Over the years, thousands of readers have immersed themselves in the world of Rose, an abandoned and abused child who stubbornly and defiantly became a caring and loving mother. In her honest and straightforward style, and in appreciation of those who have taken such an interest in her life, Rose continues her original storyrevealing events from the next two decades. Along with the discovery of some of the missing pieces of her childhood, Rose describes the frustration, hard work, and unexpected benefits found among the challenges of the social welfare system. This unique individual has made many of her readers reconsider their views of those in need, especially those we may consider undeserving of our help. In doing so, Roses Story proves to be a case that redefines what it means to help someone.

Thunder Rose vows to grow up to be more than just big and strong, thank you very kindly--and boy, does she ever But when a whirling storm on a riotous rampage threatens, has Rose finally met her match?

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography “An exhilarating romp through Orwell’s life and times and also through the life and times of roses.” —Margaret Atwood “A captivating account of Orwell as gardener, lover, parent, and endlessly curious thinker.” —Claire Messud, Harper's “Nobody who reads it will ever think of Nineteen Eighty-Four in quite the same way.” —Vogue A lush exploration of politics, roses, and pleasure, and a fresh take on George Orwell as an avid gardener whose political writing was grounded by his passion for the natural world “In the spring of 1936, a writer planted roses.” So be-gins Rebecca Solnit’s new book, a reflection on George Orwell’s passionate gardening and the way that his involvement with plants, particularly flowers, illuminates his other commitments as a writer and antifascist, and on the intertwined politics of nature and power. Sparked by her unexpected encounter with the roses he reportedly planted in 1936, Solnit’s account of this overlooked aspect of Orwell’s life journeys through his writing and his actions—from going deep into the coal mines of England, fighting in the Spanish Civil War, critiquing Stalin when much of the international left still supported him (and then critiquing that left) to his analysis of the relationship between lies and authoritarianism. Through Solnit’s celebrated ability to draw unexpected connections, readers are drawn onward from Orwell‘s own work as a writer and gardener to encounter photographer Tina Modotti’s roses and her politics, agriculture and illusion in the USSR of his time with forcing lemons to grow in impossibly cold conditions, Orwell’s slave-owning ancestors in Jamaica, Jamaica Kincaid’s examination of colonialism and imperialism in the flower garden, and the brutal rose industry in Colombia that supplies the American market. The book draws to a close with a rereading of Nineteen Eighty-Four that completes Solnit’s portrait of a more hopeful Orwell, as well as offering a meditation on pleasure, beauty, and joy as acts of resistance.

2013 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Rosa’s mother is singing again, for the first time since Papa died in an accident in the mills. But instead of filling their cramped tenement apartment with Italian lullabies, Mamma is out on the streets singing union songs, and Rosa is terrified that her mother and older sister, Anna, are endangering their lives by marching against the corrupt mill owners. After all, didn’t Miss Finch tell the class that the strikers are nothing but rabble-rousers—an uneducated, violent mob? Suppose Mamma and Anna are jailed or, worse, killed? What will happen to Rosa and little Ricci? When Rosa is sent to Vermont with other children to live with strangers until the strike is over, she fears she will never see her family again. Then, on the train, a boy begs her to pretend that he is her brother. Alone and far from home, she agrees to protect him . . . even though she suspects that he is hiding some terrible secret. From a beloved, award-winning author, here is a moving story based on real events surrounding an infamous 1912 strike.

"Earle's narrative voice sounds like a sage in a smoky bar..." Kirkus Reviews "[A] surprisingly fine short story collection…" The Star Tribune "A heartfelt, beautifully observed collection of stories." The Oregonian "[Earle's] ability to write so close to the bone…makes Doghouse Roses such an entertaining read." The Los Angeles Times "They haven't been shaped…by the small magazines or mainstream monthly editors. There's an appealing sort of innocence to them." Salon —

A beautifully illustrated and unique history of the "queen of flowers" in art, medicine, cuisine, and more