New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell looks at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages, and products, he argues, often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a few fare-beaters and graffiti artists fuel a subway crime wave, or a satisfied customer fill the empty tables of a new restaurant. These are social epidemics,...

Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas--business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, and others--struggle to make their ideas "stick." Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? Educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier,...

"Double Take is a fact-packed look at how science is tackling stereotypes. In the intermediate grades, students are likely to encounter and recognize all kinds of stereotypes. Our brains constantly use categories to sort and label the things (and people) around us -- both with good results and frightening ones. This book explores how we all use stereotypes and how science can help us to build more equal societies, where fewer stereotypes exist and...

In this thoughtful treatise spurred by the 2015 death of African-American academic Sandra Bland in jail after a traffic stop, New Yorker writer Gladwell (The Tipping Point) aims to figure out the strategies people use to assess strangers -- to "analyze, critique them, figure out where they came from, figure out how to fix them," in other words: to understand how to balance trust and safety. He uses a variety of examples from history and recent headlines...

When a flood damages Dunwiddle Middle School, Nory and her friends are sent to elite Sage Academy where Nory's sibling are and where her father is the headmaster. There the kids see a magical skunk garden and participate in Hide and Seek night, but Nory doesn't feel comfortable there. Then Nory's father insists she take the entrance exam for Sage again. Nory will have to decide where she belongs.

"In a crowded Chicago airport, an incident at TSA impacts twelve young Asian Americans, all strangers to one another before this day. As events cause their journeys to intertwine, they discover the challenges of friendship, the perils of younger siblings, the power or words, and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar. Twelve virtuoso authors draw from their own experiences to explore themes of identity and belonging in...

"A novel about an interactive game designer with no face by the singer-songwriter behind the Mountain Goats and the author of Black Sabbath's Master of Reality (33-1/3)"-- Provided by publisher.

"For decades, behavioral scientists have investigated the role our environment plays in shaping who we are. Based on groundbreaking studies, this book offers a fascinating look at the evolution of behavioral science, the revolutionary ways it's changing the way we live, and how nurturing environments can increase people's well-being in virtually every aspect of our society, from early childhood education to corporate practices"-- Provided by publisher....

After learning that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan, Izumi travels to Tokyo, where she discovers that Japanese imperial life--complete with designer clothes, court intrigue, paparazzi scandals, and a forbidden romance with her handsome but stoic bodyguard--is a tough fit for the outspoken and irreverant eighteen-year-old from northern California.

"When a young woman turns up dead on her college campus, her sister doesn't believe it was an accident--and when she starts to dig for answers, her investigations take her closer to home than she ever would have imagined in this thrilling debut novel from an exciting new talent. Every year, Maya loves heading back to Princeton for her reunions--she may have graduated a decade ago, but it's always fun to see old faces and take a walk through her own...