Some of the best-loved stories in the world, originating in Persia, India and Arabia, retold especially for children. Views: 38
Full of whodunit twists and explosive action, Scalzi's third SF novel lacks the galactic intensity of its two related predecessors, but makes up for it with entertaining storytelling on a very human scale. Several years after the events of The Ghost Brigades (2006), John Perry, the hero of Old Man's War (2005), and Jane Sagan are leading a normal life as administrator and constable on the colonial planet Huckleberry with their adopted daughter, Zoë, when they get conscripted to run a new colony, ominously named Roanoke. When the colonists are dropped onto a different planet than the one they expected, they find themselves caught in a confrontation between the human Colonial Union and the alien confederation called the Conclave. Hugo-finalist Scalzi avoids political allegory, promoting individual compassion and honesty and downplaying patriotic loyalty—except in the case of the inscrutable Obin, hive-mind aliens whose devotion to Zoë will remind fans of the benevolent role Captain Nemo plays in Verne's Mysterious Island. Some readers may find the deus ex machina element a tad heavy-handed, but it helps keep up the momentum. Views: 38
The Interact range of high interest/low reading age plays have been written to engage and motivate struggling and reluctant readers, particularly boys. Drawing on issues that pupils can relate to such as cyber-bullying, peer pressure and family problems, each play features six character parts and is filled with language and humour which will appeal to readers with an interest age of 9 to 14+ years, reading age 7 to 8 years. Views: 37
The remarkable story of how one of the twentieth century's most important and controversial psychologists revolutionized our understanding of love Views: 37
Review"Sparkling and triumphant, Isaac Bashevis Singer's stories are filled with wonder, gratitude, humor, irony and a wry eroticism that manages to exalt the pleasures of the flesh and the soul at the same time."—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World "There are whole fistfuls of masterpieces in this one volume: a cornucopia of invention . . . When all is said and done, [it] is an American master's 'Book of Creation.'"—Cynthia Ozick, The New York Times Book Review Product DescriptionThe forty-seven stories in this collection, selected by Singer himself out of nearly one hundred and fifty, range from the publication of his now-classic first collection, Gimpel the Fool, in 1957, until 1981. They include supernatural tales, slices of life from Warsaw and the shtetls of Eastern Europe, and stories of the Jews displaced from that world to the New World, from the East Side of New York to California and Miami. Views: 37
The Ninth Science Fiction Megapack contains 27 more works spanning time and space--including 24 stories, 2 interviews, and "A Science Fiction Alphabet." Fun stuff indeed! Views: 37
From Publishers WeeklyIn this salmagundi of abstruse science, informative history and engaging personal anecdotes, Schutt's fascination for sanguivores goes a long way toward disarming, while defining, our primal fear of creatures that feed on blood. For all their fearsome rep@utation, only three of 1,100 bat species savor blood, and one of those preys exclusively on chickens. The author doesn't make sanguivores entirely cuddly: part two opens with the horrifying theory that George Washington was likely bled to death by ill-informed doctors and eager leeches, and includes an account of the first dog-to-dog transfusion in 1666 (the first successful human transfusion was in 1901). In part three, Schutt surveys other blood feeders: leeches currently making a comeback in modern medicine, pesky bedbugs and chiggers, and potentially lethal mosquitoes and ticks. One oddity (and typically fascinating tidbit) in the sanguivore world is the vampire finch of the Galapagos, which Schutt theorizes is evolving before scientists' eyes, turning to blood-sipping when other nourishment is in short supply. Passages that focus on the science can be a slog, but are quickly alleviated by sections that are witty and illuminating. (Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistSchutt is a bat biologist who studies the behavior of vampire bats, those famous “blood suckers” of the South American tropics. While studying the three species of vampires, he became interested in the properties of blood itself and of other blood-feeding animals. In a chatty, humorous style, the author first talks of his bat research and the species of vampire bat that will nuzzle its way under a brooding hen to feed on her highly vascularized brood patch. In the second part of the book, Schutt tells of blood itself, its functions in the body and how it is transported by the circulatory system. He describes early medicine and its love of bloodletting, leading to the extensive use of medicinal leeches—a practice that continues today. In the final section, the author introduces us to several other sanguivores, including chiggers, ticks, and bedbugs. With great scientific accuracy (backed up by extensive notes and a bibliography), text couched in layman’s terms, and a sense of breathless discovery, Schutt will make blood feeding just another choice on the culinary spectrum. --Nancy Bent Views: 37
Modern Family meets Harriet the Spy in this hilariously fun mystery series! Sita 'Squishy' Taylor is a cheeky, sneaky 11-year-old who lives with her dad and step-family in a very crowded apartment. Luckily for Squishy, their building is huge – and there's always plenty of mysteries to investigate! Like... 1. How can summer be fun if you don't go to the beach? 2. Why is rainbow cake so delicious? 3. What kind of scientist wears red sneakers? 4. Who would try to smuggle rare birds? A hilarious junior fiction book series from Australian author Ailsa Wild about solving mysteries, blending families and leaping to conclusions quicker than a ninja-gazelle! Australian superstar Squishy Taylor is a curious, likeable and instantly relatable hero for ALL kids aged 6 and up. She's part of a blended family – a new kind of normal for so many kids, whether it's a Modern Family or more of a Brady Bunch. Between nightly Skype-chats with her mum (who lives in Geneva), dealing with a... Views: 36
Meet the next BIG little thing in junior fiction: Squishy Taylor! Genius solver of mysteries. The weirder the better! An apartment full of questions on a street full of mysteries ... How could a vase disappear from a locked apartment? How come everyone is getting Dad's special forehead-kisses too? Why does toast taste better on a balcony? How do you get rid of a Chinese-warrior ghost? Views: 36
Short, sharp, and to the point—science fiction in miniature Views: 36
