Acorns and Other Stories: Portrayals of Everyday Life

About the Book: The short works of literature in Acorns and Other Stories will inspire readers with timeless themes while attending to the common sensibilities of everyday life. Yes, these are fun stories, yet within each there permeates a core conflict not easily resolved. "The Bully," for example, examines bullying in and out of the school environment. "Eight Ball" explores the relationship of a father and his adolescent son. "Jazzy" asks all of us to regard poverty, and "The Incident at Cupsogue" and "The Snow Book" consider autism in our communities. "The Bedroom Window" brings the reader close to one teenager's tragedy. Dr. Kennedy has included his modern interpretation of Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale," and he has portrayed a delightful retrospective of the Beatles' impact upon a generation. Further, Dr. Kennedy's stories "With Extraordinary Dexterity" and "The Girl with the Scars" are sobering accounts of individuals in pursuit of a vocation (physician and teacher respectively) that undermine superficial stereotypes. He includes an engaging true-account of the trials facing child-actors who gained celebrity in the movie Baby Boom. In short, all of his work ignites interest quickly and his originality surprises and rewards his reader at every turn.