A young Ethiopian American girl eagerly awaits her grandmother's visit from faraway Ethiopia. The girl learns much about Ethiopia from the interesting items the grandmother has brought in her suitcase.

"Elsi Abebe's Grandma’s Humongous Suitcase is a wonderful story which reminded me very fondly and even sadly about my grandmothers, my paternal and maternal grandmas. Fondly because of how much I loved sitting at the bottom of their feet and listening to their stories; which I sucked in and absorbed like a sponge. Sadly because I have so many questions still, to ask them NOW, but they are gone. Children, those lucky enough to still have their grandmas, should love and appreciate them, find time to spend with them and ask them lots of questions, your family's history and culture, and I promise you, out of 'Grandma's big suitcase', lots of wisdom that you will remember years later when YOU too are grandmas. I recommend this wonderful book strongly." Her Excellency Ambassador Konji Sebati (former South African Ambassador to Switzerland and France.) "Grandma’s Humongous Suitcase is a heart warming children’s story book that you can read to your kids. Elsi has figured out a way to educate children and adult alike about the rich history of Ethiopia through the eyes of a precocious young Ethiopian American girl. In this easy to read account of the universal bond between grandparents and grandchildren, Elsi has managed to weave together a tale of love, pride and history that is flavored in humor. I for one look forward to reading about 'Konjo’s' time with grandma during their summer break!" Dr.Ebba K. Ebba Pediatrician “ Grandma’s Humongous Suitcase is a very well written story that introduces children to the land that their parents came from or to the country that they were born. As every item in the suitcase connects the children with their own history and culture, the tale also shows the love and affection that connects grandparents to their grandchildren. Even though this is Elsi Abebe's first children's book, it reads as if she has done it many more times as the stories she told her own two children." Elias Wondimu Publisher/Social Activist "Grandma’s Humongous Suitcase, is a beautiful story which makes kids born from Ethiopian parents to be proud of being of Ethiopian descent. It tells why Ethiopian and Ethiopian-American children should love and appreciate Ethiopia, her history and culture. Indeed out of the big suitcase of grandma come out nice things which excite children in general. Elsi Abebe , being a mother herself, knows things which enchant kids. She describes them in a simple and understandable language. This book will be educational and entertaining to many children. I commend it strongly." Fikre Tolossa, Ph. D. Poet-playwright “ When I was a child living in Ethiopia and visiting in the United States, I found that American teachers and students--and my own relatives and new friends--knew almost nothing about the beautiful country where I'd lived since I was two years old. How sad! I want everyone to read and share 'Grandma's Humongous Suitcase' so that people on many continents will understand more about the culture and traditions of Ethiopia.” Jane Kurtz is an award-winning children's book author of thirty books, including Fire on the Mountain, Faraway Home, Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot, and Trouble "I really enjoyed reading 'Grandma’s Humongous Suitcase' by Elsi Abebe. I read many stories to children at the Stanley British Primary School. They will love this story. It depicts how important it is for children who are brought up in a different country from their parents to understand their own family culture and be proud of their heritage. My husband and I brought our four children to U.S.A. from England, when they were small. Grandma's rare visit was vitally important." Carolyn Hambidge Founder of Stanley British Primary School

When Grandmas come from far away to visit they always bring surprises, and it is no different for Noah and Sophi. Noah and Sophi call their Grandma "Airplane Grandma," because she always comes to visit on an airplane. The really fun part is getting into Grandma's suitcase to discover the surprises she brings. Enjoy the illustrations and the poetry of Penelope Dyan and take the time to discuss familial relationships with your children. This helps them develop concepts of who they are in relationship to the world as a whole as well as to where they fit into their immediate and extended families. A former K-12 teacher, published in 'The Kindergartner, ' as well as in 'Instructor Magazine' and in 'Humpty Dumpty' children's magazine, and an award winning author, Penelope Dyan has put her expertise, love and knowledge of children to work in each of these children's books that serve as supplements to the Penny Mouse Early Reader Series. Dyan is also the author of 'Surfer Girl' the first in a teen book series about a girl named Summer who surfs the waves of the ocean and life as she searches for her legacy. "Surfer Girl" was the winner of best teen book at both the 2008 New York Book Festival and the 2008 Hollywood Book Festival and is also recognized by Girls Voices In Literature Database, Miami University, Florida.

In cumulative verses and rebuses a young boy and his mother have different views on how to pack a bag for a trip to Grandma's.

"It's hard to see how anyone is ever going to better this User's Manual to the life of Georges Perec" - Gilbert Adair, Sunday Times Winner of the Prix Goncourt for Biography, 1994 George Perec (1936-82) was one of the most significant European writers of the twentieth century and undoubtedly the most versatile and innovative writer of his generation. David Bellos's comprehensive biography - which also provides the first full survey of Perec's irreverent, polymathic oeuvre - explores the life of an anguished, comical and endearingly modest man, who worked quietly as an archivist in a medical research library. The French son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, he remained haunted all of his life by his father's death in the war, fighting to defend France, and his mother's in Auschwitz-Birkenau. His acclaimed novel A Void (1969) - written without using the letter "e" - has been seen as an attempt to escape from the words "père", "mere", and even "George Perec". His career made an auspicious start with Things: A Story of the Sixties (1965), which won the Prix Renaudot. He then pursued an idiosyncratic and ambitious literary itinerary through the intellectual ferment of Paris in the 1960s and 1970s.He belonged to the Ouvrior de Littérature Potentielle (OuLiPo), a radically inventive group of writers whose members included Raymond Queneau and Italo Calvino. Perec achieved international celebrity with Life A User's Manual (1978), which won the Prix Medicis and was voted Novel of the Decade by the Salon du Livre. He died in his mid-forties after a short illness, leaving a truly puzzling detective novel, 53 Days, incomplete. "Professor Bellos's book enables us at once to relish the most wilfully bizarre aspects of Perec's oeuvre and to understand the whys and wherefores of his protean nature" - Jonathan Romney, Literary Review

It seemed like such a good idea at the time… Her grandmother’s invitation came at the perfect time to rescue Claire Lucas from the consequences of her good intentions. With no reason to stay in Minnesota, she turns her back on the ice and snow and heads for the Golden Sun Oasis retirement community in Arizona. Jeffrey Koa is at loose ends after finishing college. He hasn’t found a job yet, and his parents are on their way back to their exotic mission fields, so when his great-uncle calls to ask for his help, Jeffrey leaves the sandy beaches of Hawaii and heads for Arizona. It doesn’t take long to realize they’ve been set up, but the clumsy matchmaking scheme appears to be working - until Claire realizes that her secret will put an end to Jeffrey’s dreams. Can they be just friends, or are their hearts stuck on a happily-ever-after? A heartwarming story of friendship and romance, with plenty of laughter as they turn the tables on their matchmaking relatives.