A spunky African American girl has a hula-hooping competition with her friends in Harlem, and soon everyone in the neighborhood--young and old alike--joins in on the fun.

Catherine is a hula-hooping performance artist, a talented and independent individual. Columbine is a feisty female clown in a 16th century Italian commedia dell'arte commissioned to perform before the King of France. As Catherine and Columbine struggle to make sense of a nonsensical world, their lives, as if by magic, seem to interact.

The Caterpillar named Jacob wins you over in this fun, exciting rhyming, counting, picture book that will make you want to get up and hula hoop! In this motivational story you will share the day with young Jacob while he struggles with a roller coaster of emotions all because he steps out of his comfort zone to learn how to Hula Hoop! He finds out that he does not have to follow the crowd to fit in. With some kind words of advice from one of his elders, a passing butterfly, Jacob discovers the power of intention, practice makes perfect and never give up on your dreams. The day dreaming young caterpillar wins over the admiration of his friends. Children learn their numbers with fun rhymes as they count to twenty while discovering some of life's greatest lessons. At the end of the inspirational story adults are encouraged to teach kids to count higher and that hooping is fun exercise while Jacob keeps swishing that hoop until the sun goes down.

The fascinating and funny origins of everyday objects-bliss for history hounds, language lovers and trivia buffs. In this delightful volume, Harry Oliver reveals the most unusual and unexpected stories behind the household necessities, toys, common objects, technological advances, and everyday items we all take for granted. Who hasn't wondered: ?Whether Thomas Crapper really invented the toilet ?What accident led to the invention of the microwave ?Why it took nearly twenty years for someone to finally decide to slice bread ?How laziness resulted in the invention of the dishwasher ?Which discovery made the milkshake possible ?Which king's fancy for his mistress inspired the first elevator

The Tao of Hoop is a philosophical memoir about how the humble hula-hoop transformed one woman's life...but, seriously, though! Ann Humphreys was not aware that she didn't understand how to feel--something we don't learn about in school--until she very randomly (through crushing on a hot dude) found the hula-hoop at age 35. Having endured a life-altering loss as a teenager, Ann had learned to handle grief and pain through the time-honored Southern traditions of denial and repression. The hula-hoop broke those old patterns, allowing her to meet a new wave of challenges with a clear mind and an open heart. Part story, part treatise, part inquiry, part self-help guide--The Tao of Hoop is a raw, poetic, and captivating read you will have a hard time putting down. 

For every tween girl wondering about her changing body and changing brain, this funny and highly illustrated guide is the answer. Packed with advice about everything from periods to bras to body hair—PLUS tips on how to deal with crushes, new emotions, and all the chaos in between! Growing up is fun . . . but it’s tough, too. There are a lot of unknowns and it can be weird and messy for girls. Worry not! This book covers EVERYTHING girls need to know, and it's all been reviewed and fact-checked by medical consultant Dr. Radha Modgil. Learn how: To make your body your best friend (not your enemy). To get out there and do YOU (even when you don’t want to move off the couch). The thoughts and feelings that make you feel alone are shared by every girl on the planet. To feel amazing through exercise, nutrition, and skin care. And so much more! Great for those who loved The Care and Keeping of You or What's Happening to My Body?

Tammy Ho Lai-Ming's first collection has been fifteen years "between pen and press." The poems, cross-cultural and personal, paint a broad canvas from love to language, and family to politics. "Hula Hooping" is a valuable addition to the growing corpus of Hong Kong poetry in English. Tammy Ho Lai-Ming is a founding co-editor of "Cha: An Asian Literary Journal." She has edited several volumes of poetry and short fiction published in Hong Kong. "Tammy Ho's first book of poems marks the heart-felt, enigmatic, sassy, unapologetically socially engaged voice of an emergent generation that Hong Kong has long waited for." Shirley Geok-lin Lim Commonwealth Poetry Prize and American Books Awards winner; Research Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara