Annette Smith has been blessed with the ability to observe and find beauty, meaning, and humor in seemingly ordinary situations. Within a sentence or two, readers are captivated by her delightful, descriptive writing style, connected with the characters, and eager to hear more. Watermelon Days and Firefly Nights is Smith's fifth book of original short stories. In this charming collection, adults of all ages enjoy a behind-the-scenes peek at the lives and loves of a few of the 3,482 folks who proudly call Ella Louise, Texas, their home sweet home. These quirky and loveable characters include twelve-year-old twins whose "creative" pet care is appreciated by neither their mother nor their geriatric poodle, George; Faye Beth and Harvey Newman, a married couple who has lived for seven years with a gaping hole in the roof of their house and have no plans to fix it; and the industrious deacons of Grace Baptist Church, whose decision to paint the sanctuary uncovers a shocking, twenty-year-old secret. Watermelon Days and Firefly Nights celebrates the simple, small-town goodness of neighbors helping neighbors and friends caring for friends. Through glimpses of ordinary people exhibiting extraordinary love, forgiveness, and humor, readers gain a renewed sense of kinship and love and are reminded of life's sweetest hours.

There is never a dull moment in Ruby Prairie, especially since young widow Charlotte Carter has opened Tanglewood, a pink Victorian refuge for troubled girls. Sixty-two-year-old massage therapist, Treasure Evans, comes to live at Tanglewood to help with another newcomer to Ruby Prairie, Jasper Jones. Packed with surprises, romances and a bit of trouble, A New Day at Tanglewood is sure to be an enjoyable read.

Here is the third and final book in the Ruby Prairie series about a small town in Texas and the quirky characters who live there. Life in Ruby Prairie is seen through the eyes of Charlotte, a widow in her mid-thirties who has come to the town to open her home and be a foster mother for girls.

"Hoping for a fresh start, Kitty Galloway packs up her son and a few bare necessities and hits the road. Only now they're stranded in the Blue Ridge Mountains and at the mercy of small-town justice. But it's the temporary gig she gets caring for an injured pilot that makes her start believing in second chances. After completing his tour of duty, Campbell Oakes came home a hero to his North Carolina town. Until a freak accident forces the decorated soldier to accept the help of the down-on-her-luck single mother. Quirky and far too appealing, Kitty?along with her sassy kid?is making Campbell trust in the future again. Except it turns out that Kitty isn't the woman he thought she was..."--

Presents a series of sixteen stories that are about friendships among women, and promotes taking the time to spend with friends.

Includes, beginning Sept. 15, 1954 (and on the 15th of each month, Sept.-May) a special section: School library journal, ISSN 0000-0035, (called Junior libraries, 1954-May 1961). Also issued separately.