Lesson Plans
Prospect Park Books

Lesson Plans is a gripping novel centered around the lives of three families, each of which has been driven down the path of homeschooling for different reasons. As their Southern California tales progress and intertwine, the reader becomes very familiar with the sometimes humorous and sometimes grim realities associated with this under-examined lifestyle choice.

"Greenberg's witty and insightful debut novel takes us into the world of three California homeschooling families who find themselves in for a few surprises. Sample: 'Who cared what the names of the fifty state capitals were if you never got to leave your own confining desk? His girls would be able to get up and sharpen pencils without raising their hands.' — Reader's Digest.com

“Reading Suzanne Greenberg’s Lesson Plans, I was schooled in the nuances of the human heart and privy to the most illuminating of chalkboards. Greenberg possesses a satirist’s wit and a realist’s sharp eye for details. Lesson Plans has everything: depth, humor, insight, a compelling, page-turning story, and deftly crafted, unforgettable characters. This is a brilliant debut novel, a completely engrossing look at contemporary suburban America.” —Lisa Glatt, author of A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That and The Apple’s Bruise

Readers who enjoyed Tom Perrotta’s Little Children will want to try Suzanne Greenberg’s Lesson Plans, an entertaining, funny, and thoughtful debut novel about three California homeschooling families." —Library Journal Editor’s Pick citation

“Homeschooling will never be the same after Suzanne Greenberg’s hilarious, poignant, and cinematic debut novel . . . a survival manual for intelligent parents willing to take a hard road, and for any reader, a sheer delight.” —Howard Norman, Two-time National Book Award Finalist for The Northern Lights and The Bird Artist.

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound or Powell's Books.

 

Speed-Walk and Other Stories
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
chosen by Rick Moody
University of Pittsburgh Press

"A juxtaposition of the melancholy and the mundane, with a little of the absurd thrown in." —Paula Scardamalia, Forward Magazine

"An impressive debut collection. These stories are . . . laced with a mordant humor, a merging of sad and silly." —Kathleen Snodgrass, The Georgia Review

"Enigmatic and unique." —Booklist

"The remarkable and heartening debut of a major new voice in fiction." —Cornel Bonca, Orange County Weekly

"When Emily Dickinson exhorted us to 'tell it slant' she couldn't have imagined angles of perception as oblique and corked as those in Suzanne Greenberg's hilarious and heartbreaking collection." —Michael Collier

 

Abigail Iris: The One and Only
Co-authored with Lisa Glatt
Walker Books/Bloomsbury USA

"Third grader Abigail Iris is a happy-go-lucky girl. She has a nearly giddy relationship with her loving parents and an almost perfect one with her three siblings, two of whom are half brothers. She feels the pinch, however, of a budgeted household and the inconvenience of sharing her bedroom. She is ecstatic when she can go on vacation with her friend Genevieve, an only child. Instead of camping, they stay in a fancy hotel in San Francisco. Though the perks are great—room service!—Genevieve’s dad is always on his cell phone, her mom verges on cranky and Genevieve starts to appear a bit spoiled. Gaining a new perspective, Abigail begins to miss her family. When the vacation is called to an abrupt halt Abigail is happy enough to adopt the authors’ message: Being one of many is just fine, and more wealth is sometimes worse than less. With Allen’s periodic homespun sketches and a breezy first-person text, this sweet slip of a story is recommended for those girls feeling the squeeze of a crowded and blended family." —Kirkus Reviews

"In the spirit of Amber Brown and Clementine, Lisa Glatt and Suzanne Greenberg have created a fun and feisty character. Abigail Iris has the perfect blend of pluck and wonder." —Stacy Dillon, Booktopia

 

Abigail Iris: The Pet Project
Co-authored with Lisa Glatt
Walker Books/Bloomsbury USA

"Abigail Iris is just as happy-go-lucky as she was in the series opener, Abigail Iris: The One and Only (2009). This chapter-book text lilts along like the first, frequently accompanied by Allen's cozy sketches. Her parents, one sister and two half-brothers lovingly nurture Abigail Iris, who is sweet natured and somewhat young for eight. One day at the farmer's market, she holds a black kitten and falls in love. She's joyful when her half-birthday arrives along with the fluffy little feline she dubs Spot. Sadly, the family soon determines that Abigail Iris's older sister's tenacious cold is actually an allergy to the cat. While they consider their options, Abigail Iris notices that many people in her life are facing huge changes: Her half-brother has a girlfriend, but his beloved dog is dying of old age, and her friend is nervous about a new sibling on the horizon. Circumstances eventually allow for her family to make arrangements that, though difficult, are good enough. In the philosophical Abigail Iris, Glatt and Greenberg give readers a role model for adaptation and compromise." —Kirkus Reviews

"What sets this story apart from the other little girl series is the strong realism of the story and sweet character of Abigail Iris. She's not a perfect little girl; she squabbles with her siblings and is whiny and selfish on occasion. Her family is realistic and warm; they have financial difficulties, arguments, and her parents' divorce isn't the picture-perfect glossy story I see so often in beginning chapter books. But Abigail is knows when she's being unreasonable and selfish and makes an effort to fix things that have gone wrong. Her family is warm and caring and works through their problems together." —Jennifer Wharton, Jean Little Library

 

Everyday Creative Writing: Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink
Co-authored with Michael C. Smith
McGraw Hill

"Sparks your imagination and emotion to help you write publishable fiction, petry and nonfiction about what you know best...everyday life. With the help of this book you can make your story giltter no matter how seemingly 'ordinary' the topic. Even a kitchen sink can shine." —Writer's Digest Book Club

"Fun, self-propelling." —Story Circle Network

 

 

Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink: Everyday Creative Writing
Co-authored with Michael C. Smith
McGraw Hill

"Offers page after page of exercises that are designed to mine your every day life and environment and cull the common ground that exists in all of us." —Vikk Simmons, Down the Writer's Path

"An excellent text for any writing class." —National Writing Project, Vermont