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Ladybug

by Melanie L. Marshall

299 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1616; ISBN 1-4120-3801-4; US$23.50, C$27.03, EUR19.30, £13.51

Been chased by mad dogs? Need a bat? Laugh and squirm in the same sentence. Pick any story. Be glad it never happened to you. Or, wish it had.

About the Book

If you love fantastic stories, and don’t mind a bit of squirming, Melanie Marshall has them for you right here. Find out what it’s like to fly in the Himalayas and have a bee as a pet. When’s the last time you hunted termites or came face-to-face with mad dogs? Ever get caught with your hand in the till and have to take some bitter medicine? (Don’t do it.) Read about it instead. Meet a mouse that negotiates a truce between enemies!

These are just a few of the stories that will steamroller you into disbelief. Pick any story. Be glad it never happened to you. Or, wish it had. Laugh and cringe in the same sentence. Go ahead, don’t believe a single one. So what if they are true?

Journey from Kathmandu, Nepal to Kensington, Maryland; Bobo Dioulasso Burkina Faso to the Swiss Alps and then; to the ancient town of Carthage in Tunisia. Ladybug’s perspective may be different, but the sentiment, faith and lessons from the school of hard knocks are not only touching, they are hard earned and remembered. And, best of all, hilarious.

About the Author

Melanie Marshall was born in Washington, D.C. The youngest of five, at three months of age she moved with her family to Kathmandu, Nepal, and lived there for seven years. After returning to the United States for a year of home leave, she moved with her family to Upper Volta, now known as Burkina Faso, where her father, a career foreign service officer, had been newly assigned.

While in West Africa, Ms. Marshall traveled extensively throughout the region with her parents in Bertha, the family’s trusted Ford station wagon. Soon, boarding school in Switzerland intervened and the family subsequently moved to Chad. Their next post was Tunisia where she went to school and lived for several years.

Although raised primarily overseas, Ms. Marshall now lives in Washington, D.C., and considers herself a faithful Washingtonian. She would be the first to say that writing about her experiences has taken her by surprise and she hopes you enjoy these stories. As they are all true, please be mindful when reading them to children, and caution them not to attempt to replicate these outstanding adventures.

Excerpts