· 2011
This powerful short novel describes the events of a single afternoon. Alwyn Tower, an American expatriate and sometime novelist, is staying with a friend outside of Paris, when a well-heeled, itinerant Irish couple drops in—with Lucy, their trained hawk, a restless, sullen, disturbingly totemic presence. Lunch is prepared, drink flows. A masquerade, at once harrowing and farcical, begins. A work of classical elegance and concision, The Pilgrim Hawk stands with Faulkner’s The Bear as one of the finest American short novels: a beautifully crafted story that is also a poignant evocation of the implacable power of love.
· 2020
Mini and her family are dust mites who live in a world invisible to humans. Life is so comfortable, they never leave their home until one day everything is turned topsy-turvy. When they suddenly are surrounded by strangers who have different ideas, there is mistrust and uncertainty. Even when an amazing truth is revealed, many still think only their ideas are valid until they experience that truth directly. This book can be a comfort in our own world by showing how we can discover unity in diversity. By learning from those who are different, our minds can be enlightened and our lives enriched, just like Mini and her family in The Light of the Dust Mites.
· 2019
Pygo is a very determined penguin who solves the mystery of who melted his ice. Working with children, Pygo helps make the world a better place for people and penguins in the climate change era. This book is a great way to introduce young children to the importance of global warming, exploring the impacts and causes of climate change, while empowering them to be part of the solution! Look for more adventures in the Pygo Penguin series as well as teaching guides coming soon! www.pygopenguin.com
· 2013
From humble beginnings on a poor Wisconsin farm, the author went on to study at the University of Chicago, narrowly survive the Spanish flu pandemic, and eventually emerge as an influential poet and novelist. A major figure in the American literary expatriate community in Paris during the 1920s and a prominent American novelist in the years leading up to World War II, he spent a decade living abroad before relocating permanently to New York and New Jersey with his partner, Museum of Modern Art publications director and curator Monroe Wheeler. Together they mixed with such intellectual and creative greats as Jean Cocteau, Colette, George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus, Somerset Maugham, Christopher Isherwood, Marianne Moore, W. H. Auden, Truman Capote, Joseph Campbell, and scores of other luminaries. During the second half of his life, Wescott wrote nonfiction essays and worked for the Academy Institute of Arts and Letters, all the while keeping journals in which he recorded the experiences that fostered his love of life, literature, the arts, and humanity.--Publisher's description.
· 2023
Zenith of Naïveté is written by Daniel Wescott Note: This is a fictionalized account of actual events, not merely based on them. I’ve changed the names to protect everyone. Everything in here happened, just not in the order presented. I’ve condensed about two years into around a week. Plus, I’ve thrown my adult views into the mix. You know, the way all of us keep our memories. For my brother and me, the events depicted in this story were turning points in our lives and relationship with our Mom, each other, and our father. I was in my thirties before I believed my Mom was mentally ill, and I will regret that for the rest of my life. She passed away a few years ago, and our relationship was strained to the point of bare existence after growing up with her. If I’d truly understood, all those complicated feelings would have been softened, and I would have been there for her like she tried to be for us kids, only better. Know what I mean? I wrote the poem at the end of this in my late twenties. I attached it because it delivers a condensed version of the emotions involved in this period. I believe this topic is relevant to society due to the mental illness that is so rampant in the Western world, along with poverty and socio-economic stigmas/world views/beliefs.
· 2003
The Talking Skeleton splinters Rad Sergeant and his gang off into several different situations, and introduces Rad's cousin Joshua Myers. The boys dig for buried treasure, but find a skeleton that throws them into an investigation where they face many dangers before they solve the mystery. At school, two spoiled rich boys nearly kill Peter because of his color. The same spoiled boys threaten Rad that if he does not quit the basketball team so one of them can be the captain, he will be hurt. This story deals with Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and tells us about Max cutting his long red hair, that he had sworn would never be cut, to make a friend who has Leukemia a wig.