Jean Thompson

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Carla is stuck. In her twenties and working for a landscaper, she's been told she's on the wrong path by everyone-from her mom, who wants her to work at the hospital, to her boyfriend, who is dropping not-so-subtle hints that she should be doing something that matters.­Then she is hired for a job at the home of Viridian, a lauded and lovely aging poet who introduces Carla to an eccentric circle of writers. At first she is perplexed by their predilection for reciting lines in conversation, the stories of their many liaisons, their endless wine-soaked nights. Soon, though, she becomes enamoured with this entire world: with Viridian, whose reputation has been defined by her infamous affair with a male poet, Mathias; with Viridian's circle; and especially with the power of words, the "ache and hunger that can both be awakened and soothed by a poem," a hunger that Carla feels sharply. When a fight emerges over a vital cache of poems that Mathias wrote about Viridian, Carla gets drawn in. But how much will she sacrifice for a group that may or may not see her as one of their own? A delightfully funny look at the art world-sometimes petty, sometimes transactional, sometimes transformative- ­The Poet's House is also a refreshingly candid story of finding one's way, with words as our lantern in the dark.

As a woman, I am powerful, dynamic, and unique in my own way. I was not a perfect wife, nor a perfect mother, but I would not change my life for anything in the world. With dignity and strength, I raised three great young people. I made some mistakes along the way, but the Lord made my crooked lines straight. For all advisement and correction, I depended on the Lord only, and he never steered me wrong.

“A closely observed, droll, coming-of-age story . . . An absolute keeper.” —Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air"A page-turning narrative with laugh-out-loud scenes, and ultimately a hopeful, affirming book about how words can stir the mystery in us.” —Julia Alvarez, author of AfterlifeA warm and witty story of a young woman who gets swept up in the rivalries and love affairs of a dramatic group of writers. Carla is stuck. In her twenties and working for a landscaper, she’s been told she’s on the wrong path by everyone—from her mom, who wants her to work at the hospital, to her boyfriend, who is dropping not-so-subtle hints that she should be doing something that matters. ­Then she is hired for a job at the home of Viridian, a lauded and lovely aging poet who introduces Carla to an eccentric circle of writers. At first she is perplexed by their predilection for reciting lines in conversation, the stories of their many liaisons, their endless wine-soaked nights. Soon, though, she becomes enamored with this entire world: with Viridian, whose reputation has been defined by her infamous affair with a male poet, Mathias; with Viridian’s circle; and especially with the power of words, the “ache and hunger that can both be awakened and soothed by a poem,” a hunger that Carla feels sharply. When a fight emerges over a vital cache of poems that Mathias wrote about Viridian, Carla gets drawn in. But how much will she sacrifice for a group that may or may not see her as one of their own? A delightfully funny look at the art world—sometimes petty, sometimes transactional, sometimes transformative— ­The Poet’s House is also a refreshingly candid story of finding one’s way, with words as our lantern in the dark.

The Early Years Intervention Toolkit provides a range of ready-made activities to enable early years practitioners and health visitors to address observed difficulties in a child’s development prior to starting school. It includes a checklist of observed behaviours which links to a range of effective and engaging activities to support children’s development across the three prime foundational areas of learning: Communication and Language; Physical Development; and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Activities focus on a variety of crucial skills such as speaking and listening, moving and handling, and forming relationships, making use of materials that are readily available in every early years setting. This toolkit offers:A time-saving approach to interventions, with additional guidance on planning, providing, and recording appropriate interventionsAdvice and activities to share with parents for them to try at home A framework to enable early years practitioners to identify specific difficulties in key areas of developmentDownloadable resources to support activities and interventionsThe Early Years Intervention Toolkit is an inclusive programme and all children in the early years will benefit from taking part in the activities. It will be an essential resource for early years practitioners to effectively identify and support learning needs in child development and will boost the confidence of young children as they prepare for Key Stage One.

The Early Years Intervention Toolkit provides a range of ready-made activities to enable early years practitioners and health visitors to address observed difficulties in a child’s development prior to starting school. It includes a checklist of observed behaviours which links to a range of effective and engaging activities to support children’s development across the three prime foundational areas of learning: Communication and Language; Physical Development; and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Activities focus on a variety of crucial skills such as speaking and listening, moving and handling, and forming relationships, making use of materials that are readily available in every early years setting. This toolkit offers:A time-saving approach to interventions, with additional guidance on planning, providing, and recording appropriate interventionsAdvice and activities to share with parents for them to try at home A framework to enable early years practitioners to identify specific difficulties in key areas of developmentDownloadable resources to support activities and interventionsThe Early Years Intervention Toolkit is an inclusive programme and all children in the early years will benefit from taking part in the activities. It will be an essential resource for early years practitioners to effectively identify and support learning needs in child development and will boost the confidence of young children as they prepare for Key Stage One.

From National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of The Year We Left Home comes a "powerful, beautifully crafted" (People) family saga about three generations of women who struggle to find freedom and happiness in their small Midwestern college town. A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is a poignant novel about three generations of the Wise family--Evelyn, Laura, and Grace--as they hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making. We see these women and their trials, small and large: social slights and heartbreaks; marital disappointments and infidelities; familial dysfunction; mortality. Spanning from World War II to the present, Thompson reveals a matrilineal love story that is so perfectly grounded in our time--a story of three women regressing, stalling, and yes, evolving, over decades. One of the burning questions she asks is: by serving her family, is a woman destined to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, or can she transcend the expectations of a place, and a time? Can she truly be free? Evelyn, Laura, and Grace are the glue that binds their family together. Tethered to their small Midwestern town--by choice or chance--Jean Thompson seamlessly weaves together the stories of the Wise women with humanity and elegance, through their heartbreaks, setbacks, triumphs, and tragedies. "Thompson's new novel draws the reader in with character and plot...but what ultimately holds the reader enthralled is...her ability to capture the nuance of individual moments, thoughts, and reactions. No one writing today is better at this... an] extraordinary novel" (Washington Independent Review of Books).

From National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of The Year We Left Home comes a moving family saga about three generations of women who struggle to find freedom and happiness in their small Midwestern college town. A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is a poignant novel about three generations of the Wise family--Evelyn, Laura, and Grace--as they hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making. Evelyn set aside her career to marry, late, and motherhood never became her. Her daughter Laura felt this acutely and wants desperately to marry, but she soon discovers her husband Gabe to be a man who expects too much of everyone in his life, especially his musician son. Grace has moved out from Laura and Gabe's house, but can't seem to live up to her potential--whatever that might be. In A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl we see these women and their trials, small and large: social slights and heartbreaks; marital disappointments and infidelities; familial dysfunction; mortality. Spanning from World War II to the present, Thompson reveals a matrilineal love story that is so perfectly grounded in our time--a story of three women regressing, stalling, and yes, evolving, over decades. One of the burning questions she asks is: by serving her family, is a woman destined to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, or can she transcend the expectations of a place, and a time? Can she truly be free? Evelyn, Laura, and Grace are the glue that binds their family together. Tethered to their small Midwestern town--by choice or chance--Jean Thompson seamlessly weaves together the stories of the Wise women with humanity and elegance, through their heartbreaks, setbacks, triumphs, and tragedies.

A National Book Award finalist and bestselling author, Jean Thompson's new collection of "bewitching improvisations on fairy tales" are "spellbinding" (Booklist, starred review). Jean Thompson--author of the National Book Award finalist Who Do You Love and the New York Times bestseller The Year We Left Home--is a writer at the height of her powers. Capturing the magic and horror in everyday life, Thompson revisits beloved fables that represent our deepest, most primeval fears and satisfy our longings for good to triumph over evil (preferably in the most gruesome way possible). From the wolf in "Little Red Riding Hood" to the beauty asleep in her castle, The Witch and Other Tales Retold triumphantly brings the fairy tale into the modern age.

A New York Times bestseller, The Year We Left Home is National Book Award finalist Jean Thompson's mesmerizing, decades-spanning saga of one ordinary American family that captures the turbulent history of the country at large. Named a New York Times Editors' Choice, a People magazine "Pick of the Week," and an Indie Next and Midwest Connections selection, The Year We Left Home is the career-defining novel that Jean Thompson's admirers have been waiting for: a sweeping and emotionally powerful story of a single American family during the tumultuous final decades of the twentieth century. Stretching from the early 1970s in the Iowa farmlands to suburban Chicago and across the map of contemporary America, The Year We Left Home follows the Erickson siblings as they confront prosperity and heartbreak, setbacks and triumphs, and seek their place in a country whose only constant seems to be breathtaking change. Ambitious and richly told, this is a vivid and moving meditation on our continual pursuit of happiness and an incisive exploration of the national character.

This practical easy-to-use guide identifies the barriers that children with a wide range of different additional needs experience in school. It provides case studies of each of the major conditions, describes the behaviour of the child involved and the process of diagnosis, concluding with practical strategies on how to help these children become successful learners.

When Jean Thompson—“America’s Alice Munro” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)—is telling stories, “You cannot put the book down” (The Seattle Times), and her superlative new collection, Do Not Deny Me, is one to be savored, word by word. • Award-winning storyteller gaining popularity: Jean Thompson’s short fiction has been honored by the National endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation; Who Do You Love: Stories was a National Book Award finalist for fiction and was promoted by David Sedaris during his own lecture tour; and Throw Like a Girl: Stories was a New York Times Notable Book and a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year. The collection is also in its sixth printing, as Thompson’s longstanding critical acclaim crosses over into a popular following. Do Not Deny Me is perfectly positioned to gain an even wider audience. • Do Not Deny Me: Here is a title that demands—and commands—attention in and of itself. Yet Thompson’s latest collection is no literary dare, delivering as it does twelve dazzling new stories that together offer, with wit, humor, and razor-sharp perception, a fictional primer on how Americans live day to day. In Thompson’s writing, The New York Times Book Review has noted, “some of the biggest satisfactions happen line by line, thanks to Thompson’s effortless ability to tip her prose into the universal.” Thompson succeeds as “one of our most astute diagnosticians of contemporary experience” (The Boston Globe).

A New York Times Notable Book | San Francisco Chronical Best Book of the Year A master of short fiction whose "best pieces are as good as it gets in contemporary fiction" (Newsday) returns, as Jean Thompson follows her National Book Award finalist collection Who Do You Love with Throw Like a Girl. Here are twelve new stories that take dead aim at the secrets of womanhood, arcing from youth to experience. Each one of Thompson's indelible characters—lovers, wives, friends, and mothers—speaks her piece—wry, angry, hopeful—about the world and women's places in it. This collection includes the following short stories: “The Brat” “The Five Senses” “It Would Not Make Me Tremble to See Ten Thousand Fall” “The Family Barcus” “Lost” “The Inside Passage” “Holy Week” “A Normal Life” “Hunger” “The Woman Taken in Adultery” “Pie of the Month” “Throw Like a Girl”

Newlyweds Jack and Chloe are building a life together in a modest Chicago apartment. The city is theirs to enjoy as Jack struggles to pursue a writing career and Chloe works downtown, applying herself to the world of high finance. While Jack aspires to be the perfect husband, his own self-doubts and Chloe's office flirtations cast shadows. Jealousy and mis-behavior undermine their notions of themselves and of each other, and their lives take on uncomfortable parallels with the volatile, chaotic existence of their raffish, menacing neighbors. In the intense heat of one Chicago summer, Jack and Chloe's marriage roils into a queasy chemistry of vanity, lust, and greed. Thompson writes with piercing insight and emotional truth, setting off literary fireworks.

It is the summer of 1999, and something big and bad is coming to Springfield, Illinois, 'the place the Weather lived.' WIDE BLUE YONDER is a novel about weather in all its permutations, climatic, emotional, even metaphysical. Our guides through this season of blazing heat and fearsome storms comprise an unlikely quartet, each preparing in some measure for the end of the world. Uncle Harvey believes he is the Weather Channel's 'Local Forecast.' Yet even an arsenal of meteorological facts and figures can't stanch his existential fears. Harvey's niece, Josie, is fixed with a different predicament. She's seventeen with nowhere to go in the Land of Lincoln except into deep trouble. Josie's mother, Elaine, feigns cheerful efficiency, desperately masking a far more urgent quest. And then there's the loner Rolando, who hails from Los Angeles. A human storm system fueled by boundless rage, Rolando is on course to make Springfield the ground zero of his wrath. Newsweek's Jeff Giles memorably described Thompson's previous collection, WHO DO YOU LOVE, as 'a beautiful book, but a hell of a sad one' WIDE BLUE YONDER burns brighter, yet moves in the same mysterious ways.

In this acclaimed collection, Jean Thompson limns the lives of ordinary people -- a lonely social worker, a down-and-out junkie, a divorced cop on the night shift -- to extraordinary effect. With wisdom and sympathy and spare eloquence, she writes of their inarticulate longings for communion and grace. Yet even the saddest situations are imbued with Thompson s characteristic humor and a wry glimmer of hope. With Who Do You Love, readers will discover a writer with rare insight into the resiliency of the human spirit and the complexities of love.