Books with author Sharron Dark

Lexieville, Arkansas, can hardly be called a real town. It's nothing but a jumble of unpainted shotgun shacks squatting at the end of a muddy, rutted road. To Pertrisha "Pert" Lexie, that road is like a sign, a warning that there's no welcome for outsiders who might venture into Lexieville, and little chance of her getting out.Pert's mother, Truly, had dreams once upon a time, but now they're worn threadbare as a hand-me-down quilt. Pert's brother, Jobe, a high-school dropout, appears to be trapped in Lexieville, too. Only Pert is still determined to shake the dust of Lexieville off her feet and put on a new life like a bright, fresh coat of paint.With only a few self-defense classes, an occasional helping hand from a county welfare worker, and her own fierce dreams to aid her, Pert fights to overcome the suffocating fatalism of generations and to fend off the violent advances of a bitter uncle.

"Amid gritty free verse, Darrow interweaves beautifully crafted forms such as the villanelle, sestina and pantoum, whose intricate patterns suit Sissy's mournful voice." — Publishers WeeklyFor sixteen-year-old Sissy and her brother Boy, trash is a reminder of one too many sorry foster placements they've endured, a way of life they can't wait to escape. Now on the run in search of their big sister Raynell, ironically they are forced to rely on their trash-picking skills for sustenance and shelter. Reunited at last with Raynell in St. Louis, Boy and Sissy shed their old identities, reinvent themselves as graffiti artists, and splash their new names on city bridges and walls. But one night's expedition goes horribly wrong, and Sissy looks again to trash, this time as the beginning of something artful and beautiful.

Long before Mary Shelley created her Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein, she told other tales - spine-tingling fireside tales of lost loves and drowned sailors. She also shared true stories of a girl endlessly drawn to her mother's grave, and of a girl whose father had forgotten all he once held dear. Sharon Darrow has skilfully spun fiction from fact to recreate the details of a particularly critical time in Mary Wolllstonecraft Shelley's life - when she was fourteen and sent away to live with another family, the Baxters. Masterfully matched by Angela Barrett's exquisite, atmospheric illustrations, this is a rich tapestry of stories within stories - those told, those written and more extraordinary, those lived.

Lexieville, Arkansas, can hardly be called a real town. It's nothing but a jumble of unpainted shotgun shacks squatting at the end of a muddy, rutted road. To Pertrisha "Pert" Lexie, that road is like a sign, a warning that there's no welcome for outsiders who might venture into Lexieville, and little chance of her getting out.Pert's mother, Truly, had dreams once upon a time, but now they're worn threadbare as a hand-me-down quilt. Pert's brother, Jobe, a high-school dropout, appears to be trapped in Lexieville, too. Only Pert is still determined to shake the dust of Lexieville off her feet and put on a new life like a bright, fresh coat of paint.With only a few self-defense classes, an occasional helping hand from a county welfare worker, and her own fierce dreams to aid her, Pert fights to overcome the suffocating fatalism of generations and to fend off the violent advances of a bitter uncle.

Two teen siblings run from foster life — and find new expression as graffiti artists — in a stark but hopeful poetic novel.For sixteen-year-old Sissy and her brother Boy, trash is a reminder of one too many sorry foster placements they've endured, a way of life they can't wait to escape. Now on the run in search of their big sister Raynell, ironically they are forced to rely on their trash-picking skills for sustenance and shelter. Reunited at last with Raynell in St. Louis, Boy and Sissy shed their old identities, reinvent themselves as graffiti artists, and splash their new names on city bridges and walls. But one night's expedition goes horribly wrong, and Sissy looks again to trash, this time as the beginning of something artful and beautiful.

Raising kids is beautiful and a mystery of fun, crying, laughing and what's next? There is not a one right way to get things done and reading minds, spoiling a child and damned if you do and damned if you don't. Kids are loving and curious about many things that parents don't have the answers to give all the time. Patience is necessary and important and revising thoughts and actions.