Search results for ""Author Bird"

Explore a city park in this playful, illustrated adventure full of two hundred words for children to learn: names for interesting plants, birds, delicious picnic foods, and more! Time for an adventure! Families will join Sam as they explore the young adventurer’s city’s park, from the bandstand and the greenhouse to the great lawn and the animal farm. Starting with a bustling map of the park, young readers follow along to fourteen park destinations and discover fascinating people, activities, animals, and plants, with helpful illustrations and labels to expand their vocabulary. Families will enjoy comparing their own park adventures with Sam’s while delighting in some of the rarer finds. In each area, Sam points out a collection of treasures plus a favorite discovery. Tagging along, readers will see: A llama A tightrope walker Ducklings A snail Pickles A toucan A tuba And so much more! At the end of the day, readers can choose one of many urban transports from a busy city map and travel back to Sam’s home where they can test their new vocabulary with a fun memory game. Packed full of details that will bring children back for multiple reads and new treasures, My Day in the Park is the perfect gift for young adventurers who love exploring new places and words! Blue Dot Kids Press books are printed with vegetable inks on responsibly-sourced paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. From the sale of every book, we donate to environmental causes through our membership with 1% for the Planet. Through our annual Earth Day Initiative with our partner One Tree Planted, readers have the opportunity to plant trees—over 1,000 trees planted to date!

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An ode to friendship delivered by the capybara and their many animal friends! Whether they're sharing their favorite snacks, laughing along with your best jokes, or cheering you on through thick and thin, capybaras know what it means to be a good friend! This lighthearted ode to friendship is delivered by capybaras, gentle giants who are known for their calm demeanor and social friendships with other animals, from dogs and monkeys to turtles and birds. This gift book features charming photography of these cuddly creatures and their assorted animal companions, paired with sweet advice and odes to friendship, straight from nature's experts. This celebration of the capybara's community, love, and kindness towards everyone—regardless of whether they have hooves, claws, or shells—is a must-have gift for friends of all sizes. ANIMAL FRIENDSHIPS: Whether it's playing with puppies, basking with caimans, getting into mischief with monkeys, sharing a bite to eat with bunnies, or giving a ride to a butterfly, You're A Good Friend, Capybara is full of unexpectedly delightful real life photos of animals being friends. FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD: Although they are native to South America, these lovable giant rodents have gained huge followings around the world for their photogenic friendships and chill demeanor, and can be found at many zoos and refuges globally. A GIFT FOR FRIENDS: This book is the perfect feel good present for any friend. Whether it's someone you see every day or your far away bestie, this little book is full of sweet, funny, and heartfelt reminders of what makes a good friend. Perfect for birthdays, Galentine's Day, wedding party gifts, and any occasion to say, "You're a good friend!"

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Journey to Star Wars: The Force AwakensThe second Death Star has been destroyed, the Emperor killed, and Darth Vader struck down. Devastating blows against the Empire, and major victories for the Rebel Alliance. But the battle for freedom is far from over.As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance—now a fledgling New Republic—presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he’s taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world—war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit—to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on Norra and her newfound allies—her technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector—who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.

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2022 WHA Caughey Western History Prize for the most distinguished book on the American West Can a sea be a settler? What if it is a sea that exists only in the form of incongruous, head-scratching contradictions: a wetland in a desert, a wildlife refuge that poisons birds, a body of water in which fish suffocate? Traci Brynne Voyles’s history of the Salton Sea examines how settler colonialism restructures physical environments in ways that further Indigenous dispossession, racial capitalism, and degradation of the natural world. In other words, The Settler Sea asks how settler colonialism entraps nature to do settlers’ work for them. The Salton Sea, Southern California’s largest inland body of water, occupies the space between the lush agricultural farmland of the Imperial Valley and the austere desert called “America’s Sahara.” The sea sits near the boundary between the United States and Mexico and lies at the often-contested intersections of the sovereign lands of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuillas and the state of California. Created in 1905, when overflow from the Colorado River combined with a poorly constructed irrigation system to cause the whole river to flow into the desert, this human-maintained body of water is considered a looming environmental disaster. The Salton Sea’s very precariousness—existing always in the interstices of human and natural influences, between desert and wetland, between the skyward pull of the sun and the constant inflow of polluted water—is both a symptom and symbol of the larger precariousness of settler relationships to the environment, in the West and beyond. Voyles provides an innovative exploration of the Salton Sea, looking to the ways the sea, its origins, and its role in human life have been vital to the people who call this region home.

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The first modern history of St James’s Palace, shedding light on a remarkable building at the heart of the history of the British monarchy that remains by far the least known of the royal residences In this first modern history of St James’s Palace, the authors shed new light on a remarkable building that, despite serving as the official residence of the British monarchy from 1698 to 1837, is by far the least known of the royal residences. The book explores the role of the palace as home to the heir to the throne before 1714, its impact on the development of London and the West end during the late Stuart period, and how, following the fire at the palace of Whitehall, St James’s became the principal seat of the British monarchy in 1698. The arrangement and display of the paintings and furnishings making up the Royal Collection at St James’s is chronicled as the book follows the fortunes of the palace through the Victorian and Edwardian periods up to the present day. Specially commissioned maps, phased plans, and digital reconstructions of the palace at key moments in its development accompany a rich array of historical drawings, watercolors, photographs, and plans. The book includes a foreword by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.Published in association with Royal Collection Trust

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This Handbook explores and explains new developments in the 'second generation' theory of public finance, in which benevolent rulers and governments have been replaced by personally motivated politicians and the associated institutions. In other words, the normative approach has largely given way to a political economy approach which emphasizes the importance of institutional arrangements and information flows to ensure there are appropriate incentives and sanctions to generate good governance.Following a comprehensive introduction by the editors, the renowned contributors present fresh and original perspectives on the key multi-level issues, along with recent developments in theory and practice, as they relate to taxes, budget systems, the management of liabilities and macroeconomic stability. The book also explores special issues concerning the poor and marginalized, structural change and the environment, natural disasters, and the task of overcoming conflicts whilst keeping countries together.The Handbook is organized along three broad themes which elucidate:- the different interpretations and approaches to fiscal federalism- the design of policies and institutions that govern the working of multilevel systems- the emerging challenges to decentralized systems.The Handbook seeks to provide an unparalleled review of the latest literature on the broad subject of fiscal federalism and the role of policies and institutions in creating sustainable outcomes. It will prove an indispensable guide to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers seeking informed policy options.Contributors: E. Ahmad, F. Ambrosanio, R.W. Bahl, P. Bardhan, R.M. Bird, R. Birner, H. Blöchliger, R. Boadway, M. Bordignon, A.Breton, G. Brosio, R. Congleton, B. Dafflon, S. Dalmazzone, P. Castañeda Dower, T.J. Goodspeed, J.F. Linn, B. Lockwood, J. Martinez-Vazquez, D. Mookherjee, C. Pöschl, F. Revelli, P. Salmon, P.B. Spahn, T. Ter-Minassian, J. von Braun, S. Weber, J.D. Wilson

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Take to the skies and join Dragon Towers – the school where everyone has their own dragon best friend! A hilarious new series from the author of the Naughtiest Unicorn – highly illustrated, full of fun and adventure, and starring a dragon with a magical bum. Perfect for readers aged 6 and up. Ten-year-old Theo LOVES dragons – he knows every dragon type, has every dragon book there is and has even made his own Dragon Rider jacket. So when he gets his letter inviting him to dragon school it’s a dragon-y dream come true. At Dragon Towers every child is paired with their very own dragon best friend, and every dragon has their own special magic power, from fire-breathing to going invisible and even making slime. Theo can’t wait to find out what type of dragon he has. But when he meets his dragon Wanda she doesn’t seem to have any powers at all… Join the fun in this hilarious new series, perfect for fans of the Naughtiest Unicorn, Pamela Butchart and the Worst Witch. Packed full of roaringly funny pictures by David O’Connell.

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Pia Tafdrup is one of Denmark’s leading poets, the winner of the Nordic Prize – Scandinavia’s most prestigious literary award – for her collection Queen’s Gate, published in English by Bloodaxe in 2001. This new translation of her work combines two more recent collections, The Whales in Paris and Tarkovsky’s Horses, which comprise the first and second parts of a quartet written over ten years: the third and fourth parts are The Migrant Bird’s Compass and Salamander Sun (published in English by Bloodaxe in 2015 as Salamander Sun and other poems). The poems of The Whales in Paris span the moment of conception to eternity. Life is seen as a confrontation with what is bigger than oneself: love, desire and death, primordial forces that are present even in our very modern civilisation. Those great forces of existence form the territory of The Whales in Paris: above all, desire and death, illuminated with motifs from childhood, the relation to parents, family, mythical figures from the Bible. Time, dreams and meditation also play their part. Pia Tafdrup writes: 'Tarkovsky’s Horses is about loss in a double sense. The themes of the poems are my father’s increasing forgetfulness, his loss of his faculties and then my loss of a father. The book is a poetic portrayal of the course of an illness for which science has few words – my father begins to suffer from dementia, and then he has to go into a nursing home, where he dies. Disintegration of identity and its inexorable progress are followed through every phase, in a concrete and naked form that makes use of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The poems about a father who forgets more and more are set in a border landscape which is also not without its comical aspects. The poems narrate the drama of what it is to be a human being.'

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He turns up first as Snoopy's secretary, then gradually becomes a good friend whom Snoopy helps to fly South . . . but it's not until 22 June 1970 that the little bird gains a name, in a perfect salute to the decade that ends with this volume: Woodstock!In other timely stories, Peppermint Patty runs afoul of her school's dress code (those sandals!), Lucy declares herself a "New Feminist," and Snoopy's return to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm on a speaking engagement climaxes in a riot and a new love found amidst the teargas ("She had the softest paws...").Speaking of Snoopy, this volume falls under the sign of the Great Beagle, as three separate storylines focus on the mysterious sovereign of Beagledom. First Snoopy is summoned by a wrathful G.B. when Frieda submits a complaint about his (Snoopy's) desultory rabbit-chasing efforts; then, back in the Great one's good graces, Snoopy is sent on a secret mission; and finally he himself ascends (briefly!) to the mantle of Great Beagledom.In other news, an exasperated Lucy throws Schroeder's piano into the maw of the kite-eating tree, with gruesome results... Miss Othmar goes on strike and Linus gets involved... Charlie Brown's baseball team has an actual (brief) winning streak... Snoopy's quest to compete in the Oakland ice skating competition is thwarted by his inability to find a partner... Charlie Brown goes to a banquet to meet his hapless baseball hero Joe Shlabotnik... Snoopy is left in the Van Pelt family's care as Charlie and Sally Brown head out of town for a vacation... and (alas) the Little Red-Haired Girl moves away...This volume also features a new introduction by renowned illustrator Mo Willems and, as always, gorgeous design by award-winning cartoonist Seth.

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NEW LANGUAGE VISUALIZES PROGRAM ABSTRACTIONS CLEARLY AND PRECISELY Popular software modelling notations visualize implementation minutiae but fail to scale, to capture design abstractions, and to deliver effective tool support. Tailored to overcome these limitations, Codecharts can elegantly model roadmaps and blueprints for Java, C++, and C# programs of any size clearly, precisely, and at any level of abstraction. More practically, significant productivity gains for programmers using tools supporting Codecharts have been demonstrated in controlled experiments. Hundreds of figures and examples in this book illustrate how Codecharts are used to: Visualize the building-blocks of object-oriented design Create bird's-eye roadmaps of large programs with minimal symbols and no clutter Model blueprints of patterns, frameworks, and other design decisions Be exactly sure what diagrams claim about programs and reason rigorously about them Tools supporting Codecharts are also shown here to: Recover design from plain Java and visualize the program's roadmap Verify conformance to design decision with a click of a button This classroom-tested book includes two main parts: Practice (Part I) offers experienced programmers, software designers and software engineering students practical tools for representing and communicating object-oriented design. It demonstrates how to model programs, patterns, libraries, and frameworks using examples from JDK, Java 3D, JUnit, JDOM, Enterprise JavaBeans, and the Composite, Iterator, Factory Method, Abstract Factory, and Proxy design patterns. Theory (Part II) offers a mathematical foundation for Codecharts to graduate students and researchers studying software design, modelling, specification, and verification. It defines a formal semantics and a satisfies relation for design verification, and uses them to reason about the relations between patterns and programs (e.g., "java.awt implements Composite" and "Factory Method is an abstraction of Iterator").

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'SO much fun' MARIAN KEYES, author of GROWN UPS 'Fresh and funny' BETH O'LEARY, author of THE ROADTRIP----- Birdy Finch just got her dream job. The trouble is, it's not hers . . . It was a simple accident. Well, maybe a tiny fib. OK, maybe an all-out, blatant, mayhem-causing lie. Because the life she's just claimed is hers actually belongs to her best friend, Heather. Obviously she'll tell Heather (eventually). And the first guy she's properly liked in forever (probably). Absolutely nobody will know - just till she sorts herself out . . . So can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be a world-class wine expert? And can she find the courage to fall in love, even if it means telling the truth? Run away with Birdy Finch - the messy heroine with a heart of gold! THE SUMMER JOB is a fresh, fun, feel good romcom for fans of THE ROAD TRIP, STARSTRUCK and JANE FALLONSTYLIST 'BEST NEW FICTION' COSMOPOLITAN 'BEST BOOKS'-----'Engaging, heartwarming and SO MUCH FUN. I bloody loved it' MARIAN KEYES 'Fresh, funny and filled with delicious food and wine' BETH O'LEARY 'What a welcome escape! Loved it, I'm in the queue for more Lizzy' JOSIE SILVER 'For fans of Marian Keyes, this is the perfect sweet spot of funny and moving women's fiction' STYLIST 'Fresh, funny and oh so relatable - the perfect tonic' ABBIE GREAVES 'Fun with a capital F . . . If you've ever felt you're getting left behind in life, or don't have everything worked out quite yet, this is the book for you' SOPHIE COUSENS 'This is the book you'll want with you on your sunlounger' COSMOPOLITAN 'I fell for Birdy on the very first page and inhaled the rest of her story . . . A brilliantly original plot paired with fabulously funny writing - a pure joy to read!' HELLY ACTON 'It's really great - so gossipy, warm and funny' BETH MORREY 'One of the funniest and sexiest books of the year. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it again. Do not miss this one!' EMILY HENRY'A sunny caper set in the Scottish Highlands...a real spritz' THE SUNDAY TIMES'Perfect sweet spot of funny and moving' STYLIST

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With a ruthless criminal loose on the Suffolk coast, life is anything but peaceful for the Anglian Detective Agency . . .At Rooks Wood Farm, Rosalind Breen's twin sons grieve her death. Daniel shoulders the burdens of running the farm and caring for his brother, Caleb, who's shunned for his strange appearance.Meanwhile, Minsmere Bird Reserve is suffering a spate of vandalism and senior partners of the Anglican Detective Agency, Frank Diamond and Laurel Bowman, are enlisted to find the culprits. But shortly after taking the case, Laurel discovers the body of a young man dumped in one of the meres and the detectives are caught up in a murder enquiry.All evidence points to one suspect but can the Anglian Detective Agency catch the killer? Or will it take another death for the truth to be finally set free?Vera's new novel Death by the Sea is available to pre-order NOW!Readers LOVE Vera Morris's Anglian Detective Agency series:'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A perfect detective novel''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A real page turner!!!!' '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ One of the most gripping mysteries I have ever read!''⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ I sat up to past midnight reading this book' '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Full of twists and turns' '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A book you just know you are going to like from the 1st page' '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ I started it early one morning and had finished it by bed-time that same day!' '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A super read' '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This book stands head and shoulders above the rest in this overcrowded genre' '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Absolute must read'

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The Merck Veterinary Manual (MVM) covers all domesticated species and diseases in veterinary medicine worldwide. This completely revised and redesigned new edition of the veterinary classic uses a two-column format and color throughout for easy-to-read text and tables. Hundreds of color images enhance and illustrate the text. In addition to extensive revisions and updates, this edition includes a new section on public health and zoonoses, expanded coverage of fish and aquaculture, new chapters on backyard poultry, toxicologic workplace hazards, smoke inhalation, and additional coverage of numerous new and emerging topics in veterinary medicine. . Completely revised and redesigned in a two-column, easy-to-read format with color throughout . New section on Public Health which includes a new public health primer that covers One Health, public health functions and agencies, epidemiologic principles and study types, disease outbreak investigations, food safety, and a brief discussion of public health law . Revised and expanded information on fish, aquatic systems, and aquaculture as well as poultry, pet birds, rabbits, rodents, reptiles, and amphibians . New chapters on backyard poultry and Tasmanian devils, toxicologic hazards in the workplace for veterinarians, smoke inhalation, scorpion bites, spider flies, and xylitol toxicity . Extensively revised chapters on heart disease, diagnostic imaging, pharmacology and drug resistance, wound management, equine emergency medicine, management of the neonate and neonatal encephalopathy, wound management, equine arboviral encephalomyelitis, skeletal disorders and myopathies of poultry, and chlamydiosis . Important changes to the Behavior section such as inclusion of the most recent diagnostic techniques, methods and treatment of behavioral disorders in dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals, expanded coverage of the human-animal bond, service and assistance animals, and new material on self-care for veterinarians

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After the Second World War, a newly affluent United States reached for its own gourmet culture, one at ease with the French international style of Escoffier, but also distinctly American. Enter James Beard, authority on cooking and eating, his larger-than-life presence and collection of whimsical bow ties were synonymous with the nation’s food for decades, even after his death in 1985. In the first biography of Beard in twenty-five years, acclaimed writer John Birdsall argues that Beard’s struggles as a closeted gay man directly influenced his creation of an American cuisine. Starting in the 1920s, Beard escaped loneliness and banishment by travelling abroad to places where people ate for pleasure, not utility, and found acceptance at home by crafting an American ethos of food likewise built on passion and delight. Informed by never-before-tapped correspondence and lush with details of a golden age of home cooking, The Man Who Ate Too Much is a commanding portrait of a towering figure who still represents the best in food.

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This is the first volume charting the CAU’s on-going Barleycroft Farm/Over investigations, which now encompasses almost twenty years of fieldwork across both banks of the River Great Ouse at its junction with the Fen. Amongst the project’s main directives is the status of a major river in prehistory – when a communication corridor and when a divide? Accordingly, a key component throughout has been the documentation of the lower Ouse’s complex palaeoenvironmental history, and a delta-like wet landscape dotted with mid-stream islands has been mapped.This book is specifically concerned with the length of The Over Narrows, whose naming alludes to an extraordinary series of mid-channel ‘river race’ ridges. With their excavation generating vast artefact sets and unique palaeo-economic data, these ridges saw intense settlement sequences, ranging from Mesolithic camps, Grooved Ware, Beaker and Collared Urn pit clusters (plus field plots) to Middle Bronze fieldsystems and their attendant settlements, a massive Late Bronze Age midden complex and, finally, an Iron Age shrine. The latter involved extensive human bone or body-part deposition and bird sacrifice. Four upstanding turf barrows and two accompanying waterlogged pond barrows feature among the main excavations reported here. With more than 40 cremations (including in situ pyres), the resultant detailing of Early Bronze Age mortuary practices and the insights into the period’s monument construction are ground-breaking.This is an important book, for the scale of The Narrows’ excavations and palaeoenvironmental studies, its comprehensive dating programmes and, particularly, the innovative methodologies and analyses undertaken. Indeed, a commitment to experiment has lain at the project’s core.

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Big MachinesTrucks lift things and move them about all day long. Find out all about diggers, bulldozers, tractors and other big machines.Read it yourself with Ladybird is one of Ladybird's best-selling reading series. For over thirty-five years it has helped young children who are learning to read develop and improve their reading skills.Each Read it yourself book is very carefully written to include many key, high-frequency words that are vital for learning to read, as well as a limited number of story words that are introduced and practised throughout. Simple sentences and frequently repeated words help to build the confidence of beginner readers and the four different levels of books support children all the way from very first reading practice through to independent, fluent reading.There are more than ninety titles in the Read it yourself series, ranging from classic fairy tales and traditional stories from around the world, to favourite children's brands such as Peppa Pig, Angry Birds and Peter Rabbit. A range of specially written first reference titles complete the series, with information books about favourite subjects that even the most reluctant readers will enjoy.Each book has been carefully checked by educational consultants and can be read independently at home or used in a guided reading session at school. Further content includes comprehension questions or puzzles, helpful notes for parents, carers and teachers, and book band information for use in schools.Big Machines is a Level 2 Read it yourself book, ideal for children who have received some initial reading instruction and can read short, simple sentences with help. Additional facts support the key information and thematic links are made between across subjects. Includes contents, index and a picture glossary.

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This title offers stylish ideas for decorating your outside space with over 400 stunning photographs and 25 step-by-step projects. You can transform an outdoor space with inspirational mosaic designs from leading contemporary designers; illustrated with 400 step-by-step photographs and artworks. It features 25 original projects, graded by difficulty, which can be completed in several hours or a over a weekend. It combines practical chapters on making mosaics with detailed instructions on the tools needed, materials, techniques, grouting and finishing, together with design tips and information on planning and siting your work. It includes decorative new ideas for the patio and garden, including urns, bird bowls, number plaques, boules, tables as well as large-scale mosaic installations. Easy-to-follow instructions show how to produce stunning visual effects by mixing glass, mosaic tesserae, tiles, broken crockery and pebbles. The principles of mosaic making are easy to master and this book gives you all the practical advice you will need on the basic techniques and materials, including concise information on the adhesives and tools required. Adding a mosaic will add life and interest to a garden path, transform a patio or cheer up dull old walls. The book contains over 25 exciting projects to create, graded by level of difficulty, and including jazzy china tiles, bright flower pots, cheery wall motifs, an elegant urn in classical style, a stunning glass garden table and a striking metal and tile pond. Each project details the tools and materials needed, with comprehensive instructions, step-by-step photographs and templates where required. This beautiful book will enable the reader to design and make your own mosaic projects to enhance any outdoor space.

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The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker).Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius. In the “luminous” (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo’s delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance to be imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think different. Here, da Vinci “comes to life in all his remarkable brilliance and oddity in Walter Isaacson’s ambitious new biography…a vigorous, insightful portrait” (The Washington Post).

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The essays in Object-Oriented Feminism explore OOF: a feminist intervention into recent philosophical discourses—like speculative realism, object-oriented ontology (OOO), and new materialism—that take objects, things, stuff, and matter as primary. Object-oriented feminism approaches all objects from the inside-out position of being an object too, with all of its accompanying political and ethical potentials. This volume places OOF thought in a long history of ongoing feminist work in multiple disciplines. In particular, object-oriented feminism foregrounds three significant aspects of feminist thinking in the philosophy of things: politics, engaging with histories of treating certain humans (women, people of color, and the poor) as objects; erotics, employing humor to foment unseemly entanglements between things; and ethics, refusing to make grand philosophical truth claims, instead staking a modest ethical position that arrives at being “in the right” by being “wrong.”Seeking not to define object-oriented feminism but rather to enact it, the volume is interdisciplinary in approach, with contributors from a variety of fields, including sociology, anthropology, English, art, and philosophy. Topics are frequently provocative, engaging a wide range of theorists from Heidegger and Levinas to Irigaray and Haraway, and an intriguing diverse array of objects, including the female body as fetish object in Lolita subculture; birds made queer by endocrine disruptors; and truth claims arising in material relations in indigenous fiction and film. Intentionally, each essay can be seen as an “object” in relation to others in this collection. Contributors: Irina Aristarkhova, University of Michigan; Karen Gregory, University of Edinburgh; Marina Gržinić, Slovenian Academy of Science and Arts; Frenchy Lunning, Minneapolis College of Art and Design; Timothy Morton, Rice University; Anne Pollock, Georgia Tech; Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Columbia University; R. Joshua Scannell, CUNY Graduate Center; Adam Zaretsky, VASTAL.

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As influential and revelatory in its day as Fifty Shades of Grey is now, Anaïs Nin's Delta of Venus is a groundbreaking anthology of erotic short stories, published in Penguin Modern ClassicsIn Delta of Venus Anaïs Nin conjures up a glittering cascade of sexual encounters. Creating her own 'language of the senses', she explores an area that was previously the domain of male writers and brings to it her own unique perceptions. Her vibrant and impassioned prose evokes the essence of female sexuality in a world where only love has meaning.This edition includes a preface adapted from Anaïs Nin's diary that establishes a context for the work's gestation, and a postscript to her diary entries in which she explains her desire to use 'women's language, seeing sexual experience from a woman's point of view'.Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), born in Paris, was the daughter of a Franco-Danish singer and a Cuban pianist. Her first book - a defence of D. H. Lawrence - was published in the 1930s. Her prose poem, House of Incest (1936) was followed by the collection of three novellas, collected as Winter of Artifice (1939). In the 1940s she began to write erotica for an anonymous client, and these pieces are collected in Delta of Venus and Little Birds (both published posthumously). During her later years Anaïs Nin lectured frequently at universities throughout the USA, in 1974 and was elected to the United States National Institute of Arts and Letters.If you enjoyed Delta of Venus, you might like Stephen Vizinczey's In Praise of Older Women, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'Anaïs Nin excites male readers and incites female readers ... and she comes against life with a vital artistry and boldness'The New York Times Book Review

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Peter Rabbit: The Angry OwlSquirrel Nutkin has lost Old Brown's glasses and the owl is not happy! Will Peter and his friends help Nutkin find the missing glasses?Read it yourself with Ladybird is one of Ladybird's best-selling reading series. For over thirty-five years it has helped young children who are learning to read develop and improve their reading skills.Each Read it yourself book is very carefully written to include many key, high-frequency words that are vital for learning to read, as well as a limited number of story words that are introduced and practised throughout. Simple sentences and frequently repeated words help to build the confidence of beginner readers and the four different levels of books support children all the way from very first reading practice through to independent, fluent reading.There are more than ninety titles in the Read it yourself series, ranging from classic fairy tales and traditional world stories to favourite children's brands such as Peppa Pig, Angry Birds and Peter Rabbit. All-new, first reference titles complete the range, with information books about favourite subjects that even the most reluctant readers will enjoy.Each book has been carefully checked by educational consultants and can be read independently at home or used in a guided reading session at school. Further content includes comprehension questions or puzzles, helpful notes for parents, carers and teachers, and book band information for use in schools.Peter Rabbit: The Angry Owl is a Level 2 Read it yourself book, ideal for children who have received some initial reading instruction and can read short, simple sentences with help.

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Make your own vision boards, birthday cards, and more with Extraordinary Things to Cut Out and Collage! If you want to discover the fun of collage then this fabulous book is the perfect kit. Highly respected and successful collage artist Maria Rivans has gathered hundreds of beautiful, quirky, and downright daft images, and they're all here for you to cut out and stick.Whether you are making a mood or inspiration board or just want some unique art for your wall, there is no need to endlessly flip through old magazines to find appealing images. And you don't have to ruin your beloved books by chopping them up. With 1500+ objects included, the possibilities to cut out and collage are limitless. Flowers, birds, cats, and butterflies can be combined with buildings, eyes, moustaches, and men in dubious pants to create extraordinary original artworks and talking pieces!Separated into categories like people, industrial, art & culture, domestic life, nature, world, ephemera, and alphabets, the book is filled with images ranging from fruit to architectural details to planets and beyond. While the book includes multiple background options, you can also add layers to existing photos or images you have at home. No matter what you choose, it will be completely one-of-a-kind.Who is this for?With an introduction to collage styles and tips on techniques and composition, this is an ideal activity for artists of all ages and abilities.A perfect gift or self-purchase for anyone seeking arty fun and a great deal of sticky silliness!An easy and fun activity for a hen weekend, or craft day with your girlfriends. Collage is undergoing a revival among artists and hobbyists seeking a mindful activity that also produces a beautiful end product. Grab your glue stick and join the fun!

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This new edition of Bradt's Greece: The Peloponnese with Athens, Delphi and Kythira remains the only dedicated guidebook to the southern part of the Greek mainland and provides more detailed coverage of the peninsula than any other rival book, making it an indispensable read for travellers to this small but fascinating part of Greece. It also incorporates a focussed mini-guide to the Greek capital of Athens and nearby world famous site of Delphi and is particularly strong on off-the-beaten-track sites, background information, accommodation and other subjects of interest for both independent travellers and those travelling as part of a group. Originally written by Andrew Bostock, an expert on Greece and former resident of the Peloponnese, this fourth edition has been updated by Bradt's most prolific and experienced guidebook writer Philip Briggs. Selective listings have been refreshed to reflect a growing trend towards eco-conscious boutique hotels. As with previous editions, in-depth coverage of well-known sites is supplemented by descriptions of lesser-known attractions and independent tours and activities, reflecting the reality that the Peloponnese, more than any other part of Greece, exemplifies the ideals of 'slow travel'. With Bradt's Greece: The Peloponnese, discover hidden villages, sophisticated towns and other top attractions, including one of Europe's most spectacular train journeys and the tower houses of the famed Mani. Explore hidden sites, including places not covered anywhere else. The guide is packed with information on agritourism spots, camping under the stars, rustic tavernas and locally grown produce. For those coming out of high season, revel in the delights of the wildflowers of spring, the joys of the olive harvest in late autumn and skiing opportunities during the winter. Bird life and marine life are also a huge attraction for visitors to the Peloponnese. The guide also focuses on the colourful life of the traditional 'paneyiri' and those who still embrace the Greek spirit of 'philoxenia'.

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In this international bestseller from the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Amelia Earhart, the American aviation pioneer. When Amelia was young, she liked to imagine she could stretch her wings and fly away like a bird. As a grown woman, she set a new female world record for flying up to 14,000 feet. She also flew across the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, and eventually undertook the most dangerous mission of all: to fly all the way around the world. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the aviator's life.Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream. This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardback and paperback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. With rewritten text for older children, the treasuries each bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume. You can also collect a selection of the books by theme in boxed gift sets. Activity books and a journal provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

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From Miami to Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas, get to know this free-spirited archipelago of beaches, palm trees, and fun with Moon Florida Keys. Inside you'll find:- Strategic itineraries for water sports lovers, wildlife fanatics, families with kids, foodies, and more, including a Key West getaway and a week-long road trip along the Overseas Highway.- Unique experiences and can't-miss sights: Explore the fascinating coral reefs and shipwrecks of Key Largo or visit Hemingway's house to meet the descendants of his legendary polydactyl cats. Spot colorful birds or canoe with gators in the Everglades. Venture through mangrove and pine forests inhabited by endangered species in the National Key Deer Refuge. Catch the sunrise on a secluded beach or dance the night away at Florida's best clubs and bars.- Local flavours: Taste authentic Cuban chicken stew, fried plantains drizzled with honey, and flaky pastelitos in Miami. Sip refreshing mojitos and try award-winning key lime pie in Key West. Savour some of the best fresh seafood in the country or satisfy your adventurous side with fried alligator tail and conch fritters.- The best outdoor sports and recreation, including sailing, fishing, kayaking, biking, diving, and snorkelling along the only living barrier reef in the continental USA.- Expert insight and honest advice from Florida local Joshua Lawrence Kinser on when to go, how to get around, and where to stay, from historic inns and beachside B&Bs to budget motels and campgrounds.- Full-colour photos and detailed maps throughout. -Thorough background on the landscape, climate, wildlife, and local culture. With Moon's expert advice and local know-how, you can experience the best of the Florida Keys.Exploring beyond the Keys? Check out Moon Florida Gulf Coast.

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Spread over a hill that climbs up from the plain, Himeji Castle with its white walls shimmering in the sunlight like the feathers of a fantastic bird seems to be rising into the blue sky like a great heron. This impression has given it the name "Castle of the White Heron". The castle, which has nothing martial about it, on the contrary, it is extraordinarily elegant, is undoubtedly one of Japans most impressive fortresses. It was built between 1601 and 1609, when the period of war was almost over, and was used primarily for administration and residence, with defence as a secondary role. Thus its aesthetic impact was as important when it was built as its actual purpose as a fortification. The main building in the castle is the Tenshu or Tenshu-kaku in the northem part of the complex, a wooden structure about 46 m high. Its complicated intermediate roofs make it look more like a skyscraper than a tower. Himeji Castle represents an architectural type that probably does not occur in other areas of the world. Large parts of the building were classified as "Kokuho State Treasure" as early as 1951, and others as "Important Cultural Property". The building was placed on the World Cultural Heritage list in 1993. Art historian Irmtraud Schaarschmidt-Richter specialized in classical and modern Japanese art and architecture at an early stage, as is shown by numerous publications. Her book on the Japanese garden has long been a standard work. Most recently she was involved in publications on architects Kazuo Shinohara and Toyo Ito. Photographer Mo Nishikawa, a pupil of Ken Domon, one of the most important photographers of our century, sees his work as a spiritual and intellectual contemplation of art. His photographs of the Katsura Palace, the Himeji Castle and the Ise Shrine are among the great masterpieces of contemporary photography.

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This new, thoroughly updated second edition of Bradt's Outer Hebrides: The Western Isles of Scotland, from Lewis to Barra by experienced writer and journalist Mark Rowe is the only full-size guide to focus solely on the islands of Lewis, Harris, St Kilda, Berneray, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay. Masses of background information is included, from geography and geology to art and architecture, with significant coverage of wildlife, too, as well as all the practical details you could need: when to visit, suggested itineraries, public holidays and festivals, local culture, plus accommodation and where to eat and drink. Walkers, birdwatchers, wildlife photographers, beach lovers and genealogists are all catered for, and this is an ideal guide for those who travel simply with curious minds to discover far-flung places of great cultural, historical and wildlife interest. The Outer Hebrides is an archipelago of 14 inhabited islands and more than 50 others that are free of human footprint. Huge variations in landscape are found across the islands, from Lewisian gneiss, which dates back almost three billion years, to rugged Harris with its magnificent sands running down its western flanks and the windswept, undulating flatness and jagged sea lochs of the Uists. This is a land where Gaelic is increasingly spoken and ancient monuments abound, where stunning seabird colonies and birds of prey can be watched, and where the grassy coastal zones known as the machair are transformed into glorious carpets of wildflowers in late spring and summer. Whether visiting the Standing Stones of Callanish, the Uig peninsula, Barra's Castlebay, or historic St Kilda, or if you just want to experience the romance of the Sound of Harris, one of the most beautiful ferry journeys in the world, Bradt's Outer Hebrides: The Western Isles of Scotland, from Lewis to Barra has all the information you need.

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During William L. Dwyer's fifteen-year tenure as a U.S. District Court judge, he presided over many complex and groundbreaking cases. In one of his most controversial rulings, he engaged environmentalists and the timber industry in a heavily publicized and emotionally fraught battle over the territory of the northern spotted owl, ultimately approving the bird for “threatened species” status and forcing the Forest Service to substantially reduce logging in owl-habitat areas. Before his appointment to the district court in 1987, Dwyer had spent more than thirty years as a trial lawyer, never shying away from the most difficult cases. He argued the libel suit of accused Communist sympathizer John Goldmark; he represented newspaper employees in the contested proposal for a joint-operating agreement between the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer; and he brought a suit against baseball's American League that resulted in the return of the Mariners to Seattle. The fifteen speeches in this volume cover a span from 1978 to 2002 and reveal the breadth and scope of Dwyer's legal wisdom. He championed libraries as keepers of our language, ideas, and history; he taught students the history and philosophy of litigation; and he challenged members of the legal profession to do more pro bono work. His respect for the rule of law and his belief in the necessary contribution of lawyers to society come through clearly in his own words, whether he was speaking to the American Library Association, the Federal Bar Association, or first-year law students. The volume includes several speeches that express Dwyer's hopes for the American legal system. “If we use our heads,” Dwyer avers, “we have the collective ability to survive and to let the rest of life survive with us.”

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Letters & Sounds (2021): Phase 4 Scholastic Set 7 and Scholastic Set 8 Sound Focus: Adjacent consonants with short vowels and Adjacent consonants with Phase 3 long vowels Book Band: Yellow and Blue This starter pack contains the books in Scholastic Set 7 and Scholastic Set 8 of the Phonics Book Bag Readers Non-fiction series (eight books in total). These books are part of a brand new set of phonically decodable reading books perfect for very early readers. These expertly levelled stories are engaging and are exactly matched to Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised used in schools across the UK. The stories in this starter pack focus on the sounds found in Scholastic Set 7 and 8. ABOUT THE SERIES The series includes a wide selection of non-fiction phonically decodable reading books perfect for very early readers. These expertly levelled books are engaging, and are exactly matched to Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised, used in schools across the UK. The artwork and photographs are detailed so as not to provide picture cues and prompting. Each book also contains parent's notes and a 'talk about it' task to support children's oracy, vocabulary and comprehension skills. Thirteen sets of non-fiction books covering groups of sounds to allow for progression. There are thirteen sets in total, covering: Phase 2 Set 1: s a t p i n m d Phase 2 Set 2: g o c k ck e u r h b f l Phase 2 Set 3: ff ll ss j v w x y z zz Phase 2 Set 4: qu ch sh th ng nk Phase 3 Set 5: ai ee igh oa oo Phase 3 Set 6: ar or ur ow oi ear air er Phase 4 Set 7: Adjacent consonants with short vowels Phase 4 Set 8: Adjacent consonants with Phase 3 long vowels Phase 5 Set 9: ay (play), ou (cloud), oy (boy), ea (each), ir (bird), ie (pie), ue (blue), u (unicorn) Phase 5 Set 10: o (go), i (tiger), a (paper), e (he), a-e (snake), i-e (time), o-e (home), u-e (cute), e-e (these), ew (new), ie (shield), aw (claw) Phase 5 Set 11: y (funny), ea (head), wh (wheel), oe (toe), ou (shoulder), y (fly), ow (snow), g (giant), ph (phone), le (apple), al (metal), c (ice), ve (give), o-e (some), o (mother), ou (young), se (cheese), se (mouse), ce (fence), ey (donkey), ui (fruit), ou (soup) Phase 5 Set 12: or (word), u (full), oul (could), are (share), ear (bear), ere (there), au (author), aur (dinosaur), oor (floor), al (walk), tch (match), ture (adventure), al (half), a (father), a (water), a (want), ear (learn), wr (wrist), st (whistle), sc (science), ch (school), ch (chef), ze (freeze), schwa at the end of words (actor) Phase 5 Set 13: eigh (eight), aigh (straight), ey (grey), ea (break), gn (gnaw), kn (knee), mb (thumb), ere (here), eer (deer), su (treasure), si (vision), dge (bridge), ge (large), y (crystal), ti (potion), ssi (mission), si (mansion), ci (delicious), augh (daughter), our (pour), oar (oar), ore (more) Have you got them all?

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Take a trip back in time to an astonishing lost world.See a huge variety of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals come to life in mind-blowing detail. This is the ultimate visual encyclopedia about dinosaurs!Feathered, furry, and scaly — they’re all here! It’s the perfect dinosaur book for children aged 9-12 years. Here’s what you’ll find inside: • Exclusive images of the world's best and most complete dinosaur fossils photographed on location in North America and Europe • Brand-new, exclusive digital images that reflect the most important new findings on feathered dinosaurs • The content covers key curriculum topics in geography, biology and science • Created in association with the world-renowned Smithsonian Institution This children’s educational book about dinosaurs is packed with incredible facts about dinosaurs, stunning life-like reconstructed images, and additional information about habitat, diet, and behavior. Based on the latest research and up-to-date information, you’ll find everything from woolly mammoths and dinosaur eggs to Tyrannosauroids and Pterosaurs. More than 100 prehistoric species are featured in this fascinating dinosaur reference book. You might be familiar with the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops, but have you ever seen horse-eating birds and millipedes the size of crocodiles? Then look no further. Other topics like evolution, fossilization and climate change are explored in-depth to build up a complete picture of the dinosaur era.Dinosaurs: A Visual Encyclopedia is part of the series of award-winning, best-selling DK children encyclopedias and has been completely revised. More than just a catalog of facts and photos — it’s a visual celebration of the history of all life on Earth, with a special focus on dinosaurs and the prehistoric world.

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Supporting STEM-based learning, this fact-filled book for dinosaur lovers ages 6–9 is the ultimate guide to all sorts of long-lost creatures from across the globe, entertaining and educating young readers through a combination of close-up images, quirky trivia facts, quiz questions, and fascinating tidbits on everything from Triceratops to Stegosaurus.When did dinosaurs die out? What does a Pachycephalosaurus look like and how thick is its skull? How many pounds of meat could a Tyrannosaurus rex swallow at once? Find out the answers to these questions and more in DKfindout! Dinosaurs, which features photographs of dinosaur fossils alongside computer-generated images of what each species might have looked like when it was alive. This book teaches young paleontologists about the entire reign of dinosaurs, from the Triassic to the Cretaceous, as well as the types of dinosaurs that lived during each specific time period. Along the way, readers will discover the diets and hunting habits of different dinosaurs, learn how their bones turned into fossils, and find out how birds and reptiles are distantly related to dinosaurs.Vetted by educational consultants, the DKfindout! series drives kids ages 6–9 to become experts on more than 30 of their favorite STEM- and history-related subjects, whether Vikings, volcanoes, or robots. This series covers the subjects that kids really want to learn about—ones that have a direct impact on the world around them, like climate change, space exploration, and rapidly evolving technology—making learning fun through amazing images, stimulating quizzes, and cutting-edge information. The DKfindout! series is one that kids will want to turn to again and again.

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Gathie Falk is one of Canada’s most heralded visual artists: she has won the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts, and the Gershon Iskowitz Prize; she has been honoured with the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada; and her work is featured in major galleries across the country. From performance works involving eggs and bird feathers, to paintings of flower beds and night skies, to celebrated sculptures of fruit, men’s shoes, and dresses, Falk’s chronicles of the everyday span more than four decades and a variety of media. Apples etc. is Gathie Falk’s memoir, a lively, personal, and yet unsentimental reflection on nearly ninety years of art and life. Falk tells of growing up in small Mennonite communities in the 1930s and ’40s. These were hard years, as her Russian immigrant father died just ten months after she was born. While the family struggled financially, Falk recalls cabbage rolls made by hand, a backyard skating rink, and music lessons paid for by an anonymous donor. Her apprenticeship, she says, was a long one. After working a series of menial jobs, she trained as a public school teacher, which led her back to the art classes she’d given up as a child. It has now been fifty years since Falk’s art career was launched, and her “veneration of the ordinary” has sustained her through the deaths of beloved friends and relatives, a short-lived marriage, broken bones, and debilitating pain. Interweaving stories about her community, her family, and her daily rituals with anecdotes about her major artworks, Falk paints a portrait of a life well lived.

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THE SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING LIVES ON! Dr. Alec Holland was a brilliant scientist who was developing a bio-restorative formula that would rejuvenate plant life. When he died, he was reborn as the Swamp Thing, the avatar of the Green. As champion and protector of all plants on the planet, Swamp Thing has access to untold power. But such power also attracts danger. In this daring new reinterpretation, Swamp Thing is put to the ultimate test when he faces several challenges that push the limits of his abilities. There s the Rot, the kingdom of death and decay that is hell-bent on destroying all life on Earth. Anton Arcane, his archnemesis, has also returned from the grave yet again. When another contender for the role of avatar of the Green steps forth, the creature who was once Alec Holland is forced to defend the mantle that he has grudgingly learned to accept. And just when you thought that the Green had its hands full with the Red and the Rot, yet another kingdom, the Machines, declares war. Take a journey into the deepest depths of the bayou in Swamp Thing: The New 52 Omnibus. This comprehensive volume contains every Swamp Thing issue from the New 52 era written and illustrated by SCOTT SNYDER (Dark Nights: Death Metal), JEFF LEMIRE (Animal Man), CHARLES SOULE (Red Lanterns), YANICK PAQUETTE (Batman Incorporated), JESUS SAIZ (Birds of Prey), and more. Collects Swamp Thing #0-40, 23.1; Swamp Thing Annual #1-3; Swamp Thing: Futures End #1; Animal Man #12, 17; and Aquaman #31.

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Cummiskey Alley brings together the best of Tom Sextons poems about the place where he was born and grew up, the mill-lined river city of Lowell, Massachusetts -- a place he never took his eye off, no matter his location. For most of his life hes been in Alaska, writing, teaching, editing a respected literary journal, and always observing the large and small wonders in the world. Hes filled many books with poems that tell us what hes seen and heard and felt. In the Northwest and around the Pacific Rim, Sexton is known as a premier poet of the natural world, from birds to mountains. But theres another side to this writer, a deep investigator and lyrical beat reporter whose subject is his working-class, ethnic-American hometown where hes returned regularly, sometimes anonymously to better absorb the facts and fill the blotter at the night desk in the hall of records. The poems hes drawn from memory and recent inspection stand for the experience of a thousand small industrial cities that were made by immigrants and often got knocked down by merciless economic winds, only to get their legs back under them and move forward. As universal as they may be, places like Lowell need a literature to call their own. The New York Times described Sexton as an atavistic avatar of how to look hard yet write simply. Merrimack Valley Magazine wrote: Each poem unveils something new, and at times breathtaking, about one of the Merrimack Valleys most diverse and interesting places . . . Sextons characters, relationships, and places spring from the page, brought to life by a tiny gesture or minute detail.

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An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller. In this gorgeously stunning debut, a mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again. After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises. The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past. Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore? Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.

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The Papago Indians of the American Southwest say butterflies were created to gladden the hearts of children and chase away thoughts of aging and death. How the Butterflies Came to Be is one of twenty-four Native American tales included in Native American Animal Stories. The stories, coming from Mohawk, Hopi, Yaqui, Haida and other cultures, demonstrate the power of animals in Native American traditions. Parents, teachers and children will delight in lovingly told stories about "our relations, the animals." The stories come to life through magical illustrations by Mohawk artists John Kahionhes Fadden and David Fadden. "The stories in this book present some of the basic perspectives that Native North American parents, aunts and uncles use to teach the young. They are phrased in terms that modern youngsters can understand and appreciate ... They enable us to understand that while birds and animals appear to be similar in thought processes to humans, that is simply the way we represent them in our stories. But other creatures do have thought processes, emotions, personal relationships...We must carefully ccord these other creatures the respect that they deserve and the right to live without unnecessary harm. Wanton killings of different animals by some hunters and sportsmen are completely outside the traditional way that native people have treated other species, and if these stories can help develop in young people a strong sense of the wonder of other forms of life, this sharing of Native North American knowledge will certainly have been worth the effort." excerpt from the forward by Vine Deloria, Jr. These stories first appeared in Keepers of the Animals: Native American Stories and Wildlife Activities for Children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac.

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Does your child love to find out what makes spiders and other top creepy crawly predators experts at hunting? They will be staggered at the variety of techniques invertebrates use to bring down their prey!Trapdoor spiders lie in wait, spitting spiders shoot out silk just like Spiderman, dragonflies twist and turn with incredible agility to catch prey on the wing and hornets are armed with deadly stingers. Different techniques and adaptations are examined in detail, showing how invertebrate predators are perfectly suited to their habitat and to the prey they pursue.Each spread has dramatic photographs and looks in detail at one invertebrate predator and focuses on its primary weapon, such as webs, venom or ambush. The prey animal shows us how it attempts to evade certain death, whether through camouflage, a speedy retreat or safety in numbers. Stat panels give readers a quick overview of how predator and prey stack up against each other.Predators are awe-inspiring. Whether they are fast, strong, armed with claws or teeth, cunning, patient or venomous, they are all masters of the art of killing their prey. Young readers will love the Predator Vs Prey series with its amazing photographs and the details about super-senses or incredible adaptations. These books also highlight the variety of life on Earth and reinforces how animals are adapted to their habitats. Suitable for readers aged 7+ who are either fascinated by wildlife or are studying natural history or animal adaptations or classification.Titles in this series:How Eagles and Other Birds AttackHow Lions and Other Mammals AttackHow Sharks and Other Fish AttackHow Snakes and Other Spiders AttackHow Spiders and Other Invertebrates Attack

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Does your child love to find out what makes spiders and other top creepy crawly predators experts at hunting? They will be staggered at the variety of techniques invertebrates use to bring down their prey!Trapdoor spiders lie in wait, spitting spiders shoot out silk just like Spiderman, dragonflies twist and turn with incredible agility to catch prey on the wing and hornets are armed with deadly stingers. Different techniques and adaptations are examined in detail, showing how invertebrate predators are perfectly suited to their habitat and to the prey they pursue.Each spread has dramatic photographs and looks in detail at one invertebrate predator and focuses on its primary weapon, such as webs, venom or ambush. The prey animal shows us how it attempts to evade certain death, whether through camouflage, a speedy retreat or safety in numbers. Stat panels give readers a quick overview of how predator and prey stack up against each other.Predators are awe-inspiring. Whether they are fast, strong, armed with claws or teeth, cunning, patient or venomous, they are all masters of the art of killing their prey. Young readers will love the Predator Vs Prey series with its amazing photographs and the details about super-senses or incredible adaptations. These books also highlight the variety of life on Earth and reinforces how animals are adapted to their habitats. Suitable for readers aged 7+ who are either fascinated by wildlife or are studying natural history or animal adaptations or classification.Titles in this series:How Eagles and Other Birds AttackHow Lions and Other Mammals AttackHow Sharks and Other Fish AttackHow Snakes and Other Spiders AttackHow Spiders and Other Invertebrates Attack

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Together for the first time, here is the #1 New York Times best seller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and its two sequels, Hollow City and the (newly released) Library of Souls. All three hardcovers are packaged in a beautifully designed slipcase. Also included: a special collector's envelope of twelve peculiar photographs, highlighting the most memorable moments of this extraordinary three-volume fantasy. MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in this groundbreaking novel, which mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling new kind of reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. HOLLOW CITY: September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them-but she's trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary adventure continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. LIBRARY OF SOULS: A boy, a girl, and a talking dog. They're all that stands between the sinister wights and the future of peculiar children everywhere. Jacob Portman ventures through history one last time to rescue the peculiar children from a heavily guarded fortress. He's joined by girlfriend and firestarter Emma Bloom, canine companion Addison MacHenry, and some very unexpected allies.

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This title includes fantastic ideas for making things, growing plants and flowers and attracting wildlife, with 60 practical projects and 175 photographs. It offers over 60 fun, child-friendly projects for gardening, with ideas for cultivating flowers, growing fruit and vegetables, making crafty projects and attracting insects, birds and animals. It contains an introduction with all the gardening basics includes advice on safety, equipment, understanding plants and a guide to commonly used gardening terms. It helps you grow a hyacinth in a glass, have tomatoes tumbling down the wall, spell your name in flowers, shape a den out of bamboo and make a mini-beast shelter. Every project features an at-a-glance 'you will need' list, growing times and a star rating guide to show you how easy or hard it is. Each idea has simple step-by-step instructions and there are over 175 fantastic colour photographs showing you what to do. A list of popular plants shows how to grow and use the plants in the book and many others, including where they like to live and how they like to be treated. Growing plants and making things for the garden is endless fun. This book is bursting with planting and gardening ideas to suit children from the ages of 5 to 12. It offers an introduction that arms the reader with all they need to know about plants, soil and tools. Then, over 60 step-by-step projects have ideas for doing things indoors, growing fruit, vegetables and flowers, making crafty bits and pieces for the garden and encouraging wildlife to visit. Whatever the weather, here are masses of ways to keep you occupied in and out of the garden, with fun activities for all children, from tiddlers to safari explorers.

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Are dreams merely odd things that happen to us at night, sometimes pleasant, sometimes terrifying, but not to be taken too seriously? Is there any reason to think about them at all, other than in terms of questions such as 'Why should Aunt Sarah turn into a bird and invite us all to dinner in her sycamore tree?" In this witty and eminently readable book, Bert O. States rethinks both the meaning of dreams and the relationship between dreaming and the telling of stories. Dreams constitute a private literature of the self, he says, that—despite their seeming lack of order or structure—can help us to understand the very nature of shared literature. Observers have often pointed out narrative elements that are common to dreams and stories—including "cinematic" visual techniques and such plot devices as reversals of fortune and paired villains and antagonists. Drawing on current work in such fields as neurobiology, cognitive psychology, literary theory, and dream theory, States asks whether dreaming and storytelling may share similar psychic processes as well. He first considers the bizarreness of dreams compared to the expected intelligibility of stories. He then surveys a wide array of stories and reported dreams, focusing on them as narratives with varied beginnings and endings, character functions, cause-and-effect relationships, archetypal structures, even generic constraints. Turning to the question of intentionality, States addresses the perennially intriguing question of whether dreams actually do have meanings, or whether we thrust meaning upon them. Anyone interested in the poetics of imaginative experience—whether approached from the perspective of the literary critic, the psychologist, or the psychoanalyst—will want to read Dreaming and Storytelling.

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For all our nostalgia about the “Golden Age of Air Travel”, it was more mythical than we like to think. As with other forms of transport then, until the 1970s, commercial and military aviation were strictly gendered and racist divisions of labour, both in the cockpit and cabin – piloting was a lifetime career for white men, “stewardessing” a temporary one for women. Western culture was built upon images of men as chivalrous knights, cowboys, and soldiers — all living rugged manly lives, their greatest joy the comradeship on cattle drives, or men-of-war or in the trenches. In reality, by the beginning of the twentieth century, few males had ever been cowboys or seen active military service. Nevertheless, fueled by paperback novels and later Hollywood, the mythology persisted. National identity was defined by masculinity- in the United States it was the cowboy, in Australia the “digger” and in Canada, the lumberjack, the Mountie and since the last war, the air ace. Women in pulp fiction and movies were either the faithful forgiving wife and mother, the schoolmarm - or the dance hall prostitute. Pilots were defined by their training, professionalism, and their courage in the air. To frightened passengers – and that was everyone then, whoever sat in the flight deck was omnipotent. One learned professor even cited Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, proposing that those who became pilots had evolved from birds and the remainder of humanity from fish and would never be able to fly a plane! Women were defined by their domesticity as mothers and homemakers. Airlines recruited them for their femininity, to be substitute mothers, wives, and daughters to look after male clientele. “The association of commercial flying and maleness” wrote Albert James Mills in “Sex, Strategy and the Stratosphere: the gendering of airline cultures.” was largely achieved through the exclusion of women.”

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If you're logofascinated, you are literally spellbound by language.; This surprising compendium of 1,000 facts about words, language and etymology is here to inspire your curiosity and delight in discovery. In Word Drops, you can delve into a smattering of unexpected connections and weird juxtapositions, stumble upon a new or remarkable word, or learn of many a bizarre etymological quirk or tall tale.; - Did you know that the bowl made by cupping your hands together is called a gowpen?; - And speaking of bowls, the earliest known reference to bowling in English dates from 1555, when bowling alleys were banned by an Act of Parliament.; - And that ties in nicely with the fact that the English called the Germans 'Alleymen' during the First World War.; - But in Navajo, Germany is called Beesh Bich'ahii Bikeyah-or 'metal cap-wearer land'.; Word Drops is a language fact book unlike any other, its linguistic tidbits all falling together into one long interconnected chain just like the example above with each fact neatly 'dropping' into place beside the next.; What's more, throughout, footnotes are used to give some informative and intriguing background to some of the most bizarre facts, covering everything from traditional Inuit games to the origin of the Bellini cocktail, from the precise length of one 'jiffy' to what the Romans thought hoopoe birds ate, and from what to expect on a night out with Dr Johnson to Samuel Pepys's cure for a hangover. Want to know the longest palindrome in Morse code, or who The Great Masticator was? Curious to know what Norwegian steam is, or what a jaaaar is? The answers are all here.; For all of the logofascinated among us, this is an immensely pleasurable and unpredictable collection that is guaranteed to raise eyebrows (the literal meaning, incidentally, of supercilious).

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Big Bible Science 2 helps children and those who teach them to explore God’s World and God’s Word through real world science experiments. There are twenty–one different units taking students through scientific concepts such as Potential and Kinetic energy, Levers, Pulleys, Chemical Reactions, Condensation and Symbiosis. God creates young minds to ask questions and seek answers. This book is designed to stir the imaginations of students and develop a lasting love for Christ. The units are fun, interesting, and affirm the biblical worldview of creation. Big Bible Science is written to appeal to various ages and learning styles. This material is ideal for homeschoolers or classroom–based activities. It is for the head and the heart: a good mix of solid science and inspirational devotions. Each unit has: Objectives: These are the science learning goals. Materials: What you need before each lesson The Big Idea: A scientific explanation of the lesson that also ties in a biblical perspective. Activities: Demonstrations, games and experiments. Apply it: Ideas about how to find examples of the lesson in your world. Go Beyond: For more advanced students this will challenge them to think and experiment further. Units in Big Bible Science 2: Potential & Kinetic Energy Simple Machines in a playground Mechanical Advantage of a Lever Fixed Pulley: Changing the Direction of Force Angular Momentum & Centripetal Motion Buoyancy of Boats Law of Conservation of Matter Indicators of a Chemical Reaction Heat Capacity & Specific Heart Condensation Colligative Properties Symmetry of Nature Deciduous and Evergreen Trees Plant a Bean Parts of a Plant at the Dinner Table Symbiosis Bird Population Study Endoskeleton versus Exoskeleton Carnivores, Herbivores & Omnivores: The Food Chain How the Moon Shines Weathering & Erosion

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Essays considering how information could be used and abused in the service of heresy and inquisition. The collection, curation, and manipulation of knowledge were fundamental to the operation of inquisition. Its coercive power rested on its ability to control information and to produce authoritative discourses from it - a fact not lost on contemporaries, or on later commentators. Understanding that relationship between inquisition and knowledge has been one of the principal drivers of its long historiography. Inquisitors and their historians have always been preoccupied with the process by which information was gathered and recirculated as knowledge. The tenor of that question has changed over time, but we are still asking how knowledge was made and handed down - to them and to us - and how their sense of what was interesting or useful affected their selection. This volume approaches the theme by looking at heresy and inquisition in the Middle Ages, and also at how they were seen in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The contributors consider a wide range of medieval texts, including papal bulls, sermons, polemical treatises and records of interrogations, both increasing our knowledge of medieval heresy and inquisition, and at the same time delineating the twisting of knowledge. This polarity continues in the early modern period, when scholars appeared to advance learning by hunting for medieval manuscripts and publishing them, or ensuring their preservation through copying them; but at the same time, as some of the chapters here show, these were proof texts in the service of Catholic or Protestant polemic. As a whole, the collection provides a clear view of - and invites readers' reflection on - the shading of truth and untruth in medieval and early modern "knowledge" of heresy and inquisition. Contributors: Jessalynn Lea Bird, Harald Bollbuck, Irene Bueno, Jörg Feuchter, Richard Kieckhefer, Pawel Kras, Adam Poznanski, Luc Racaut, Alessandro Sala, Shelagh Sneddon, Michaela Valente, Reima Välimäki

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THERE WAS A WAR IN HEAVEN. EVIL WON. NOW DARKSEID, GOD OF APOKOLIPS, HAS FALLEN TO EARTH-AND HE'S UNLEASING HELL.Using the soul-destroying Anti-Life Equation, Darkseid is remaking the heroes, villains and everyday people of Earth in his dark image...and destroying the very fabric of reality itself in the process. Now superheroes from around the world--and across the Multiverse--must make a last, desperate stand against the forces of Anti-Life. Will Earth endure? And when the Crisis reaches its climax, who will make the ultimate sacrifice?From the mind of genre-defining writer Grant Morrison comes FINAL CRISIS, one of the most epic events ever to hit the DC Universe! In this Omnibus edition, every chapter in the groundbreaking saga is presented together in reading order, including never before collected issues. From writers Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka and more comes the FINAL CRISIS OMNIBUS, a deconstruction of superhero comics at large and a challenging, thought-provoking take on the modern four-color icons. Collecting BATMAN #676-683, #701-702, BIRDS OF PREY #118, DC UNIVERSE #0, DC UNIVERSE: THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT #1, FINAL CRISIS #1-7, FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF 3 WORLDS #1-5, FINAL CRISIS: REQUIEM #1, FINAL CRISIS: RESIST #1, FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #1-5, FINAL CRISIS: ROGUES' REVENGE #1-3, FINAL CRISIS: SECRET FILES #1, FINAL CRISIS: SUBMIT #1, FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1-2, THE FLASH #240-241, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #21, SUPERMAN/BATMAN #76, TEEN TITANS #59-60 and TERROR TITANS #1-6.

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The only thing that kids love more than animals is… BABY animals! Discover everything you need to know about the cutest baby animals in the world! With more than 600 reusable stickers and a fantastic selection of facts, this spectacular, super-sized sticker book will keep kids entertained for hours. Introduce your child to a huge range of baby animals with this delightful activity book. From fluffy pandas and sweet puppies to fuzzy lion cubs and pink piglets, your little animal-lover will love finding pure cuteness on every page of this encyclopedia for children.Perfect for children aged 5-7 years, this colorful animal book encourages learning through play. Little ones can explore the different types of animals through real-life photos and bite-sized information. They’ll learn about mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, as well as discover their habits and how they feed, grow and play! The Animal Kingdom AwaitsThis animal-themed nature book is perfect for budding zoologists. It inspires them to learn more about their favorite baby animals and place the right stickers on the right pages. The stickers are easy to peel, re-usable, and perfect for little fingers. The book includes plenty of extra baby animal stickers that kids can use for homework or decorate their books with.Sticker Encyclopedia Baby Animals is the perfect way to engage your child with fun facts and interactive reading. It also encourages early learning and boosts creativity. Complete the Series:The reusable sticker book fun continues! Look out for Sticker Encyclopedia Ocean and discover fascinating facts about everything under the sea or learn about different dinosaurs in Sticker Encyclopedia Dinosaur.

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The My First Sewing Book kit includes the book, two sets of bird shapes precut from quality felt, three yards each of four colors of crochet thread, and an additional 43 shape patterns. This is the first book in the six-book My First Sewing Book series, where Winky Cherry introduces sewing to young seamsters—from simple stitches and doll making to understanding and using a sewing machine. Guides feature clever rhymes and simple instructions, which teach sewing skills, as well as responsibility, commitment, focus, patience, coordination, organization, and how to follow rules, all through the enjoyment of sewing. Levels progress through hand sewing, embroidery, doll making, machine sewing, patchwork, and quilting. This My First Sewing Book kit introduces children ages 5 and up to sewing basics such as threading a needle, making knots, using pins, using dots, overstitching, and lock stitching. Step-by-step instructions guide children through stitching and stuffing felt animals. There is also a companion Yes, I Can Sew! DVD. Winky Cherry's unique My First Sewing Book program teaches young children not only sewing skills, but life skills: responsibility, commitment, focus, patience, coordination, organization, and how to follow rules, all through the enjoyment of sewing. In six books, levels progress from simple hand sewing, embroidery, and doll making, to machine sewing, patchwork, and quilting. The three hand sewing books feature clever rhyming instructions for children as young as 5. The three machine sewing books are for children ages 7 and older. All six titles have simple, clearly-illustrated instructions. Each book builds on the previous books, and each book can stand alone

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