The Crystal Pumpkin

The Crystal Pumpkin
Author: Crystal Arlene Kuykendall
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2023-07-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1662447574

The Crystal Pumpkin is an upbeat, uplifting, compelling story which takes the reader on an emotional, historical journey through eighteen years in the life of the author. The book captures the essence of the culture, experiences, struggles, music, entertainment, art, poetry, religion, charm, and nuances of Black life, Black love, and Black survival. Importantly, the author provides a riveting portrayal of events in local and national history as seen through the lens of a young Black girl who grows into adulthood in Chicago. The characters are real, and their lives, like their stories, are unforgettable. The lessons provided are universal, and the messages are moving and memorable. This delightful semi-autobiography has adventure, mystery, intrigue, shock, comedy, crime, drama, tragedy, and a scintillating love story. It provides a factual account of an era that featured struggles for individual and collective identity, purpose, and social justice during an earlier and simpler time. The stories unfold as the book, divided into three parts, explodes with historical developments and personal triumphs born of tragedies. The author explores the dawning of her identity amid self-doubt, family secrets, childhood fantasies, the specter of racism, and her educational and professional challenges as a public-school teacher and university faculty. Her pursuit of education and her explorations of social justice, civil rights, and antiwar endeavors are chronicled in her experiences of a "new day" when she comes of age during a tumultuous time. Her activism, high school and college experiences, and travels to the Bahamas and Western Europe mold her dedication before shocking and tragic developments alter the trajectory of her life. The reader will experience the educational, social, and personal challenges, struggles, setbacks, and victories of main characters during an unforgettable era. The treasured stories and sentiments shared are unique and timeless.

My Happy Pumpkin

My Happy Pumpkin
Author: Crystal Bowman
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 14
Release: 2007
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0310711606

A young boy describes how he picked out his Halloween pumpkin and carved it and compares his experience to God's love for him.

Too Many Pumpkins

Too Many Pumpkins
Author: Linda White
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2018-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1430130660

Baked, stewed, or mashed, pumpkins remind Rebecca Estelle of the Great Depression when that was all her family had to eat. When an enormous pumpkin falls off a truck and smashes in her yard, Rebecca Estelle devises a clever way to get rid of the unwanted crop that sprouts.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
Author: Crystal Maldonado
Publisher: Holiday House
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2021-02-02
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0823448908

Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard. Harder when your whole life is on fire, though. A New England Book Award Winner! Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter. But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? Because it's time people did. A sensitive, funny, and painfully honest coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves. An NPR Best Book of the Year An Amazon Best Children’s Book of the Year A POPSUGAR Best New Young Adult Novel A Cosmopolitan Best New Book A Bustle Most Anticipated Debut A Forbes Most Notable Young Adult Book A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee A Latinxs in Publishing Best Books of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year A Business Insider Best Young Adult Romance Book

No Filter and Other Lies

No Filter and Other Lies
Author: Crystal Maldonado
Publisher: Holiday House
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2022-02-08
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0823447189

You should know, right now, that I'm a liar. They're usually little lies. Tiny lies. Baby lies. Not so much lies as lie adjacent. But they're still lies... Golden-haired Max Monroe has it all: beauty, friends, and tons of followers. Her picture-perfect existence seems eminently enviable. Except it's all fake. "Max" is actually Kat Sanchez, a quiet and sarcastic 17-year-old living in drab Bakersfield, California. Nothing glamorous about her existence—just bad house parties, a crap school year, and the awkwardness of dealing with best friend Hari's unrequited love. But while Kat's life is far from perfect, she thrives as Max: doling out advice, sharing beautiful photos, networking with fans, even finding a real friend (or more?—Is Kat into girls!?) in a gorgeous Fat follower named Elena. But the closer Elena and "Max" get, the more Kat feels she has to keep up the façade. "Max" is the first time people have really listened to what Kat has to say—and after a lifetime of invisibility (including ice-cold indifference from her parents) can she really give that up? But when one of Kat's posts goes viral and gets back to the girl she's been stealing photos from, her entire world—real and fake—comes crashing down around her. Can she escape the web of lies she's woven without hurting the people she loves? This insightful, provocative novel—hilarious and raw by turns—is the second book from Crystal Maldonado, author of smash-hit New England Book Award Winner Fat Chance, Charlie Vega. Brilliantly plotted, deeply sensitive, and rich in voice, No Filter and Other Lies deftly addresses FOMO, first love, one-sided love, frayed family ties, raced exclusion on social media, queer awakenings, and learning to live with—and love—yourself. Because the most powerful lies are the lies we tell ourselves. Named to the ALA Rainbow Roundtable's Rainbow Book List! A POPSUGAR Best YA • A Seventeen Best YA • A Good Housekeeping Best YA Novel of the Year • A Latina Media Most Anticipated Latina Book of the Year • A Nerdist Most Anticipated Book • A School Library Journal Not-to-Miss Latinx Book • A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection "Ultrasmart."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "Stunning."—Nerdist "Brings me to tears."—Latinxs in Kid Lit

Dessert Person

Dessert Person
Author: Claire Saffitz
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-10-20
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1984826964

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her first cookbook, Bon Appétit and YouTube star of the show Gourmet Makes offers wisdom, problem-solving strategies, and more than 100 meticulously tested, creative, and inspiring recipes. IACP AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Bon Appétit • NPR • The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Salon • Epicurious “There are no ‘just cooks’ out there, only bakers who haven't yet been converted. I am a dessert person, and we are all dessert people.”—Claire Saffitz Claire Saffitz is a baking hero for a new generation. In Dessert Person, fans will find Claire’s signature spin on sweet and savory recipes like Babkallah (a babka-Challah mashup), Apple and Concord Grape Crumble Pie, Strawberry-Cornmeal Layer Cake, Crispy Mushroom Galette, and Malted Forever Brownies. She outlines the problems and solutions for each recipe—like what to do if your pie dough for Sour Cherry Pie cracks (patch it with dough or a quiche flour paste!)—as well as practical do’s and don’ts, skill level, prep and bake time, step-by-step photography, and foundational know-how. With her trademark warmth and superpower ability to explain anything baking related, Claire is ready to make everyone a dessert person.

Ellie's Adventures with Pumpkin

Ellie's Adventures with Pumpkin
Author: Ginger O
Publisher: Balboa Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2022-09-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

On the Way to BrightLand Is the first book in a series of stories that follow Ellie and Pumpkin’s Adventures to and from their home in BrightLand to the Land-Where-the-Children-Live where they visit Sam and Rosie every year. In Book One, you will go on a treasure hunt, help Ellie and Pumpkin solve a mystery, and meet some of their friends: the frogs who live in the pond by the waterfall, the ponies who live in the apple orchard, Ruby and Gemma who live in the mountains, and Roger-the-Squirrel and Bonnie Bluebird. Ellie loves to have fun and play games and he is always ready to help his friends. Soon you will think of Ellie as your friend too!

The Pumpkin Gospel

The Pumpkin Gospel
Author: Mary Manz Simon
Publisher: Standard Publishing Company
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Board books
ISBN: 9780784717585

The Halloween tradition of pumpkin carving is used as a metaphor for the gospel message to show how God cleans out all of the yucky stuff and puts a light within believers to shine for Him. Shaped like a pumpkin, this book also features glow-in-the-dark ink throughout.

A Dark and Secret Magic

A Dark and Secret Magic
Author: Wallis Kinney
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2024-10-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1639109900

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! A warm, spellbinding tale about a witch and the secrets her coven has been keeping from her, with echoes of the classic Hades and Persephone story, in the tradition of Practical Magic and Witch of Wild Things. Hecate Goodwin, Kate to her friends, has curated the perfect life as a hedge witch, living in a secluded cottage with only a black cat for company. She spends her days foraging herbs from the Ipswich forest, gardening, and creating tinctures to sell at the apothecary she owns. Most evenings pass without her speaking to another human being, an arrangement she quite prefers. Kate’s solitude is thrown into disarray when her older sister, Miranda, reaches out and asks her to host their coven’s annual Halloween gathering. The day marks the beginning of the new year for witches and is also Kate’s birthday. The pressure from her coven to make the evening memorable mounts as the event draws near. To complicate things further, a handsome man from Kate’s past turns up at her cottage, asking for sanctuary. It is Kate’s duty as a hedge witch to honor this request, much to her dismay. Matthew Cypher is no ordinary lost soul–he’s a practitioner of forbidden magic who’s tricked Kate once before, and her guard is up. As she juggles Matthew’s arrival and the preparations for Halloween, Kate comes across an old tome shrouded in dark magic. She is horrified when she realizes the blood-red inscription is written in familiar handwriting: her recently deceased mother’s. Afraid to even touch the dark magic her mother secretly studied, Kate can turn only to Matthew for help. Her idealized memory of her mother begins to distort, and as she and Matthew grow closer, Kate has to reevaluate whom she can really trust. A Dark and Secret Magic is a celebration of the Halloween season and a love letter to anyone who drinks pumpkin spice in August and carries the spirit of a witch inside their heart all year long.

This Charming Angel

This Charming Angel
Author: Sharon Gartner
Publisher: Angelwords publications.
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2022-02-02
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1310435723

This fast-paced witty series follows modern-day heroine Lisa Collins.. The second book in the Acclaimed Author, Sharon Gartner's series of four books is titled "This Charming Angel." An Australian small town is thrown into turmoil when city girl Lisa Collins makes a reckless purchase of an old run-down villa. She finds herself forced to leave the comfort of the city limits to make her home in the vast open spaces of the country Lisa is always drawing unwanted attention, especially from Larry, a dear old colourful soul. Even though she pretends not to be disturbed by "This Charming Angel"*, Lisa pushes forward and turns her old shack into a successful wedding venue and accommodation. Excitement builds when Lisa has the opportunity to plan her first wedding, but curveballs are thrown from every angle, including the return of her mortal enemy.