Best Selling Books by David Small

Thirty-five "years after Imogene woke up with antlers, she's back! ... She woke up the next day and they were gone, but were replaced by something just as curious. Now Imogene has found she has a new curious feature every day. Some are helpful, some are sweet, some are downright strange. But all of them upset her poor mother who just can't handle how improper it all is. Yet even as Imogene discovers something new every day, she always remains Imogene at heart"--Publisher marketing.

A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Best Book of the Year An Amazon.com Top Ten Best Book of 2009 A Washington Post Book World’s Ten Best Book of the Year A California Literary Review Best Book of 2009 An L.A. Times Top 25 Non-Fiction Book of 2009 An NPR Best Book of the Year, Best Memoir With this stunning graphic memoir, David Small takes readers on an unforgettable journey into the dark heart of his tumultuous childhood in 1950s Detroit, in a coming-of-age tale like no other. At the age of fourteen, David awoke from a supposedly harmless operation to discover his throat had been slashed and one of his vocal chords removed, leaving him a virtual mute. No one had told him that he had cancer and was expected to die. The resulting silence was in keeping with the atmosphere of secrecy and repressed frustration that pervaded the Small household and revealed itself in the slamming of cupboard doors, the thumping of a punching bag, the beating of a drum. Believing that they were doing their best, David’s parents did just the reverse. David’s mother held the family emotionally hostage with her furious withdrawals, even as she kept her emotions hidden — including from herself. His father, rarely present, was a radiologist, and although David grew up looking at X-rays and drawing on X-ray paper, it would be years before he discovered the shocking consequences of his father’s faith in science. A work of great bravery and humanity, Stitches is a gripping and ultimately redemptive story of a man’s struggle to understand the past and reclaim his voice.

Winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year David Small’s long-awaited graphic novel is a savage portrayal of male adolescence gone awry like no other work of recent fiction or film. Wildly kaleidoscopic and furiously cinematic, Home After Dark is a literary tour-de-force that renders the brutality of adolescence in the so-called nostalgic 1950s, evoking such classics as The Lord of the Flies. Thirteen-year-old Russell Pruitt, abandoned by his mother, follows his father to sun-splashed California in search of a dream. Suddenly forced to fend for himself, Russell struggles to survive in Marshfield, a dilapidated town haunted by a sadistic animal killer and a ring of malicious boys who bully Russell for being “queer.” Rescued from his booze-swilling father by Wen and Jian Mah, a Chinese immigrant couple who long for a child, Russell betrays their generosity by running away with their restaurant’s proceeds. Told almost entirely through thousands of spliced images, once again “employ[ing] angled shots and silent montages worthy of Alfred Hitchcock” (Washington Post, on Stitches), Home After Dark becomes a new form of literature in this shocking graphic interpretation of cinema verité.

This whimsical story of a little girl who wakes one morning to discover she has grown antlers has delighted children since it was first published 15 years ago. The perfect Christmas present for any kid looking forward to a visit from Santa's reindeer--or any reader looking for some year-long fun! The family doctor, the school principal, and even Imogene's know-it-all brother, Norman, fail to resolve her dilemma. Imogene, the cook, and the kitchen maid, however, make the best of things, finding unusual uses for Imogene's new horns. Meanwhile, the problem appears to be solved when Imogene awakes the next morning antler-free.But the family (and the reader) are in for a surprise when Imogene comes down to breakfast. . . .

Includes: "The Gardener," "George Washington's Cows," "Imogene's Antlers," "The Library" & "Paper John."

An abandoned doll, who seems to be a perfect child, can't compare with a toad's own beloved, but imperfect daughter.

The sight of a wild landscape covered with heathers in full bloom is breathtaking, so it is little surprise that people have found ways of introducing these rewarding plants into their gardens. Here they excel, offering color in the drabbest months and a huge diversity of height, habit, and other valuable characteristics in return for modest cultural demands. This comprehensive and highly informative account encompasses the heaths and heathers of the closely related genera Calluna, Daboecia, and Erica, whose shared characteristics and similar cultural requirements make them broadly compatible in a variety of garden situations. These plants have enhanced people's lives for millennia and a full discussion of their naming, uses and other interactions with humans is explored in detail. A fascinating account of the unique ecological niche they occupy - including their remarkable adaptation to make use of the nitrogen and phosphorus unavailable to most other plants - provides a fitting context for discussion of their specific cultural needs. With more than 700 cultivated varieties of Calluna alone, selecting the right heather for the right place can be daunting. The detailed selection of cultivated hardy heathers conveniently provides gardeners with the best garden performers while further lists allow them to search for heathers for specific qualities, such as heat tolerance, ground cover, or early summer blooming. Design options for displaying heathers at their best in the garden are provided along with advice on spacing, pruning, propagation, pests, and diseases. In this fascinating and beautifully illustrated work, classic wild-collected cultivars are described alongside the latest introductions to produce an invaluable reference that will inspire heather enthusiasts and gardeners for generations to come.

From beloved duo Elise Broach and David Small comes an adorable picture book about a little boy who gets a free dino with purchase! Free gift with purchase: Dinosaurs! Wait—free what?! Just when a little boy thinks he’s going to die of boredom from running errands with his mom, the most remarkable, the most stupendous thing happens. He discovers that on this day, and this day only, stores everywhere are giving away a very special treat with any purchase. No, not the usual lollipop or sticker. Something bigger. Much, MUCH bigger. It’s a dream come true, except…what exactly do you do with these Jurassic treats? And how do you convince Mom to let you keep them?

Earl Bogwell marries into what he thinks is a mafia family. Strange things happen: people disappear, bombings and mysterious suicides occur. Is it all coincidences, or is everything being orchestrated by his unlikely father-in-law?

Leadership isn't about being perfect; it's about getting things done. In The Wandering Leader, author David Small, an ice hockey coach who has traveled the world, presents his views about being a leader and a man by growing the most important part of your leadership persona-yourself. The Wandering Leader seeks to help you determine how to dream, give you a road map to accomplish your dreams, and supply the courage to keep taking steps forward once that road map has been blown out the window. To guide you in unleashing the great promise inside of you and make you an amazing leader, it discusses seven different areas of your life: career, finances, social, physical, spiritual, intellectual, and family. But most importantly, it focuses on you and what you have to offer. The Wandering Leader is not a typical book on leadership. Using personal examples from a wide range of people-such as military officers, construction workers, and economics specialists-it shows that you can be a leader in many areas of your life-in friendships, business, and family. It's not about your job or role; it's about your character and heart, helping you to pick yourself up after you've been kicked in the teeth. "Deeply motivated by your astute truth, I have conquered some of my most difficult obstacles and have you to thank." -Mitch Labreche, helicopter pilot, former BCHL Player