Books with author Richard Jennings

A young boy spends an hour each day in solitary detention for a misunderstanding with his science teacher and his middle school principal.During this time he records his thoughts about religion, love and youth. He finds himself assisted by an eastern chipmunk named Dwayne who has a special gift. By the time sixth grade ends, he understands and is prepared to face the world.. By the author of the international classic ORWELL'S LUCK..

Previously unknown facts about the creation of THE GREAT WHALE OF KANSAS by Richard W. Jennings, ranked with LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE, and THE WIZARD OF OZ as among the Best Books about Kansas since 1861 by the Kansas Center for the Book and State Library of Kansas. All rights reversed to author by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston.

Spencer Adams Honesty may be the last best hope for Paisley, Kansasand for lonely kids everywhere.Spencer Honesty and his mom are the last people left in Paisley, except for Chief Leopard Frog, Spence’s imaginary friend. One lonely day, Chief Leopard Frog’s carved rabbit talisman tells Spence to take his photo, so Spence digs up his late father’s camera and starts shooting photographs all around his ghost town. When the photos come back developed, he does not expect to see his old neighbor Maureen Balderson in her bedroom. Or Ma Puttering clearing weeds in her yard. They aren’t in Paisley anymore. Yet there they are.What happens to Spence next is unexpected. It involves a catalog called Uncle Milton’s Thousand Things You Thought You’d Never Find, a poetry deal gone awry, and a ghost camera that promises to take pictures of the past (just be sure not to photograph yourself).

When fourteen-year-old William Madison Lee Cooper Finn ran away, he had no idea where his adventures would lead him. Fate, it would seem, had plans for Will. And so he finds himself thrown overboard from a sightseeing riverboat and washed up on a seemingly deserted island in the middle of the mighty Mississippi. To some, such an event might seem tragic, but as Will assembles a small shelter for himself, he begins to savor his first taste of real freedom. Soon, however, Will discovers that he is not alone on the island. A reclusive author, giant, menacing ferrets, and another victim of insufficient riverboat railings also inhabit the island.Join Will on this wild adventure as he encounters a raft of unusual animals and kooky characters, and learns a little something about himself and this strange world as he makes his way back to where he began.

A monumental coming of age adventure about a 17-year-old boy-becoming-man snatched from his landlocked home by a Giant Pacific Octopus. Torn between two lovers, and destined for cross-species fertilization by a brainy Cephalopod with a plan, Radisson Glass suddenly faces a future of enormous consequences. This 700-page epic novel by the reclusive, celebrated author of ORWELL'S LUCK (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston) is a saline landmark in young adult fiction. Such an outlandish story has never before been told. Such a deeply personal, earth-moving story can never be told again, not even by the likes of America's greatest man-of-words-and-water, Mark Twain. -- Daschell Potts PhD, Chairman, Daschell Potts PhD Foundation for Literature

"When K's mother sneezed, a ghost the size of a guinea pig flew from her nose."Following a decade of ten hilarious novels for middle readers, including the international classic Orwell's Luck, in print since 2000, Jennings returns with his best work ever -- a ghost story, a love story, a true celebration of literature."The Master of Middle American Whimsy." -- Kirkus Reviews.

The trouble with most time machines, thinks middle-schooler Ricky Cleese, is they try too hard. They take you back to the land of the fearsome dinosaurs or forward to an age of endless war. What the world needs now is a time machine that will take you back perhaps half-an-hour, so you can correct your errors as you go along. With the help of a guinea pig named Emerson, and a girl friend named Fancy Blush, Ricky sets out to achieve just that. First serialized in The Kansas City Star, this full-length novel for pre-teens is just as much fun for grown-ups. Author Richard W. Jennings has been called "The Master of Middle American Whimsy" (Kirkus Reviews).

Each day for William Alexander Rainey, the firstborn and only child of the owners of Rainey's Cat & Dogs, is different from the day before. Working after school at Rainey's, the biggest, happiest and only pet rescue center in the beautiful Flint Hills of Kansas is never a chore, but always an adventure to be remembered. In these twelve connected short stories by the celebrated author of ORWELL'S LUCK, Alex learns, shares, laughs and loves about all creatures great and small. Jennings has been called "The Master of Middle American Whimsy," "a Mark Twain clone," and "a Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. for kids." This new collection may well be his best work ever. Illustration by Anna Dibble.