Anne Tyler's retelling of the Shakespeare play "The taming of the shrew." Kate, a socially awkward young woman, adored by the preschool children she teaches but misunderstood by her peers. Her father is a scientific genius, but not so great on emotions. About to lose his (equally genius, equally socially inept) research assistant, Pyotr Cherbakov, because of visa problems, and desperate to save the project that is his life's work, he comes up with...

A Study Guide for Anne Tyler's "The Accidental Tourist," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.

Summary of Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread is the poignant story of four generations of the Whitshank family living in Baltimore. They are an ordinary family like any other, but they are also special in their own quirky ways. The members of the family love and care for each other, but they also harbor jealousies, rivalries, and carry secrets. Red Whitshank runs the family business, Whitshank Construction. His wife, Abby, is a social worker, and...

A Study Guide for Anne Tyler's "With All Flags Flying," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

When Junior Whitshank built the house, he fell in love with it. After months on the construction site, thanks to a little bit of luck and trickery, he was finally able to buy it and make it a home for him and his family - fulfilling a long-time dream. Years went by and Junior and his wife grew old, the house becoming the life of their son, Redcliffe, who is now 70 years old. Together with his wife, Abby, they start to notice the toll that their age...

A Study Guide for Anne Tyler's "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.

A Spool of Blue Thread: A Novel by Anne Tyler Conversation Starters. A Spool of Blue Thread features a typical family settled for a couple of generations in a house built by their grandfather. While they appear to be happy and united to outsiders, cracks gradually develop in the unity of the family. As we probe even further, it is shown that the family never had the kind of background people thought. In short, appearances can be deceiving, and families...

Timothy Tugbottom likes his old pants, his old crib, his old bedtime story, and his old breakfast, until he realizes that new things, including sleepovers, can be good too.