This volume offers students and book club members a handy and insight-filled guide to Morrison's works and their relation to current events and popular culture. One of the few authors to attain both commercial success and literary acclaim, Toni Morrison, a longstanding member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is widely read by high school students and general readers. Her books have been adapted into highly extolled films such as Beloved, largely because, even when set in the past, they grapple with issues and emotions relevant to contemporary society. Designed for students and general readers, Reading Toni Morrison is a handy introduction to Morrison's works and their place in the world. The book begins with a look at Morrison's life and writing. Chapters overview the plots of her novels and discuss their themes, characters, and contexts. The book then examines Morrison's treatment of social issues and the presence of her works in popular culture. Chapters provide sidebars of interesting information along with questions to promote student research and book club discussion. Provides questions that can be used to generate book club discussion Includes sidebars to highlight interesting information about the author and her work Offers a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic resources to facilitate further study Film adaptations of the author's works, such as Beloved, are discussed and their impact explored

Since its publication in 1982, "The Color Purple" has polarized critics and generated controversy while delighting many readers around the world. Rachel Lister offers a clear, stimulating and wide-ranging exploration of the critical history of Alice Walker's best-selling novel, from contemporary reviews through to twenty-first-century readings.
This Reader's Guide:
- opens with an overview of Walker's work
- provides a detailed consideration of the conception and reception of "The Color Purple
"- examines coverage of key critical issues and debates such as Walker's use of generic conventions, linguistic and narrative strategies, race, class, gender and sexual politics
- covers the reception and cultural impact of cinematic and musical adaptations, including Steven Spielberg's 1985 film and the recent Broadway production.
Lively and insightful, this is an indispensable volume for anyone studying, or simply interested in, Alice Walker and her most famous work.

Whether you have a lifelong love of nature or you cannot identify whether something is an elder or an alder, a daisy or a dandelion, or a heron or a herring gull, The Wonders of the Wild Places is the book for you. From the mountains to the sea, woodland to farmland, heaths and riversides we have many habitats in the United Kingdom, and The Wonders of the Wild Places provides information about some of the many species which inhabit these habitats. It is packed with interesting facts about nature designed to encourage you to go out and about and enjoy the wonders of the wild places. If you have ever wondered how birds migrate or which invertebrate has the largest brain, The Wonders of the Wild Places provides the answers - and many more. It covers many subjects from folklore to language, social history to the latest science. The Wonders of the Wild Places also explains the current threats to the natural world and provides details of what is being done to protect nature and also has suggestions of how individuals can help nature, from cleaning up your nearest beach to building a bug hotel. After reading The Wonders of the Wild Places you will never see the natural world in the same way again.