Books with author Mclaughlin

It's a question we all wrestle with. Why do bad things happen? But it's not just adults asking this question. Children want to know too. Oh! The Beautiful Things He Makes! follows a sweet, yet candid dialogue between a mother and her adoptive panda cub about life's tough subjects. Written specifically for children, this book has a repetitive, resounding message--that God makes beautiful things out of any circumstance. If children grow up embracing this truth, they will be able to face these challenges with confidence, and come out stronger on the other side.Oh! The Beautiful Things He Makes! touches on topics such as selfishness, bullying, prejudice, grief and loss, among others. The end of the book has 7 supplemental origami crafts meant to inspire further creativity and connection.

A 21st century response to Walter Dean Myers's classic Lockdown, The Free takes a look inside juvie, where Isaac West is fighting for a second chance.In the beginning, Isaac West stole to give his younger sister, Janelle, little things: a new sweater, a scarf, just things that made her look less like a charity case whose mother spent money on booze and more like the prep school girls he’s seen on the way to school.But when his biggest job to date, a car theft, goes wrong, Isaac chooses to take the full rap himself, and he’s cut off from helping Janelle. He steels himself for 30 days at Haverland Juvenile Detention Facility. Friendless in a dangerous world of gangs and violent offenders, he must watch his every step.Isaac’s sentence includes group therapy, where he and fellow inmates reenact their crimes, attempting to understand what happened from the perspective of their victims. The sessions are intense. And as Isaac pieces together the truth about the circumstances that shaped his life—the circumstances that landed him in juvie in the first place—he must face who he was, who he is . . . and who he wants to be.

Nine year old Pete is about to have the worst day ever in this laugh-a-minute illustrated adventure! There's nothing Pete loves more than sitting at home, being quiet and watching the snooker. But when he accidentally bumps into a local gangster, Pete and his super annoying next door neighbour, Sammy, are caught up in a series of events that get worse and worse at each and every turn. Now Pete is in a race against time to prove his innocence – but it's tricky to do that, especially when everyone thinks that you're the most wanted boy in the world.

How do you grow up, if who you are keeps changing?Jill McTeague is not your average high school graduate, she’s a scientific anomaly. Every month for four days she turns into Jack, a guy—complete with all the parts. Now everyone in her hometown knows that something very weird is up with her. So what’s a girl (and a guy) to do? Get the heck out of town, that’s what! With her kooky best friend, Ramie, Jill sets out for New York City. There both she and Jack will have to figure out everything from the usual (relationships) to the not so usual (career options for a “cycler,” anyone?).As in Cycler, the first book featuring Jack and Jill, author Lauren McLaughlin deftly weaves the downright mundane with the outright bizarre in a story that, while defying classification, is peopled with characters that readers can fully relate to.“The sort of book that makes your eyes widen and that you don’t want to put down.”—Bookavore

How do you grow up, if who you are keeps changing?Jill McTeague is not your average high school graduate, she’s a scientific anomaly. Every month for four days she turns into Jack, a guy—complete with all the parts. Now everyone in her hometown knows that something very weird is up with her. So what’s a girl (and a guy) to do? Get the heck out of town, that’s what! With her kooky best friend, Ramie, Jill sets out for New York City. There both she and Jack will have to figure out everything from the usual (relationships) to the not so usual (career options for a “cycler,” anyone?).As in Cycler, the first book featuring Jack and Jill, author Lauren McLaughlin deftly weaves the downright mundane with the outright bizarre in a story that, while defying classification, is peopled with characters that readers can fully relate to.“The sort of book that makes your eyes widen and that you don’t want to put down.”—Bookavore

What does it take to build your very own planet? Orson is about to find out.He takes:A cup full of rocksA dash of waterA sprinkling of metalA lot of nothingnessA big bang ...And before long, BOOM! He has it – a tiny planet with rings around it, right there in his bedroom! But it seems that BUILDING a planet is the easy bit; taking care of it is a different thing altogether. Over time, Orson realises that his planet needs to be free and that sometimes you have to let go of the things that you love the most ...A heart-warming story about life's possibilities and disappointments with an uplifting ending that will resonate with all fans of Oliver Jeffers' work.

Reds love being red. Yellows love being yellow. And Blues love being blue. The problem is that they just don't like each other.But one day, along comes a different colour who likes Reds, Yellows and Blues, and suddenly everything starts to change. Maybe being different doesn't mean you can't be friends ...A very special picture book that supports the adage that there is more that unites us than divides us. Along Came a Different just goes to show how much better we can all be when we come together to find common ground as friends. Every bookshelf should have a copy.

Trash Heap At The End Of The World. It's a funny name for a town, doncha' think? Well it's not really the town's name but it should be. Crystal Cove is a picturesque little town on the coast of New Jersey. Long a tourist destination known for its white beaches, bountiful wildlife and beautifully restored Victorian homes, Crystal Cove can lay claim to some other surprising facts. It was once a haven for pirates and the place is rich with history and ghosts. Old military cemeteries and haunted buildings blanket the town and whether you believe in that stuff or not, too much has happened here to simply discount the possibilities.It is in this eclectic little town that four childhood friends are growing up. To Chris, Susie, Buddy and Dawn, the only thing that matters to them is the approaching summer with all the possibilities for fun and adventure that await. However, the town and its history will have something to say about all that.

What does it take to build your very own planet? Orson is about to find out.He takes:A cup full of rocksA dash of waterA sprinkling of metalA lot of nothingnessA big bang ...And before long, BOOM! He has it – a tiny planet with rings around it, right there in his bedroom! But it seems that BUILDING a planet is the easy bit; taking care of it is a different thing altogether. Over time, Orson realises that his planet needs to be free and that sometimes you have to let go of the things that you love the most ...A heart-warming story about life's possibilities and disappointments with an uplifting ending that will resonate with all fans of Oliver Jeffers' work.

I told you that the sounds this way (I strike the keys upward) grow higher, and this way (I strike them downwards) they grow lower. So you see no tones are just alike: one is either higher or lower than the other. Do you hear the difference? Now turn round so as not to see the keys; I will strike two keys, one after the other; now which is the highest (the sharpest), the first or the second? (I go on in this way, gradually touching keys nearer and nearer together; sometimes, in order to puzzle her and to excite close attention, I strike the lower one gently and the higher one stronger, and keep on sounding them, lower and lower towards the bass, according to the capacity of the pupil.) I suppose you find it a little tiresome to listen so closely; but a delicate, quick ear is necessary for piano-playing, and by and by it will become easier to you. But I won't tire you with it any more now, we will go on to something else. Can you count 3,—1, 2, 3?Bessie. Yes, indeed, and more too.

A gritty read for a woke generation. —KIRKUS[McLaughin’s] best book yet. —BOING BOINGAt Jonesville High, casual misogyny runs rampant, slut-shaming is a given, and school athletes are glorified above all else. Best friends Suze, Nikki, Ani, and Lydia swear they’ll always have each other’s backs against predatory guys—so when Suze suddenly starts dating wrestling star and toxic douchebag Tarkin Shaw, it’s a big betrayal.Turns out, it’s not a relationship―it’s blackmail. At first, Suze feels like she has no choice but to go along with it, but when Tarkin starts demanding more, she enlists the help of intelligent misfits DeShawn and Marcus to beat Tarkin at his own game. As Marcus points out, what could possibly go wrong?The answer: everything. And by the time the teens realize they’re fighting against forces much bigger than the Tarkin Shaws of the world, losing isn’t an option.