Lesléa Newman

Selena is a young girl who would rather twirl than walk, prance than dance. So one day her mother takes her to Miss Tutu's dance class, where Selena learns how to dance. At first, Selena has trouble performing some of the intricate moves, but she keeps practicing. After some time, the big day comes for Selena to make her stage debut. Will she let stage fright get in the way? Or will she dance and bow in front of the audience? As is typical of her work, Carey adds little stories in the art that are very funny.

"What a good dog you are. What a fine dog you are. Hachi, you are the best dog in all of Japan." Professor Ueno speaks these words to his faithful dog before boarding the train to work every morning. And every afternoon, just before three o'clock, Hachi is at the train station to greet his beloved master. One day, the train arrives at the station without the professor. Hachi waits. For ten years, Hachi waits for his master to return. Not even Yasuo, the young boy who takes care of Hachi, can persuade him to leave his post. Hachiko Waits, a novel inspired by a true story, brings to life the legendary Akita who became a national symbol for loyalty and devotion. This is a must-read for dog lovers of all ages. Hachiko Waits is a 2005 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

This poignant and humorous collection of stories offers a fresh perspective on current issues of homosexuality and anti-Semitism and lends a voice to those experiencing growing pains and self-discovery. Newman's quirky Jewish characters go through all kinds of experiences, from an initial lesbian sexual encounter to being sequestered in a college apartment after paranoid Holocaust flashbacks. Her characters anxiously discover their lesbian identities while beginning to understand, and finally to embrace, their Jewish heritage. The title story, ""A Letter to Harvey Milk,"" was the second-place finalist in the Raymond Carver Short Story Competition.

Editor Lesl a Newman has collected the work of both well-known and emerging poets to create an anthology of some of the finest writers of any gender or sexual orientation writing poetry today. The probing fierceness of Adrienne Rich's "Love Poem," the stirring sensual incantation of Ellen Bass's "Praise," the intensely felt tenderness of Dorothy Allison's "Reason Enough to Love You," are just a few examples of the rich talent displayed in this volume. These poets have written daring confessions of love, sorrow, anger, and joy. Each poem is an elaborate confirmation of the resilience of the human spirit, and the ability to transform experience--including the struggle against the societal taboo of same-sex love--into brilliant poetry.