Books published by publisher PublishAmerica

Xavier McTall, Chelsea Lambert, Colby Lyons, Andy Wolff and Amara Creed are five extraordinary teenagers, handpicked to carry on a decades-old tradition. The Band of the Hand, formed in 1947 by the five most unlikely co-conspirators imaginable, exists to prank, pester and peeve those who use their power to persecute the peons of Centralia High School. Five freshmen, each selected for his or her singular specialty, with nearly eight decades of continuing support from former members, take on the injustices of the secondary education system. With the help of the mysterious “Mr. Sage,” the tradition continues. Meet this year’s version of the Band of the Hand: Xavier, the 11-year-old computer genius and social misfit; Chelsea, the studious animal-lover with a weakness for jazz; Colby, the daredevil punk rocker prodigy with an aptitude for foreign languages and a penchant for getting into trouble; Andy Wolff, the star athlete; and Amara, the “Girl Most Likely to Be Perfect.” The freshmen pranksters target their talents toward Vice Principal Arnold “the Pig” Riggs—a mean-spirited, malicious miscreant who despises teenagers and whose favorite target is Colby Lyons. It’s all fun and games until Andy’s father is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, and the Band of the Hand must use their considerable resources and their extraordinary expertise to reveal the true culprit.

RALLY CAPS is a humorous, fun-filled baseball and camp story. Ten year old Jordan is injured in an unfortunate and frightening accident while trying out for the Little League Travel team. Recovery is difficult. At summer camp he struggles to conquer his anxiety and fear in order to return to his beloved game of baseball. He forms a friendship with a deaf Italian boy, Luca, who wears a cochlear implant. Luca’s compelling positive nothing is impossible attitude, along with the inspiration he draws from his idol, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., gives Jordan the courage to return to baseball with a passion. Find out what happens as “Rally Caps” are raised in the bottom of the final inning in the biggest game of Jordan’s life. Boys and girls alike will enjoy this touching story of persevering through difficult times.

Deborah Sampson was a courageous woman who lived during the American Revolutionary War. Deborah wanted to fight for her country, but women were not allowed to join the military, at that time. She disguised herself as a man, and successfully enlisted in the army. Later, she became the first American woman who went on a lecture tour, and the first woman to collect a military pension in the United States. Deborah Sampson was a brave woman whose story will inspire boys, and girls to go for their dreams

Elmer the Elf is the story of a young elf who has a very important job at the North Pole. He is one of many elves who help Santa every Christmas. The story tracks the adventure of Elmer as he travels the world to find the Magical Jingle Bells, as they had become lost somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. These bells are a very important part of Santa’s sleigh. Elmer does find an unusual way to take care of the problem. I hope everyone enjoys this story as much as my family has. It was a fun story to write.

This story is a historical fiction picture book about the experiences of black children growing up in the pre-civil rights era of the Jim Crow South. It is based on my own memories of childhood, as an African American child, during this period of history. As a veteran teacher of thirty years, I have often been amazed at the interest my second grade students have shown in stories about my childhood growing up in the South during the days of Jim Crow. My students listen with wide eyed wonder about a world where laws prohibited a race of people from taking part in the privileges of society because of the color of their skin. Ramona Rorie Griffin is the 1999-2000 Indianapolis Public Schools Teacher of the Year and presently the Reading First Coach at Thomas D. Gregg Elementary School in Indianapolis, Indiana. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education, A Master's Degree in School Counseling and is a Licensed School Administrator. Ramona is also a National Board Certified and Licensed Clinical Counselor. She has been married to her husband Byron for twenty eight years and they have three children, Brenton, Lauren and Charlisa. Her family is multiracial due tothe adoption of her youngest daughter, who is white. This is a fact that she realizes would never have been possible in the days of Jim Crow. Ramona believes that there is a need for more books and articles that describe this part of American history from a child's perspective. She believes that it will help children and adults to see that the effects of segregation extended to even the smallest members of society. The book is a tribute to the resilency of childhood.

Even at age fourteen, Tony D'Vita and Maryann Vergona had known that in order to be vigilant in the scheme of dreams, you need to lead an orderly life. They also knew in their heart sometimes all we need to make it through the tough times . . . is a reminder. That our friends are close by. Yet what their dearest friends did not know is that although they had courage, determination, and the intensity to succeed, their journey through life had already begun . . . preordained over three thousand years ago. And their dreams are just about to awaken the bowels of a sleeping nightmare. Tony D'Vita had a withered right hand, but he had shocking good looks. He lived in a tough and violent neighborhood, but he was a born leader. He had fear, for he was given a strange and powerful energy in his left arm. What Tony did not have was the reason for which he had it. When someone decided to steal the source from which it came, Tony then knew he was the reason the world and his love for Maryann, his only love, were about to enter a world somewhere beyond that small step from normalcy. What then shall one do but embrace it and wait?

This book is a look at multi-cultural adoption from a child’s viewpoint. I am the adoptive mother of a beautiful black five-year-old girl. The idea for this book came from an actual conversation that we had when she started to recognize that our skin colors were not the same. Although adoption is very fulfilling for each member of the family, the difference in cultural characteristics and the questions that go along with being different do arise in the young mind of the child. However, this book shows that even though there are differences on the outside, on the inside we are all the same. I feel that this book is fun and realistic and easily understood at any age.

A day of adventure is captured in this book of what Molly the cat is watching when she doesn’t think anyone is watching her. She and her sister, Dora, bring the book alive with their antics. It’s a day of fun brought to life by Tammy Avery and illustrations done by Jim Hunt. This book is one of a series of books introducing an adventure of what cats do when you’re not home.