Author: Alan Katz
Publisher: Running Press Kids
ISBN: 0762496223
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 110
Book Description
Laugh along with this big-hearted collection of ridiculous stories and playful puns -- perfect for fans of Rob Elliott and Jon Scieska. A collection of twenty outrageously funny short stories for younger middle grade readers, Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids is full of puns, "bad" jokes, and tall tales that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. From "snowpeople" falling from the sky to a boy who only communicates through singing, there's a story for every fan of Alan Katz's signature humor.
Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids
40 Poems for 40 Weeks
Author: David L. Harrison
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040256481
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
With this anthology of hand-chosen poems written by well-known, beloved poets, you can introduce poetry to your students in the classroom and beyond. Poetry is a powerful tool for teaching phonics, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and a love of reading. Curated specifically for students in Grades 3–5, this book contains 40 poems for 40 weeks in the school year, making it easy for teachers and librarians to read the poems sequentially throughout the year, choose them at random, or match a theme with current needs or events. The book eliminates the need to track down poems to read each week, and it provides a reading list of 120 books of poetry, making it one of the richest sources for poetry titles specifically for young students. Along with the poems are word ladders to aid in lessons on word decoding and encoding, vocabulary, and interest in word study. With poetry from award-winning authors and poets laureate, this is an essential resource for teachers and librarians hoping to inspire their students with poetry.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040256481
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
With this anthology of hand-chosen poems written by well-known, beloved poets, you can introduce poetry to your students in the classroom and beyond. Poetry is a powerful tool for teaching phonics, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and a love of reading. Curated specifically for students in Grades 3–5, this book contains 40 poems for 40 weeks in the school year, making it easy for teachers and librarians to read the poems sequentially throughout the year, choose them at random, or match a theme with current needs or events. The book eliminates the need to track down poems to read each week, and it provides a reading list of 120 books of poetry, making it one of the richest sources for poetry titles specifically for young students. Along with the poems are word ladders to aid in lessons on word decoding and encoding, vocabulary, and interest in word study. With poetry from award-winning authors and poets laureate, this is an essential resource for teachers and librarians hoping to inspire their students with poetry.
The Lieography of Thomas Edison
Author: Alan Katz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 193910050X
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 41
Book Description
Thomas Edison, world-class inventor. You might know that he devised the electric light bulb and the phonograph. But what about his development of train-controlling sticks? Or his airborne way to send pancakes to his Cousin Fran in Texas? You’re about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Thomas Edison’s life, in this funny, lighthearted, “all that didn’t happen” take on the man whose inventions transformed our daily existence. The book ends with a short—but true—account of Edison’s life—just enough to encourage kids to find out more on this important historical figure. But even if readers have already learned about Edison, the wacky stories in this tall-tales book will be even more enjoyable.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 193910050X
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 41
Book Description
Thomas Edison, world-class inventor. You might know that he devised the electric light bulb and the phonograph. But what about his development of train-controlling sticks? Or his airborne way to send pancakes to his Cousin Fran in Texas? You’re about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Thomas Edison’s life, in this funny, lighthearted, “all that didn’t happen” take on the man whose inventions transformed our daily existence. The book ends with a short—but true—account of Edison’s life—just enough to encourage kids to find out more on this important historical figure. But even if readers have already learned about Edison, the wacky stories in this tall-tales book will be even more enjoyable.
The Lieography of Babe Ruth
Author: Alan Katz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1939100496
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 41
Book Description
Babe Ruth, incredible ballplayer. You might know that he was widely considered baseball’s greatest hitter. But what about his feat of pitching to himself and blasting 25 straight home runs? Or his knack for removing kids’ spleens and kidneys despite not having any medical training? You’re about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Babe Ruth’s life, in this funny, lighthearted, “all that didn’t happen” take on this larger than life man. The book ends with a short—but true—account of Babe’s life—just enough to encourage kids to find out more on this important historical figure. But even if readers have already learned about the Babe, the wacky stories in this tall-tales book will be even more enjoyable.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1939100496
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 41
Book Description
Babe Ruth, incredible ballplayer. You might know that he was widely considered baseball’s greatest hitter. But what about his feat of pitching to himself and blasting 25 straight home runs? Or his knack for removing kids’ spleens and kidneys despite not having any medical training? You’re about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Babe Ruth’s life, in this funny, lighthearted, “all that didn’t happen” take on this larger than life man. The book ends with a short—but true—account of Babe’s life—just enough to encourage kids to find out more on this important historical figure. But even if readers have already learned about the Babe, the wacky stories in this tall-tales book will be even more enjoyable.
The Lieography of Amelia Earhart
Author: Alan Katz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1939100518
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 46
Book Description
Amelia Earhart, top aviator. You might know that her flight accomplishments were heralded across the globe. But what about the story of her teeth, which were so perfect that her dentist wanted to remove all of them to show his other patients? Or her refusal to read chapter nine in any book? You’re about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Amelia Earhart’s life, in this funny, lighthearted, “all that didn’t happen” take on this larger than life woman. The book ends with a short—but true—account of Amelia’s life—just enough to encourage kids to find out more on this important historical figure. But even if readers have already learned about Amelia, the wacky stories in this tall-tales book will be even more enjoyable.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1939100518
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 46
Book Description
Amelia Earhart, top aviator. You might know that her flight accomplishments were heralded across the globe. But what about the story of her teeth, which were so perfect that her dentist wanted to remove all of them to show his other patients? Or her refusal to read chapter nine in any book? You’re about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Amelia Earhart’s life, in this funny, lighthearted, “all that didn’t happen” take on this larger than life woman. The book ends with a short—but true—account of Amelia’s life—just enough to encourage kids to find out more on this important historical figure. But even if readers have already learned about Amelia, the wacky stories in this tall-tales book will be even more enjoyable.
The Dumbest Kid in Gifted Class
Author: Dan Ryckert
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692798089
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Since 2009, Dan Ryckert's life has been well documented. Whether through his writing, live appearances, tweets, or thousands of hours of videos and podcasts, his work has been seen by many. He's set two Guinness World Records, earned the ire of legendary baseball players, penned two novels about an alligator fighter pilot, raised thousands for charity via custom Super Mario Bros. levels, and works a side job as a professional wrestling manager. These are the stories that people already know. Before jumping headfirst into the public eye, Ryckert's history was just as unique. He's been a Catholic schoolboy and an insufferable movie theater employee. He's befriended the insane and almost been stabbed. Time and time again, he's taken long shots that have inexplicably paid off in ridiculous ways. Dan Ryckert's history of unlikely events didn't start in 2009. They were happening for 25 years prior to that, and the details can be found in The Dumbest Kid in Gifted Class.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692798089
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Since 2009, Dan Ryckert's life has been well documented. Whether through his writing, live appearances, tweets, or thousands of hours of videos and podcasts, his work has been seen by many. He's set two Guinness World Records, earned the ire of legendary baseball players, penned two novels about an alligator fighter pilot, raised thousands for charity via custom Super Mario Bros. levels, and works a side job as a professional wrestling manager. These are the stories that people already know. Before jumping headfirst into the public eye, Ryckert's history was just as unique. He's been a Catholic schoolboy and an insufferable movie theater employee. He's befriended the insane and almost been stabbed. Time and time again, he's taken long shots that have inexplicably paid off in ridiculous ways. Dan Ryckert's history of unlikely events didn't start in 2009. They were happening for 25 years prior to that, and the details can be found in The Dumbest Kid in Gifted Class.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Author: Ned Vizzini
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
ISBN: 1423141083
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 452
Book Description
Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life—which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job—Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away.
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
ISBN: 1423141083
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 452
Book Description
Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life—which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job—Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away.
The Dumbest Generation
Author: Mark Bauerlein
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440636893
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
This shocking, surprisingly entertaining romp into the intellectual nether regions of today's underthirty set reveals the disturbing and, ultimately, incontrovertible truth: cyberculture is turning us into a society of know-nothings. The Dumbest Generation is a dire report on the intellectual life of young adults and a timely warning of its impact on American democracy and culture. For decades, concern has been brewing about the dumbed-down popular culture available to young people and the impact it has on their futures. But at the dawn of the digital age, many thought they saw an answer: the internet, email, blogs, and interactive and hyper-realistic video games promised to yield a generation of sharper, more aware, and intellectually sophisticated children. The terms “information superhighway” and “knowledge economy” entered the lexicon, and we assumed that teens would use their knowledge and understanding of technology to set themselves apart as the vanguards of this new digital era. That was the promise. But the enlightenment didn’t happen. The technology that was supposed to make young adults more aware, diversify their tastes, and improve their verbal skills has had the opposite effect. According to recent reports from the National Endowment for the Arts, most young people in the United States do not read literature, visit museums, or vote. They cannot explain basic scientific methods, recount basic American history, name their local political representatives, or locate Iraq or Israel on a map. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future is a startling examination of the intellectual life of young adults and a timely warning of its impact on American culture and democracy. Over the last few decades, how we view adolescence itself has changed, growing from a pitstop on the road to adulthood to its own space in society, wholly separate from adult life. This change in adolescent culture has gone hand in hand with an insidious infantilization of our culture at large; as adolescents continue to disengage from the adult world, they have built their own, acquiring more spending money, steering classrooms and culture towards their own needs and interests, and now using the technology once promoted as the greatest hope for their futures to indulge in diversions, from MySpace to multiplayer video games, 24/7. Can a nation continue to enjoy political and economic predominance if its citizens refuse to grow up? Drawing upon exhaustive research, personal anecdotes, and historical and social analysis, The Dumbest Generation presents a portrait of the young American mind at this critical juncture, and lays out a compelling vision of how we might address its deficiencies. The Dumbest Generation pulls no punches as it reveals the true cost of the digital age—and our last chance to fix it.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440636893
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
This shocking, surprisingly entertaining romp into the intellectual nether regions of today's underthirty set reveals the disturbing and, ultimately, incontrovertible truth: cyberculture is turning us into a society of know-nothings. The Dumbest Generation is a dire report on the intellectual life of young adults and a timely warning of its impact on American democracy and culture. For decades, concern has been brewing about the dumbed-down popular culture available to young people and the impact it has on their futures. But at the dawn of the digital age, many thought they saw an answer: the internet, email, blogs, and interactive and hyper-realistic video games promised to yield a generation of sharper, more aware, and intellectually sophisticated children. The terms “information superhighway” and “knowledge economy” entered the lexicon, and we assumed that teens would use their knowledge and understanding of technology to set themselves apart as the vanguards of this new digital era. That was the promise. But the enlightenment didn’t happen. The technology that was supposed to make young adults more aware, diversify their tastes, and improve their verbal skills has had the opposite effect. According to recent reports from the National Endowment for the Arts, most young people in the United States do not read literature, visit museums, or vote. They cannot explain basic scientific methods, recount basic American history, name their local political representatives, or locate Iraq or Israel on a map. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future is a startling examination of the intellectual life of young adults and a timely warning of its impact on American culture and democracy. Over the last few decades, how we view adolescence itself has changed, growing from a pitstop on the road to adulthood to its own space in society, wholly separate from adult life. This change in adolescent culture has gone hand in hand with an insidious infantilization of our culture at large; as adolescents continue to disengage from the adult world, they have built their own, acquiring more spending money, steering classrooms and culture towards their own needs and interests, and now using the technology once promoted as the greatest hope for their futures to indulge in diversions, from MySpace to multiplayer video games, 24/7. Can a nation continue to enjoy political and economic predominance if its citizens refuse to grow up? Drawing upon exhaustive research, personal anecdotes, and historical and social analysis, The Dumbest Generation presents a portrait of the young American mind at this critical juncture, and lays out a compelling vision of how we might address its deficiencies. The Dumbest Generation pulls no punches as it reveals the true cost of the digital age—and our last chance to fix it.
Silly Stories for Silly Kids
Author: Silly Willy
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN: 9781095626771
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 69
Book Description
This original short story collection is a great book for kids who love to giggle! Each story is easy to read with fun illustrations to help entertain younger readers! Kids will love sharing these silly stories! Be warned! These stories are really silly! So silly, in fact, that it is hard not to laugh! Silly Willy has returned with a new book to the popular Silly series. This collection of short stories is perfect for children who love a silly tale and are starting to grow their reading skills into chapter books.The collection of 12 original silly stories features a wide range of themes and adventures. Story 1: My Super Hero Diary, featuring an unlucky superhero and his bullying villain roommate. Story 2: A story featuring an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and his wish to build a pyramid. Story 3: A story about a boy who has built a castle. But not a well-constructed one! Story 4: A girl clones herself with unexpected results. Story 5: A tall tale about a nose picker and his passionate hobby. Story 6: An entertaining adventure to find a mysterious horribly bad smell. Where is it coming from? Story 7: A dog and his owner have an embarrassing mix up! Story 8: A clever inventor has a not-so-clever idea! Story 9: A fairy tale involving an innocent baby and a greedy troll monster. Story 10: A schoolboy visits the doctor after a homework incident. Story 11: A talentless unicorn courageously enters a talent contest! She can't sing, dance, tell jokes or draw! How will she win the most talented award? Story 12: Erik and his Viking friends discover an island with some 'strange' animals. The book has been written to include a few challenging words that will help expand a child's vocabulary. Parents will cherish reading these short tales to their younger ones. This book is ideal as a short read before bedtime, or in between games and activity time. Older children will also love reading these funny stories quietly or acting as the storyteller reading aloud. Each story is fast-paced and varies in length. The tales themselves contain good family-style humor acceptable for kids and adults. If your kids love fiction stories like Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Big Nate, then these silly stories will soon become their favorite, too! The book is hilariously illustrated. This book is a perfect gift for kids who need a break from video games, TV screens, movies, and other media. Or when it is too wet and cold for outside sport play! These silly stories are also a great travel companion or an ideal birthday, holiday, or get well gift for kids! Ages: 4 & up. / Ideal for Pre-K and first graders through to the 5th grade.
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN: 9781095626771
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 69
Book Description
This original short story collection is a great book for kids who love to giggle! Each story is easy to read with fun illustrations to help entertain younger readers! Kids will love sharing these silly stories! Be warned! These stories are really silly! So silly, in fact, that it is hard not to laugh! Silly Willy has returned with a new book to the popular Silly series. This collection of short stories is perfect for children who love a silly tale and are starting to grow their reading skills into chapter books.The collection of 12 original silly stories features a wide range of themes and adventures. Story 1: My Super Hero Diary, featuring an unlucky superhero and his bullying villain roommate. Story 2: A story featuring an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and his wish to build a pyramid. Story 3: A story about a boy who has built a castle. But not a well-constructed one! Story 4: A girl clones herself with unexpected results. Story 5: A tall tale about a nose picker and his passionate hobby. Story 6: An entertaining adventure to find a mysterious horribly bad smell. Where is it coming from? Story 7: A dog and his owner have an embarrassing mix up! Story 8: A clever inventor has a not-so-clever idea! Story 9: A fairy tale involving an innocent baby and a greedy troll monster. Story 10: A schoolboy visits the doctor after a homework incident. Story 11: A talentless unicorn courageously enters a talent contest! She can't sing, dance, tell jokes or draw! How will she win the most talented award? Story 12: Erik and his Viking friends discover an island with some 'strange' animals. The book has been written to include a few challenging words that will help expand a child's vocabulary. Parents will cherish reading these short tales to their younger ones. This book is ideal as a short read before bedtime, or in between games and activity time. Older children will also love reading these funny stories quietly or acting as the storyteller reading aloud. Each story is fast-paced and varies in length. The tales themselves contain good family-style humor acceptable for kids and adults. If your kids love fiction stories like Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Big Nate, then these silly stories will soon become their favorite, too! The book is hilariously illustrated. This book is a perfect gift for kids who need a break from video games, TV screens, movies, and other media. Or when it is too wet and cold for outside sport play! These silly stories are also a great travel companion or an ideal birthday, holiday, or get well gift for kids! Ages: 4 & up. / Ideal for Pre-K and first graders through to the 5th grade.
I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.