Books with author Natalie Standiford

Illustrated in full color. Inspired by a description of astronauts asleep aboard the Space Shuttle, Astronauts are Sleeping is a bedtime book that is at once a reverie and a visual tour de force. A bright, eager voice describes three sleeping astronauts whizzing around the earth in a space capsule and asks the thought-provoking question "What do the astronauts see in their dreams?" Magnificent pastels by Allen Garns show planets that are breathtaking, astronauts who are alive, and a galaxy that is lush, deeply textured, and beautiful to look at. And happily, readers do discover what the astronauts are seeing in their dreams: they are seeing their homes on earth and memories of their happy childhoods.

What if your birthday wish turned you into someone else?Lavender and Scarlet are nothing alike. Scarlet is tall, pretty, and popular -- the star of the soccer team and the queen of the school. Lavender is . . . well, none of these things. Her friends aren't considered cool, her hair is considered less than uncool, and her performance at the recent talent show is something nobody will ever forget -- even though she really, really wants it to be forgotten. There's only one thing Lavender and Scarlet know for sure they have in common: the same birthday. They've never had parties together. They've never swapped presents. But this year, because of two wishes that turned all too true, they are about to swap something much bigger than presents. Because the morning after their birthdays, Lavender is going to wake up in Scarlet's body . . . and Scarlet is going to wake up in Lavender's. But in order to change back, they're going to have to figure out how to be someone completely opposite of who they ordinarily are...

A sweet story of a tree that's literally filled with secrets.What is your secret?Minty's neighborhood is full of mysteries. There's the Witch House, a spooky old farmhouse on the other side of woods from where Minty and her best friend, Paz, live. There's the Man Bat, a seven-foot-tall half man, half bat who is rumored to fly through the woods. And there are the Mean Boys, David and Troy, who torment Minty for no reason, and her boy-crazy older sister, Thea, who acts weirder and weirder.One day Minty spots a flash in the woods, and when she chases after it, she discovers a new mystery--a Secret Tree, with a hollow trunk that holds the secrets of everyone in the neighborhood. Secrets like:I put a curse on my enemy. And it's working.I'm betraying my best friend in a terrible way.No one loves me except my goldfish.

Roy wants to enter Space Dog in the local pet show. Space Dog can walk, talk, and count, so winning a blue ribbon should be a sure thing, right? But Space Dog wants no part of it. He came to Earth to do research, not perform silly tricks! Finally, however, he agrees to enter for Roy's sake. But he didn't bargain on a beauty makeover at Dotty's Dog Salon!

Meet sophomores Madison, Holly and Lina. When the Dating Game Web site that they create for class becomes a campus hit, as a matchmaking service and a forum for students' views on love, sex, and dating, the three friends hope it will help them take control of their love lives, too?QUIZ: WHAT'S YOUR DATING STYLE?Check all the statements that sound like you._ I believe in love at first sight._ I always go after the hottest guy in the room._ I know I'm cute, and I expect the best. _ I never seem to like the one who likes me_ I like people no one else notices._ I believe you should love the one you're with._ My way or the highway!Holly, Lina, and Mads have mapped out a plan to definitely get the guys of their dreams. But are they moving too fast? Is it time to put the brakes on the ultimate search for love?

From the author of HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT, the story of a fractured family and three sisters' secrets.The Sullivan sisters have a big problem. On Christmas Day their rich and imperious grandmother gathers the family and announces that she will soon die . . .and has cut the entire family out of her will. Since she is the source of almost all their income, this means they will soon be penniless. Someone in the family has offended her deeply. If that person comes forward with a confession of her (or his) crime, submitted in writing to her lawyer by New Year's Day, she will reinstate the family in her will. Or at least consider it.And so the confessions begin....Some involve love.Some involve hate.Some involve life.Some involve death.No secret is too big or too small for the Sullivans, or for author Natalie Standiford, in this smart and funny novel about the confessions that can bring families together...or tear them apart.

A new breathtaking novel from Natalie Standiford about love and trust during the Cold War.Laura Reid goes to Leningrad for a semester abroad as Cold War paranoia is peaking in 1982. She meets a young Russian artist named Alexei and soon, with Alexei as her guide, Laura immerses herself in the real Russia--a crazy world of wild parties, black-market books and music, and smuggled letters to dissidents. She must keep the relationship secret; associating with Americans is dangerous for Alexei, and if caught, Laura could be sent home and Alexei put under surveillance or worse. At the same time, she's been warned that Soviets often latch onto Americans in hopes of marrying them and thus escaping to the United States. But she knows Alexei loves her. Right?As June approaches--when Laura must return to the United States--Alexei asks Laura to marry him. She's only nineteen and doesn't think she's ready to settle down. But what if Alexei is the love of her life? How can she leave him behind? If she has a chance to change his life, to rescue him from misery, shouldn't she take it?