Chris Crutcher is a literary icon in the field of young adult literature. With his first book, Running Loose published in 1983, Crutcher established a reputation for giving young adults a voice in realistic fiction. Since then, Crutcher has written a number of books with spot-on depictions of young adults growing through hard times, including Ironman, Whale Talk, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, and Stotan! In Chris Crutcher: A Stotan for Young Adults, Bryan Gillis and Pam B. Cole examine the life, career, and works of this young adult advocate. This volume opens with a never-before-published comprehensive portrait of the author's life, gleaned from numerous conversations with Crutcher. The authors explore Crutcher's childhood, his adolescent years, his life as an adult, and his career as a family counselor and examine how those experiences became fodder for his stories. The authors also discuss Crutcher's encounters with censorship and his philosophical stance. Gillis and Cole also analyze Crutcher's novels, short stories, and novellas, examining his literary craft and such social themes as bigotry, identity, sexuality, relationships, and loss-themes almost always positioned within a sports story. The most comprehensive study of Crutcher's life and work to date, this book benefits tremendously from the cooperation of Crutcher himself. Generally reserved about private matters, Crutcher talks candidly about his life and how his experiences helped shape his character and his stories. His cooperative spirit gives voice to a book that will appeal not only to teachers and librarians but to students who have been enthralled by the works of this generous writer.

One of the most popular series ever published for young Americans, these classics have been praised alike by parents, teachers, and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, fictionalized biographies -- easily read by children of eight and up -- today's youngster is swept right into history.

This is an authoritative book from the word experts at Oxford to get budding writers crafting brilliant stories. It will help you think about how to develop an idea into a gripping and powerful story, with examples and tips from the best known authors to show you how it's done. For children aged 11 and over, it covers all the key elements of plot, characterization, building a believable world, thinking about tone and style, weaving description into stories, through to endings and editing your work. Practical tips will get any struggling writer to beat the fear of the blank page and inspirational advice will help young authors to achieve their creative writing goals. It includes information on sharing stories and how to get people reading your work.

A master storyteller, John Marsden is Australia's best known writer for young adults. Marsden first found success with the publication of So Much To Tell You. Since then he has gone on to publish many popular and well-recognized titles, including those in the Tomorrow Series and The Ellie Chronicles. In his books, Marsden explores adolescents caught in a world of opposites, of innocence and guilt, idealism and realism, and joy and despair. Marsden's world view and his faith in adolescents serve as the backdrop for John Noell Moore's critical readings of Marsden's major novels. In John Marsden: Darkness, Shadow, and Light, Moore investigates the full spectrum of Marsden's work, beginning with the author's life as a teacher and writer. Throughout the book, Moore weaves together Marsden's recurring themes, chief among them writing and storytelling as ways of constructing identity in the transition from childhood to adulthood and the ability of young adults to endure hardships and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. The book is a valuable addition to the current scholarship on young adult literature and will be welcomed by middle and high school English teachers and students alike.

One in every five Americans lives with at least one disability or disorder, including both the obvious, such as those requiring the use of a wheelchair, and the less evident ones, such as eating disorders or Asperger's syndrome. Those responsible for teaching disabled students and providing services and support for them need ready access to reliable and up-to-date resources. Disabilities and Disorders in Literature for Youth: A Selective Annotated Bibliography for K-12 identifies almost 1,000 resources to help educators, professionals, parents, siblings, guardians, and students understand the various disabilities and disorders faced by children today. This bibliography consists of four major headings-Emotional, Learning, Physical, and Multiple Disabilities-which are further categorized into works of fiction and nonfiction. Annotations provide a complete bibliographical description of the entries, and each entry is identified with the grade levels for which it is best suited and resources are matched with appropriate audiences. Reviews from recognized publications are also included wherever possible. Anyone interested in identifying helpful resources regarding disabilities and disorders will find much of value in this essential tool.

Travel back 400 years to visit rowdy theatres and royal palaces to understand what it was like to live in Shakespeare's Elizabethan England and the influence it had on his ground-breaking work. This book charts Shakespeare's phenomenal talent and peeks behind the curtain at his most famous plays, from tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet to comedies such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and Taming of the Shrew.

Packed with stunning pieces of artwork from the Warner Bros. archive, this book gives fans the chance to colour in the vivid settings and beloved characters of J.K. Rowling's wizarding world. From the heraldry of the four Hogwarts houses to the extravagant wares of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the world of Harry Potter overflows with radiant colour. Filled with intricate illustrations and elaborate designs used in the making of the Harry Potter films, this book invites you to imbue the wizarding world with colour in your own explorations of Hogwarts castle, the Forbidden Forest, and much more. You will also find pages of magical creatures and iconic scenes from the films, from the Sorting Ceremony in Harry's first year, to the unforgettable final battle between Harry and Lord Voldemort, as well as some of the marvellous props used in the movies, such as The Quibbler, Quidditch World Cup posters, and the Triwizard Cup. Unique and interactive, the Harry Potter Colouring Book is a perfect collector's item for fans of the blockbuster saga. For best results, we recommend the use of colouring pencils to colour and create your stunning pictures.

Phizzwhizzing new cover look and branding for the World's NUMBER ONE Storyteller!BOY, Roald Dahl's bestselling autobiography, is full of hilarious anecdotes about his childhood and school days, illustrated by Quentin Blake.As a boy, all sorts of unusual things happened to Roald Dahl. There was the time he and four school friends got their revenge on beastly Mrs Prachett in her sweet shop.There are stories of holidays in fishing boats, African adventures and the days of tasting chocolate for Cadbury's.You'll hear tales of horrible school bullies and the motor-car accident when Roald's nose was nearly sliced clean off . . .Roald Dahl vividly shares his memories; some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant. All are true.You can listen to all of Roald Dahl's stories on Puffin Audiobooks, read by some very famous voices, including Kate Winslet, David Walliams and Steven Fry - plus there are added squelchy sound effects from Pinewood Studios! Also look out for new Roald Dahl apps in the App store and Google Play- including the disgusting TWIT OR MISS! and HOUSE OF TWITS inspired by the revolting Twits.

Ernest Hemingway was one of the most controversial and admired writers of his time. This biography covers his life from his childhood in Oak Park, Illinois, to his suicide in 1961. It offers a sympathetic portrait of a brilliant artist and a complex individual-a private man who led a very public life. Hemingway's formal education ended after high school when the ambitious young writer went off to work for The Kansas City Star. Eager to see the war, he volunteered for ambulance corps duty in Italy during World War I. Some of his most exciting and productive years were spent in postwar Paris, living among a group of writers and artists from around the world. In the 1930s Hemingway became as famous for his personality as for his writing, and he spent more of his time hunting and fishing competitively. But when war broke out in his beloved Spain, he went to serve as a correspondent on the loyalist side. In 1940 his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, based on his wartime experiences, was published to critical acclaim and financial success. World War II found Hemingway working as a correspondent once again, and prone to fighting and drinking. Despite this decline, he wrote The Old Man and the Sea, which celebrated the courage of an aged Cuban fisherman, and went on to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. Keith Ferrell conveys the scope of Hemingway's achievement as a writer and gives a vivid portrait of one of America's finest authors.

Born as Eric Blair in India in 1903, George Orwell was a sickly child who was sent away to boarding school at age eight. Later he won a scholarship to Eton, where he was not a good student and earned a reputation as a rebel. Following Eton, he returned to Burma as a police officer, deliberately postponing his dream of becoming a writer. Orwell moved to Paris in 1928. He was concerned with the plight of the poor and was determined to find his own literary voice and themes. In the following years, he traveled and lived among the poor and unemployed. Orwell published several books and novels about his experiences, but success and recognition seemed slow in coming. In England, Orwell became known as an angry political writer and crusader for the left. He stood up for his convictions and fought in the Spanish Civil War, despite ill health. After this disillusioning experience, Orwell became an enemy of any form of totalitarianism. He tried to do his part for England under the Nazi siege through his journalism and broadcast scripts. Orwell completed Animal Farm during the war but was unable to find a publisher until the war was over. After the book s enormous success in 1946, Orwell planned another novel set in the future ina totalitarian society. Writing from his house on the island of Jura in the Scottish Hebrides, he created the story of Winston Smith, who lived in a world where Big Brother was always watching. This was his masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell died soon after its publication, but not before witnessing its success. In a special epilogue, Ferrell deals with Orwell s impact as a political moralist and the way in which the year 1984 has come to stand as a fearful symbol."

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."

John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in California's Salinas River Valley. Although he worked briefly as a reporter in New York, it was in the Salinas Valley that he spent the Depression years, and his experiences and the people he met became the basis for his books. Of Mice and Men opened the eyes of the public to the desperate lives of the migrant workers. The Grapes of Wrath told the story of the destitute Oklahoma dust bowl farmers who flocked to the Valley in search of work, Cannery Row painted the rough and tumble lives of the cannery workers in nearby Monterey. And East of Eden, his most personal novel, revolved around the lives of two families from the Valley whose story was a tragic metaphor for the suffering humans needlessly cause one another. Steinbeck was the recipient of both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes for Literature and was named to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. His books were likewise embraced by the public-many reached the top of the bestseller lists; four of them were made into Broadway shows; and six were made into movies. Despite these successes, he often doubted his abilities. The critics were seldom kind to him, making his doubts grow. But at the end of his life he realized that by championing the causes of the underprivileged, he had made a lasting impression on the social consciousness of America. He died in New York in 1968. Keith Ferrell gives us a fascinating account of John Steinbeck, a writer who continually struggled to awaken America's social conscience. Steinbeck's ability to incorporate the dark side of life in rich stories of human strength has captured the souls of millions of readers everywhere.

Philosophy ask questions such as: What does it mean to be human? What is truth? What is good? These are all very BIG questions that need exploring and the sooner children start to think about the answers, the better our world will be. Content includes the following questions and our attempt to answer them: What is philosophy?What is life?What does it mean to be human?What makes us happy?What is good?What is love?What is truth?What is knowledge?What is time?What are ideas?What is beauty?What should I say?What should I do?This delightful series builds foundations for life-long learning by explaining big ideas to little people.Using simple language to explain complicated ideas, each book takes the core questions that relate to each subject and provides answers that make sense to young children. Stunning illustrations support the non-fiction narrative ensuring our picture book approach feels fresh and different.

A LIFE AS EXCITING AS FICTION
Gary Paulsen, three-time Newbery Honor author, is no stranger to adventure. He has flown off the back of a dogsled and down a frozen waterfall to near disaster, and waited for a giant bear to seal his fate with one slap of a claw. He has led a team of sled dogs toward the Alaskan Mountain Range in an Iditarod -- the grueling, 1,180-mile dogsled race -- hallucinating from lack of sleep, but he determined to finish.
Here, in vivid detail, Paulsen recounts several of the remarkable experiences that shaped his life and inspired his award-winning writing.
A "School Library Journal" Best Book
A "Booklist" Editors' Choice

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.

This 1962 New York Times book of the year is beloved for its charming hand-drawn illustrations, inventive typography, and sweet homage to the very nature of books themselves. The author and illustrator celebrate the importance of books in our everyday lives, through words and graphics that are all beautifully designed and printed with fluorescent inks. This sweet and nostalgic book shares the wonder of language, stories, and imagination that young children can discover through the joy of reading.

Explore a cozy bookstore, visit a library, and learn all about books in this one-of-a-kind format by celebrated illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius. Each uniquely shaped page overlaps with the next to create a complete landscape when closed-and an immersive world to explore with each turn of the page when open. Simple text and jubilant illustrations introduce babies and toddlers to a word of books and usher in an early appreciation for reading! Delightfully petite, Bookscape Board Books' chunkiness and unique layers give them a tactile, toylike quality that begs to be picked up-making each book in the series a memorable and irresistible gift.

Do you get books from a public library in your town or even in your school library? In many remote areas of the world, there are no library buildings. In many countries, books are delivered in unusual way: by bus, boat, elephant, donkey, train, even by wheelbarrow. Why would librarians go to the trouble of packing books on the backs of elephants or driving miles to deliver books by bus? Because, as one librarian in Azerbaijan says, "Books are as important to us as air or water!" This is the intriguing photo essay, a celebration of books, readers, and libraries.

This is the story of how Winnie-the-Pooh came to be the nation's favourite teddy bear. Winnie-the-Pooh is one of the best-loved children's characters of all time. But how did he become so popular? In this beautifull book, author Brian Sibley tells the story of Pooh's origins and how he came to be the Bear for All Ages. Illustrated with many rare photographs, drawings and sketches, this book is the complete guide to Winnie-the-Pooh and his creators, A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard. This book really is something quite special. Perfect for fans aged 5 and 55. The nation's favourite teddy bear has been delighting generations of children for 90 years. Milne's classic children's stories - featuring Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Christopher Robin and, of course, Pooh himself - are both heart-warming and funny, teaching lessons of friendship and reflecting the power of a child's imagination like no other story before or since. Pooh ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage. BRIAN SIBLEY is a writer, broadcaster, and life-long Pooh aficionado. His first radio programme was a celebration of Pooh's fiftieth birthday followed, a few years later, by a radio play about A. A. Milne. He compiled The Pooh Book of Quotations and edited The Pooh Sketch Book.

A new Christmas classic from a magical pairing: Dame Emma Thompson and Axel Scheffler. The story of Jim: a very lucky, very special, very grubby dog, who lives, improbably, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Emma Thompson magically weaves the real-life tale of Jim - beloved dog of Sir Henry Cole who created the first Christmas card - with a fantastically warm and heartfelt Christmas romp, brilliantly illustrated by bestselling illustrator, Axel Scheffler. A Christmas book to treasure, and an adventure filled with high emotion, guilt, redemption, unexpected presents and a life-changing brush with royalty.

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.

"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.

Don your Lincoln green and prepare for merriment! What could be merrier than joining Robin Hood's band of Merry Men for adventures in the English countryside? Pirates of the trees rather than the seas, Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, and many others ensure that Robin's clever schemes relieve the rich of their excess treasures and redistribute the wealth to those most in need. Howard Pyle was an accomplished author and illustrator; his original images, published with the stories in 1883, appear throughout the book. You will leave no leaf unturned in this latest addition to the Word Cloud Classics series.