Search results for ""Melissa""

A pioneering history that transforms our understanding of the colonial era and China's place in itChina has conventionally been considered a land empire whose lack of maritime and colonial reach contributed to its economic decline after the mid-eighteenth century. Distant Shores challenges this view, showing that the economic expansion of southeastern Chinese rivaled the colonial ambitions of Europeans overseas.In a story that dawns with the Industrial Revolution and culminates in the Great Depression, Melissa Macauley explains how sojourners from an ungovernable corner of China emerged among the commercial masters of the South China Sea. She focuses on Chaozhou, a region in the great maritime province of Guangdong, whose people shared a repertoire of ritual, cultural, and economic practices. Macauley traces how Chaozhouese at home and abroad reaped many of the benefits of an overseas colonial system without establishing formal governing authority. Their power was sustained instead through a mosaic of familial, fraternal, and commercial relationships spread across the ports of Bangkok, Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Swatow. The picture that emerges is not one of Chinese divergence from European modernity but rather of a convergence in colonial sites that were critical to modern development and accelerating levels of capital accumulation.A magisterial work of scholarship, Distant Shores reveals how the transoceanic migration of Chaozhouese laborers and merchants across a far-flung maritime world linked the Chinese homeland to an ever-expanding frontier of settlement and economic extraction.

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The classic legal guide with more than 100,000 copies in printnow substantially updated and revised!Whether grappling with modest or extensive assets, The Complete Book of Wills, Estates & Trusts has long been the indispensable guide for protecting an estate for loved ones. In this completely revised fourth edition, updated to cover the latest changes in estate law, attorneys Alexander A. Bove, Jr., and Melissa Langa synthesize their decades of field and classroom experience into honest, clear, and entertaining explanations of a host of complex legal topics, including: How to create a will and living trust How to use a trust to avoid probate and legal complications How trusts work and how to use trusts to save taxes How to contest a will and how to avoid a contest How to settle an estate or make a claim against one How to establish a durable power of attorney How to protect assets from creditorsIn their straightforward an

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For nearly two decades, Preston Singletary has straddled two unique cultures, melding his Tlingit ancestry with the dynamism of the Studio Glass Movement. In the process, he has created an extraordinarily distinctive and powerful body of work that depicts cultural and historical images in richly detailed, beautifully hued glass. Singletary has translated the visual vocabulary of patterns, narratives, and systems of Native woodcarving and painted art into glass, a material historically associated with Native peoples through an extensive network of trading routes. Singletary entered the world of glassblowing as an assistant, mastering the techniques of the European tradition as he worked alongside Seattle-area artists such as Benjamin Moore and Dante Marioni. He also had opportunities to learn the secrets of the Venetian glass masters while working with Italian legends Lino Tagliapietra and Pino Signoretto. The Northwest Native icons, supernatural beings, transformative themes, animal spirits, shamanism, and basketry design of Singletary's Tlingit heritage are manifested in his work, creating a unique whole that resonates on many levels and reveals a new artistic direction. This mid-career retrospective of his work includes contributions by Melissa G. Post, Steven Clay Brown, and Walter Porter, as well as a DVD of Singletary working in his studio. Preston Singletary's works are in museum collections around the world, including the National Museum of the American Indian; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Seattle Art Museum; Corning Museum of Glass; Mint Museum of Art; the Heard Museum; and the Handelsbanken (Stockholm, Sweden).

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You've Got Mail meets Confessions of a Shopaholic meets Parks and Rec--this romance might have to move mountains.When her business partner is accused of serious financial crimes, superstar influencer Cat Cranwell—an engineered marvel of beauty, energy, and fun—falls from her penthouse perch. Des­perate to get away from the online trolls and paparazzi docu­menting her disgrace, Cat accepts her uncle’s offer to work with him in Kannery National Park, Montana. About as far as possible from life as she’s known it.Cat’s world shifts from the swirling haze of likes and comments to lit­eral blizzards of frostbite temperatures and waist-deep snow. In place of negotiating brand deals, she finds herself negotiating at the ledge of a frozen lake with her die-hard Polar Bear Plunge coworkers. Instead of padding through the marble kitchen of her Manhattan loft, she’s sharing a tent-sized cabin with a roommate eager to bond like characters in sitcoms. But something curious is also happening in this overwhelming breath of fresh air as she reacquaints with the most honest parts of her­self and begins to ask the hard questions. Can Cat love herself with, and without, the world watching?Then there’s that other tiny problem—she’s falling for Zaiah, the ruggedly handsome park ranger—and he hates anything remotely connected to social media, quite possibly her included.Written with bestselling author Melissa Ferguson’s signature wit and charm, this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy of opposites attract is full of hilarious romp and a romance that will melt readers’ hearts. Sweet romantic comedy Stand-alone novel Book length: 80,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs

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A sexy and soul-stirring novel about love, family, and rediscovering what matters most by Melissa Foster, the New York Times bestselling author of Maybe We Will. When workaholic Boston attorney Deirdra de Messiéres is passed over for a well-deserved promotion, she takes a two-month hiatus to show her boss just how much he needs her and heads home to Silver Island. But beyond seeing her sisters happy, home is not where Deirdra’s heart is. She has no interest in their family restaurant, the Bistro, or reliving hurtful childhood memories, and absolutely no interest in spending a single second with Josiah “Jagger” Jones, the Bistro’s too-laid-back musician and chef. Sure, the hippie is hot, but he drives her nuts. The guy lives in a van with his dog, and he can’t even commit to a solid work schedule. To make matters worse, he’s always around. She needs to get off the island, stat. Jagger has overcome his own personal trials to place stock in life’s pleasures: family, friends, peace…and if he has his way, one positively beautiful, absolutely uptight attorney. Jagger knows he’s the perfect person to help Deirdra deal with her hurtful past and find her way back to being happy. A chance encounter leads to deep conversation, and night after liberating night, Deirdra lets down her guard. But neither has plans to stay on Silver Island. Free-spirited Jagger has wanderlust, and Deirdra has a career to return to. They’re on different paths, and plans for a future together don’t stand a chance. But when has anything gone according to plan?

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Set against a backdrop of social change during the 1970s, State is an important, compelling, and entertaining first-person account of what it was like to live through both traditional gender discrimination in sports and the joy of the very first days of equality—or at least the closest that one high school girls’ basketball team ever came to it. In 1975, freshman Melissa Isaacson—along with the other girls who’d spent summers with their noses pressed against the fences of Little League ball fields, unable to play—entered Niles West High School in suburban Chicago with one goal: make a team, any team. For “Missy,” that team turned out to be basketball. Title IX had passed just three years earlier, prohibiting gender discrimination in education programs or activities, including athletics. As a result, states like Illinois began implementing varsity competition—and state tournaments—for girls’ high school sports. At the time, Missy and her teammates didn’t really understand the legislation. All they knew was they finally had opportunities—to play, to learn, to sweat, to lose, to win—and an identity: They were athletes. They were a team. And in 1979, they became state champions. With the intimate insights of the girl who lived it, the pacing of a born storyteller, and the painstaking reporting of a veteran sports journalist, Isaacson chronicles one high school team’s journey to the state championship. In doing so, Isaacson shows us how a group of “tomboy” misfits found themselves and each other, and how basketball rescued them from their collective frustrations and troubled homes, and forever altered the course of their lives. Supplemental educator materials are available from the publisher.

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Set against a backdrop of social change during the 1970s, State is a compelling first-person account of what it was like to live through both traditional gender discrimination in sports and the joy of the very first days of equality—or at least the closest that one high school girls’ basketball team ever came to it.In 1975, freshman Melissa Isaacson—along with a group of other girls who’d spent summers with their noses pressed against the fences of Little League ball fields, unable to play—entered Niles West High School in suburban Chicago with one goal: make a team, any team. For Missy, that turned out to be the basketball team.Title IX had passed just three years earlier, prohibiting gender discrimination in education programs or activities, including athletics. As a result, states like Illinois began implementing varsity competition—and state tournaments—for girls’ high school sports.At the time, Missy and her teammates didn’t really understand the legislation. All they knew was they finally had opportunities—to play, to learn, to sweat, to lose, to win—and an identity: they were athletes. They were a team.And in 1979, they became state champions.With the intimate insights of the girl who lived it, the pacing of a born storyteller, and the painstaking reporting of a veteran sports journalist, Isaacson chronicles one high school team’s journey to the state championship. In doing so, Isaacson shows us how a group of "tomboys" found themselves and each other, and how basketball rescued them from their collective frustrations and troubled homes, and forever altered the course of their lives. Special educational materials for classrooms are available from Agate Publishing.

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On an otherwise ordinary Sunday morning in 1964, millions of Roman Catholics around the world experienced history. For the first time in centuries, they attended masses that were conducted mostly in their native tongues. This occasion marked only the first of many profound changes to emanate from the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Known popularly as Vatican II, it would soon give rise to the most far-reaching religious transformation since the Reformation. In this groundbreaking work of cultural and historical sociology, Melissa Wilde offers a new explanation for this revolutionary transformation of the Church. Drawing on newly available sources--including a collection of interviews with the Council's key bishops and cardinals, and primary documents from the Vatican Secret Archive that have never before been seen by researchers--Wilde demonstrates that the pronouncements of the Council were not merely reflections of papal will, but the product of a dramatic confrontation between progressives and conservatives that began during the first days of the Council. The outcome of this confrontation was determined by a number of factors: the Church's decline in Latin America; its competition and dialogue with other faiths, particularly Protestantism, in northern Europe and North America; and progressive clerics' deep belief in the holiness of compromise and their penchant for consensus building. Wilde's account will fascinate not only those interested in Vatican II but anyone who wants to understand the social underpinnings of religious change.

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“Unique and gripping.”—Tamora Pierce New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr invites readers into a magical world where stone gargoyles live among humans, ferocious water horses infiltrate the sea, and school hallways are riddled with magic wards--and where a group of young heroes seeking justice discovers those very creatures are the best of allies.Twenty years ago, a door opened between the world of humans and the Netherwhere, allowing all kinds of otherworldly creatures entry. Some, like the kelpies and fairies, who like to bite, are best avoided. But the gargoyles are wise and wonderful, and show a special affection for humans. Vicky has grown up under the watchful eye of a gargoyle named Rupert, and excels at sword-fighting and magic. But there's so much she doesn't know--like why her mother, once one of the queen's elite Ravens, keeps Vicky hidden away and won't let Vicky train at the elite Corvus school where girls with her gifts perfect their skills. But when a horrific tragedy occurs, Vicky knows it’s finally time to use her gifts, and that the only place she should be to avenge the crime against her family is at Corvus. There she bands together with a former street thief and an alchemy student to figure out whom they can trust in a place that's rife with intrigue and secrets. And all the while, the gargoyles watch and nudge. Time’s not linear to them, so they know change comes in ripples. With their steadying influence, Vicky and her friends just might be the generation to expose the court’s secrets and ensure a better future for both worlds.

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‘A delicious and much-needed nudge towards a healthier and more sustainable kitchen’ Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall'More than a recipe book, this is a guide for how to shop and eat now!' Skye GyngellForeword by Guy Singh-Watson, farmer and founder of Riverford.Bestselling author and home cook, Melissa Hemsley gives you over 100 easy recipes that focus on UK-grown, easy-to-buy ingredients, cutting down on food waste and putting flavour first. Eat Green is a helping hand towards eating a lot more vegetables in a way everyone can enjoy together.These veg-packed and veg-centric recipes are simple to make and perfect for the whole family. Chapters include: One Pot and One Tray; Cook Now, Eat Later; Family Favourites; and 30 Minutes or Less.Simple swaps mean that meat and fish can be added in or taken away, so everyone can enjoy a delicious meal, whether they are vegan, vegetarian, enjoying a meat-free Monday or something in between.Melissa’s down-to-earth approach to joyful eating encourages us to cook healthy food from scratch while being mindful of life’s pressures and time constraints. Eat Green includes plenty of:- easy swaps to use up food you have to hand and reinvent your leftovers- batch cooking advice and meals to stock up your freezer- quick 30-minute midweek dinners and one-pot meals- make-ahead packed lunches for work or weekend trips - family-friendly dishes and healthy spins on comfort food favourites- ideas for using up odds and ends that you might usually throw awayEat Green celebrates the pleasure of really good food anyone can cook and everyone can savour.

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Friday night. The party of the summer. Four teens ride home together. Only one never makes it. When high school sophomore Chris Moore is tragically killed in a car crash, Armstrong Prep is full of questions. Who was at the wheel? And more importantly, who was at fault? Eighteen-year-old Spencer Sandoval wishes she knew. As rumours swirl that her ex, Ethan, was the reckless driver, she can’t bring herself to defend him. And their messy breakup has nothing to do with it – she can’t remember anything from that night, not even what put her in that car with Ethan, Chris, and Tabby Hill, the new loner in school. The hunt for answers intensifies when a local true crime podcast takes an interest in the case, pushing Spencer further into the depths of this sinister mystery. Was it all just a night out that went very wrong? And is it a coincidence that all but Chris is on Armstrong's esteemed honour roll, the Headmaster’s List? In a place ruled by pedigree and privilege, the truth can only come at a deadly price. Set against the glitz and glamour of an elite LA private school, Melissa de la Cruz's first YA thriller is an addictive mystery perfect for fans of Gossip Girl and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

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Discover a treasure trove of exciting nature-based building, engineering, and artistic ideas for children in Sticks and Stones. This comprehensive guide features tools, toys, and games kids can create right outside their door. Kids will love building cabins, bridges, dams rock gardens, and more. They’ll discover that creating art is more fun outdoors as they learn to make making stone pendants, ochre paint, and weaving. A variety of large and small-scale activities boost engineering, creative, and problem-solving skills, all while promoting fun. With simple tools and materials a branch becomes a fishing pole, and logs turn into a simple seesaw. Opportunities and materials for productive play exist everywhere in nature. Author Melissa Lennig (of the blog Fireflies and Mud Pies) introduces today’s screen-overloaded kids to a world of exploring and adventure. Whether camping in the woods or hanging out in the back yard, children will marvel at the wonderful, useful tools and playthings they can create with natural objects. They’ll also learn about STEAM principles, campfire chemistry, why building with blocks is so powerful, and how mindfulness techniques can reduce stress. The book also includes: Ideas for taking activities further, with fun variations and ideas Safety tips for kids and adults Design challenges that can be done solo or in groups Step-by-step instructions and helpful photos Sticks and Stones was named to the longlist for the 2020 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Hands-On Science Book category. The prize honors outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults. This book is an essential resource for every junior outdoor adventurer.

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Drive business sustainability, growth, and profits by taking a systematic approach to culture transformationIt’s no secret that culture is the key to attracting and engaging top talent and seizing the competitive edge. But the vast majority of culture efforts fail as quickly as they started. Why? Because leaders are missing the big picture. They’re creating and communicating values but failing to ensure the values are tied to the purpose and the strategy of the company while also being integrated into processes, operations, and behaviors. In ReCulturing, Melissa Daimler solves this persistent problem by helping you develop a “systems” perspective of culture. One of today’s most renowned thought leaders and practitioners on the issue, Daimler provides the playbook for building a business in which employees are clear on the why, what, and how they are working, such that it naturally leads to high performance and a desire to stay with their company for the long haul. ReCulturing explains:• The everyday practice of culture—how it’s actually done through behaviors, processes and practices• How to leverage core frameworks that can be tailored to design and build any company culture, whether that’s a start up or a large company working • The integration of purpose (why you work), strategy (what you do) with culture (how you work)The book also features illuminating real-life stories recounting what has and hasn't worked at some of today's largest and most influential companies. Whether you’re launching a startup, running a global firm, or overseeing the shift to a hybrid work setting, ReCulturing provides everything you need to the kind of culture that drives long-term business success.

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Once upon a time...children's nonfiction books were stodgy, concise, and not very kid friendly. Most were text heavy, with just a few scattered images decorating the content and meaning, rather than enhancing it. Over the last 20 years, children's nonfiction has evolved into a new breed of visually dynamic and engaging texts.In 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children's Books , Melissa Stewart and Dr. Marlene Correia present a new way to sort nonfiction into five major categories and show how doing so can help teachers and librarians build stronger readers and writers. Along the way, they: Introduce the 5 kinds of nonfiction: Active, Browseable, Traditional, Expository Literature, and Narrative -;and explore each category through discussions, classroom examples, and insights from leading children's book authorsOffer tips for building strong, diverse classroom texts and library collectionsProvide more than 20 activities to enhance literacy instructionInclude innovative strategies for sharing and celebrating nonfiction with students.With more than 150 exemplary nonfiction book recommendations and Stewart and Correia's extensive knowledge of literacy instruction, 5 Kinds of Nonfiction will elevate your understanding of nonfiction in ways that speak specifically to the info-kids in your classrooms, but will inspire all readers and writers.

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This beautifully designed keepsake album is perfect for chronicling chicken-keeping adventures, tracking the growth from chick to flock elder—with spaces and prompts for distinctive personalities, names, photos, and amusing anecdotes. Backyard chicken keepers have a deep affection for their animals and interact with them like any pet, as Melissa Caughey, best-selling author of How to Speak Chicken, knows well from her decades of chicken friendships. With My Chicken Family, Caughey has created a unique keepsake album that invites chicken owners to create a lasting record of their chicken adventures, with spots for adding photos of their favorite flock members and write-in prompts customized to every phrase of the the chicken-keeping experience. Featuring charming chicken-themed art borders, every page invite users to chronicle an aspect of their chickens’ lives, beginning with chicks and progressing to laying hen or rooster, to flock elder. Spaces are allocated for recording amusing anecdotes along with practical information about the selected breeds, health care, flock dynamics, and individual chicken names and personalities. The hardcover format features an egg-shaped die-cut cover that every owner can customize with a portrait of one of their own feathered friends, making it a perfect gift for any backyard chicken enthusiast.

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"Is your baby sleeping through the night?" This is the worst question you could ever ask a parent. Seriously. And news flash! Even if your child is sleeping through the night this week, that doesn’t mean they will be for much longer. Every other week, babies are teething, experiencing a growth spurt, or entering a dreaded sleep regression.Bedtime, the Ultimate Battle is a concise and humorous tool that even the most sleep-deprived parents will love. It contains the meat and potatoes of sleep solutions for your baby that you can digest easily in the middle of the night, without worrying about heartburn. Sleep is something all humans need, but at a point in every baby’s life, they will refuse to sleep like it’s their job. That leads to very exhausted parents and caregivers. Bedtime, the Ultimate Battle is written from the realistic perspective of a mom in the trenches—just like you. (And you, too, Dad.) It will provide you with dozens of easy, budget-friendly ways to help get your baby to sleep, gathered from the most recommended parenting books, blogs, and viral posts. Melissa has done the research so you don't have to spend precious time desperately Googling during your next 3 a.m. wake-up call.Bedtime, the Ultimate Battle includes more than ninety tips and tricks and discusses common nighttime hurdles such as: Sleep training Getting baby to nap when they don’t want to Weaning babies who breastfeed to sleep Handling sleep regressions like a champ and more!

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The Compendium of Magical Beasts is a definitive field guide that explores the anatomy of mythology's most elusive creatures, compiling the findings of controversial early twentieth century cryptozoologist, feminist, and explorer Dr. Veronica Wigberht-Blackwater. Approaching the fantastic with a scientific eye, Dr. Veronica explains the history, habits, and biology of each creature's existence with equal attention to detail. Her research is accompanied by stunning scientific illustrations of each specimen's anatomy, providing a comprehensive view of creatures most often dismissed as pure fantasy.Combining biological fact with folklore, cultural studies, and history, this volume is crucial to science both fringe and mainstream. Locked in a dusty attic for almost a century, Dr. Wigberht-Blackwater's trailblazing work was recently discovered by writer Melissa Brinks, who spent months transcribing the journals she found. Brinks joined forces with artist Lily Seika Jones to digitize the doctor's amazingly detailed anatomical diagrams in order to share these revolutionary findings with the world for the first time.The Bestiary: Mermaid, Unicorn, Wild Man, Gnome, Werewolf, Troll, Fairy, Jackalope, Winged Horse, Centaur, Minotaur, Vampire, Dragon, Sea Monsters/Loch Ness/Kraken, Goblin, Sphinx, Phoenix, Harpy, Cyclops, Banshee, Incubus/Succubus, Nymph, Ghoul, Selkie, Kelpie

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Honorable Mention, 2020 Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize, given by the Modern Language Association Uncovers the queer logics of premodern religious and secular texts Putting premodern theology and poetry in dialogue with contemporary theory and politics, Queer Faith reassess the commonplace view that a modern veneration of sexual monogamy and fidelity finds its roots in Protestant thought. What if this narrative of “history and tradition” suppresses the queerness of its own foundational texts? Queer Faith examines key works of the prehistory of monogamy—from Paul to Luther, Petrarch to Shakespeare—to show that writing assumed to promote fidelity in fact articulates the affordances of promiscuity, both in its sexual sense and in its larger designation of all that is impure and disorderly. At the same time, Melissa E. Sanchez resists casting promiscuity as the ethical, queer alternative to monogamy, tracing instead how ideals of sexual liberation are themselves attached to nascent racial and economic hierarchies. Because discourses of fidelity and freedom are also discourses on racial and sexual positionality, excavating the complex historical entanglement of faith, race, and eroticism is urgent to contemporary queer debates about normativity, agency, and relationality. Deliberately unfaithful to disciplinary norms and national boundaries, this book assembles new conceptual frameworks at the juncture of secular and religious thought, political and aesthetic form. It thereby enlarges the contexts, objects, and authorized genealogies of queer scholarship. Retracing a history that did not have to be, Sanchez recovers writing that inscribes radical queer insights at the premodern foundations of conservative and heteronormative culture.

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A guide to the intersection of trauma and special needs, featuring strategies teachers can use to build resilience and counter the effects of trauma on learning and behavior.Childhood trauma is a national health crisis. As many as two out of every three children in any classroom across the country have experienced some form of trauma. Meanwhile, a recent study in Washington State showed that 80 percent of the children eligible for special education services were exposed to early childhood trauma, which has been linked to developmental disabilities. Add in the fact that Black children are four times more likely to be classified with intellectual disabilities and five times more likely than white students to be classified with an emotional or behavioral disorder, and the already daunting complexity of effectively serving kids with an individualized education program (IEP) becomes overwhelming.This is a whole school problem that requires a whole school solution. All educators in both general and special education should learn how trauma affects the brain and how any resulting atypical neurological and psychological development affects learning and behavior.In Trauma-Informed Teaching and IEPs, trauma expert Melissa Sadin presents strategies for supporting the most vulnerable students in general or special education settings, across grade levels, and across the curriculum. You'll learn to* Understand the effects of childhood trauma on the brain, learning, and behavior.Weave caring into trauma-informed instruction.Apply a trauma-informed lens to crafting IEPs.Conduct trauma-informed functional behavior assessments.Once you understand the effects of trauma on learning and development, you will explore classroom strategies and IEP goals and modifications that can actually help to heal your students.With rich examples and helpful strategies, Trauma-Informed Teaching and IEPs gives teachers the most effective tools to help build resilience for every student, no matter their needs.

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Gigi wants to go by something besides her baby name—but her full name, Geraldine, is too long to write and Hanako, her middle name, doesn’t feel quite right. Will Gigi find the perfect name?This exciting new I Can Read series is brought to you by author-illustrator Melissa Iwai, whose popular books include Soup Day and Dumplings for Lili.Gigi and Ojiji: What’s in a Name? is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level 3 books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories. The story contains several Japanese words and a glossary of definitions.Praise for Gigi and Ojiji:"Gigi crafts her Japanese American identity in this ­enchanting early reader. The cuteness, inclusivity, and cross-cultural problem-solving represented will have young ­readers coming back again and again. A must-buy." —School Library Journal (starred review)"The text is well supported by the endearing illustrations, which capture all of Gigi’s big emotions and depict her as a biracial child, with a white father and Japanese mother." —ALA Booklist (starred review)"An affirming option in the quickly diversifying field of early-reader books." —Kirkus ReviewsA 2023 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor titleEl día de los niños, el día de los libros selection 2023ALSC Notable 2023CBC Teacher and Librarian Favorites Award 2023A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year in the 5-9 beginning reader category (2023)A Chicago Public Library Best of the BestA CCBC 2024 Choices for the Books for Beginning Readers category!

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Traditionally a male-dominated field, street photography is increasingly becoming the domain of women. This fantastic collection of images reflects that shift, showcasing 100 contemporary women street photographers working around the world today, accompanied by personal statements about their work. Variously joyful, unsettling and unexpected, the photographs capture a wide range of extraordinary moments. The volume is curated by Gulnara Samoilova, founder of the Women Street Photographers project: a website, social media platform and annual exhibition. Photographer Melissa Breyer's introductory essay explores how the genre has intersected with gender throughout history, looking at how cultural changes in gender roles have overlapped with technological developments in the camera to allow key historical figures to emerge. Her text is complemented by a foreword by renowned photojournalist Ami Vitale, whose career as a war photographer and, later, global travels with National Geographic have allowed a unique insight into the realities of working as a woman photographer in different countries. In turns intimate and candid, the photographs featured in this book offer a kaleidoscopic glimpse of what happens when women across the world are behind the camera.

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In this new book, Melissa A. Kucinski focuses on the means that allows the child's voice to be heard -- the appointment of a child’s attorney. Among other responsibilities, the child’s attorney can engage the necessary professionals, safely gather the child's words and preferences, perform outside investigation to put the them into context, and then interpret them in the most appropriate manner. Opinions are evolving about how to keep the child as the case's focus, but this also raises a wide range of questions and concerns: why should we listen to a child, what potential concerns exist when listening to them, and how do we solicit their opinions? A Practical Handbook for the Child's Attorney presents a logical and clearly presented framework for addressing those questions and providing the most productive answers. This is a hands-on guide essential to any attorney working with a child as legal counsel. Because of the myriad roles, titles, guidelines and standards for attorneys representing children, the handbook focuses on the ABA Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Children in Custody Cases, pointing out cases where state laws may differ. Chapters address in-depth these critical aspects of the child's attorney's role: Ethics and malpractice Investigation and information gathering Negotiation and settlement International cases Appendices include three charts listing, by state, helpful regulations for the child's attorney, a summary of state statutes, and the laws governing for representation of children in court. In addition, the book includes sample forms, cases, and resources for further research.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 ANDRE SIMON BEST COOKBOOK AWARD _______________ The BBC Radio 4 Food Programme Books of the Year 2022 The Observer New Review Books of the Year 2022 The Telegraph Top Cookbooks of 2022 The Financial Times Top 5 Cookbooks of 2022 The Week Best food books of 2022 Delicious Magazine Best Cook Books of 2022 _______________ 'Melissa captures her love of food and its roots deliciously' - Ainsley Harriott Motherland is a cookbook that charts the history of the people, influences and ingredients that uniquely united to create the wonderful patchwork cuisine that is Jamaican food today. There are recipes for the classics, like saltfish fritters, curry goat and patties, as well as Melissa’s own twists and family favourites, such as: Oxtail nuggets with pepper sauce mayo Ginger beer prawns Smoky aubergine rundown Sticky rum and tamarind wings Grapefruit cassava cake Guinness punch pie. Running through the recipes are essays charting the origins and evolution of Jamaica’s famous dishes, from the contribution of indigenous Jamaicans, the Redware and Taíno peoples; the impact of the Spanish and British colonisation; the inspiration and cooking techniques brought from West and Central Africa by enslaved men and women; and the influence of Indian and Chinese indentured workers who came to the island. Motherland does not shy away from the brutality of the colonial periods, but takes us on a journey through more than 500 years of history to give context to the beloved island and its cuisine. 'Visually stunning with wonderful writing and recipes, it’s a love song to the people, food and history of Jamaica and is sure to be a classic' Sarah Winman 'A masterful work and a must for any lover of the food of Jamaica and the Caribbean region or simply anyone who loves good food' - Dr Jessica B. Harris

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_____One of The Observer's Best Children's Books of 2018! Fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and The Children of Blood and Bone have been getting lost in The Hazel Wood..."The Hazel Wood kept me up all night. I had every light burning and the covers pulled tight around me as I fell completely into the dark and beautiful world within its pages. Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years". -Jennifer Niven, author of All The Bright Places-----Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice's grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate - the Hazel Wood - Alice learns how bad her luck can really get. Her mother is stolen, by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world from her grandmother's stories. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD.To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began . . . -----"This book will be your next obsession. Welcome to the Hazel Wood, where bad luck is a living thing, princesses are doomed, and every page contains a wondrously terrible adventure - it's not safe inside these pages, but once you enter, you may never want to leave." - Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval "Realism and fantasy blue in this strange and bewitching tale" The ObserverMelissa Albert has created a world as dark, twisted and magical as Alice in Wonderland or Harry Potter. Will you escape the Hazel Wood?

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Scaling walls, crawling through mud, climbing ropes, and sprinting across rugged terrain. Obstacle course racing is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, and it’s gaining popularity around the world. The sport is grueling, demanding, and intensely satisfying if you prepare, train, and know what to expect. Only The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training can ensure you will be ready. Authored by David Magida, founder of Elevate Interval Fitness and member of the Spartan Race pro team, and Melissa Rodriguez, former contributing editor for Mud & Obstacle magazine, this in-depth guide breaks down the events, obstacles, common difficulties, and strategies for negotiating all challenges. Most important, it presents the tools and the plan to prepare—physically and mentally—for the unforgettable adventure that awaits. Inside you’ll find 100 of the most effective exercises for grip strength, mobility, balance, power, strength, and endurance as well as 28 workouts you can immediately start to use. You’ll also find advice on conquering course challenges, preventing injuries, and selecting events and mental strategies for focusing, concentrating, and overcoming fear. Through experience and expertise, Magida and Rodriguez have created the most complete, accessible, and effective guide to the sport. Whether you’re competing for your first or your hundredth event, preparation and confidence are key. With The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training, you’ll conquer every challenge.

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This project is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art.When Elizabeth Cady Stanton penned the Declaration of Sentiments for the first women’s rights convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, she unleashed a powerful force in American society. In A Sisterhood of Sculptors, Melissa Dabakis outlines the conditions under which a group of American women artists adopted this egalitarian view of society and negotiated the gendered terrain of artistic production at home and abroad. Between 1850 and 1876, a community of talented women sought creative refuge in Rome and developed successful professional careers as sculptors. Some of these women have become well known in art-historical circles: Harriet Hosmer, Edmonia Lewis, Anne Whitney, and Vinnie Ream. The reputations of others have remained, until now, buried in the historical record: Emma Stebbins, Margaret Foley, Sarah Fisher Ames, and Louisa Lander. At midcentury, they were among the first women artists to attain professional stature in the American art world while achieving international fame in Rome, London, and other cosmopolitan European cities. In their invention of modern womanhood, they served as models for a younger generation of women who adopted artistic careers in unprecedented numbers in the years following the Civil War.At its core, A Sisterhood of Sculptors is concerned with the gendered nature of creativity and expatriation. Taking guidance from feminist theory, cultural geography, and expatriate and postcolonial studies, Dabakis provides a detailed investigation of the historical phenomenon of women’s artistic lives in Rome in the mid-nineteenth century. As an interdisciplinary examination of femininity and creativity, it provides models for viewing and interpreting nineteenth-century sculpture and for analyzing the gendered status of the artistic profession.

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Essays in this collection have been recently and prominently published: “Still God Helps You: Memories of a Sudanese Child Slave,” first published in Wilson Quarterly (2013), was a Byliner exclusive, recognized by The Atlantic as one of the year’s “Fantastic Pieces of Journalism,” and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. “Circle of Friends” was published in Amtrak’s Arrive magazine (July/August 2014). “A Solemn Pleasure” appeared in the David Shields/Bradford Morrow anthology The Inevitable: Contemporary Writers Confront Death. “Finding Ashton” and an excerpt from “Doxology” appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine. Melissa Pritchard is a prolific writer whose fiction and nonfiction has been anthologized in over fifteen books and appeared in over sixty literary journals. She is also an award-winning teacher of creative writing at Arizona State University, and has amassed a devoted following among her students. Pritchard’s extraordinary storytelling skills, developed as a fiction writer, lend themselves perfectly to conveying the stories of her travels, spiritual pursuits, historical research, and empathy for the people who have crossed her path. Inaugural book in Bellevue Literary Press’ new The Art of the Essay series, with a Foreword by bestselling novelist and Harvard University Director of Creative Writing Bret Anthony Johnston.

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An incisive look at Hmong religion in the United States, where resettled refugees found creative ways to maintain their traditions, even as Christian organizations deputized by the government were granted an outsized influence on the refugees’ new lives.Every year, members of the Hmong Christian Church of God in Minneapolis gather for a cherished Thanksgiving celebration. But this Thanksgiving takes place in the spring, in remembrance of the turbulent days in May 1975 when thousands of Laotians were evacuated for resettlement in the United States. For many Hmong, passage to America was also a spiritual crossing. As they found novel approaches to living, they also embraced Christianity—called kev cai tshiab, “the new way”—as a means of navigating their complex spiritual landscapes.Melissa May Borja explores how this religious change happened and what it has meant for Hmong culture. American resettlement policies unintentionally deprived Hmong of the resources necessary for their time-honored rituals, in part because these practices, blending animism, ancestor worship, and shamanism, challenged many Christian-centric definitions of religion. At the same time, because the government delegated much of the resettlement work to Christian organizations, refugees developed close and dependent relationships with Christian groups. Ultimately the Hmong embraced Christianity on their own terms, adjusting to American spiritual life while finding opportunities to preserve their customs.Follow the New Way illustrates America’s wavering commitments to pluralism and secularism, offering a much-needed investigation into the public work done by religious institutions with the blessing of the state. But in the creation of a Christian-inflected Hmong American animism we see the resilience of tradition—how it deepens under transformative conditions.

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A groundbreaking integrated approach to reading assessment that addresses each child's unique Learning Profile Fifteen to twenty percent of our nation's children have reading difficulties. Educational evalua-tors must be able to use progress monitoring and diagnostic tools effectively to identify students who may be at risk, evaluate the effectiveness of school-wide reading programs, and suggest interventions that will improve reading skills. Written from a strengths-based perspective, Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition is the first book of its kind to present a research-based, integrated review of reading, cognition, and oral language testing and assessment. Author Melissa Lee Farrall explores the theoretical underpinnings of reading, language, and literacy, explains the background of debates surrounding these topics, and provides detailed information and administration tips on the wide range of reading inventories and standardized tests that may be used in a reading psychoeducational assessment. With a focus on how to craft professional evaluation reports that illuminate a student's strengths—not just weaknesses—Reading Assessment enables school psychologists and diagnosticians, reading specialists, and special education professionals to conduct evaluations and develop effective interdisciplinary remedial recommendations and interventions. Clear, engaging, and inviting, Reading Assessment features: Case examples and practice exercises Chapter-opening reviews of each theory Strengths, weaknesses, and potential problems of tests and their interpretations Chapter-ending review questions that foster skill development and critical thinking Comprehensive information on more than 50 different assessment tests Reading Assessment is an invaluable resource that helps professionals gain the knowledge and skills to confidently interpret test results and prepare detailed and effective evaluation reports designed to meet each child's unique needs as a learner.

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Scholars in COVID Times documents the new and innovative forms of scholarship, community collaboration, and teaching brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this volume, Melissa Castillo Planas and Debra A. Castillo bring together a diverse range of texts, from research-based studies to self-reflective essays, to reexamine what it means to be a publicly engaged scholar in the era of COVID. Between social distancing, masking, and remote teaching—along with the devastating physical and emotional tolls on individuals and families—the disruption of COVID-19 in academia has given motivated scholars an opportunity (or necessitated them) to reconsider how they interact with and inspire students, conduct research, and continue collaborative projects. Addressing a broad range of factors, from anti-Asian racism to pedagogies of resilience and escapism, digital pen pals to international performance, the essays are connected by a flexible, creative approach to community engagement as a core aspect of research and teaching. Timely and urgent, but with long-term implications and applications, Scholars in COVID Times offers a heterogeneous vision of scholarly and pedagogical innovation in an era of contestation and crisis.

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Sport coaches play a major role in the lives of athletes. Too often, however, the delivery of quality coaching is left to chance. Athletes deserve coaches that create positive environments, foster skill development and build character. In Coach Education Essentials, leading coach educators and professionals from around the world cover the core elements of coach education and development. As well as this, leaders describe how best to understand, cultivate and evaluate quality coaching. Edited by Kristen Dieffenback and Melissa Thompson, this essential text is the most authoritative resource on the topic. The book’s contributors include John Bales, Wade Gilbert, Penny Crisfield, Daniel Gould, Luke Jones and many more. Grounded in current research and emerging trends in the field, Coach Education Essentials adheres to guidelines established by the International Council for Coaching Framework (ICCE). It is also consistent with the ICCE’s International Sport Coaching Framework. Chapters cover the roles and responsibilities of the coach across various levels of sport. These range from prepubescent participation to Olympic-level competition. There are also chapters covering current models of coaching education, training and certification used by leading sport organisations. Coach Education Essentials is a comprehensive, insightful and practical resource for those invested in the development and advancement of coaching education. It is an asset to all promoting coaching as a profession.

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"We need more beautifully illustrated and involving non-fiction like this. Wade and Castrillón introduce nanoscience with perfect clarity and inviting pictures." – The Sunday Times "Beautiful ... plunges deep into the world of atoms, materials and the applications of nanoscience, with accessible text and richly shaded pictures." – Guardian This exciting non-fiction picture book introduces young readers to the fascinating (and cutting-edge) science of the very, very small. Everything is made from something – but the way we make things, from the materials we use to the science and technology involved, is changing fast. Nano offers a fascinating narrative introduction to this cutting-edge area of STEM, better known by the name "nanotechnology". With words by Dr Jess Wade – a highly skilled physicist and trailblazing campaigner for diversity in STEM fields – and beautiful, dynamic pictures by award-winning artist Melissa Castrillón, this is the perfect book for budding young scientists and engineers. "A truly rare science book that neither talks down to children nor goes over the heads. Dr Jess Wade makes one of the most complex areas of science instantly accessible, drawing out the wonder and beauty of materials at the nanoscale, while inspiring young readers to want to know more[...] Sumptuously illustrated, deeply informative and clever, this is the gift I'll be giving to all the children I know." – Angela Saini, science journalist, broadcaster and author

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What really distinguishes the people who literally change the world--those creative geniuses who give us one breakthrough after another? What differentiates Marie Curie or Elon Musk from the merely creative, the many one-hit wonders among us?Melissa Schilling, one of the world's leading experts on innovation, invites us into the lives of eight people--Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Elon Musk, Dean Kamen, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs--to identify the traits and experiences that drove them to make spectacular breakthroughs, over and over again. While all innovators possess incredible intellect, intellect alone, she shows, does not create a breakthrough innovator. It was their personal, social, and emotional quirkiness that enabled true genius to break through--not just once but again and again.Nearly all of the innovators, for example, exhibited high levels of social detachment that enabled them to break with norms, an almost maniacal faith in their ability to overcome obstacles, and a passionate idealism that pushed them to work with intensity even in the face of criticism or failure. While these individual traits would be unlikely to work in isolation--being unconventional without having high levels of confidence, effort, and goal directedness might, for example, result in rebellious behavior that does not lead to meaningful outcomes--together they can fuel both the ability and drive to pursue what others deem impossible.Schilling shares the science behind the convergence of traits that increases the likelihood of success. And, as Schilling also reveals, there is much to learn about nurturing breakthrough innovation in our own lives--in, for example, the way we run organizations, manage people, and even how we raise our children.

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THE RIVETING TRUE STORY OF HOW THE FBI BROUGHT DOWN THE FEARSOME MIGUEL TREVIÑO, LEADER OF LOS ZETAS, MEXICO'S MOST VIOLENT DRUG CARTEL.Drugs, money, cartels: this is what FBI rookie Scott Lawson expected when he was sent to the border town of Laredo, but instead he's deskbound writing intelligence reports about the drug war. Then, one day, Lawson is asked to check out an anonymous tip: a horse was sold at an Oklahoma auction house for a record-topping price, and the buyer was Miguel Treviño, one of the leaders of the Zetas, Mexico's most brutal drug cartel. The source suggested that Treviño was laundering money through American quarter horse racing. If this was true, it offered a rookie like Lawson the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the cartel. Lawson teams up with a more experienced agent, Alma Perez, and, taking on impossible odds, sets out to take down one of the world's most fearsome drug lords. In Bloodlines, Emmy and National Magazine Award-winning journalist Melissa del Bosque follows Lawson and Perez's harrowing attempt to dismantle a cartel leader's American racing dynasty built on extortion and blood money. Throwing back the curtain on the inner workings of cartel kingpins and law enforcement agencies, del Bosque turns more than three years of research and her decades of reporting on Mexico and the border into a gripping narrative about greed and corruption. Bloodlines offers us an unprecedented look at the inner workings of the Zetas and US federal agencies, and opens a new vista onto the changing nature of the drug war and its global expansion.

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A critical examination of the rise of wearable EEG monitors.From Fitbits to GPS trackers, wearables promise to help us understand and improve ourselves in quantified ways. We count our steps, track our location, and even monitor our brain waves as we strive to achieve better fitness, clearer direction, or a more focused mind. But why do we rely on wearables to learn about ourselves? In Instrumental Intimacy, Melissa M. Littlefield questions our desire for mechanistic guidance by examining brain-based EEG wearables that promise to improve sleep, relationships, self-knowledge, and learning. Littlefield focuses specifically on EEGs’ transition out of the laboratory and into the hands of consumers. While other brain-imaging technologies (such as MRI, PET, and MEG) are used only in specialized laboratories, human electroencephalography (a.k.a. EEG) is embedded in portable, user-friendly devices. These direct-to-consumer wearables visualize brain activity as accessible data, and many offer the promise of self-optimization.Littlefield’s illuminating book brings the histories of EEG to bear on the contemporary development of EEG wearables via case studies of EEG-based sleep aids, bio-mapping instruments, fashionable surveillance tools, and athletic training devices. The author argues that, over the past century, applied uses of EEG helped to create new states of mind to be monitored and manipulated, as well as discourses about the existence of brain waves and their viability as a tool for brain optimization. By contextualizing and analyzing EEG wearables, Instrumental Intimacy provides a crucial intervention in an emergent consumer market and in the scholarly fields of STS, critical neuroscience, and the history of technology.

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With the NASDAQ having lost 70 percent of its value, the giddy, optimistic belief in perpetual growth that accompanied the economic boom of the 1990s had fizzled by 2002. Yet the advances in information and communication technology, management and production techniques, and global integration that spurred the “New Economy” of the 1990s had triggered profound and lasting changes. Frontiers of Capital brings together ethnographies exploring how cultural practices and social relations have been altered by the radical economic and technological innovations of the New Economy. The contributors, most of whom are anthropologists, investigate changes in the practices and interactions of futures traders, Chinese entrepreneurs, residents of French housing projects, women working on Wall Street, cable television programmers, and others.Some contributors highlight how expedited flows of information allow business professionals to develop new knowledge practices. They analyze dynamics ranging from the decision-making processes of the Federal Reserve Board to the legal maneuvering necessary to buttress a nascent Japanese market in over-the-counter derivatives. Others focus on the social consequences of globalization and new modes of communication, evaluating the introduction of new information technologies into African communities and the collaborative practices of open-source computer programmers. Together the essays suggest that social relations, rather than becoming less relevant in the high-tech age, have become more important than ever. This finding dovetails with the thinking of many corporations, which increasingly employ anthropologists to study and explain the “local” cultural practices of their own workers and consumers. Frontiers of Capital signals the wide-ranging role of anthropology in explaining the social and cultural contours of the New Economy.Contributors. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff, Greg Downey, Melissa S. Fisher, Douglas R. Holmes, George E. Marcus, Siobhán O’Mahony, Aihwa Ong, Annelise Riles, Saskia Sassen, Paul A. Silverstein, AbdouMaliq Simone, Neil Smith, Caitlin Zaloom

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Since World War II, Protestant sermons have been an influential tool for defining American citizenship in the wake of national crises.In the aftermath of national tragedies, Americans often turn to churches for solace. Because even secular citizens attend these services, they are also significant opportunities for the Protestant religious majority to define and redefine national identity and, in the process, to invest the nation-state with divinity. The sermons delivered in the wake of crises become integral to historical and communal memory—it matters greatly who is mourned and who is overlooked.Melissa M. Matthes conceives of these sermons as theo-political texts. In When Sorrow Comes, she explores the continuities and discontinuities they reveal in the balance of state power and divine authority following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassinations of JFK and MLK, the Rodney King verdict, the Oklahoma City bombing, the September 11 attacks, the Newtown shootings, and the Black Lives Matter movement. She argues that Protestant preachers use these moments to address questions about Christianity and citizenship and about the responsibilities of the Church and the State to respond to a national crisis. She also shows how post-crisis sermons have codified whiteness in ritual narratives of American history, excluding others from the collective account. These civic liturgies therefore illustrate the evolution of modern American politics and society.Despite perceptions of the decline of religious authority in the twentieth century, the pulpit retains power after national tragedies. Sermons preached in such intense times of mourning and reckoning serve as a form of civic education with consequences for how Americans understand who belongs to the nation and how to imagine its future.

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With the rise of DevOps, low-cost cloud computing, and container technologies, the way Java developers approach development today has changed dramatically. This practical guide helps you take advantage of microservices, serverless, and cloud native technologies using the latest DevOps techniques to simplify your build process and create hyperproductive teams. Stephen Chin, Melissa McKay, Ixchel Ruiz, and Baruch Sadogursky from JFrog help you evaluate an array of options. The list includes source control with Git, build declaration with Maven and Gradle, CI/CD with CircleCI, package management with Artifactory, containerization with Docker and Kubernetes, and much more. Whether you're building applications with Jakarta EE, Spring Boot, Dropwizard, MicroProfile, Micronaut, or Quarkus, this comprehensive guide has you covered. Explore software lifecycle best practices Use DevSecOps methodologies to facilitate software development and delivery Understand the business value of DevSecOps best practices Manage and secure software dependencies Develop and deploy applications using containers and cloud native technologies Manage and administrate source control repositories and development processes Use automation to set up and administer build pipelines Identify common deployment patterns and antipatterns Maintain and monitor software after deployment

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From the 1880s to the early 1900s, a particularly turbulent period of U.S. race relations, the African American novel provided a powerful counternarrative to dominant and pejorative ideas about blackness. In Afro ­-Realisms and the Romances of Race, Melissa Daniels- ­Rauterkus uncovers how black and white writers experimented with innovative narrative strategies to revise static and stereotypical views of black identity and experience. In this provocative and challenging book, Daniels ­-Rauterkus contests the long ­-standing idea that African Americans did not write literary realism, along with the inverse misconception that white writers did not make important contributions to African American literature. Taking up key works by Charles W. Chesnutt, Frances E. W. Harper, Pauline Hopkins, William Dean Howells, and Mark Twain, Daniels- ­Rauterkus argues that authors blended realism with romance, often merging mimetic and melodramatic conventions to advocate on behalf of African Americans, challenge popular theories of racial identity, disrupt the expectations of the literary marketplace, and widen the possibilities for black representation in fiction. Combining literary history with close textual analysis, Daniels ­-Rauterkus reads black and white writers alongside each other to demonstrate the reciprocal nature of literary production. Moving beyond discourses of racial authenticity and cultural property, Daniels ­-Rauterkus stresses the need to organize African American literature around black writers and their meditations on blackness, but she also proposes leaving space for nonblack writers whose use of comparable narrative strategies can facilitate reconsiderations of the complex social order that constitutes race in America. With Afro- ­Realisms and the Romances of Race, Daniels- ­Rauterkus expands critical understandings of American literary realism and African American literature by destabilizing the rigid binaries that too often define discussions of race, genre, and periodization.

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In 2011, the United States launched its third regime-change attempt in a decade. Like earlier targets, Libya's Muammar Qaddafi had little hope of defeating the forces stacked against him. He seemed to recognize this when calling for a cease-fire just after the intervention began. But by then, the United States had determined it was better to oust him than negotiate and thus backed his opposition. The history of foreign-imposed regime change is replete with leaders like Qaddafi, overthrown after wars they seemed unlikely to win. From the British ouster of Afghanistan's Sher Ali in 1878 to the Soviet overthrow of Hungary's Imre Nagy in 1956, regime change has been imposed on the weak and the friendless. In Toppling Foreign Governments, Melissa Willard-Foster explores the question of why stronger nations overthrow governments when they could attain their aims at the bargaining table. She identifies a central cause—the targeted leader's domestic political vulnerability—that not only gives the leader motive to resist a stronger nation's demands, making a bargain more difficult to attain, but also gives the stronger nation reason to believe that regime change will be comparatively cheap. As long as the targeted leader's domestic opposition is willing to collaborate with the foreign power, the latter is likely to conclude that ousting the leader is more cost effective than negotiating. Willard-Foster analyzes 133 instances of regime change, ranging from covert operations to major military invasions, and spanning over two hundred years. She also conducts three in-depth case studies that support her contention that domestically and militarily weak leaders appear more costly to coerce than overthrow and, as long as they remain ubiquitous, foreign-imposed regime change is likely to endure.

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When Eva - a video game streamer who is secretly the superhero RADIANT PINK - is invited to the biggest charity stream event of the year, she sees her chance to use her platform for good. But when a surprise attack sends her hurtling across dimensions, Eva will have to rely on everything she has to make it home in one piece. Streaming superstar MEGHAN CAMARENA and MELISSA FLORES (THE DEAD LUCKY) are joined by third-generation comics artist EMMA KUBERT (INKBLOT) for a universe-hopping thrill-ride from the world of RADIANT BLACK!RADIANT PINK is a part of the MASSIVE-VERSE! Collects RADIANT PINK #1-5WHAT IS THE MASSIVE-VERSE?Kyle Higgins & Marcelo Costa's breakout hit Radiant Black took superhero storytelling to new heights. But Radiant Black isn't the only character inhabiting the MASSIVE-VERSE. There's a whole universe for readers to explore! Characters like Rogue Sun, Inferno Girl Red, The Dead Lucky and more yet to be revealed each of them has a different story to tell, different adversaries to face and they each occupy a very different corner of this shared universe. What are you waiting for? Now's the time to get into the MASSIVE-VERSE!

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Examines the significant role of women in the conservative movement Notable for its radical conservative views, the Tea Party is progressive in one way that much of mainstream US politics is not: it has among its most vocal members not spokesmen but spokeswomen. Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Governor Nikki Haley, US Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and many others are all prominent figureheads for the fiery and prominent political movement. Many major Tea Party organizations, such as the Tea Party Patriots, are led by women and women have been instrumental in founding new right wing organizations for women, such as Smart Girl Politics, with ties to the movement. In Tea Party Women, Melissa Deckman explores the role of women in creating and leading the movement and the greater significance of women’s involvement in the Tea Party for our understanding of female political leadership and the future of women in the American Right. Through national-level public opinion data, observation at Tea Party rallies, and interviews with female Tea Party leaders, Deckman demonstrates that many Tea Party women find the grassroots, decentralized nature of the movement to be more inclusive for them than mainstream Republican politics. She lays out the ways in which these women gain traction by recasting conservative political issues such as the deficit and gun control as issues affecting families, and how they rely on traditional gender roles as mothers and homemakers to underscore their particular expertise in understanding these issues. Furthermore, she examines how many Tea Party women claim to write off traditional feminist issues like reproductive rights and gender discrimination as distracting from the real issues affecting women, such as economic policies, and how some even reclaim the mantel of ‘feminism’ as signifying freedom and independence from government overreach—tactics that have over time been adopted by mainstream Republicans. Whether the Tea Party terrifies or fascinates you, Tea Party Women provides a behind-the-scenes look at the women behind an enduring and influential faction in American politics.

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Tosa Mitsunobu and the Small Scroll in Medieval Japan is the first book-length study to focus on short-story small scrolls (ko-e), one of the most complex but visually appealing forms of early Japanese painting. Small picture scrolls emerged in Japan during the fourteenth century and were unusual in constituting approximately half the height of the narrative handscrolls that had been produced and appreciated in Japan for centuries. Melissa McCormick's history of the small scroll tells the story of its emergence and highlights its unique pictorial qualities and production contexts in ways that illuminate the larger history of Japanese narrative painting. Small scrolls illustrated short stories of personal transformation, a new literary form suffused with an awareness of the Buddhist notion of the illusory nature of worldly desires. The most accomplished examples of the genre resulted from the collaboration of the imperial court painter Tosa Mitsunobu (active ca. 1469-1522) and the erudite Kyoto aristocrat Sanjonishi Sanetaka (1455-1537). McCormick unveils the cultural milieu and the politics of patronage through diaries, letters, and archival materials, exposing the many layers of allusion that were embedded in these scrolls, while offering close readings that articulate the artistic language developed to an extreme level of refinement. In doing so, McCormick also offers the first sustained examination in English of Tosa Mitsunobu's extensive and underappreciated body of artistic achievements. The three scrolls that form the core of the study are A Wakeful Sleep (Utatane soshi emaki), which recounts the miraculous union of a man and a woman who had previously encountered each other only in their dreams; The Jizo Hall (Jizodo soshi emaki), which tells the story of a wayward monk who achieves enlightenment with the help of a dragon princess; and Breaking the Inkstone (Suzuriwari soshi emaki), which narrates the sacrifice of a young boy for his household servant and its tragic consequences. These three works are easily among the most artistically accomplished and sophisticated small scrolls to have survived.

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Examines the significant role of women in the conservative movement Notable for its radical conservative views, the Tea Party is progressive in one way that much of mainstream US politics is not: it has among its most vocal members not spokesmen but spokeswomen. Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Governor Nikki Haley, US Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and many others are all prominent figureheads for the fiery and prominent political movement. Many major Tea Party organizations, such as the Tea Party Patriots, are led by women and women have been instrumental in founding new right wing organizations for women, such as Smart Girl Politics, with ties to the movement. In Tea Party Women, Melissa Deckman explores the role of women in creating and leading the movement and the greater significance of women’s involvement in the Tea Party for our understanding of female political leadership and the future of women in the American Right. Through national-level public opinion data, observation at Tea Party rallies, and interviews with female Tea Party leaders, Deckman demonstrates that many Tea Party women find the grassroots, decentralized nature of the movement to be more inclusive for them than mainstream Republican politics. She lays out the ways in which these women gain traction by recasting conservative political issues such as the deficit and gun control as issues affecting families, and how they rely on traditional gender roles as mothers and homemakers to underscore their particular expertise in understanding these issues. Furthermore, she examines how many Tea Party women claim to write off traditional feminist issues like reproductive rights and gender discrimination as distracting from the real issues affecting women, such as economic policies, and how some even reclaim the mantel of ‘feminism’ as signifying freedom and independence from government overreach—tactics that have over time been adopted by mainstream Republicans. Whether the Tea Party terrifies or fascinates you, Tea Party Women provides a behind-the-scenes look at the women behind an enduring and influential faction in American politics.

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"Gigi crafts her Japanese American identity in this ­enchanting early reader. The cuteness, inclusivity, and cross-cultural problem-solving represented will have young ­readers coming back again and again. A must-buy." —School Library Journal (starred review)"The text is well supported by the endearing illustrations, which capture all of Gigi’s big emotions and depict her as a biracial child, with a white father and Japanese mother." —Booklist (starred review)"An affirming option in the quickly diversifying field of early-reader books." —KirkusGigi, a biracial six-year-old girl, learns about her Japanese culture from her grandfather when he comes to visit. Perfect for social emotional learning. Gigi can’t wait for her Ojiji—Japanese grandpa—to move in. Gigi plans lots of things to do with him, like playing tag, reading books, and teaching Roscoe, the family dog, new tricks.But her plans don’t work out quite the way she’d hoped. And her grandpa doesn’t seem to like Roscoe. Will Gigi find a way to connect with her Ojiji?This exciting new I Can Read series is brought to you by author-illustrator Melissa Iwai, whose popular books include Soup Day and Dumplings for Lili.Gigi and Ojiji is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level 3 books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories. The story contains several Japanese words and a glossary of definitions and pronunciations.Acclaim for Gigi and Ojiji: A 2023 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor titleEl día de los niños, el día de los libros selection 2023ALSC Notable 2023CBC Teacher and Librarian Favorites Award 2023A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year in the 5-9 beginning reader category! (2023)

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What does it mean to be a compassionate, caring person in Russia, which has become a country of stark income inequalities and political restrictions? How might ethics and practices of kindness constitute a mode of civic participation in which "doing good" - helping, caring for, and loving one another in a world marked by many problems and few easy solutions-is a necessary part of being an active citizen? Living Faithfully in an Unjust World explores how, following the retreat of the Russian state from social welfare services, Russians' efforts to "do the right thing" for their communities have forged new modes of social justice and civic engagement. Through vivid ethnography based on twenty years of research within a thriving Moscow-based network of religious and secular charitable service providers, Melissa L. Caldwell examines how community members care for a broad range of Russia's population, in Moscow and beyond, through programs that range from basic health services to human rights advocacy. As the experiences of assistance workers, government officials, recipients, and supporters reveal, their work and beliefs are shaped by a practical philosophy of goodness and kindness. Despite the hardships these individuals witness on a regular basis, there is a pervasive sense of optimism that human kindness will prevail over poverty, injury, and injustice. Ultimately, what connects members of this diverse group is a shared belief that caring for others is not simply a practical matter or an idealistic vision but a project of faith and hope. Together care-seekers and care-givers destabilize and remake the meaning of "faith" and "faith-based" by putting into practice a vision of humanitarianism that transcends the boundaries between state and private, religious and secular.

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The healthy-eating cookbook that's been on the New York Times Bestseller List for TWO YEARS! Get on the path to better health, effortless weight loss, and incredible improvements in sleep quality, energy, and mood with THE WHOLE 30.Melissa and Dallas Hartwig are the authors of New York Times bestseller IT STARTS WITH FOOD, which has taken America by storm, and the founders of the Whole 9, an online community focused on health, fitness, and sanity serving 1.5 million visitors a month.Their new book THE WHOLE 30 provides all the resources you need to reset your health. Based on Paleo diet principles, this is not a traditional diet book but a way to implement lasting change in your life by eating real food for 30 days. With the measurements and products in the book fully adapted for UK readers, with no conversions needed, it couldn't be easier to start cooking and improve your life. By following the WHOLE 30 programme, the authors argue that you can reclaim your health and transform your relationship with food in the long term. The authors' positive empowering message and the health benefits and weight loss this programme can bring make this book potentially life changing.Motivating and inspiring with just the right amount of Dallas' and Melissa's signature tough love, THE WHOLE 30 features real-life success stories, answers to common questions, detailed elimination and reintroduction guidelines, and more than 100 recipes using familiar ingredients, from simple one-pot meals to complete dinner party menus.

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The poet and founder of the music collective Flowers for the Living pays tribute to all Black women by focusing on visionaries and leaders who are making history right now, including Ava DuVernay, Janelle Monae, Kamala Harris, Misty Copeland, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Robin Roberts, Roxane Gay, and Simone Biles—with this compilation of celebratory odes featuring full-color illustrations by Melissa Koby.Black women are exceptional. To honor how Black women use their minds, talent, passion, and power to transform society, Harold Green began writing love letters in verse which he shared on his Instagram account. Balm for our troubled times, his tributes to visionaries and leaders quickly went viral and became a social media sensation. Now, in this remarkable collection, Green brings together many of these popular odes with never-before-seen works. A timely celebration of contemporary Black figures who are making history and shaping our culture today, Black Roses is divided into five sections—advocates, curators, innovators, luminaries, trailblazers—reflecting the diversity of Black women’s achievements and the depth of their reach. These inspiring changemakers are leaving their mark on the world by creating new beauty in their respective art forms, heading movements, fighting for equality and to change the status quo, and championing new definitions of what’s possible in every meaningful way. Green lifts them up to create meaningful connections between these figures and our own lives and experiences.Black Roses spotlights and urges readers to learn more about Allyson Felix, Angelica Ross, Ava DuVernay, Bisa Butler, Bozoma Saint John, Charisma Sweat-Green, Dr. Eve Ewing, Dr. Janice Jackson, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Eunique Jones-Gibson, Issa Rae, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Matthews, Kamala Harris, Keisha Bottoms, Kimberly Bryant, Kimberly Drew, Lisa Green, Lizzo, Mandilyn Graham, Mellody Hobson, Michelle Alexander, Misty Copeland, Naomi Beckwith, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Rapsody, Raquel Willis, Robin Roberts, Roxane Gay, Shellye Archambeau, Simone Biles, Stacey Abrams, Tabitha Brown, Tamika Mallory, Tarana Burke, Tasha Bell, Tomi Adeyemi, and Tracee Ellis Ross.

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