About this item
Since the death of his grandfather, Leo's number one chore has been to chase after his grandmother who seems to wander away from home every few days. Now, Gram's decided to roam farther than ever. And despite his misgivings, Leo's going along for the ride. With his seventeen-year-old cousin, Abbey, and an old, gassy dog named Kermit, Leo joins Gram in a big, old Buick to leave their Pennsylvania home for a cross-country road trip filled with fold-out maps, family secrets, new friends, and dinosaur bones.How to Avoid Extinction is a middle grade comedy about death and food and family and fossils. It's about running away from home and coming back again. For Leo, it's about asking hard questions and hopefully finding some sensible answers. As if good sense has anything to do with it.
About the Author
I was born in Bristol, Connecticut and grew up surrounded by an extended mob of parents, sister, grandparents, cousins, neighborhood kids, rabbits, dogs, nurses, engineers and others that, at various times, included musicians, Italians, Canadians, cancer survivors, gardeners, chicken killers, hair dressers, poker players, checker cheaters, pony riders, shopkeepers, factory workers, elementary school teachers, auto mechanics, rock and roll fanatics, massage therapists, several people who may or may not be dead, and a crowd of other miscellaneous wheeler-dealers. I went to school at St. Joseph Elementary School and St. Paul Catholic High School. I was a voracious reader as a kid. I still am. I attended the University of Notre Dame (GO IRISH!) where, thanks to my friend John Costello and his father, Dr. Donald Costello, I earned a degree in American Studies despite the fact that the only American places I'd ever visited were summer vacations on a beach at Rhode Island and occasional day trips around New England to watch jai alia, greyhound racing or the trotters with my grandfather who, with my Uncle Joe, taught me how to ride and drive a sulky behind my very own pony named Misty (that's me and Misty at left) . After college, I wandered around the country for a few years. Despite what my mother might say, I did not steal her 1973 Buick Electra. Despite what my friends might say, the car was the color of summer gold. Not piss yellow. I've lived in every state that begins with the letter U or a C. I was a Student Conservation Association volunteer for awhile giving tours at the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in southeast Utah. I spent a winter schlepping very expensive bags around the Rocky Mountains for guests of the Snowmass Lodging Company. As a Holy Cross Associate volunteer, I lived with a half-dozen friends in a tiny house in the San Francisco Bay area where we tried to be good people. I stayed in California to teach kindergarten at St. Patrick Elementary school in West Oakland. I got married (yahoo!) , and my wife and I lived in "the heart of the bay," Hayward, California for nearly ten years. When we decided to move, we put names of favorite places in a paper bag and pulled out a slip that said PENNSYLVANIA. So that's where we live now. These days, I remain married to my best friend. I have a son and a daughter who keep me on my toes. I've got a day job and a kayak and tons of books that I love to read. I write early in the morning and late at night. My favorite place in the world is wherever my wife and kids are. I am especially happy when that place is next to a lake or in France. My favorite word in the dictionary is Naugahyde. I've been a vegetarian for about 20 years. My favorite non-home-cooked meal is cinnamon-raisin French toast plus black coffee at the Karlton Café in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. For the future, I hope my family and friends are safe, healthy and happy and that I will wr
