Books with author Shelley Pearsall

A shift in perspective can change everything. This brilliant new novel from the author of The Seventh Most Important Thing celebrates kids who see the world a little differently.April is looking for an escape from the sixth-grade lunch hour, which has become a social-scene nightmare, so she signs up to be a "buddy bench monitor" for the fourth graders' recess.Joey Byrd is a boy on the fringes, who wanders the playground alone, dragging his foot through the dirt. But over time, April realizes that Joey isn't just making random circles. When you look at his designs from above, a story emerges... Joey's "bird's eye" drawings reveal what he observes and thinks about every day.Told in alternating viewpoints--April's in text and Joey's mostly in art--the story gives the "whole picture" of what happens as these two outsiders find their rightful places.

One Kid. One Crime. One Chance to Make Things RightIt was a bitterly cold day when Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur hadhis reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge - he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Amazingly, it's the Junk Man himself who offersan alternative: 120 hours of community service...working for him.Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can't believe it - is he really supposed torummage through people's trash? But it isn't long before Arthur realizes there's more to the Junk Man thanmeets the eye, and the 'trash' he's collecting is being transformed into something more precious thananyone could imagine...Inspired by the work of American folk artist James Hampton, award-winning author Shelley Pearsall hascrafted an affecting and redemptive novel about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness.

A shift in perspective can change everything.This brilliant novel from the author of The Seventh Most Important Thing celebrates kids who see the world a little differently.April is looking for an escape from the sixth-grade lunch hour, which has become a social-scene nightmare, so she signs up to be a "buddy bench monitor" for the fourth graders' recess.Joey Byrd is a boy on the fringes, who wanders the playground alone, dragging his foot through the dirt. But over time, April realizes that Joey isn't just making random circles. When you look at his designs from above, a story emerges... Joey's "bird's eye" drawings reveal what he observes and thinks about every day.Told in alternating viewpoints--April's in text and Joey's mostly in art--the story gives the "whole picture" of what happens as these two outsiders find their rightful places.