From Newbery-winning author Betsy Byars comes a story full of "poignancy, perception, and humor" (The Chicago Tribune), about three foster kids who learn what it takes to make a family. You can't always decide where life will take you—especially when you're a kid. Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again. But against her will and her better judgment, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own lives.

When Skanda's father Toby dies, estranged from Skanda's mother and from the India he once loved, it falls to Skanda to return his body to his birthplace. This is a journey that takes him halfway around the world and deep within three generations of his family, whose fractures, frailties and toxic legacies he has always sought to elude. Both an intimate portrait of a marriage and its aftershocks, and a panoramic vision of India's half-century - in which a rapacious new energy supplants an ineffectual elite - 'The way things were' is an epic novel about the pressures of history upon the present moment. It is also a meditation on the stories we tell and the stories we forget; their tenderness and violence in forging bonds and in breaking them apart. Set in modern Delhi and at flashpoints from the past four decades, fusing private and political, classical and contemporary to thrilling effect, this book confirms Aatish Taseer as one of the most arresting voices of his generation.

DIVFrom the depths of the sewers comes a monster so gargantuan that no fishbowl can hold it/divDIV Warren Otis wants to make horror films when he grows up. But as an eight-year-old boy, he has to settle for imagining movies instead of making them. He’s thought up some real nightmares, including Bubbles, an innocent goldfish flushed down the toilet and exposed to a chemical that turned her into a one-ton monster./divDIV /divDIVWarren’s life sometimes feels like it’s a bad movie. He hasn’t seen his mom for three years, since she’s a fugitive from the FBI. His grandmother’s cranky and his sister’s acting mysterious. When things get too strange, Warren escapes into his imagination and writes one more scene featuring Bubbles. But will he ever get a chance to share his story with the people he loves?/divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Betsy Byars including rare images from the author’s personal collection./div

Fifty vintage and contemporary pinballs are showcased, each with its own chapter outlining special features, historical information, game trivia, game rules, collectibility, graphic images, and current value. Over 600 full color photographs provide a complete visual of each game. Whole machine shots, close-ups, and ball's-eye-view images put enthusiasts right into the action. A must for pinball collectors, graphic artists, historians, and devotees of coin operated amusement games.

The Moon that inspires Betsy Byars's memoir isn't the one in the sky, but a huge, harmless blacksnake she finds in the rafters of her porch. This meeting begins an exploration of the writing process. With energy, wit, and delight, the Newbery medalist shows how "the good scraps" of her life, from a bully named Bubba to a gift-wrapped dime, weave into her work.

This fantastic book tells the detailed history of pinball games from the 1930s to the 1990s, including the evolution of all sorts of game features--from flippers and bumpers to sound, scoring, and tilt mechanisms--all immersed in the complex and magnificent artwork characteristic of pinball machines. Pinball manufacturing giants like Gottlieb, Williams, and Bally are well represented, in addition to several lesser-known and foreign manufacturers. With a listing of over 3,000 games built to date, statistics, updated pricing information, and over 900 color photographs (including close-ups, flyers, images of rare prototypes, and games never before seen in print), this is essential for the libraries of all pinball lovers. The pinball machine is here to stay--due in part to the exponential increase in the number of serious collectors and enthusiasts. What other modern amusement machine can boast a longevity of over 60 years, withstanding the test of time and ever-changing technology, while maintaining its instantly recognizable form? The rolling, bouncing silver ball, as unpredictable as the flip of a coin or even life itself, has kept up with cutting-edge advancements in electronics, mechanics, and even computers, to amuse and test the skill of players worldwide!

Ahh-Ahh-Ahh-Ahhhh! Dorothy knows she could make a great Tarzan in the class play, even if she is a girl. When she gets up to introduce the world to her primal yell, something comes over her -- something wild and untamed. She gets the part, but Dorothy's not the only one with jungle fever. Her Tarzan yell seems to have an effect on all nearby animals, and when the circus comes to town the night of the class play, things start to get a whole lot wilder! Betsy Byars is one of the most celebrated and beloved writers of children's books today.