This title is for ages 12 & over. London has been bombed by terrorists. The government has been wiped out, there is widespread power failure and throughout England riots have begun. Maria saw the war planes fly over her home near London and watched in horror as the smoke rose from the direction of London. Now she must make the hazardous journey to safety with her sister and a Christian friend. For Maria, the journey is also inside herself, as she is forced to face issues that she has never had to consider before and begins to discover a side to life that she never knew existed.

Young children will enjoy the sound of the words read to them by an adult, older children will be stimulated to improve and increase their vocabularies, while adults will delight in the charming alliterations and imagery. Bright, detailed illustrations highlight the flora, fauna, places and customs of Africa.

A witty, astutely observed study of sexual politics in contemporary society which centres on an all-female reading group. Oriole wants to study contemporary authors, while Anne prefers well-known classics. Pondering the relative merits, the women reveal themselves, their personalities echoing the literary heroines. But not everyone is there for literature. Nefarious designs are uncovered and tensions rise to a dramatic climax.5 women, 2 men

Haunted by the memories of her powerfully destructive mother, Jamaica Kincaid is a writer out of necessity. Born Elaine Potter Richardson, Kincaid grew up in the West Indies in the shadow of her deeply contemptuous and abusive mother, Annie Drew. Drawing heavily on Kincaid's many remarks on the autobiographical sources of her writings, J. Brooks Bouson investigates the ongoing construction of Kincaid's autobiographical and political identities. She focuses attention on what many critics find so enigmatic and what lies at the heart of Kincaid's fiction and nonfiction work: the "mother mystery." Bouson demonstrates, through careful readings, how Kincaid uses her writing to transform her feelings of shame into pride as she wins the praise of an admiring critical establishment and an ever-growing reading public.

Parsifal (or Sir Percival) was a Knight of King Arthur. His story is told by the troubadours of France and Germany, notably Chretien de Troyes and Wolfram von Eschenbach. The Parsifal story stands between the past age that looked for secrets of the spirit and the coming age that was going to search for the secrets of matter. In this engaging retelling of the legend of Parsifal, Charles Kovacs's critical commentary offers Steiner-Waldorf educators an unrivalled insight into teaching the story of Parsifal and will aid in lesson planning. Based on Kovacs's extensive teachers' notes, this informative book places the Parsifal story in its greater social and historical context. In the Steiner-Waldorf Education curriculum this story is recommended for Class 11 (age 16-17) as a way of introducing world literature and one of the central problems of our time -- the imperative to learn to ask the right questions.

Bored with playing school kiddish tricks on one another, the grotesque, satisfyingly revolting couple Mr and Mrs Twit turn their attentions to capturing and training a family of monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, for a circus act. The monkey's cruel incarceration in a cage is avenged when the birds trick the Twits into believing the world has turned upside-down. The Twits join in, aided by the birds who drop glue on their hair, and the audience is encouraged to play their part in freeing the monkeys.

This is a full length pantomime, entirely traditional with lots of humour and with its own original and delightful score by Eric Gilder which is available separately. The large number of both amateur and professional groups who present Crocker and Gilder pantomimes regularly every year is unmistakable proof of their success. Vocal score on sale.Large flexible cast

"Children s literature is a contested terrain, as is multicultural education. Taken together, they pose a formidable challenge to both classroom teachers and academics . Rather than deny the inherent conflicts and tensions in the field, in Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Doors, Maria Jose Botelho and Masha Kabakow Rudman confront, deconstruct, and reconstruct these terrains by proposing a reframing of the field . Surely all of us children, teachers, and academics can benefit from this more expansive understanding of what it means to read books." Sonia Nieto, From the Foreword

Critical multicultural analysis provides a philosophical shift for teaching literature, constructing curriculum, and taking up issues of diversity and social justice. It problematizes children s literature, offers a way of reading power, explores the complex web of sociopolitical relations, and deconstructs taken-for-granted assumptions about language, meaning, reading, and literature: it is literary study as sociopolitical change.

Bringing a critical lens to the study of multiculturalism in children s literature, this book prepares teachers, teacher educators, and researchers of children s literature to analyze the ideological dimensions of reading and studying literature. Each chapter includes recommendations for classroom application, classroom research, and further reading. Helpful end-of-book appendixes include a list of children s book awards, lists of publishers, diagrams of the power continuum and the theoretical framework of critical multicultural analysis, and lists of selected children s literature journals and online resources.

An engaging classroom playscript. In 1692, 19 people were executed for witchcraft and the whole village was engulfed in fear. But what actually happened in Salem? This play re-tells the Witch Trials by combining historical evidence with a healthy dose of imagination, and exploring the build-up of hysteria in the village. It covers important issues of prejudice and peer pressure, gang mentality, suspicion and fear. A more accessible version of events, Salem is ideal for preparation work for The Crucible. It also acts as an interesting comparison text to Miller's play, placing emphasis on different events and characters. New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing.

King Henry VIII has one of the fullest theatrical histories of any play in the Shakespeare canon, yet has been consistently misrepresented, both in performance and in criticism. This edition offers a new perspective on this ironic, multi-layered, collaborative play, revealing it as a complex meditation on the progress of Reformation which sees English life since Henry VIII's day as a series of bewildering changes in national and personal allegiance and represents 'history' as the product of varied and contradictory testimony. McMullan makes a powerful claim for the rehabilitation of Henry VIII, providing the fullest performance history of any edition to date and reading the work not as a marginal 'late' Shakespeare play but as a play which is paradigmatic of the achievement of Renaissance drama as a whole.

From Maria Edgeworth, Dr Seuss and Lewis Carroll to Sherman Alexie, Sharon Flake, and Gene Luen Yang, this is a comprehensive introduction to studying the infinitely varied worlds of literature for children and young adults. Exploring a diverse range of writing, The Bloomsbury Introduction to Children's and Young Adult Literature includes: - Chapters covering key genres and forms from fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to picture books, graphic novels and fairy tales - A history of changing ideas of childhood and adolescence - Coverage of psychological, educational and literary theoretical approaches - Practical guidance on researching, reading and writing about children's and young adult literature - Explorations of children's and young adult film, TV and new media In addition, "Extending Your Study" sections at the end of each chapter provide advice on further reading, writing, discussion and online resources as well as case study responses from writers and teachers in the field. Accessibly written for both students new to the subject and experienced teachers, this is the most comprehensive single volume introduction to the study of writing for young people.

Colourful and visually appealing to help engage and inspire your students. Full of motivating activities, with opportunities for Assessment for Learning. Glossaries help make poems accessible for all your students. Uses a wide range of poetry styles with well-known classics and more contemporary poetry, as required in the National Curriculum. Provides coverage of Framework objectives for teaching English to help you deliver the KS3 strategy. Helps with pupil's progression throughout KS3 and transition from KS3 to GCSE.

This new edition of Macbeth for South African schools has been updated to include comprehensive text notes and commentary throughout. As well as the complete script of the play, this edition includes: an eight-page photographic gallery of scenes from various productions of the play, informative background information on Shakespeare and Elizabethan England, an introduction to the play, its themes and characters and a synopsis of the action in each scene. It also includes line-by-line text notes giving explanations of unfamiliar words, interpretations of meanings, and stimulating commentary, a selection of notes, illustrations, ideas and activities to increase your understanding of the play, questions providing valuable examination practice, a list of references offering suggestions for further reading and other useful resources and an extensive glossary of useful words and literary terms.

Helping learners succeed in their final literature exams, this series provides a plot summary in comic form, useful notes on characters and themes, exam-style contextual and essay questions and answers in clear, easy-to-understand language.

Features:

• Extra exam support for English Home and First Additional Language students of Othello
• Includes an exciting comic-style version of the play, useful notes on the characters, themes and imagery of the play, and a clear plot summary
• Exam-style contextual and essay questions and answers help learners practise for exams and assess their understanding
• Sample HL and FAL tests with memos build learners confidence for literature exams

'By far the best edition of King Lear - in respect of both textual and other matters - that we now have.' John Lyon, English Language Notes 'This volume is a treasure-trove of precise information and stimulating comments on practically every aspect of the Lear-universe. I know of no other edition which I would recommend with such confidence: to students, professional colleagues and also the 'educated public'.' Dieter Mehl, Shakespeare Jahrbuch, vol 134

This fantastic range of fiction for Shared, Guided and Independent reading gives you stories your children will love to read over and over again. Gaelic and Scottish teaching support also accompanies this reading series.

This stimulating and accessible book is intended for instructors at the junior high school, high school, and undergraduate levels who present Shakespeare's most familiar tragedies to students who are largely unfamiliar with them. Acclaimed teacher of drama Victor L. Cahn begins with a general introduction, then examines six of Shakespeare's tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. With attention always directed towards inspiring student interest and response, Professor Cahn provides an overview or "spine" for each work, then proceeds scene by scene, focusing on salient characters, details of language, and major themes. The volume not only is entertaining and clear, but also raises provocative points of interpretation as well as numerous questions for discussion. Underlying the project is the conviction that although the plays are most effective in performance, they can nonetheless prove compelling in the classroom, where students can appreciate that although these works are set in a distant time and place, their issues and implications remain universal.

Professional poets spend many hours crafting a finished piece of work, yet we expect children in school to sit down and write when they are told to, whether they feel inspired or not. This series of four books is a toolkit to help you build a positive framework for children to read, write, understand and enjoy poetry - to bring a creative spark to the poetry classroom. A combination of featured poems, creative ideas, structured lesson plans and differentiated photocopiable activity sheets gives the series a uniquely flexible approach - which means you can use the materials in any classroom context. If you're wary of poetry, if you think it's boring, or if you're nervous about teaching poetry, then you've chosen the right book. Key themes covered in BOOK 3: Style, Shape and Structure are style and structure, addressing regular and standard forms, the impact of layout, free form, 'found' poetry, and concrete poetry. Other books in the series are: BOOK 1:Words and Wordplay; BOOK 2: Rhymes, Rhythms and Rattles;and BOOK 4: Language and Performance.

X-kit Achieve! Literature Study Guides make nationally prescribed novels and dramas accessible to learners to help them prepare for exams.

They provide insight into the author and context of the writing, analysis of critical themes, plots and characters and plenty of exercises for exam preparation.

This study guide concentrates on Life Of Pi, one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years. After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan -- and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.

The Reading for Real Handbook was very well received by both teachers and literacy specialists when it was published in 1992. Since its first publication there have been significant changes in the field of 'reading', not least of which has been governmental demands for higher standards in reading and the resultant National Literacy Strategy (NLS).
As well as providing invaluable help for teachers struggling with the National Literacy Strategy and the Literacy Hour, several other new topics of interest are also addressed, including teaching fiction/non-fiction inside and outside the Literacy Hour, integrating reading, writing and spelling work, involving parents, assessment and working with slower readers.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203079132