into their children. She would go on to become Michelle Obama, the inspirational First Lady of the United States of America. Now adapted for younger readers, with new photographs and a new introduction from Michelle Obama herself, this memoir tells a very personal, and completely inspiring, story of how, through hard work and determination, the girl from the South Side of Chicago built an extraordinary life. A tale of ups and downs, triumphs and failures, this is an incredibly honest account. It'll take you from the early years - first kiss, first school, first love - to the wonders of the White House, and the moment Mrs Obama shook hands with the Queen of England. A book to read, share, and talk about with the adults in your life, this is a call to action and compassion, and hope for change in uncertain times, and in a scary world. You'll be inspired to help others, and understand that no one is perfect. Just like Michelle Obama, you too are finding out exactly who you want to be (and, actually, so are the adults in your life). Above all, it is a book to make you think- who are you, and what do you want to become?
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Many people find the road to having a family is not the smooth one they always expected. Whether there is an unforeseen physical problem, the lack of a suitable partner, or no problem that can be diagnosed, many people wind up seeking help. Pamphlets and brochures are handed out,... but there is also a whole world of emotions and decisions to be worked through by all those involved, and this book explores that aspect of this complex process. From coming to terms with not being able to provide your partner with a child that belongs to just the two of you, or cultural resistance to the idea of IVF or donors, to the growing numbers of single women and same-sex couples who wish to become parents every bit as much as heterosexual couples, this book looks into the range of options and emotions to be thought about, with the long-term good of the hoped-for child always at front of mind. The author, who went through her own infertility trauma, later worked as a counsellor at a fertility clinic for almost 20 years, and has talked to many people in many different circumstances, shares a wide range of experiences in these pages. There are case studies throughout, and each chapter ends with two practical bullet lists- Things to Think About; and Things That Might Help.
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Jeremy is nervous starting school. Every time he thinks he can't join in they say Of Course You Can! So he plays football, joins in kapa haka and runs the cross country. But when it comes to swimming the other chlidren tell him not to do it. English/te Reo Maori text, retold by N...gaere Roberts.
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Every year Isabel spends a perfect summer at her family friends' house. There's the swimming pool at night, the private stretch of sandy beach ...and the two boys. Unavailable, aloof Conrad - who she's been in love with forever - and friendly Jeremiah, the only one who's ever rea...lly paid her any attention. But this year something is different.
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A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience- Disability Visibility brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of pl...aywright Neil Marcus, an art . . . an ingenious way to live. A Vintage Books Original. According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden--but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers. There is Harriet McBryde Johnson's Unspeakable Conversations, which describes her famous debate with Princeton philosopher Peter Singer over her own personhood. There is columnist s. e. smith's celebratory review of a work of theater by disabled performers. There are original pieces by up-and-coming authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma. There are blog posts, manifestos, eulogies, and testimonies to Congress. Taken together, this anthology gives a glimpse of the vast richness and complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own assumptions and understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and past with hope and love.
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