Contemporary fiction. 'I walk'd about on the shore, lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I may say, wrapt up in the contemplation of my deliverance . . . reflecting upon all my comrades that were drown'd, and that there should not be one soul sav'd but my self . . . ' Who has not dreamed of life on an exotic isle, far away from civilization? Here is the novel which has inspired countless imitations by lesser writers, none of which equal the...

A young bear cub, who is alone in the world, and Old Bear, who is grumpy and tired of living alone, meet and discover what they have been missing.

"Meet Gus, a gosling who likes to be by himself. But when his adventures lead him to a turtle's nest, he's in for some unexpected companionship!"--

A boy enjoys living quietly by himself at The End of the World until Mr. Constantine Shimmer, "Professional Visionary," builds an inn and an amusement park, demanding that tourists come and have "Fun Without End!"

"A celebration of the joy and comfort to be found in alone time and the joy and comfort that a friend can bring"--

Tired of her large, noisy, baboon family, young Leyla runs away and meets a lizard who teaches her to sit alone, be quiet, and do nothing.

"From internationally best-selling author Niccolò Ammaniti, comes a funny, tragic, gut-punch of a novel, charting how an unlikely alliance between two outsiders blows open one family's secrets. Lorenzo Cumi is a fourteen-year-old misfit. To quell the anxiety of his concerned, socially conscious parents, he tells them he's been invited on an exclusive ski vacation with the popular kids. On the morning of the trip, Lorenzo demands that his mother drop...

Bear likes playing piano for all the other animals, but they keep asking him for more, and Bear has trouble setting boundaries and expressing that he needs time for himself until he finds sympathetic Zebra.

"As the eldest child in a large family, Pauline struggles to find her niche, and she longs for peace and quiet -- a charming graphic novel. Pauline lives with her mother, father, little brother and sister, and there's a new baby on the way. Her friends tell her she's lucky to be the eldest -- she's the one who gets new clothes and can stay up late -- but Pauline isn't so sure. In her busy, crowded, noisy house, she never knows what she's supposed...