Books with author Claire Carmichael

Stubborn, self-reliant eleven-year-old Zoe, recently orphaned, is forced to move to the country to live with her strange and bad-tempered uncle. Zoe could care less that he's a famous doctor and sculptor. All she knows is that he is impossible to understand. The only interesting thing on the farm is a feral cat who won't let Zoe near. Together, Zoe and her uncle learn about trust and the strength of family ties. In this moving coming-of-age novel, Zoe comes to understand what it means to love and be loved, uncovers a long-kept secret, and finds family where she least expects it. Includes an interview with the author and a reading group guide.Named ALA Notable Children's Book Award; Bank Street College of Education Best Children's books of the Year; NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts; Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book.

No SMS, no email, no Facebook: in the digital age, who are you when you're disconnected from your friends?In Rick Lawrence's world, everyone's online, all the time, immersed in a vast electronic sea of instant communication. Life's easy when you can do practically everything on one device, and stay in constant contact with your friends. Dr Carter Renfrew believes Rick and his friends represent the next step in evolution - the forerunners of a new species, 'Homo electronicus'. Communications companies are eager to exploit this new youth market, and are backing scientific research into the teen brain. But just how far is Renfrew willing to go to prove his theory? What happens when everyone's connected - and suddenly you're not? If you're no longer connected, do you even exist?

A headstrong girl. A stray cat. A wild boy. A man who plays with fire. Eleven-year-old Zoë trusts no one. Her father left before she was born. At the death of her irresponsible mother, Zoë goes to live with her uncle, former surgeon and famed metal sculptor Dr. Henry Royster. She's sure Henry will fail her as everyone else has. Reclusive since his wife's death, Henry takes Zoë to Sugar Hill, North Carolina, where he welds sculptures as stormy as his moods. Zoë and Henry have much in common: brains, fiery and creative natures, and badly broken hearts. Zoë confronts small-town prejudice with a quick temper. She warms to Henry's odd but devoted friends, meets a mysterious teenage boy living wild in the neighboring woods, and works to win the trust of a feral cat while struggling to trust in anyone herself. In this ALA Notable Children's Book and Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of the Year, Zoë's questing spirit leads her to uncover the wild boy's identity, lay bare a local lie, and begin to understand the true power of Henry's art. Then one decisive night, she and the boy risk everything in a reckless act of heroism.

What if advertisements ruled the world? Taylor and Barrett maybe cousins, but they're from different worlds. Taylor lives in high-tech luxury, the daughter of top advertising specialists. Barrett was raised by his uncle in an ecocult called Simplicity. When his uncle dies, Barrett is whisked away to live with Taylor and her power parents. Barrett is deeply distressed by the "Chattering World." Here, invasive advertising screams out from improbable places- on the sides of cars, on the bathroom mirror, even on the shirts of his teachers. Taylor, on the other hand, loves it and wants her "farmie" cousin to embrace it, too. Barrett soon discovers that his aunt and uncle have a hidden agenda: there is a lotto gain from finding out the effects of advertising on an untouched mind. When Barrett's worst suspicions are confirmed, only Taylor, and the horrible secrets he discovers about her family, can expose the truth. To do so, she must turn her back on everything she's been raised to believe. Thrilling and thought-provoking, Leaving Simplicity takes readers into a wildly driven consumer society that seems only a heartbeat away from our own.

What if advertisements ruled the world? Taylor and Barrett maybe cousins, but they're from different worlds. Taylor lives in high-tech luxury, the daughter of top advertising specialists. Barrett was raised by his uncle in an ecocult called Simplicity. When his uncle dies, Barrett is whisked away to live with Taylor and her power parents. Barrett is deeply distressed by the "Chattering World." Here, invasive advertising screams out from improbable places- on the sides of cars, on the bathroom mirror, even on the shirts of his teachers. Taylor, on the other hand, loves it and wants her "farmie" cousin to embrace it, too. Barrett soon discovers that his aunt and uncle have a hidden agenda: there is a lotto gain from finding out the effects of advertising on an untouched mind. When Barrett's worst suspicions are confirmed, only Taylor, and the horrible secrets he discovers about her family, can expose the truth. To do so, she must turn her back on everything she's been raised to believe. Thrilling and thought-provoking, Leaving Simplicity takes readers into a wildly driven consumer society that seems only a heartbeat away from our own.

Bear at the Beach & Other Adventures presents children with three stories of a cuddly, plush, bear named Bear. Bear goes on adventures and learns about friendship and emotions. In Bear at the Beach & Others Adventures, kids and parents will find a collection of three stories from writer and illustrator Clay Carmichael. The loveable and stuffed Bear is center stage, taking on adventures of heart at home and afar. In Bear at the Beach, our plush protagonist sets out to find a father who will love him unconditionally, but learns that his little girl, Clara, gives him all the love he needs. In Used-Up Bear, time has left our favorite stuffed toy in dire, threadbare straits. Will Clara throw Bear away in favor of a shiny new toy? The surprising and heart-warming conclusion cements Bear's place in Clara's life. Bear loses Clara in Lonesome Bear, and befriends new toys on his search for his best friend. Full of emotions that young children can relate to, Clay Carmichael's endearing collection is a gentle introduction to reading.

The day his grandmother dies, seventeen-year-old Billy “Brother” Grace discovers that he has a twin who has recently made headlines by nearly overdosing on drugs. His twin also happens to be the son of a powerful senator. His newly discovered family may not be all that interested in a cheery reunion, but Brother is determined to get answers. When he arrives on the secluded island off the coast of North Carolina where the senator and his family live, sparks will fly, old resentments will be released, and secrets revealed. Part coming-of-age story, part love story, Clay Carmichael's Brother, Brother is a book about finding out that who you are and where you come from aren't necessarily the same thing.

A headstrong girl. A stray cat. A wild boy. A man who plays with fire. Eleven-year-old Zoë trusts no one. Her father left before she was born. At the death of her irresponsible mother, Zoë goes to live with her uncle, former surgeon and famed metal sculptor Dr. Henry Royster. She's sure Henry will fail her as everyone else has. Reclusive since his wife's death, Henry takes Zoë to Sugar Hill, North Carolina, where he welds sculptures as stormy as his moods. Zoë and Henry have much in common: brains, fiery and creative natures, and badly broken hearts. Zoë confronts small-town prejudice with a quick temper. She warms to Henry's odd but devoted friends, meets a mysterious teenage boy living wild in the neighboring woods, and works to win the trust of a feral cat while struggling to trust in anyone herself. In this ALA Notable Children's Book and Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of the Year, Zoë's questing spirit leads her to uncover the wild boy's identity, lay bare a local lie, and begin to understand the true power of Henry's art. Then one decisive night, she and the boy risk everything in a reckless act of heroism.I'd hoped for better, Henry's being a heart doctor. A job like that, you'd think he might actually have a heart. As usual, I pushed the cart down the aisle myself, taking what I needed off the shelves, the new grown-up as useless as those before him. Negative help, as Mama's friend Manny used to say, negative being less than none. No big deal. Grocery shopping and I were old friends, along with toilet scrubbing, vacuuming, and wash. Said grown-up—my before-last-Monday-never-heard-of Uncle Henry—trailed behind, alternating between keeping five or six paces back like I was contagious and breathing down my neck in the unlikely event I needed him for something. I wondered why he'd claimed me at all. —FROM THE BOOK

The day his grandmother dies, seventeen-year-old Billy "Brother" Grace discovers that he has a twin who has recently made headlines by nearly overdosing on drugs. His twin also happens to be the son of a powerful senator. His newly discovered family may not be all that interested in a cheery reunion, but Brother is determined to get answers. When he arrives on the secluded island off the coast of North Carolina where the senator and his family live, sparks will fly, old resentments will be released, and secrets revealed. Part coming-of-age story, part love story, Clay Carmichael's Brother, Brother is a book about finding out that who you are and where you come from aren't necessarily the same thing.

Bear lives in a house by the sea with Clara, who loves him very much. But Bear longs for the father he has never had, a father who would play with him, explain things to him, hold him tight, and comfort him after bad drams. So Bear sets out to find his father, finally realizing that what he has been searching for is something he had all along. Full color.