Coast-to-coast readers of more than 150 newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Atlanta Constitution, Chicago Sun-Times, and Toronto Star share Fagan's view of this laugh-out-loud strip that deftly balances the tightrope of political correctness. Pardon My Planet: Omigawd! I've Become My Mother! represents the first collection of this uproarious cartoon that finds humor in all that makes us a little uncomfortable. Lee's razor wit is delivered through an array of seven recurring characters, each with their own off-kilter look at the world. In one panel, middle-aged suburbanites Dennis and Chloe learn from their Realtor that they may have found a home in their price range, but "unfortunately, there's a Scottish terrier named Rusty living in it." In another panel, while twentysomething roommates Jesse-Jane and Norris are dining out, Jesse-Jane asks the server how the chicken is prepared. The waiter dryly replies, "With no sugar-coating. We tell them right up front they're going to die." At times, the humor of Pardon My Planet is subtle but speaks to a deeper truth. Other times it is flat-out bizarre. This heady and hilarious collection captures it all, laying bare the annoyances and eccentricities of the inhabitants of our planet in this strip's unique and fresh way.

To make a friend is a joy. To make a friend in another country is a wonderment—a small miracle. Pardon My French follows the lives of an American couple who have embraced a daunting mission: Not to be spectators in France, but to be absorbed by France. Amidst the minefields of linguistic faux pas, the perplexities of French gestures, the exquisite and often exotic cuisine, and the splendor of Christmas on the Mediterranean—see what it is like for an occasionally gruff American to be adopted into a new family. Witness the hugging, the teasing, and the laughter that follows, when nothing on earth could be more perfect. Experience what it is like to fall in love with the French. Follow the adventures of the author as he pits his rather staid and conventional driving skills against the French speed demons of Languedoc. Step into his sneakers as he tests his basketball prowess against the young French bucks adorned with backward ball caps and over-the-knee Chicago Bulls game shorts. Watch how he frolics in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time with a French topless companion. Marvel as he sits in with a world-class French jazz band. Observe him overcome his shyness in talking to the beautiful nude model from his painting class in the studio atop the village police station. Envision how he learns to dance the tango with his head upright, his chest expanded, and his strides befitting a newly adorned French god—one with sensuality on his mind.

(Faber Piano Adventures ). ChordTime Piano Music from China takes Level 2B pianists on a musical trip through original Chinese compositions, folk songs, and dance themes. Mid-elementary students will enjoy analyzing the pentatonic scales and intervals that make up the distinctive Chinese sound. A picture tour and historical information provide rich context, while LeLe the musical panda highlights key performance details and invites creative improvisation. Songs include: Divertimento * Lady Meng Jiang * The Little Bird Song * Little Dance Song * Luchai Flowers * The Luhua Rooster * Picking Flowers * Talk Back.

Celebrate the remarkable stories, events, and landmarks of the global LGBTQ+ movement with this inspirational and empowering infographic guide to the path toward equality throughout history. There have been many ups and downs during the long and arduous fight for LGBTQ+ rights all over the world, but it helps to have a visual and joyful timeline of events to see just how far the movement has come. Queerstory is an accessible infographic of the global LGBTQ+ movement over the past 100 years that provides the perfect overview of all the significant people and events that changed the course of history. Telling a visual story through graphically represented statistics, key dates and events, quotes, and facts about rights, campaigns, and queer pioneers, this easy-to-read and inspiring guide is sure to provide a jolt of empowerment for the next generation of LGBTQ+ activists and allies.

Poetry. Like a secret date with Lizzie Borden, these moody lyrics thrill as they incriminate. SKIN HORSE shows that history is a crime scene, and that crime is theatrical, rife with costumes, masks, hats, props, weapons, scripts, dialogue, wooden scenery and dreamlike reenactments. These poems are anachronistic yet uncannily alive, furtive yet frank like an incriminating note forgotten in an apron pocket. Cronk locks words together like a lace collar which flutters attractively even as it tightens at the reader's throat. She writes, "with velvet trim / in the whistle of seeing." She writes, "Is it too untoward to say Please Go Back to Normal Life?" She writes, "Gotta nest of woe a nest of wail / and pardon my tied-on prom." "If 'the wind cries Mary' sounds to you more like 'The ring pulsed Maria' then you have your ears tuned to Cronk's idiosyncratic sonics. You can't be overtly prepared for Cronk's directions, all you can do is gladly if a little hesitantly follow the paths her word combinations offer: 'Back in the city in chains........ trees typewritering....... I am indeed a nurse.' SKIN HORSE will stimulate some neurons to try some new actions, to scare up some gathering, to be thrilled to be amongst her magnifications." Dara Wier "Welcome to SKIN HORSE: Olivia Cronk's topographical map of a version of the world in which deformed humans squirm through the muck of a mutilated nature: a burning zone of mechanical, brain-dripping horrors, a degraded rendering of the extreme consequences of natural and corporal decay." Daniel Borzutzky"

Andrew Hood’s debut collection heralds a young talent with an irresistible style and merciless eye. These unapologetic stories deal with an assortment of foolish self-destructive small town anti-heroes. They are unlikely odes and elegies for human shabbiness.A newly-wed conjures a ghost in an attempt to contact her absent husband. A seventeen year old is blackmailed into buying drugs for his English teacher. A tumescent young Blue Jay’s fan and his tumor-addled sister are swept up in the tempest of the Blue Jay’s 1989 run for the World Series. An estranged stepmother and stepson embark on a pilgrimage to the Michael Jackson trial.Hood’s cleverly wrought lyrical prose is the perfect foil for a prevailing lack of forgiveness, which becomes the overriding monstrosity of each story. Every character wants only to be pardoned, but will not, themselves, grant it.

Follows the exploits of Mechani-Cal, a down on his luck armored villain.