Books
ITCHING TO LOVE: The Story of a Dog
When a neighbor's dog decides he must "own" Shelley, she realizes how much easier it is to give love than to receive it. As she goes on a Wizard-of-Oz-like journey to answer what he saw in her that she did not see in herself, we pass through history, space travel, and the science of laughter to arrive at a new understanding of motherhood and love.
Pre-order the Book: Amazon.com | B&N | Simon & Schuster
WHITE HOUSE WILD CHILD: How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America
The fascinating historical biography of America’s most memorable first daughter, Alice Roosevelt, whose free spirit and status made her the Princess Diana and Jackie O of the early 20th century.
Perfect for readers of female-centric biographies like The Daughters of Yalta and for fans of the glitzy drama of The Gilded Age and The Crown.
“With wit and fresh insight Shelley Fraser Mickle brings vividly to life one of the most colorful figures of the twentieth century.” —Jonathan Alter, best-selling author of HIS VERY BEST: JIMMY CARTER, A LIFE
“Mickle, once again, reveals herself as a brilliant storyteller—I devoured this book in a single day.”—Deirdre Mask, author of THE ADDRESS BOOK: WHAT STREET ADDRESSES REVEAL ABOUT IDENTITY, RACE, WEALTH AND POWER
“What a tale! Shelley FraserMickle finds the perfect subject in Alice Lee Roosevelt, President Teddy Roosevelt's eldest child. Alice went from rogue teenager to political confidante. Wickedly smart, she was a witty woman who knew no boundaries and led a life worthy of examination. The history of the Roosevelts has been predominantly about men—now it's Alice's turn.” –- Diana Williams, Emmy-Award-winning former news anchor for WABC Television, New York City.
BORROWING LIFE: How Scientists, Surgeons, and a War Hero Made the First Successful Organ Transplant a Reality
BORROWING LIFE was chosen by the American Association for the Advancement of Science as a finalist for a Book Award, suitable for young adults in high school STEM classes.
Against a global backdrop of wartime suffering and postwar hope, BORROWING LIFE gathers the personal histories of the men and women behind the team that enabled and performed the modern medical miracle of the world's first successful organ transplant.
Renowned painter Joel Babb was commissioned to paint the historic scene of Joe Murray performing the five- and-a half- hour surgery that placed Ronald Herrick’s donated kidney into his identical twin brother, Richard, on December 23, 1954. This painting hangs in Countway Library at Harvard Medical School next to the famous painting of the first time a surgery was performed under anesthesia. This successful organ transplant is now regarded as one of the greatest contributions to humankind in the twentieth century. In this painting, which became the cover of BORROWING LIFE, you can see the image of the famed surgeon Francis Moore carrying the donated kidney in a metal basin to surgeon Joe Murray. The orchestration of the two operating rooms within the time constraint was a major accomplishment.
THE QUEEN OF OCTOBER
THE QUEEN OF OCTOBER was chosen as a 1989 New York Times Notable Book and by the Library Association as one of the Best Adult Books Suitable for the Teen Age.
It is the story of a 13-year-old girl adjusting to her parents’ divorce and is set in a small town in Arkansas.
“Poor Sally Maulden….To hear her tell it, when her parents separated, 'the whole world, as I knew it, blew up and got replaced by something like a distant cousin,’ begins Shelley Fraser Mickle's first novel…” Jim Shepard’s, Review from the New York Times
“This is a remarkable first novel, bursting with warmth”—The Chicago Tribune
“Impressive.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A new author worth watching.” —Atlanta Journal Constitution
REPLACING DAD
REPL ACING DAD won an award from American Writers in Chicago and was chosen by the New York Public Library as One of the Best Books of 1993 for the Teen Age. Set on the Gulf Coast in a small fishing village, it deals with the breakup of a family and their readjustment after the parents’ divorce. One reviewer called it the funniest, side-splitting story since “Auntie Mame.” Shelley considers the highpoint of writing this novel was when she came up with the name the Love ’em and Leave ‘em Day Care
THE TURNING HOUR
THE TURNING HOUR is based on the true story of a high school girl recovering from a suicide attempt. It was recognized in 2006 by a Florida Governor’s Award for being a suicide prevention tool in high schools. THE TURNING HOUR was taught in all Florida Alachua County schools in 2005 with the results being measured by a Ph.D. dissertation. It was found that those students who experienced the novel were found to be more likely to confide in an adult when feeling suicidal than those students who did not study the novel. The scenes with the psychiatrist were created with the guidance of a psychologist at the University of Florida, specializing in treating teens.
THE ASSIGNED VISIT
THE ASSIGNED VISIT, set on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Camille, tells the story of two Harvard students who meet in a writing class promising that if either has a story too emotional to tell, they will gift it to the other. This novel brings to life the 1960’s issues of young men dealing with the military draft during the Vietnam War.
THE OCCUPATION OF ELIZA GOODE
THE OCCUPATION OF ELIZA GOOD follows the characters in The Assigned Visit as they tell the story of finding a cache of letters revealing the story of a young woman born into a bordello in New Orleans who becomes a camp follower during the Civil War, transforming herself from prostitute to officer’s wife to community activist. It became a Pick of the Week by the Huffington Post and Publishers’ Weekly.
Buy the Book: Amazon
BARBARO: America’s Horse
He was bred to be a champion. He was born to run. Everyone said he would be one of the greatest racehorses of all time. Everyone said he would take a place in history next to Triple Crown winners like the fabled Secretariat.
Then, in one sickening, heart-stopping moment, everything changed. Suddenly he was no longer racing for glory; he was fighting for his life. And the horse bred to be a champion became much more.
He became a symbol of hope and courage for an entire nation.
Barbaro: America’s Horse won a Bank Street Award
Buy the Book: Amazon
AMERICAN PHAROAH: Triple Crown Champion
When American Pharoah won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2015 he became the first horse to win the “Grand Slam” of American horse racing, by winning all four races. His story captured American’s imagination, and this inspired account will also feature the handlers who saw his promise: owner, Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables, trainer Bob Baffert, and jockey Victor Espinoza.
American Pharoah: Triple Crown Champion was recognized by the New York Public Library as one of the best nonfiction books for children in 2017.
JASON AND ELIHU: A Fisherman’s Story
Jason and Elihu: A Fisherman’s Story was written at the request of North Florida’s Foster Care Services as a fundraiser. This novel features two foster children looking for a home.
As soon as Jason hears the legend of Elihu, he knows he must catch the great fish. But Old Snout, the gator, guards Elihu. Legend says, too, that whenever Elihu is hooked, the bass whispers a secret. This novel also features two foster children looking for a home; Sundance, the miniature horse with a craving for peppermints; and a young girl who edits her dream of becoming an ice-skater as she recovers from a brain tumor that has robbed her balance.
THE POLIO HOLE
The Polio Hole details the development of the Salk vaccine and was written for the Rotary Clubs’ partnership with the Gates Foundation to eradicate polio worldwide.
As a five-year-old, Shelley Fraser is known for mischief.
On Halloween in l949, she fancies her brother's devil costume and persuades her mother to hem it up for her. But her plan to scare the total baloney out of the neighbor's babies backfires.
At kindergarten, she throws a six-year-old birthday party never to be forgotten, falls in love at juice time, and learns to read.
Six weeks into first grade, she becomes one of over 30,000 falling down the Polio Hole—which is the way she thinks of the illness sweeping across America.
During those years of dealing with braces, crutches, the loss of muscles that will never come back, she finds she is still very much who she always was, only more aware of the world's miracles. With a lasting lesson from her night visitor in the Isolation Hospital and a second chance as the Halloween Queen with her sweetheart Richard, she also earns a dog named Buddy, a horse with the nickname Lightn', and the friendship of a woman who teaches the enchantment of letters that can be read only with a mirror.
Shelley's battle to overcome the nightmare illness that changed America is woven into the story of the scientific development of the vaccine that nailed shut the Polio Hole. The efforts to bury the Hole worldwide is a major challenge of the twenty-first century.
SCULPTOR WOODROW NASH: How I Search for My Ancestors
In a collection of biographies informed by historical documents, Nash and Mickle walk readers through his creation of proud statues celebrating African royalty and rough images of enslaved children still carrying the vestiges of their fierce heritage. The research that binds the images to our reality is found in ship's manifests, post-Civil War cartes de visite, and a wealth of books and articles cited in the bibliography. A brief history of sculpture provides context for the art created by Nash--sculptures that illuminate the lives of Africans before their enslavement and reveal their resilience in their new existence. Stunning photographs frame the story and beautifully capture the relationship between artist and creation in this one-of-a-kind book for young readers.
Buy the Book: Amazon