Books with title A Boy Named U

Queen, a new boy in Evelyn’s grade five class, wears shiny gym shorts and wants to organize a chess/environment club. His father plays weird loud music and has tattoos. Evelyn is an only child with a strict routine and an even stricter mother. And yet in her quiet way she notices things.How will the class react to Queen? How will Evelyn?Evelyn takes particular notice of this boy named Queen. The way the bullies don’t seem to faze him. The way he seems to live by his own rules. When it turns out that they take the same route home from school, Evelyn and Queen become friends, almost against Evelyn’s better judgment. She even finds Queen irritating at times. Why doesn’t he just shut up and stop attracting so much attention to himself?Yet he is the most interesting person she has ever met. So when she receives a last-minute invitation to his birthday party, she knows she must somehow persuade her mother to let her go, even if it means ignoring the No Gifts request and shopping for what her mother considers to be an appropriate gift, appropriately wrapped with “boy” wrapping paper.Her visit to Queen’s house opens Evelyn’s eyes to a whole new world, including an unconventional goody bag (leftover potato latkes wrapped in waxed paper and a pair of barely used red sneakers). And when it comes time for her to take something to school for Hype and Share, Evelyn suddenly looks at her chosen offering ― her mother’s antique cream jug ― and sees new and marvelous possibilities.

Few authors are as beloved as Shel Silverstein. His inimitable drawings and comic poems have become the bedtime staples of millions of children and their parents, but few readers know much about the man behind that wild-eyed, bearded face peering out from the backs of dust jackets.In A Boy Named Shel, Lisa Rogak tells the full story of a life as antic and adventurous as any of his creations. A man with an incurable case of wanderlust, Shel kept homes on both coasts and many places in between---and enjoyed regular stays in the Playboy Mansion. Everywhere he went he charmed neighbors, made countless friends, and romanced almost as many women with his unstoppable energy and never-ending wit. His boundless creativity brought him fame and fortune---neither of which changed his down-to-earth way of life---and his children's books sold millions of copies. But he was much more than "just" a children's writer. He collaborated with anyone who crossed his path, and found success in a wider range of genres than most artists could ever hope to master. He penned hit songs like "A Boy Named Sue" and "The Unicorn." He drew cartoons for Stars & Stripes and got his big break with Playboy. He wrote experimental plays and collaborated on scripts with David Mamet. With a seemingly unending stream of fresh ideas, he worked compulsively and enthusiastically on a wide array of projects up until his death, in 1999. Drawing on wide-ranging interviews and in-depth research, Rogak gives fans a warm, enlightening portrait of an artist whose imaginative spirit created the poems, songs, and drawings that have touched the lives of so many children---and adults.

This novella is the fourth in The Matchmaker series but can be read alone. Note: if you read it before the others, it may contain spoilers.Meet Winter. A great writer who has all the right words for the wrong girl.Winter Watkins has finally gotten up the nerve to confess his love to his secret crush. Too bad his carefully written notes get handed to the wrong girl. A very wrong girl, his co-editor and enemy combatant, Renae Montez. If Renae finds out the notes are from him, she'll think he set her up, and then they'll be enemies for real. He's hoping Marissa Morris, the school's resident matchmaker, can help him figure a way out of this mess.Renae can't believe she has a secret admirer, but the proof is in her hands. Literally. Gifts and romantic notes keep arriving, so it must be true. Every journalistic instinct in her body screams to uncover the mystery behind the love notes, and she knows somehow Winter's involved. She's just not sure if this will lead to a happily ever after or a huge disappointment.Marissa's got her work cut out for her. Save Winter, protect Renae from getting her heart broken, and somehow bring together two people who have no clue they're absolutely perfect for each other. This may be her greatest challenge yet.

This NOVELLA is the third in the Matchmaker series. It can be read as a standalone story.Meet Drake. A great actor who's playing it real.Gigi Dearborn lands the blind date of a lifetime with the gorgeous actor Drake Tarleton. And then he never calls. When she gets the chance to work on his set, she hopes to avoid him. After all, she's really only there for the money, not to start a romance with an up-and-coming teen actor.Drake's worked hard to balance his acting job and being a normal teen. He enjoyed his date with Gigi and wants to see her again. But then his diva co-star ruins the season's finale, and Drake finds himself saving his show instead of calling the girl he wants to know better.Marissa Morris is a matchmaker with a few successful matches amongst her friends. She recognizes the potential for Gigi and Drake and wants to get them together. This time, though, she's got to navigate big egos and big stars. Can Marissa help her friends find true love when Hollywood comes to their hometown?

This NOVELLA is the second in the Matchmaker series. It can be read as a stand-alone story.Meet Parker. A little bit bad and a lot in love.Callie Nichols knows the new boy in school is trouble, and tutoring him will only get her into closer contact with his outrageous humor and over-the-top flirtations. Surely, she can help Parker with his grades and not lose her heart in the process.Parker Revis fell for Callie practically the moment he met her, and his failed test is the perfect excuse to spend more time with her. But when his past player ways come back to haunt him, he has to convince Callie and his family that he's a reformed man.Marissa Morris is a matchmaker, and she sees the sparks between Callie and Parker. But this time, her matchmaking ways may actually hurt the couple's chances rather then help. Can she get this pair out of the friend zone, or will her interference separate them even more?

Evelyn is both aghast and fascinated when a new boy comes to grade five and tells everyone his name is Queen. Queen wears shiny gym shorts and wants to organize a chess/environment club. His father plays weird loud music and has tattoos.How will the class react? How will Evelyn?Evelyn is an only child with a strict routine and an even stricter mother. And yet in her quiet way she notices things. She takes particular notice of this boy named Queen. The way the bullies don’t seem to faze him. The way he seems to live by his own rules. When it turns out that they take the same route home from school, Evelyn and Queen become friends, almost against Evelyn’s better judgment. She even finds Queen irritating at times. Why doesn’t he just shut up and stop attracting so much attention to himself?Yet he is the most interesting person she has ever met. So when she receives a last-minute invitation to his birthday party, she knows she must somehow persuade her mother to let her go, even if it means ignoring the No Gifts request and shopping for what her mother considers to be an appropriate gift, appropriately wrapped with “boy” wrapping paper.Her visit to Queen’s house opens Evelyn’s eyes to a whole new world, including an unconventional goody bag (leftover potato latkes wrapped in waxed paper and a pair of barely used red sneakers). And when it comes time for her to take something to school for Hype and Share, Evelyn suddenly looks at her chosen offering — her mother’s antique cream jug — and sees new and marvelous possibilities.

A sparkling celebration of the pre-Renaissance master Centuries ago, a shepherd boy drew pictures of his sheep in the sand and on stones. Today, everyone knows him as Giotto, the pre-Renaissance master whose magnificent frescoes illuminate the Church of St. Francis in Assisi and the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. In A Boy Named Giotto, Paolo Guarnieri tells a story of how young Giotto might have been apprenticed to the great master Cimabue and taught how to paint frescoes. In legendary fashion, Cimabue, as any other artist of the times might have done, realizes that the student has outdone the master and will subsequently find a permanent place of honor in the history of art. Bimba Landmann's stunning paintings, with highlights of glittering gilt, call to mind the work of Giotto but exude a style that is distinctly Landmann's own.