Spot the difference... there is none! The Shortest House on the Block talks about the life of twins where one of the twins uses a wheelchair. Their house is the shortest house on the block, as houses with stairs are not accessible to those in a wheelchair. The story hopes to convey how the life of someone who uses a wheelchair is no different or no less. The story also hopes to convey a message to understand and be aware of your surroundings and learn new concepts that are not commonly taught.

When ancient Chinese art work disappears in Chicago, Flint Rock gets a call from a University of Chicago professor for help. Flint joins forces with Isabella Norton to track down the paintings and find the killer of a cultural anthropologist who owned them. The hunt takes them to Paris and to Uruguay. Along the way, they encounter an underworld Chinese triad known as 14K. There is also a Mexican drug kingpin who takes on the Chinese mafia. Flint chases a motorcycle thief around Montevideo. After a gun battle in South America, a surprise ending gives the story unexpected resolution.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Finalist for the NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Literary Work" "Valerie has been one of Barack and my closest confidantes for decades... the world would feel a lot better if there were more people like Valerie blazing the trail for the rest of us."--Michelle Obama "The ultimate Obama insider" (The New York Times) and longest-serving senior advisor in the Obama White House shares her journey as a daughter, mother, lawyer, business leader, public servant, and leader in government at a historic moment in American history. When Valerie Jarrett interviewed a promising young lawyer named Michelle Robinson in July 1991 for a job in Chicago city government, neither knew that it was the first step on a path that would end in the White House. Jarrett soon became Michelle and Barack Obama's trusted personal adviser and family confidante; in the White House, she was known as the one who "got" him and helped him engage his public life. Jarrett joined the White House team on January 20, 2009 and departed with the First Family on January 20, 2017, and she was in the room--in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, and everywhere else--when it all happened. No one has as intimate a view of the Obama Years, nor one that reaches back as many decades, as Jarrett shares in Finding My Voice. Born in Iran (where her father, a doctor, sought a better job than he could find in segregated America), Jarrett grew up in Chicago in the 60s as racial and gender barriers were being challenged. A single mother stagnating in corporate law, she found her voice in Harold Washington's historic administration, where she began a remarkable journey, ultimately becoming one of the most visible and influential African-American women of the twenty-first century. From her work ensuring equality for women and girls, advancing civil rights, reforming our criminal justice system, and improving the lives of working families, to the real stories behind some of the most stirring moments of the Obama presidency, Jarrett shares her forthright, optimistic perspective on the importance of leadership and the responsibilities of citizenship in the twenty-first century, inspiring readers to lift their own voices.

Does our society care about its children? This provocative and in-depth examination of violence in the lives of children uncovers the conditions and social policies that perpetuate violence. In addition, this volume forces us to look at other forms of violence confronting children in families, neighborhoods, and schools: ? The violence of poverty and homelessness ? The violence of environmentally induced childhood diseases ? The media and legislative "criminalization" of children and ? The increasing trend towards incarceration of youthful offenders. The pre-eminent contributors to this volume examine these issues from both historical and contemporary public policy perspectives. They address the myths and realities of youth violence and the impact of poverty, race, and gender. Prevailing ideas about punishment and retribution, the role of the state in terms of private or public responsibility, and the developmental needs of the child are all themes that frame the multiple advocacy perspectives presented by these cogent essays.