We work feverishly to make ourselves happy. So why are we so miserable? This manifesto helps us break free of our unhealthy devotion to efficiency and shows us how to reclaim our time and humanity wit
Longlisted for the 2024 Financial Times Book of the Year. How life and the economy became a black box--a collection of systems no one understands, producing outcomes no one likes. Passengers get bumped from flights. Phone menus disconnect. Automated financial trades produce market collapse. Of all the challenges in modern life, some of the most vexing come from our relationships with automation: a large system does us wrong, and there's nothing we can do about it. The problem, economist Dan Davies shows, is accountability sinks: systems in which decisions are delegated to a complex rule book or set of standard procedures, making it impossible to identify the source of mistakes when they happen. In our increasingly unhuman world--lives dominated by algorithms, artificial intelligence, and large organizations--these accountability sinks produce more than just aggravation. They make life and economy unknowable--a black box for no reason. In The Unaccountability Machine, Davies lays bar
If feeling blue isn’t bad enough, it’s even worse without your best furry friend. This Makes Me Sad follows a young boy after he accidentally lets his dog, Kit, loose from the yard. Despite his parents’ attempt to find her, nothing can cheer up the boy. His favorite things, like a pretty sunset, going to the park, and his beloved teddy bear, just make him more sad. Even happy memories of Kit no longer feel good. With help from his family, the boy must learn to accept and express how he’s feeling inside. And by dealing with his feelings, he might just be able to do some good until Kit comes home.Easy-to-read text and evocative illustrations make this relatable second story in the Dealing with Feelings series a perfect practice in emotional maturity for kids.
NYT Best Children's Books of 2021From New York Times Best Illustrated award winner Dan Yaccarino comes a heartwarming family story that will resonate for children who've experienced the Covid-19 quarantine -- or other kinds of loss -- featuring a dad and three children who rebuild their fraying bonds after being confined to their home together.No one knew where the strange storm came from, or why it lasted so long. The family at the center of this timely story has to hunker down together, with no going outside - and that's hard when there's absolutely nothing to do, and everyone's getting on everyone else's nerves. One night, when the storm takes a scary turn that leaves them all in the dark, the fractured family finds a way to reconnect and face whatever the future brings, together. This classic in the making will lift hearts with its optimistic vision of a family figuring out how to love and support one another -- even when their everyday world is shrunk beyond recognition.
"Nothing will stop a strong-minded young Inuit girl from learning how to read."Olemaun is eight and knows a lot of things. But she does not know how to read. She must travel to the outsiders' school to learn, ignoring her father's warning of what will happen there.The nuns at the school take her Inuit name and call her Margaret. They cut off her long hair and force her to do chores. She has only one thing left -- a book about a girl named Alice, who falls down a rabbit hole.Margaret's tenacious character draws the attention of a black-cloaked nun who tries to break her spirit at every turn. But she is more determined than ever to read.By the end, Margaret knows that, like Alice, she has traveled to a faraway land and stood against a tyrant, proving herself to be brave and clever.Based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, and complemented by stunning illustrations, "When I Was Eight" makes the bestselling "Fatty Legs" accessible to young children. Now they, too, can meet this re
How do you face your fears when everything is terrifying?Fifteen-year-old Brynn can’t stop thinking about death. Her intrusive thoughts and severe anxiety leave her feeling helpless—and hopeless. So after her mom interprets one of Brynn’s blog posts as a suicide note, she takes extreme measures, confiscating Brynn’s phone, blocking her Internet access, and banishing her to stay with her father who lives “off the grid” on a houseboat in the Florida mangroves. Isolated from her online friends—her only friends—Brynn resigns herself to a summer of mind-numbing boredom and loneliness… until Skylar appears.Skylar is everything Brynn isn’t—sultry, athletic, and confident. Yet Brynn feels at home around this fearless girl who pushes her to try new things and makes her belly flutter with nerves that have nothing to do with anxiety. When Brynn discovers that Skylar is trapped in the bayou and can’t tell her why, she resolves to free her new crush from the dark waters, even if it means confrontin
March/April 2024 Kids’ Indie Next Picture Book Pick There is a cat. A cat that couldn’t be bothered to do anything … anything at all. His friends ask him if he wants to play but he doesn’t feel like it.They invite him on adventures to far-off places, but he would rather stay at home. Until one day, a friend asks how he is doing, and the true reason why he’d rather do nothing is revealed. He is feeling sad. This is a story about feelings, friendship and the importance of speaking to someone when you don’t feel right. This beautiful socially aware story:Reassures kids that feeling sad sometimes is normalHelps them understand others’ behaviour and promotes empathyEncourages them to be more in touch with their feelingsProvides a sense of fun while also broaching a tricky topicBoth children and adults will love the quirky and hilarious cat’s refusal to take part in anything and the sweet and important message behind this story. It’s never been more important to introduce kids to the im
From the creators of Not Little, the intrepid Dot is back with an endearing story about embracing the mistakes that let us build new skills.Dot is good at a lot of things, but good isn’t perfect. Perfect is her sister’s blue-ribbon painting, or her brothers’ first-place tie in the spelling bee, or her mom’s black belt in tae kwon do. Dot tries and tries, but all she has to show for it is funny-looking cupcakes, off-key piano squeaks, and almost-goals in soccer. Nothing she does is perfect.When Dot and her classmates get an assignment to make a poster about a person they admire, Dot has someone in mind right away: her best friend, Sam. But draft after draft comes out looking all wrong! How will she ever make the perfect poster for her perfect friend?Fans of Dot and Sam and new readers alike will melt as Dot keeps on trying in this relatable companion to Not Little, featuring Maya Myers’s effortless narrative voice and Hyewon Yum’s irresistible illustrations.A Junior Library Guild Gold S
9781407193526 Tom Gates 10：Super Good Skills (Almost...)Look out! Tom, Delia and the whole Gates family are going on holiday. How will Tom manage to keep himself busy on the most boring campsite ever? By doodling, of course! An exciting new story - with doodle your own elements! - from award-winning and best-selling author Liz Pichon.9781407193533 Tom Gates 11：DogZombies Rule (For now...)Here's my EXCELLENT PLAN to make DogZombies the BEST band in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! How hard can it be? (Very.) Right now I'm going to: 1. Write more songs. (Not about teachers.) 2. Make a SPECTACULAR music video. (Easy.) 3. Get some sleep. (Tricky when you're being kept awake by LOUD NOISES.) 4. Annoy Delia. (Nothing to do with DOGZOMBIES but always FUN.)9781407193540 Tom Gates 12：Family, Friends and Furry Creatures In the next hilarious illustrated instalment of Tom Gates, Mr Fullerman has a class assignment: a family tree! Tom's ready to learn all about the Gates family, his friends an
From bestselling author Terri Libenson, this is a story about how there's more to everyone than meets the eye.Pride. Popularity . . . Poetry? Middle school.Ruby and Mia are total opposites: Ruby is a little awkward, not a "joiner," and loves to write poetry.While Mia is type A, popular(ish), and wants to be class prez.They used to be friends. But now they have nothing in common anymore. . . . Or do they?Don't miss the rest of the Emmie & Friends series: Invisible Emmie, Positively Izzy, Just Jaime, Becoming Brianna, Truly Tyler, and You-Niquely You: An Emmie & Friends Interactive Journal!
Imagine you’ve just come back to work after a two-week vacation during which you actually relaxed, without calling in or checking e-mail. You discover that there are no pressing issues and that, on th
Nike is wrong. Just do nothing. Yes, often the key to changing your life isn't in doing more, more, more...but doing absolutely nothing. How to Change Your Entire Life by Doing Absolutely Nothing cl
Remember how to fold a paper airplane? What to do with a discarded umbrella? How to make a pin piano? You don’t? You’ve forgotten? Or you never learned these things in the first place, to forget in
Jaron Lanier meets John Muir in Jenny Odell's HOW TO DO NOTHING, an action plan for political resistance to the attention economyWhen the technologies we use every day collapse our experiences into 24
** A New York Times Bestseller **“A complex, smart and ambitious book that at first reads like a self-help manual, then blossoms into a wide-ranging political manifesto.”—Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New
