Would she tell you that six children were too many, that some disappointed, that others surprised, but that, all in all, six were too many and one would have been just fine. This is the story of one woman's experiences in a hard-scrabble coal-mining town, a story that brims with universal themes about life, love, and family-and all of the joy, laughter, heartache, and loss that accompany them.

In a heartbreaking narrative that flows like a novel, we follow Ludie from childhood to falling in love and getting married, through the birthof her own children, and on into old age.

2009 Mr.Cynthia Rylant returns to her home state of West Virginia with this powerful and evocative collection of poems.

The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Deperate Duck.

The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Baffled Bear.

The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Fidgety Fox.

The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Sleepy Sloth.

The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Troubling Turtle.

The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Puzzling Possum.

The High Rise Private Eyes #2: The Case of the Climbing Cat.

The High Rise Private Eyes #1: The Case of the Missing Monkey.2009 Annie and Snowball and the Shining Star.2009 Annie and Snowball and the Cozy Nest.2008 Annie and Snowball and the Pink Surprise.2008 Annie and Snowball and the Teacup Club.2007 Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House.2007 Annie and Snowball and the Dress-up Birthday.2003 God Went to Beauty School (poetry).2001 Let's Go Home: The Wonderful Things About a House.

2001 Good Morning, Sweetie Pie and Other Poems for Little Children.1999 Give Me Grace: A Child's Daybook of Prayers.1998 Tulip Sees America (a young man and his dog see the farms and mountains of America).1998 Bless Us All: A Child's Yearbook of Blessings.1997 Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story (a rich man gives gifts to poor children in Appalachia).1996 Margaret, Frank, and Andy: Three Writers' Stories, biographical stories (three volumes): A Story of Margaret Wise Brown, A Story of L.1996 The Bookshop Dog (who will care for a dog when her owner becomes ill?).1991 Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds (non-fiction).1990 A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories about Love.1987 Children of Christmas: Stories for the Season.1985 A Blue-Eyed Daisy (a novel also published as Some Year for Ellie).

1984 Waiting to Waltz.a Childhood (poetry).

Ludie's Life by Cynthia Rylant