Collection: Shop Woman

Clap your hands for Viola Smith--the pioneering female drummer at the heart of this bright and rhythmic biography, who rat-tat-tat-bang-crash-clink-boomed for nearly a century.

Five girls played together in the Smith Sisters Orchestra: Irene on trombone, Erma on vibraphone, Edwina on trumpet, Mildred on violin, and Lila on saxophone. But what of the littlest sister? When Viola's time came, almost every instrument was taken . . . except one. When she first sat behind a drum kit, she lost the beat, made a terrible racket, and had more fun than she'd ever had before. Viola took to the road with her family, learned from the greats, formed her own band in the face of discrimination and ridicule, mastered twelve- and seventeen-piece drum kits, and played so fast she left no room for doubt: women could not only keep the beat--they could beat the odds. At one hundred years of age, Viola was still slamming her snare and socking her cymbals. Dean Robbins's affectionate portrait of one of the few female professional drummers of the early twentieth century includes an endnote with resources for discovering other female musicians. Susanna Chapman's swirling illustrations capture the joy and energy of Viola's stage presence while introducing young readers to the essential art form of jazz.

It's beginning to look a lot like murder in Agatha-awarding winning author Maddie Day's latest Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, as Cape Cod bike shop owner Mackenzie "Mac" Almeida and her book club sleuths must solve a murder before Mac and her fiancée's New Years Eve wedding...

'Tis the day after Christmas, following a wicked-busy time of year for Mac's bike shop. It's just as well her Cozy Capers Book Group's new pick is a nerve-soothing coloring book mystery, especially when she has last-minute wedding planning to do. But all pre-wedding jitters fade into the background when Mac and her fiancé, Tim, begin a cottage renovation project and open up a wall to find a skeleton--sitting on a stool, dressed in an old-fashioned bridal gown . . .

As Mac delves into the decades-old mystery with the help of librarian Flo and her book group, she discovers a story of star-crossed lovers and feuding families worthy of the bard himself. Yet this tale has a modern-day villain still lurking in Mac's quaint seaside town, ready to make this a murderous New Year's Eve . . .

Includes Recipes!

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

A deeply moving story of carrying on even when it seems impossible.

Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive.

Impossible choices are made, decisions that leave the survivors tormented with grief and regret. Unable to let go, Finn keeps vigil as they struggle to reclaim their shattered lives. Jack, her father, who seeks vengeance against the one person he can blame other than himself; her best friend, Mo, who bravely searches for the truth as the story of their survival is rewritten; her sister Chloe, who knows Finn lingers and yearns to join her; and her mother, Ann, who saved them all but is haunted by her decisions. Finn needs to move on, but how can she with her family still in pieces?

Heartrending yet ultimately redemptive, In an Instant is a story about the power of love, the meaning of family, and carrying on...even when it seems impossible.

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

What if you had one year to save everything you loved?

ONE PRINCESS. Merida of DunBroch needs a change. She loves her family--jovial King Fergus, proper Queen Elinor, the mischievous triplets-- and her peaceful kingdom. But she's frustrated by its sluggishness; each day, the same. Merida longs for adventure, purpose, challenge - maybe even, someday, love.

TWO GODS. But the fiery Princess never expects her disquiet to manifest by way of Feradach, an uncanny supernatural being tasked with rooting out rot and stagnation, who appears in DunBroch on Christmas Eve with the intent to demolish the realm - and everyone within. Only the intervention of the Cailleach, an ancient entity of creation, gives Merida a shred of hope: convince her family to change within the year - or suffer the eternal consequences.

THREE VOYAGES. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Merida leads a series of epic journeys to kingdoms near and far in an attempt to inspire revolution within her family. But in her efforts to save those she loves from ruin, has Merida lost sight of the Clan member grown most stagnant of all - herself?

FOUR SEASONS TO SAVE DUNBROCH - OR SEE IT DESTROYED, FOREVER.

#4 on The New York Times' list of The 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years

The New York Times bestselling, hilarious tale of a hardscrabble Texas childhood that Oprah.com calls the best memoir of a generation

"Wickedly funny and always movingly illuminating, thanks to kick-ass storytelling and a poet's ear." --Oprah.com

The Liars' Club took the world by storm and raised the art of the memoir to an entirely new level, bringing about a dramatic revival of the form. Karr's comic childhood in an east Texas oil town brings us characters as darkly hilarious as any of J. D. Salinger's--a hard-drinking daddy, a sister who can talk down the sheriff at age twelve, and an oft-married mother whose accumulated secrets threaten to destroy them all. This unsentimental and profoundly moving account of an apocalyptic childhood is as "funny, lively, and un-put-downable" (USA Today) today as it ever was.

"A wonderful exploration of the past and the future and, most importantly, of what it means to be present in the here and now. Full of the love of words, the love of family, and the love of falling in love, The Lost and Found Bookshop is a big-hearted gem of a novel that will satisfy and entertain readers from all walks of life. Lovely!"--Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing In The Rain

In this thought-provoking, wise and emotionally rich novel, New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs explores the meaning of happiness, trust, and faith in oneself as she asks the question, "If you had to start over, what would you do and who would you be?"

There is a book for everything . . .

Somewhere in the vast Library of the Universe, as Natalie thought of it, there was a book that embodied exactly the things she was worrying about.

In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Natalie Harper inherits her mother's charming but financially strapped bookshop in San Francisco. She also becomes caretaker for her ailing grandfather Andrew, her only living relative--not counting her scoundrel father.

But the gruff, deeply kind Andrew has begun displaying signs of decline. Natalie thinks it's best to move him to an assisted living facility to ensure the care he needs. To pay for it, she plans to close the bookstore and sell the derelict but valuable building on historic Perdita Street, which is in need of constant fixing. There's only one problem-Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to sell. Natalie adores her grandfather; she'll do whatever it takes to make his final years happy. Besides, she loves the store and its books provide welcome solace for her overwhelming grief.

After she moves into the small studio apartment above the shop, Natalie carries out her grandfather's request and hires contractor Peach Gallagher to do the necessary and ongoing repairs. His young daughter, Dorothy, also becomes a regular at the store, and she and Natalie begin reading together while Peach works.

To Natalie's surprise, her sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new connections, discoveries and revelations, from unearthing artifacts hidden in the bookshop's walls, to discovering the truth about her family, her future, and her own heart.

This wholesome, award-winning classic that has sold more than 1 million copies is written by bestselling authors and illustrated by a Caldecott-winning artist, telling the story of a 100-year-old china doll who discovers surprising friendships and thrilling adventures.

The Doll family, beautifully crafted china dolls, has been passed down through four generations of girls in one American family. Annabelle Doll is eight years old and has been for over 100 years. Not a lot has happened to her, cooped up in the dollhouse, with the same doll people, day after day, year after year...until the Funcrafts move in. Unlike the cautious, traditional Doll family in every way, the Funcrafts are carefree and delivered straight from the factory shelves. Tiffany Funcraft is made entirely of plastic and lives in the scariest room of the house, but she's an adventurer and after 100 years of boredom, that's just what Anabelle needs. Especially when she vows to solve a decades-long family mystery.

This fresh twist on the beloved genre of doll stories will spark imagination and a sense of wonder in young readers and will send them on a search for the second book in the series, The Meanest Doll in the World.

Crazy Rich Asians meets The Help! From Reese's Book Club veteran Balli Kaur Jaswal comes a wildly entertaining and sharply observed story of three women who work in the homes of Singapore's elite, and band together to solve a murder mystery involving one of their own.

"Tender and heartfelt, Now You See us also manages to be laugh-out-loud funny. An uplifting story of courage and hope that will keep you enthralled until the very last page."--Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

"A truly irresistible read. Intricately plotted, propulsive, and provocative, NOW YOU SEE US showcases an author at the peak of her talents."--Kirstin Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit

Corazon, Donita, and Angel are Filipina domestic workers--part of the wave of women sent to Singapore to be cleaners, maids, and caregivers.

Corazon: A veteran domestic worker, Cora had retired back to the Philippines for good, but she has returned to Singapore under mysterious circumstances. Now she's keeping a secret from her wealthy employer, who is planning an extravagant wedding for her socialite daughter.

Donita: Barely out of her teens, this is Donita's first time in Singapore, and she's had the bad luck to be hired by the notoriously fussy Mrs. Fann. Brazen and exuberant, Donita's thrown herself into a love affair with an Indian migrant worker.

Angel: Working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly employer, Angel is feeling blue after a recent breakup with the woman she loves. She's alarmed when her employer's son suddenly brings in a new nurse who may be a valuable ally...or meant to replace her.

Then an explosive news story shatters Singapore's famous tranquility--and sends a chill down the spine of every domestic worker. Flordeliza Martinez, a Filipina maid, has been arrested for murdering her female employer. The three women don't know the accused well, but she could be any of them; every worker knows stories of women who were scapegoated or even executed for crimes they didn't commit.

Shocked into action, Donita, Corazon, and Angel will use their considerable moxie and insight to piece together the mystery of what really happened on the day Flordeliza's employer was murdered. After all, no one knows the secrets of Singapore's families like the women who work in their homes...

**INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

In the vein of Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest, Tracey Lange's We Are the Brennans explores the staying power of shame--and the redemptive power of love--in an Irish Catholic family torn apart by secrets.

When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it's not easy. She deserted them all--and her high school sweetheart--five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions.

Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family's pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets--secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes--and ultimately find a way forward, together.

Encourage young girls to be anything they want with this lyrical and empowering board book!

When the world is whispering
what she should be,
let her be...

free
to feel the warmth of the sun.
Let her be playful,
let her twirl and run.

Mackenzie Porter, author of In My Heart, shares a meaningful message that reads as both a love letter from a hopeful parent and a mantra for young girls, showing them that they can be both curious and certain, gentle and strong, and anything else they imagine!

In this book from the highly acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the incredible life of Rosa Parks, the "Mother of the Freedom Movement."

Rosa Parks grew up in Alabama, where she learned to stand up for herself at an early age. Rosa went on to become a civil rights activist. In 1955, she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her courageous decision had a huge impact on civil rights, eventually leading to the end of segregation on public transport. She never stopped working for equal rights. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the activist's life.

Little People, BIG DREAMS is a best-selling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardcover and paperback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. With rewritten text for older children, the treasuries each bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume. You can also collect a selection of the books by theme in boxed gift sets. Activity books and a journal provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.

Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

Luminous essays on translation and self-translation by an award-winning writer and literary translator

Translating Myself and Others is a collection of candid and disarmingly personal essays by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, who reflects on her emerging identity as a translator as well as a writer in two languages.

With subtlety and emotional immediacy, Lahiri draws on Ovid's myth of Echo and Narcissus to explore the distinction between writing and translating, and provides a close reading of passages from Aristotle's Poetics to talk more broadly about writing, desire, and freedom. She traces the theme of translation in Antonio Gramsci's Prison Notebooks and takes up the question of Italo Calvino's popularity as a translated author. Lahiri considers the unique challenge of translating her own work from Italian to English, the question "Why Italian?," and the singular pleasures of translating contemporary and ancient writers.

Featuring essays originally written in Italian and published in English for the first time, as well as essays written in English, Translating Myself and Others brings together Lahiri's most lyrical and eloquently observed meditations on the translator's art as a sublime act of both linguistic and personal metamorphosis.

Members of an Egyptian expedition fall victim to an ancient mummy's curse in this thrilling Veronica Speedwell novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries.

London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can't resist the allure of an exotic mystery--particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.

But the perils of an ancient curse are not the only challenges Veronica must face as sordid details and malevolent enemies emerge from Stoker's past. Caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats--and thrust into the public eye by an enterprising new foe--Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything...

From the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth.

Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news...

Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It's what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit's world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions--grief, loss, and anger--that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who's been living a lie.

After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who'd become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.

Now, if two sisters are to reunite, it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their relationship, they may have to lose everything.

"Deliciously eerie." --Leslie Rule, Bestselling Author

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind from the brilliant guides behind "Boroughs of the Dead," featured on NPR.org, The New York Times, and Jezebel, explores the history behind America's female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us--and why they haunt us . . .

Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess--America's female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known--though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America's most famous female ghosts, from from 'Mrs. Spencer' who haunted Joan Rivers' New York apartment to Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era's fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire --achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation.

"A Haunted History of Invisible Women looks beyond the legends of maligned female ghosts and gives us their real histories. It is both a meditation on the misogyny of a ghost-hunting culture that capitalizes on false narratives of sex and death, and a fascinating look at the flesh-and-blood women behind the ghost stories. This book is a long-overdue search for historic truth, yet it recognizes that "When it comes to ghosts, truth is as elusive as the spirits themselves." --Chris Woodyard, Author of The Victorian Book of the Dead.

Afterword by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Linda D. Addison