This is a real thesaurus for all chiddlers and even some adult human beans. It features hundreds of spliffling words used and created by the world's best storyteller, Roald Dahl, together with useful synonyms, related words and phrases, idioms and word origins. Cleverly organised into phizz-whizzing themes, from vegitibbles to outer space, it is easy to find new and interesting words while you are writing. Be inspired by the special WRITING HUT pages to craft your own brain-boggling creatures and characters, just like Roald Dahl. This mischievous thesaurus captures Oxford University Press's language expertise and mixes it with the magic of Roald Dahl. Whether telling curdbloodling stories or imagining bugswallop, you will soon be using the Oxford Roald Dahl Thesaurus as your golden ticket to dream!

Find out how a journalist and sportsman became one of the most famous American novelists of the twentieth century in this new addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling series! Ernest Hemingway wasn't just a novelist. He was a hunter and a fisherman; he became an ambulance officer in Paris, France, during World War I; and he worked as a reporter during the civil war in Spain in the 1930s. All of these experiences had such an important impact on Ernest's life that he used them as inspiration for some of his most notable works of fiction, including The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. He wrote short stories, novels, and articles in an understated, direct style, that is still beloved by readers today. Hemingway is remembered as much for his fiction as he is for his adventurous lifestyle.

He was born in the year dynamite was invented (1866) and died a year after the first explosion of the atomic bomb (1946). Herbert George (H. G.) Wells was a man whose life dominated the century and whose ideas both predicted and shaped the future. One of the most influential men of his time, a leading science-fiction writer, novelist, philosopher, reformer and fighter for civilization, Wells exercised his imagination and expounded his revolutionary ideas in over one hundred books in the course of his long life. As a young man Wells struggled against repeated failure as a draper s assistant, science student and teacher before finding his vocation as a writer. He wrote the pioneering and immediately popular novel The Time Machine. In this and other classic science fiction such as The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds, Wells combined serious and often remarkably accurate speculation about the future with high adventure. But Wells was not content just to write fiction. He was also an advocate for change in social customs and a man deeply concerned with the future of humanity. A firm believer that the twentieth century would be the turning point for civilization, Wells anticipated many of the changes in his writings on space travel, politics, marriage and the technologies of war. This is a dramatic account of Well s life and his fight for causes and concerns that are still relevant today."

Think outside of the box with 20 of the world's brilliant thinkers. Discover the lives of ten female and ten male philosophers from throughout history and from around the world. Philosophers is a perfect introduction to philosophy and some of the most dramatic and world-changing lives that challenged the thinking around reason, race, gender, politics, difference and diversity. Which philosopher felt that thinking proved he existed? Which philosopher wants us to abolish all governments? Who set the groundwork for the feminist movement? Who should we blame for anxiety? Meet Gargi Vachaknavi in India, the Greeks, such as Socrates and Aristotle, then Descartes, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Nietzsche, Arendt, de Beauvoir, Fanon and Piper - just to name a few! Beautiful and characterful portraits help bring to life these important thinkers and their contributions to our world. Clear, concise text presents key philosophical concepts alongside the stand-out biographical information from fascinating thinkers.

This witty, refreshing treatise from a celebrated author and seasoned teacher is a passionate defense of reading -- just for the joy of it.
First published in 1992 and even more relevant now, Daniel Pennac's quirky ode to reading has sold more than a million copies in his native
France. Drawing on his experiences as a child, a parent, and an inner-city teacher in Paris, the author reflects on the power of story and reminds us of our right to read anything, anywhere, anytime, so long as we are enjoying ourselves. In a new translation with a foreword and illustrations
by Quentin Blake, here is a guide to reading unlike any other: fresh,
sympathetic, and never didactic, it is a work of literature in its own right.

It takes the 50 defining facts, dates, thoughts, habits, and achievements of each subject, and uses infographics to convey each of them in vivid snapshots. The result is a quick-fire journey through truths and trivia that is the most entertaining way to follow in the footsteps of the men and women whose lives have most influenced our own. Many people know that Jane Austen was one of the greatest literary voices in history. What, perhaps, they don't know is that she was one of eight children of a clergyman; that all of her novels were originally published anonymously; and that she once accepted a marriage proposal, but changed her mind the following day. Biographic: Austen presents an array of irresistible facts and figures converted into infographics to reveal the author behind the words.

Celebrate the power of Black womanhood in this first-of-its-kind collection of inspirational quotes from fifty activists, artists, and leaders, featuring bold, attention-grabbing illustrations-perfect for readers of Herstory and Little Leaders. This incredible volume honors fifty modern women, presented with their own words, who have dared to raise their voices and persevere through hardship and injustice to become revolutionaries and dreamers, artists and creators. Featuring women like musical powerhouse Beyonce Knowles; tennis star Serena Williams; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; and activist Angela Davis, this stylish book is perfect for any reader who is seeking grace, courage, strength, and self-love.

Push, pull and slide the tabs as you enjoy Busy Storytime! Pick a book to read, act it out and sail away on an adventure, then share the story with your friends. A perfect introduction to the joy of reading for little ones. Children will love playing with this bright and colourful board book with gentle rhyming text and wonderful illustrations by Jean Claude, which is part of the popular Busy Book series. A perfect gift to celebrate World Book Day! Discover more of the Busy Book series with titles such as Busy Bookshop, Busy Baking, Busy Friends and Busy Airport.

Provides helpful advice on choosing the best words for creating characters, setting scenes and shaping stories, as well as special vocabulary for different story themes. Young authors can create their own stories and build up a word bank of favourite words and phrases, so that they need never use 'nice' again... The perfect companion to Usborne's best-selling Write Your Own Story Book.

Celebrate 400 years of Shakespeare's legacy with this repackage of award-winning author Diane Stanley's tribute to the world-famous playwright William Shakespeare.

Nobody knows exactly when or why William Shakespeare left his boyhood home of Stratford-on-Avon for the great city of London, but it didn't take long for him to make a name for himself. His plays are now performed almost every day in just about every part of the world; even people who've never seen them use words and phrases he introduced into the English language.

How did a man from an unremarkable family create a legacy that the world, even 400 years after his death, has never forgotten? There will always be unsolved mysteries about Shakespeare, but what we do know of his life, his times, and his theater makes for a very dramatic story.

A comprehensive and compelling guide to Suzanne Collins's bestselling young-adult, dystopian trilogy The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Already a publishing phenomenon to rival Harry Potter (over 50 million copies sold), there are three sequels to the 2012 blockbuster movie of The Hunger Games scheduled for release between 2013 and 2015; Mockingjay Part 1 is due to be released in November 2014. Robb explores the inspiration behind the books, the author, the themes and influences of the three books, the movie adaptations and their cultural impact, the books' legacy and spin-offs. Suzanne Collins has created a series of characters and situations that have struck a chord not only with the target audience of teenagers, but which have also drawn in adult readers, making the series second only to Harry Potter in National Public Radio's popular poll of the Top 100 Teen Novels. Inspired when flicking TV channels between a reality television entertainment show and news footage of the war in Iraq, author Suzanne Collins conceived The Hunger Games as a parable for teen life and a warning of a dystopian future. Her parable incorporates Greek myth, Roman history and American entertainment. As the daughter of a US Air Force Officer who served in the Vietnam War, Collins had a unique insight into military life. Starting in children's television on such shows as Clarissa Explains It All, Collins went on to write children's fiction in The Underland Chronicles (drawing inspiration from Alice in Wonderland) and the Charlie McButton illustrated books. However, it was The Hunger Games series that has changed her life, giving the author a series of New York Times bestsellers and seeing her listed as one of Time magazine's most influential people of 2010. Robb explores themes in The Hunger Games, and the influences and inspirations that lie behind the books, highlighting where Suzanne Collins has drawn on mythology and history, reshaping them to fit her universe. He also examines the characters and situations created in the book and how these have impacted on the books' largely teen readership. He also looks at reactions to the books from fans and critics, both acclaim and criticisms faced by the author. He takes a look at the creativity of the fans who have drawn on Collins' work for their own takes on the world of The Hunger Games. Robb chronicles the adaptation of The Hunger Games from acclaimed, best-selling novel to blockbusting film. With a script by Suzanne Collins herself, the film has made stars of Jennifer Lawrence as Collins' heroine Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne. Following the making of the film, including quotes from the writer, director and stars, this chapter will examine the efforts taken to make a success of The Hunger Games on screen. It will also look at the cultural impact of the film and consider the critical reception it met upon release in March 2012. With three more movies scheduled (Catching Fire is due to be released in November 2013) and Mockingjay will be made into two films to be released in 2014 and 2015), Robb looks at the future of The Hunger Games series on screen, with an emphasis on the second film, Catching Fire. As with the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games novels and films have inspired a host of spin-offs and extensions, from games and comic books to merchandise and new tales within the same universe. This chapter looks at these extensions of The Hunger Games franchise and analyses the effect Suzanne Collins work has had on the wider field of teen fiction and blockbuster movie-making.

A heartbreaking story about finding yourself and your people, from the bestselling author of If I Stay, a major film starring Chloë Grace Moretz. For fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, John Green and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

'I got this whole-body feeling . . . it was like a message from future me to present me, telling me that in some way we weren’t just bound to happen, that we had, in some sense, already happened. It felt . . . inevitable.'

So far, the inevitable hasn’t worked out so well for Aaron Stein.

While his friends have gone to college and moved on with their lives, Aaron’s been left behind in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, running a failing bookshop with his dad, Ira. What he needs is a lucky break, the good kind of inevitable.

And then he meets Hannah. Incredible Hannah – magical, musical, brave and clever. Could she be the answer? And could they – their relationship, their meeting – possibly be the inevitable Aaron’s been waiting for?

The Biographies series presents an entirely new way of looking at the lives of the world's greatest thinkers and creatives. It takes the 50 defining facts, dates, thoughts, habits, and achievements of each subject, and uses infographics to convey each of them in vivid snapshots. The result is a quickfire journey through truths and trivia that is the most entertaining way to follow in the footsteps of the men and women whose lives have most influenced our own. Many people know that William Shakespeare was a playwright and poet, widely considered the greatest dramatist of all time, What, perhaps, they don't know is that he wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets; that he left behind six different versions of his signature; and that nobody knows what he did between 1585 and 1592. Biographic: Shakespeare presents an array of irresistible facts and figures converted into infographics to reveal the playwright behind the plays.

Where did Roald Dahl get all of his wonderful ideas for stories?
From his own life, of course As full of excitement and the unexpected as his world-famous, best-selling books, Roald Dahl's tales of his own childhood are completely fascinating and fiendishly funny. Did you know that Roald Dahl nearly lost his nose in a car accident? Or that he was once a chocolate candy tester for Cadbury's? Have you heard about his involvement in the Great Mouse Plot of 1924? If not, you don't yet know all there is to know about Roald Dahl. Sure to captivate and delight you, the boyhood antics of this master storyteller are not to be missed

"Delightful, relatable, and eye-catchingly illustrated." --School Library Journal "Deelytful and iloominaating for noo and seesuned reeders alyk." --Kirkus Reviews "Thought-provoking and entertaining." --School Library Connection "Engaging...A comprehensible, lively read." --Publishers Weekly Do you ever wish English was eez-ee-yer to spell? Ben Franklin and Noah Webster did! Debut author Beth Anderson and the New York Times bestselling illustrator of I Dissent, Elizabeth Baddeley, tell the story of two patriots and their attempt to revolutionize the English alphabet. Once upon a revolutionary time, two great American patriots tried to make life easier. They knew how hard it was to spell words in English. They knew that sounds didn't match letters. They knew that the problem was an inconvenient English alphabet. In 1786, Ben Franklin, at age eighty, and Noah Webster, twenty-eight, teamed up. Their goal? Make English easier to read and write. But even for great thinkers, what seems easy can turn out to be hard. Children today will be delighted to learn that when they "sound out" words, they are doing eg-zakt-lee what Ben and Noah wanted.

"We cannot stay home all our lives, we must present ourselves to the world and we must look upon it as an adventure." - Beatrix Potter Join Beatrix Potter, one of the most beloved children's authors of all time, in a journey through her fascinating life. Aside from her career as a children's author, discover how Beatrix Potter protected our countryside and even started her own farm! Packed with beautiful illustrations, original photographs and tales of the creatures that inspired her bestselling stories, this is the perfect gift for any Beatrix Potter fan! The latest title in the popular V&A Introduces series, celebrating icons from the world of art and design in collaboration with the V&A Museum.

How we are motivated to imitate wanting what others desire—Girard’s theory primed for the social media age.

René Girard eludes easy categories, bridging the fields of literary criticism, anthropology, sociology, history, religion and theology. Influencing such writers as J. M. Coetzee and Milan Kundera, his insight into contagious violence looks ever more prophetic and relevant seven years after his death. In many ways he is the thinker for our modern world of social media and herd behavior.

In this newly selected collection of writings, Cynthia L. Haven has created an approachable anthology of his work, addressing Girard's thoughts on the nature of desire, human imitation and rivalry, the causes of conflict and violence, the deep structure of religion and cultural subjects like opera and theatre. Girard spoke in language that was engaging, accessible and often controversial.

A long-time friend and colleague, Haven shines a spotlight on his role as a public intellectual and profound theorist, inviting a new generation to his corpus.

Being creative takes courage.It can be scary to create something. Before you can even work on your craft, you have to face down the fear of messing up or looking silly, the perfectionism that keeps you from even starting, and the negative voices inside your head that say you don't have anything valuable to offer.Well, you do have something to offer! Being creative is a right, and in this book, National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr will help you get started. Her advice and encouragement are paired with exercises to help you face down your fears, let go of expectations, stop comparing yourself to others, and make your art with courage. A perfect gift for anyone who wants to be creative but doesn't know where to start, or for people who've been doing creativity for a while but want more inspiration, Courageous Creativity will empower readers to express themselves with self-confidence, bravery, and joy.

Poet, writer, activist, entertainer, professor: Maya Angelou is all of these. Her remarkable story includes a childhood trauma, a leading role in an opera, her activism in the civil rights movement, and her devotion to poetry, writing, and teaching to promote the cause of all African-Americans. Based in part on Maya?s autobiography, this is the inspiring story of an extraordinary woman. ?Pettit makes AAngelou?s? stirring story accessible?while retaining a strong sense of Angelou?s personal voice.? ?Booklist

Harry Potter: A History Of Magic is the official book of the exhibition, a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling and the brilliant curators of the British Library. It promises to take readers on a fascinating journey through the subjects studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - from Alchemy and Potions classes through to Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.

Each chapter showcases a treasure trove of artefacts from the British Library and other collections around the world, beside exclusive manuscripts, sketches and illustrations from the Harry Potter archive. There's also a specially commissioned essay for each subject area by an expert, writer or cultural commentator, inspired by the contents of the exhibition - absorbing, insightful and unexpected contributions from Steve Backshall, the Reverend Richard Coles, Owen Davies, Julia Eccleshare, Roger Highfield, Steve Kloves, Lucy Mangan, Anna Pavord and Tim Peake, who offer a personal perspective on their magical theme. Readers will be able to pore over ancient spell books, amazing illuminated scrolls that reveal the secret of the Elixir of Life, vials of dragon's blood, mandrake roots, painted centaurs and a genuine witch's broomstick, in a book that shows J.K. Rowling's magical inventions alongside their cultural and historical forebears.

This is the ultimate gift for Harry Potter fans, curious minds, big imaginations, bibliophiles and readers around the world who missed out on the chance to see the exhibition in person.

Nog meer prettige woordspeletjies vir kinders!

Word speel-speel woordslim met hierdie fantastiese aktiwiteitsboek!

Na die sukses van Wo(o)rdslim bevat hierdie tweede boek 56 bladsye propvol briljante blokraaisels, wonderlike woordspeletjies en lekker kopkrappers wat sal sorg vir ure se fantastiese vermaak.

Speel dit op jou eie of daag mekaar uit om te kyk wie eerste die raaisels kan baasraak!

Van die aktiwiteite in hierdie boek sluit in:

• Tematiese blokraaisels wat saamgestel is rondom ’n verskeidenheid temas.
• Woordsoekblokke
• Spelspeletjies
• Letterblokke
• Kriptogramme en ander briljante breinboelies

He's known as the class troublemaker. She's known as the bookworm. But when every note they send is anonymous, identity is suddenly what they make it. Between her father's posting overseas and her best friend Sienna's move to the other side of the country, seventh grade is looking lonely for Jane MacDonald. But Sienna has left her with one last trick: a hidden message in a library book-the perfect plot to start a secret club and find Jane a new book-loving friend. Tyson Flamand has problems of his own. Since the fourth grade he's had a reputation as a bad kid, and there's no point fighting it when teachers always think the worst. So when he finds an anonymous note in the library looking for a nerdy new friend, he knows he's the last person in the world it could be meant for. But something makes him answer it anyway, and Tyson finds himself pulled into a secret book club where being hidden may be the first step to being truly seen. With the insight of a veteran middle-school teacher, Colleen Nelson, author of the award-winning Harvey Comes Home and Sadia, weaves together two stories of identity, expectation, and the courage to challenge both. As their paths move ever closer, Jane and Tyson both discover their own self-reliance and their ability to overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable.