Holly Goldberg Sloan

"Julia Marks has always been small. So when her mother makes her try out fot the local theater production of the Wizard of Oz, it's no surprise that she is cast as a munchkin. Julia is hesitant at first, but she quickly gets caught up in the director's unwavering enthusiasm. Then she makes two unlikely new friends: Olive, one of the adults with dwarfism in the play, and Mrs. Chang, a neighbor with some surprising hidden talents. And before long, Julia...

Missing her mother who has returned to Turkey to resolve an immigration problem, sixth-grader Sila welcomes a very large distraction in her life when she helps a surprising new friend rescue a circus elephant.

"From New York Times bestselling author Holly Goldberg Sloan, a hilarious and heartfelt novel for fans of Maria Semple and Emma Straub about a family trying to restore a ramshackle beachside motel-and their own lives What good was thinking the future only held cloudy skies? Wasn't the reality that pieces of blue were always there, waiting to break through? When Paul Hill drowns in a surfing accident, he leaves his wife, Lindsey, and their three children...