Colleen A. F. Venable

Did you know that Patrick Swayze was 35 when he got his big break in Dirty Dancing? The Swayze Year is an entertaining and inspiring humor book that proves you're never too old to reach your potential. The Swayze Year celebrates later-in-life wins with short profiles of one person for every year from age 35 to age 100 who climbed mountains-metaphorical and literal-wrote their own storylines, and found their happy little trees at a more mature age....

The animals in Mr. Venezi's pet shop are used to how forgetful he is. Then he hires the perfect assistant, Viola. She does her job so well that Mr. V hardly needs to be there. In fact, one day, Mr. V doesn't come back at all! But then Viola starts ignoring the animals. Has Mr. V given the pet shop to a villain? Or is some other mystery afoot? Sasspants, PI(G)fluffy-but-determined guinea pig detective (and junior detective Hamisher the hamster) will...

It's a dark and stormy afternoon when Sasspants, PI(G), leaves Mr. Venezi's pet shop to live with a new owner. Soon there's a mystery afoot back at the shop: the cat from the bookstore next door has disappeared. All the pet shop animals are putting on their detective hats, but their fluffy-but-faraway guinea pig detective can't help them follow the clues! Can Hamisher the hamster solve this cat-napping without Sasspants? He's going to try his furry...

Mr. Venezi has put up a help wanted sign in the pet shop. He needs someone to keep track of the animals. But more help might mean he sells more pets, and the animals will have to leave their home. Sasspants, PI(G) fluffy-but-reluctant detective is on the case. She fixes the signs on all the cages, but then a vandal turns turtle into turnip and fish into knish! Are the crazy ferrets behind it? The game is afoot for Sasspants and her sidekick Hamisher!...

Twelve-year-old Katie is dreading the boring summer ahead until she realizes the mysterious neighbor who hired her to catsit is one of the city's greatest supervillains.