Baby Ruby does not want to go to bed, and despite the preparations her parents make at bedtime, she keeps hiding.

When Henry cannot sleep, he takes the night jar and tries to capture the song of the night bird.

Melvina Brown has become an expert at holding it together. On a horse farm in California, she’s raising two boys—smart, tough Archie and sweet Theo, who dreams of playing baseball, and doesn’t let the fact that he has only one arm stop him. A perfect PTA mom Melvina is not—her boots are too dirty for that. She’s just taking it one day at a time, with a little help from her boyfriend, her twin sister and her dad. And while her heart is still heavy sometimes with the loss of her beloved brother Henry, who long ago went mysteriously missing, Mel keeps his spirit nearby, making him a larger-than-life hero in his nephews’ imaginations, creating tales of his epic adventures for their bedtime stories. It’s a life that works pretty well—until her estranged husband shows up at their door, wanting to make up for lost time with his sons. A family that plays ball in a graveyard and stays up late to watch rare flowers bloom will never be ordinary. But together, the tempestuous, mismatched Browns stumble through anger and confusion to laughter and understanding, discovering that sometimes love really is the only answer. "A charming family of misfits struggling to make sense of what life's dealt them. Sit back—and be sure to grab a box of tissues—and enjoy."—Jo-Ann Mapson, author of Hank & Chloe and the Bad Girl Creek series "A writer with a poet's eye, a philosopher's mind, and a mother's heart."—Jo-Ann Mapson

All of Mouse's friends have ideas for helping him fall asleep.

A narcoleptic's tireless journey through the neuroscience of disordered sleep Whether it's a bout of bad jet lag or a stress-induced all-nighter, we've all suffered from nights that left us feeling less than well-rested. But for some people, getting a bad night's sleep isn't just an inconvenience: it's a nightmare. In Sleepyhead, science writer Henry Nicholls uses his own experience with chronic narcolepsy as a gateway to better understanding the cryptic, curious, and relatively uncharted world of sleep disorders. We meet insomniacs who can't get any sleep, narcoleptics who can't control when they sleep, and sleep apnea victims who nearly suffocate in their sleep. We learn the underlying difference between morning larks and night owls; why our sleeping habits shift as we grow older; and the evolutionary significance of REM sleep and dreaming. Charming, eye-opening, and deeply humanizing, Sleepyhead will help us all uncover the secrets of a good night's sleep.

1976. The Shah of Iran, closest ally of the USA and self-proclaimed policeman of the Middle East, reigns supreme, atop his Peacock Throne. Bolstered by US support in the form of the most sophisticated arsenal of weapons in the region paid for by the billions of dollars earned from the sale of oil, he seems invincible, omnipotent. Forty thousand Americans live and work in the country, having a wonderful time and living the Persian Dream, under the benign patronage of the Shah. Jordanfresh out of SUNY, leaves her home in Schenectady to take up an English teaching position at Tehran University. Everything seems to be going well, until Jordan begins to hear the dreaded names, Khomeini and SAVAK, whispered in the hallways of the school, and things suddenly begin to unravel. Soon, however, Jordan meets the dashing Ahmad Khosravi, Captain of the Shahs most loyal Imperial Guard, and Jordan is lulled into a sense of security; Jordan seems to have reached the happiest stage of her life. Soon afterwards, Jordan is caught in a revolution mad country, with no hope of escape. Languishing in an Iranian jail, accused of murder, it seems like Jordans fate is sealed, for not even the US Embassy in Iran can help her.

It's bedtime, and Dad's in charge! To coax his little girl to sleep, Dad tells a bedtime story about what they'll do the next day. But, it's not just an ordinary day. Mom is out, and there's mischief, mayhem and messes galore!