Books with author Mary Lou Peterson

In this riveting, poignant memoir of three generations of women and the white dresses that adorned them—television producer Mary Pflum Peterson recounts a journey through loss and redemption, and her battle to rescue her mother, a former nun, from compulsive hoarding.As a successful television journalist at Good Morning America, Mary Pflum is known as a polished and highly organized producer. It’s a persona at odds with her tortured childhood, where she watched her emotionally vulnerable mother fill their house with teetering piles of assorted “treasures.” But one thing has always united mother and daughter—their love of white dresses. From the dress worn by Mary’s mother when she became a nun and married Jesus, to the wedding gown she donned years later, to the special nightshirts she gifted Mary after the birth of her children, to graduation dresses and christening gowns, these white dresses embodied hope and new beginnings.After her mother’s sudden death in 2010, Mary digs deep to understand the events that led to Anne’s unraveling. At twenty-one, Anne entered a convent, committed to a life of prayer and helping others. But lengthy periods of enforced fasting, isolation from her beloved students, and constant humiliation eventually drove her to flee the convent almost a decade later. Hoping to find new purpose as a wife and mother, Anne instead married an abusive, closeted gay man—their eventual divorce another sign of her failure.Anne retreats into chaos. By the time Mary is ten, their house is cluttered with broken appliances and stacks of unopened mail. Anne promises but fails to clean up for Mary’s high school graduation party, where Mary is being honored as her school’s valedictorian, causing her perfectionist daughter’s fear and shame to grow in tandem with the heaps upon heaps of junk. In spite of everything, their bond endures. Through the white dresses, pivotal events in their lives are celebrated, even as Mary tries in vain to save Anne from herself. Unflinchingly honest, insightful, and compelling, White Dresses is a beautiful, powerful story—and a reminder of the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.

A groundbreaking history of early America that shows how Boston built and sustained an independent city-state in New England before being folded into the United StatesIn the vaunted annals of America’s founding, Boston has long been held up as an exemplary “city upon a hill” and the “cradle of liberty” for an independent United States. Wresting this iconic urban center from these misleading, tired clichés, The City-State of Boston highlights Boston’s overlooked past as an autonomous city-state, and in doing so, offers a pathbreaking and brilliant new history of early America. Following Boston’s development over three centuries, Mark Peterson discusses how this self-governing Atlantic trading center began as a refuge from Britain’s Stuart monarchs and how―through its bargain with slavery and ratification of the Constitution―it would tragically lose integrity and autonomy as it became incorporated into the greater United States.Drawing from vast archives, and featuring unfamiliar figures alongside well-known ones, such as John Winthrop, Cotton Mather, and John Adams, Peterson explores Boston’s origins in sixteenth-century utopian ideals, its founding and expansion into the hinterland of New England, and the growth of its distinctive political economy, with ties to the West Indies and southern Europe. By the 1700s, Boston was at full strength, with wide Atlantic trading circuits and cultural ties, both within and beyond Britain’s empire. After the cataclysmic Revolutionary War, “Bostoners” aimed to negotiate a relationship with the American confederation, but through the next century, the new United States unraveled Boston’s regional reign. The fateful decision to ratify the Constitution undercut its power, as Southern planters and slave owners dominated national politics and corroded the city-state’s vision of a common good for all.Peeling away the layers of myth surrounding a revered city, The City-State of Boston offers a startlingly fresh understanding of America’s history.

In this riveting, poignant memoir of three generations of women and the white dresses that adorned them—television producer Mary Pflum Peterson recounts a journey through loss and redemption, and her battle to rescue her mother, a former nun, from compulsive hoarding.As a successful television journalist at Good Morning America, Mary Pflum is known as a polished and highly organized producer. It’s a persona at odds with her tortured childhood, where she watched her emotionally vulnerable mother fill their house with teetering piles of assorted “treasures.” But one thing has always united mother and daughter—their love of white dresses. From the dress worn by Mary’s mother when she became a nun and married Jesus, to the wedding gown she donned years later, to the special nightshirts she gifted Mary after the birth of her children, to graduation dresses and christening gowns, these white dresses embodied hope and new beginnings.After her mother’s sudden death in 2010, Mary digs deep to understand the events that led to Anne’s unraveling. At twenty-one, Anne entered a convent, committed to a life of prayer and helping others. But lengthy periods of enforced fasting, isolation from her beloved students, and constant humiliation eventually drove her to flee the convent almost a decade later. Hoping to find new purpose as a wife and mother, Anne instead married an abusive, closeted gay man—their eventual divorce another sign of her failure.Anne retreats into chaos. By the time Mary is ten, their house is cluttered with broken appliances and stacks of unopened mail. Anne promises but fails to clean up for Mary’s high school graduation party, where Mary is being honored as her school’s valedictorian, causing her perfectionist daughter’s fear and shame to grow in tandem with the heaps upon heaps of junk. In spite of everything, their bond endures. Through the white dresses, pivotal events in their lives are celebrated, even as Mary tries in vain to save Anne from herself. Unflinchingly honest, insightful, and compelling, White Dresses is a beautiful, powerful story—and a reminder of the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.

A groundbreaking history of early America that shows how Boston built and sustained an independent city-state in New England before being folded into the United StatesIn the vaunted annals of America’s founding, Boston has long been held up as an exemplary “city upon a hill” and the “cradle of liberty” for an independent United States. Wresting this iconic urban center from these misleading, tired clichés, The City-State of Boston highlights Boston’s overlooked past as an autonomous city-state, and in doing so, offers a pathbreaking and brilliant new history of early America. Following Boston’s development over three centuries, Mark Peterson discusses how this self-governing Atlantic trading center began as a refuge from Britain’s Stuart monarchs and how—through its bargain with slavery and ratification of the Constitution—it would tragically lose integrity and autonomy as it became incorporated into the greater United States.Drawing from vast archives, and featuring unfamiliar figures alongside well-known ones, such as John Winthrop, Cotton Mather, and John Adams, Peterson explores Boston’s origins in sixteenth-century utopian ideals, its founding and expansion into the hinterland of New England, and the growth of its distinctive political economy, with ties to the West Indies and southern Europe. By the 1700s, Boston was at full strength, with wide Atlantic trading circuits and cultural ties, both within and beyond Britain’s empire. After the cataclysmic Revolutionary War, “Bostoners” aimed to negotiate a relationship with the American confederation, but through the next century, the new United States unraveled Boston’s regional reign. The fateful decision to ratify the Constitution undercut its power, as Southern planters and slave owners dominated national politics and corroded the city-state’s vision of a common good for all.Peeling away the layers of myth surrounding a revered city, The City-State of Boston offers a startlingly fresh understanding of America’s history.

When Snail leaves his bucket, he discovers a whole, wide world in this illustrated bind-up of sweet and funny chapter books Snail Has Lunch and Snail Finds a Home.Snail is a merry little mollusk who lives in a rusty bucket. Day after day, rain or shine, snail doesn’t move—and that suits him just fine. But when his bucket is turned over, his life takes a topsy-turvy turn. A journey through the vegetable garden opens up a whole world of new friends, new foods, and maybe even a little danger. Can Snail find happiness out here, or will he wish he never left his bucket? In his next adventure, Snail eats too many strawberries—his favorite food—and makes himself sick. His best friend Ladybug tells him he needs to find a forever home away from the tempting, yummy, red fruit. But Snail’s journey puts him in the path of a hungry chicken! Will he make it to his new home or be a tasty treat for this feathered, famished fiend? Filled with simple text, speech balloons, and engaging illustrations, these easy-to-follow stories are a blend between a picture book and a chapter book, making it an ideal bridge for independent readers.

Chuckle your way through this easy-to-read illustrated chapter book about a snail who leaves his bucket for a bigger world.Snail is a merry little mollusk in his rusty bucket. Day after day, rain or shine, Snail doesn’t move—and that suits him just fine. But when his bucket is turned over, his life takes a topsy-turvy turn. A journey through the vegetable garden with this adventurous friend Ladybug proves delicious—red, juicy strawberries…YUM!—and dangerous when he comes face to face with a gopher, then a rabbit, and an unfortunate nibble on a hot red pepper… Can Snail find happiness in this big, new world—or will he wish he never left his bucket?

Tyler and Elise were warned about a gypsy curse that sends roaches into your ears to eat your brain. Of course, everyone knows there’s no such thing as curses… right? Luckily, a gypsy woman gives them a golden amulet to protect them against evil. It just doesn’t appear to be working against a villain who stalks them all over Rome. The siblings stumble onto a crime that has them stumped until Gypsies, gladiators, and Michelangelo all twine together to help this tenacious and comedic duo unravel a mystery that spans centuries.

When Snail leaves his bucket, he discovers a whole, wide world in this illustrated bind-up of sweet and funny chapter books Snail Has Lunch and Snail Finds a Home.Snail is a merry little mollusk who lives in a rusty bucket. Day after day, rain or shine, snail doesn’t move—and that suits him just fine. But when his bucket is turned over, his life takes a topsy-turvy turn. A journey through the vegetable garden opens up a whole world of new friends, new foods, and maybe even a little danger. Can Snail find happiness out here, or will he wish he never left his bucket? In his next adventure, Snail eats too many strawberries—his favorite food—and makes himself sick. His best friend Ladybug tells him he needs to find a forever home away from the tempting, yummy, red fruit. But Snail’s journey puts him in the path of a hungry chicken! Will he make it to his new home or be a tasty treat for this feathered, famished fiend? Filled with simple text, speech balloons, and engaging illustrations, these easy-to-follow stories are a blend between a picture book and a chapter book, making it an ideal bridge for independent readers.

Engage students with this collection of fun and interactive games that give them the extra practice they need to master important math skills in multiplication, division, and fractions. Classroom-tested, these reproducible games have been proven to significantly increase students' math achievement. Perfect for centers, for choice time, or for remedial help. For use with Grades 2-4.

Engage students with this collection of fun and interactive games that give them the extra practice they need to master important math skills in addition, subtraction, place value, and measurement. Classroom-tested, these reproducible games have been proven to significantly increase students' math achievement. Perfect for centers, for choice time, or for remedial help. For use with Grades 2-4.

Chuckle your way through this easy-to-read illustrated chapter book about a snail who’s looking for a new place to hang his shell.Snail is a merry little mollusk in his rusty bucket filled with strawberries. Strawberries are his favorite treat, but when he eats himself sick, his best friend Ladybug tells him he has to move away from the yummy red fruit. She takes him looking for a forever home, but Snail roams away from his friend and runs into a hungry Chicken. Rut-roh! Will he make it to his new home or be a tasty treat for this famished, feathered fiend?

Chuckle your way through this easy-to-read illustrated chapter book about a snail who leaves his bucket for a bigger world.Snail is a merry little mollusk in his rusty bucket. Day after day, rain or shine, Snail doesn’t move—and that suits him just fine. But when his bucket is turned over, his life takes a topsy-turvy turn. A journey through the vegetable garden with this adventurous friend Ladybug proves delicious—red, juicy strawberries…YUM!—and dangerous when he comes face to face with a gopher, then a rabbit, and an unfortunate nibble on a hot red pepper… Can Snail find happiness in this big, new world—or will he wish he never left his bucket?