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BOOKS!!
The books in the YOU BE series can be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use.
Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
Support your local bookstore!
Visit your favorite store or use Bookshop.org to shop online!
My two favorite
indie bookstores!
MAZE BOOKS, Rockford, IL
BOOKS ON FIRST, Dixon, IL
The Phony Baloney of Great Maloney!
A tired mommy lets her daughter have a turn being the parent at bedtime in You Be Mommy, a humorously charming debut picture book from writer Karla Clark and illustrator Zoe Persico. An utterly relatable theme told with humor and heart provides a story parents and children will delight in reading together at bedtime.
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Reviews:
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"You Be Mommy is absolutely adorable and one that many moms will resonate with. I know I certainly did and I have been reading it every single night to my daughter." --Momma Braga
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"This story is so, so cute and very relatable. It's very playful and the rhymes jump from page to page. May daughter found the story super silly and was smiling as we read. I was thinking how I would love to switch places with my kiddo and have her "wipe my nose when it gets runny," or cook dinner, do dishes, and grant all my wishes. The ending is very sweet...For you'll always be my little treasure, and I'll be Mommy forever and ever. This really melted my heart. Such a beautiful story!" -- stylishmodernmotherhood
A tired daddy lets his son have a turn being parent at bedtime in Karla Clark's You Be Daddy, a humorously charming companion picture book to You Be Mommy, featuring illustrations by Steph Lew.
Reviews:
"You Be Daddy was a big hit! The storyline is extremely relatable and the illustrations are vibrant and beautiful! My 9-year-old expressed her approval by proclaiming, 'It deserves a medal!' I agree." --Molly H.
"What a warm and lovely book! This book is not only a fun read for children, but I would hope this story could be read and discussed in parenting groups! You Be Daddy is a model for every dad who desires to form a good relationship with their child. The colorful illustrations add greatly to the story. --Nancy S.
Three stories of triumph combine to empower young readers to look inward for strength and create their own definition of bravery. Told in gentle, rhyming couplets, this collection of stories presents relatabable moments of unease and the strength found in conquering fears. A roaring nighttime thunderstorm, the first day of preschool, and a doctor's visit, in turn, encourage young readers to forge their own paths of strength in times of distress, illustrated in rich, emotional scenes that depict vignettes of daily life, this book provides comfort and empowerment for resilience and resolution.
"In straightforward language and saturated, unlined digital art, each story offers an object lesson on the way that occupying a mind with other concerns can drive fear away." --Publishers Weekly
"An insightful and sensitive introduction to what it means to be brave." --Kirkus
"Fantastic… Thoughtful yet minimal, the rhyming text perfectly illustrates the trials young minds face when they venture out into the world." --Green Bay Press Gazette
"Wind down after a long day of activities with the incredible story of combatting fear in the gentle rhymes of Three Ways to be Brave." --Stockland
"[A]tmospheric … Fantastic. Clark’s simple, gentle poetry and Östberg’s rich and stunning artwork combine to create a sensitive and empowering volume for young readers." --The Baby Bookworm
Can you be Grandma and turn off the light?
Grandma’s too tired to be Grandma tonight.
She played dress-up and drank afternoon tea.
Helped you climb up the Sycamore tree.
Took a hike and went for a dip.
Now she’s exhausted! There’s an ache in her hip.
In this clever, rhyming picture book, a grandma tells her granddaughter that she's simply too tired to be Grandpa tonight and asks her granddaughter to take over for her.
An utterly relatable theme told with humor and heart provides a story parents, grandparents, and children will delight in reading together at bedtime.
"Rhyming couplets create a soothing bedtime story accompanied by detailed illustrations in soft colors that exude calm as they capture the pair's joyful relationship." --Kirkus
"My grandchildren love these books so much! They ask for them to be read over and over! This author
is so clever with her rhyming! Love, love, love!" --Amazon Verified Purchase Reviewer
Karla Clark's You Be series continues with You Be Grandpa, all about a grandpa who is just too tired to do the bedtime routine after a long day of activities and asks his grandson to take over for him.
Grandpa’s too tired to be Grandpa tonight.
Can you be Grandpa, just for the night?
Pick out my pjs and snuggle up close?
Read me the book I love the most?
In this clever, rhyming picture book, a grandpa tells his grandson that after a long day of playing pirates, gardening, skateboarding and more―he’s simply too tired to be Grandpa at bedtime and asks that the grandson take over for him.
An utterly relatable theme told with humor and heart provides a story parents, grandparents, and children will delight in reading together at bedtime.
When her father dies, May Dearborne and her three older brothers all ask the same question: who is going to take care of Kipp? Kipp being their forty-five-year-old autistic brother. Who are they kidding? Since May is widowed, childless, and Kipp's twin to boot, of course it will be her.
Reviews:
"Wonderful book, you will laugh and cry and love all of the characters in this book. It is very well written and gives valuable insight into the life of a person with autism and their loved ones. It also illustrates how it really does take a Village to raise a family. It is a very easy book to read, and after the first chapter you will not want to put it down." --Amazon customer
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"Karla weaves the best stories. What I love most about her books is the characters. I fall in love with each one. Great read and definitely her best book yet!!!" --Amazon customer
Sabina Giovanotti, waitress by day and aunt extraordinaire by night, is forty, single, and still living above her family's folksy cafe in Chicago's Little Italy. Sandwiched between four sisters, all married with children, and her mother and aunt, both cooks at the cafe, Sabina is trying to come to terms with the fact that her life didn't turn out as planned.
Reviews:
"Tuck in your napkin and enjoy! Between Courses is a story that opens its door and welcomes you into a family with whom you feel completley at home. Eccentric characters with loving hearts, doing their best and often failing as we all do; and a love story that is not at all typical, which makes it all the more believable. I found I was rationing the pages towards the end - I didn't want to have to put it down and walk out the door forever. Much more depth than 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and every bit as deserving of praise." --Madge Wells
"I really loved this book! I had two small children at the time of reading it. I never missed a nap when they napped. Well, not when I reading this book! I would forgo my nap just to keep reading! Sabina is amazing, and the story makes your heart skip a beat. I never saw the t c wist coming, and when it did, I cried! Karla Clark makes all the characters real and have so much meaning. You care for all of them! I think the book could hold it's own as a television show instead of a movie because you would want to keep going on and on and on ... Of course, all the recipes are just another added bonus! How unique!"--Erin Drinkwine
The thirteen stories in this collection feature characters adrift . . . pearls of people facing knotty situations. A father away on a business trip who misses his wife and daughters more than they miss him. A newly married woman whose husband "grandmothers" her to death. A garbage man who refuses to define himself by his occupation. And many more. Combining humor with grace, KNOTTED PEARLS teases out issues of the heart in the everyday lives of everyday people.
Review:
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"Great stories! Each one could be its own novel!" --Mary N.
Have you ever wondered if your lost loved ones can look down on you from Heaven? Annie Langdon can. And what she sees is a family falling apart. It’s been a year since her tragic death and still her husband and three children can’t seem to get it together. Help comes when three kooky blonde bombshells move in next door and turn their lives upside down. In ANNIE'S HEAVEN, Karla Clark intimately explores the themes of life and afterlife, family secrets, sibling rivalry, and death-defying love.
Reviews:
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"What a great book! Clark's 2nd novel hits home just like the first. I couldn't put this book down. Clark's writing style is so charming you are drawn into the story from page one...Her characters and dialog are so true-to-life. Tess, Danny and Luke cope with the loss of their Mom as best they can. It seems like a endless rollercoaster ride of raw emotion. Yet, at the end of following this greiving family's journey you are still left with a sense of hope and a mother's eternal love. The Landgon family has endured and they are stronger for it." --Amazon review
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"Just when you need some inspiration, a book like this comes along. Karla does such a terrific job of melding the earthly and heavenly worlds together for our enjoyment. The research and reading she did in preparing to write this book is truly amazing. "Luke's Fascinating Brain Facts" makes you curious and entertained. I have read her other 2 books and thought they were good, but this is beyond good! I love her version of heaven..." --J Sanders
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