There is a proverb in China, hu kou ba ya, literally "pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth," used to describe any extremely difficult task. When Shao Wei first arrived in the United States at age thirty-one, her desire to write poems in English seemed almost impossible. Pulling a Dragon's Teeth, a first stop on the successful journey toward that goal, is filled with the rhythms and visions of this exciting young poet.Shuttling between her childhood in a small mountain city on the shores of the Yangtze River (soon to be flooded by the Three Gorges Dam Project) and adulthood in Manhattan, Shao Weicaptures the pains and joys of tradition and displacement familiar to any immigrant. Blending fairy tales, New York images, family stories, and the universal rites of passage associated with growing up, she paints a vibrant canvas of passion and imagination.

There is a proverb in China, hu kou ba ya, literally “pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth,” used to describe any extremely difficult task. When Shao Wei first arrived in the United States at age thirty-one, her desire to write poems in English seemed almost impossible. Pulling a Dragon's Teeth, a first stop on the successful journey toward that goal, is filled with the rhythms and visions of this exciting young poet. Shuttling between her childhood in a small mountain city on the shores of the Yangtze River (soon to be flooded by the Three Gorges Dam Project) and adulthood in Manhattan, Shao Weicaptures the pains and joys of tradition and displacement familiar to any immigrant. Blending fairy tales, New York images, family stories, and the universal rites of passage associated with growing up, she paints a vibrant canvas of passion and imagination.

Can scaredy-mouse Geronimo Stiltonord survive in the age of Vikings and dragons? Miceking chief Sven the Shouter has a new goal: to transform smarty-mouse Geronimo Stiltonord into a true macho mouseking. Geronimo must undergo special training, leading up to a terrifying final test -- pulling a tooth from a dragon's mouth! Shivering squids! Will he ever earn a miceking helmet?

Determined to earn a mouseking helmet, Geronimo Stiltonord undergoes special training conducted by Miceking chief Sven the Shouter.

When their parents' seedy old motel burns down on the same night they are visited by a strange man covered in skeleton tattoos, Cyrus, Antigone, and their brother Daniel are introduced to an ancient secret society, and discover that they have an important role in keeping it alive.

The author shares the story of his methamphetamine addiction, suicide attempt, brief experiences of heaven and hell, and the extensive facial reconstruction that has been a part of his new life.

Two unusual families living in Stonefort, Maine--the shapeshifting Morgans and the Haskell witches--find their uneasy, generations-long alliance threatened by the vengeful spirit of a dark sorcerer, desperate to live once again, as they are forced to unite against a common enemy, or turn against one another. Reprint.