When life is funny, make some jokes about it. Billy Plimpton has a big dream: to become a famous comedian when he grows up. He already knows a lot of jokes, but thinks he has one big problem standing in his way: his stutter. At first, Billy thinks the best way to deal with this is to . . . never say a word. That way, the kids in his new school won’t hear him stammer. But soon he finds out this is NOT the best way to deal with things. (For one thing, it’s very hard to tell a joke without getting a word out.) As Billy makes his way toward the spotlight, a lot of funny things (and some less funny things) happen to him. In the end, the whole school will know -- If you think you can hold Billy Plimpton back, be warned: The joke will soon be on you!

On July 4th 2013, Connor Sparrowhawk, also known as Laughing Boy or LB, was found dead in a specialist NHS unit. Connor, who had autism and epilepsy, had a seizure while in the bath and no member of staff was on hand to stop him from drowning. An entirely preventable death. Sara Ryan presents a frank, sometimes funny and touching account of her son's early life and preventable death and the unfolding #JusticeforLB campaign. This serves as a wake-up call to all of us and asks: can we really claim that we respect the life and dignity of learning disabled people?

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize: “A romantic idyll played out in the rhythms and meanings of a vanished Navajo world.” —The Denver Post Laughing Boy is a model member of his tribe. Raised in old traditions, skilled in silver work, and known for his prowess in the wild horse races, he does the Navajos of T’o Tlakai proud. But times are changing. It is 1914, and the first car has just driven into their country. Then, Laughing Boy meets Slim Girl—and despite her “American” education and the warnings of his family, he gives in to desire and marries her. As Laughing Boy and Slim Girl settle away from traditional villages—their different upbringings clashing within both their relationship and the ever-encroaching culture around them—each of their worlds are thrown into a heart-wrenching turmoil of love, honor, hope, and heritage. “Compelling in its strength and simplicity, and its fidelity to the deepest impulses of human nature,” Laughing Boy is an unprecedented look at both the Navajo culture and the enduring legacy of tradition and loss that all Americans share (The New York Times).

Hearing loss affects countless millions of people, yet few sufferers even seek help, let alone try to find a cure. This is the story of a man who took on that daunting task and ultimately invented the world's most successful middle ear implant. Geoffrey Ball's adventure in technology began in the legendary Silicon Valley of California, the birthplace of so many innovations that have transformed our world, and ultimately led him to the mountains of Austria, where he now lives and continues his work. Ball's deafness was diagnosed early, but even as a child he knew that sign language and conventional hearing aids were not the answer. Despite his proficiency in lipreading, he wanted more - a better fix. Meanwhile, Ball never let his disability stand in his way. He became a kind of modern Renaissance man with interests that ranged from literature to sports to music, all coupled with an undeniable talent for entrepreneurship and invention. The author introduces us to family and friends, surfing buddies and lab rats, business partners and fellow inventors, computer and Internet legends, a brilliant, larger-than-life mentor who gave him his start, and the woman who ultimately saved his brainchild. He intersperses insights into technology, funding and business acumen with personal, often humorous anecdotes and fascinating accounts of successes, failures and near misses along the way. Today, every hour, somewhere in the world, one of his ground- breaking devices improves the quality of life of a hearing-impaired person. No one is laughing at the deaf boy now, and we haven't heard the last of Geoffrey Ball.

The year is 1988, and the streets of Southern California are full of crime, gangs, drugs, and teenage runaways. JD was no stranger to trouble. As a young rebellious boy, he ran to the streets believing that he could fulfill his dream of becoming a ruff and tuff street hustler. What he found was not what he expected. What he found was a side of the streets that was far more gruesome and macabre once he was lured into a world of child exploitation and trafficking that sought to make him a victim at the expense of his life.

A tragicomic story of bad dates, bad news, bad performances, and one girl's determination to find the funny in high school from the author of Denton Little's Deathdate. Winnie Friedman has been waiting for the world to catch on to what she already knows: she's hilarious. It might be a long wait, though. After bombing a stand-up set at her own bat mitzvah, Winnie has kept her jokes to herself. Well, to herself and her dad, a former comedian and her inspiration. Then, on the second day of tenth grade, the funniest guy in school actually laughs at a comment she makes in the lunch line and asks her to join the improv troupe. Maybe he's even . . . flirting? Just when Winnie's ready to say yes to comedy again, her father reveals that he's been diagnosed with ALS. That is . . . not funny. Her dad's still making jokes, though, which feels like a good thing. And Winnie's prepared to be his straight man if that's what he wants. But is it what he needs? Caught up in a spiral of epically bad dates, bad news, and bad performances, Winnie's struggling to see the humor in it all. But finding a way to laugh is exactly what will see her through. **A Junior Library Guild Selection**