We sat at the kitchen table, across from each other. In the same spots we sat for dinner up till a month ago. The shadows on the table looked like prison bars again. This time it was Star being caged. Star, who thought leaving made her free. That life would be all hunky-dory shampooing heads and sweeping floors while Mama got slapped around-far enough away so she wouldn't have to hear the screams. That's when I knew for sure-I couldn't leave Mama. And Star couldn't make me any more than I could make her stay. A painfully beautiful novel that exposes the haunting world of spousal abuse Blue's family is coming apart at the seams. After Pa drowned in the river, Mama up and married Jinx, whom Blue and Star know is big trouble. And now Star has run away, leaving Blue behind. It was hard enough to watch Mama get knocked around when Jinx was in one of his "moods," but now, with Star gone, Jinx has spun out of control. It's up to Blue to find Star and get help for Mama, to piece the family back together again. But Blue is running out of time. With biting realism and poignancy, this compelling young-adult novel explores Blue's struggle to protect her family and stand up against what she knows is wrong.

A blue jay building a nest outside his window prompts John Berendt to find his camera and record the familiar, yet always fascinating sequence of events that will unfold, from eggs being laid to chicks emerging and trying to fly. Children and adults alike will be astonished at the adventurous spirit of one particularly curious young blue jay as he ventures into the world. The author of the best-selling Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil brings his narrative skill to this up-close and delightfully informal account of an event that recurs each spring.

The baby blue cat returns in his second illustrated book for young readers. Mama Cat has made a very special supper for her babies, but the baby blue cat is determined not to enjoy this delicious meal, and goes on saying no even when the other baby cats are tucked into bed.

Leaving the den as the weather warms, Baby Bear discovers blue birds, red strawberries, orange butterflies, and other colorful things in nature.

The good ol' days are over. It's official, it's the news! With my brand-new baby brother came the brand-new baby blues! When a new baby wears her old pajamas, sleeps in her old bed, and seems to get all her parents' attention, a girl's bound to sing the blues. Is there anything a baby brother can do to change her tune?

"Murphy’s dramatic nonfiction narrative recounting of one of the first open heart surgeries ever performed is not to be missed." —School Library Journal (starred review) In 1944, a groundbreaking operation repaired the congenital heart defect known as blue baby syndrome. The operation’s success brought the surgeon Alfred Blalock international fame and paved the way for open-heart surgery. But the technique had been painstakingly developed by Vivien Thomas, Blalock’s African American lab assistant, who stood behind Blalock in the operating room to give him step-by-step instructions. The stories of this medical and social breakthrough and the lives of Thomas, Blalock, and their colleague Dr. Helen Taussig are intertwined in this compelling nonfiction narrative. Winner, Notable Books for a Global Society * Horn Book Fanfare List * A Booklist Best Young Adult Book

"Help your baby sleep safe and snug."--Back cover.