From highly-acclaimed illustrator, graphic designer and author, Anita Mangan, comes The Chinese Zodiac, an ideal gift book for fans of astrology and lunar cycles. In this time of self-awareness and self-interest, The Chinese Zodiac takes an alternative and hilarious look at all 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac, mixing together animal and human facts and drawing on themes such as personality, love, health and lifestyle, school/work to create a fresh and entertaining look at ourselves accompanied by quirky and colourful illustrations in this full-colour gift book. The Chinese zodiac follows the moon (rather than constellations, as in the Greco-Roman zodiac system). It is divided into a 12-year cycle, with a different animal representing each year. The philosophy is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and the zodiac, combined with the principles of yin and yang and the five elements, asserts a remarkable influence over people's decisions and beliefs. The signs include: Rat Ox Tiger Rabbit Dragon Snake Horse Goat/Sheep Monkey Rooster Dog Pig

Faced with Eudora Welty's preference for the oblique in literary performances, some have assumed that Welty was not concerned with issues of race, or even that she was perhaps ambivalent toward racism. This collection counters those assumptions as it examines Welty's handling of race, the color line, and Jim Crow segregation and sheds new light on her views about the patterns, insensitivities, blindness, and atrocities of whiteness. Contributors to this volume show that Welty addressed whiteness and race in her earliest stories, her photography, and her first novel, Delta Wedding. In subsequent work, including The Golden Apples, The Optimist's Daughter, and her memoir, One Writer's Beginnings, she made the color line and white privilege visible, revealing the gaping distances between lives lived in shared space but separated by social hierarchy and segregation. Even when black characters hover in the margins of her fiction, they point readers toward complex lives, and the black body is itself full of meaning in her work. Several essays suggest that Welty represented race, like gender and power, as a performance scripted by whiteness. Her black characters in particular recognize whiteface and blackface as performances, especially comical when white characters are unaware of their role play. Eudora Welty, Whiteness, and Race also makes clear that Welty recognized white material advantage and black economic deprivation as part of a cycle of race and poverty in America and that she connected this history to lives on either side of the color line, to relationships across it, and to an uneasy hierarchy of white classes within the presumed monolith of whiteness. Contributors: Mae Miller Claxton, Susan V. Donaldson, Julia Eichelberger, Sarah Ford, Jean C. Griffith, Rebecca Mark, Suzanne Marrs, Donnie McMahand, David McWhirter, Harriet Pollack, Keri Watson, Patricia Yaeger.

What makes a woman join the most secretive and dangerous unit of Special Forces? What keeps her there? How does she cope with the rigorous physical and psychological training, including 'simulated terrorist interrogations', the often deadly missions, the relentless pressures of a macho world, and hte sex? One Up (the military term for someone travelling solo on a surveillance mission) is the electrifying first-person account of an exceptional young woman's experiences of action and adventure - the first book ever written by a female member of an SAS unit.

Sloth takes life at his own pace. He knows what makes him happy (naps, box-set binges, a good banana) and what makes him unhappy (laundry day, the gym, people who don't recycle), and he makes sure his life is filled with more of the former than the latter. He is kind to his environment, but, just as importantly, he is kind to himself. Be like Sloth, and you'll discover the secret to escaping the rat race and living a happy life in the slow lane. A fun little gift book full of cute, hilarious and inspirational sloth mantras.

In April 2001 a small girls' football and development programme began in Kilifi district, coastal Kenya. Eight years later there are 3,000 girls playing football, accessing reproductive health information and social support in the Moving the Goalposts (MTG) project. Playing by Their Rules tells the girls' stories as told to the author, Sarah Forde, a journalist, development practitioner and trained football coach who had been with MTG from the outset. The stories expose how girls negotiate through their complex teenage years. We hear tales of their sexual dilemmas, the onset of menses, their fear of pregnancy, the prevalence of abortion, their school and home lives and how football both enriches and complicates their lives. Most of all, though, the book is an account of the author's journey into the girls' worlds - a unique telling of stories that are shocking, heart-warming and enlightening for those of us who'd like to know more about the teenage lives of girls in East Africa.

Win the war against the world's most hated garden pests with a battle plan of 50 effective slug-killing tactics-all amusingly written and illustrated with cartoons. An at-a-glance profile reveals effective weapons to use against the slug (including beer), and there are smart new ways to confuse them and set them off track. Choose from those 50 slug-beaters, and inflict death the natural way, by chemical warfare, and by the "surprise" attack. Never has such a practical handbook been such fun to read.

Unicorn took the world by storm with his sweet nature, sunny outlook and positive attitude in the best-selling feel-good book Be a Unicorn. Now he is back with this little book of life lessons. Looking for some guidance on how to live a happy, sparkling life? Or just wondering which path to trot along? Look no further than Unicorn, the best (and probably only) four-legged, one-horned happiness guru. With enlightenment on every page, let Unicorn teach you how to hopscotch over all of life's trials to a place where the grass definitely grows greener. With adorable quirky illustrations and wise, thoughtful and often completely hilarious life advice, this is a little book to keep firmly in your pocket, ready to be consulted whenever life gets a little bit tough. UNICORN WOULD: Wear the jumper that Granny knitted with pride. Sing Pharrell in the shower. Walk in someone else's flip-flops. Try new things... uhm beetroot juice... pink, yummy. Make every day count. UNICORN WOULD NOT EVER (NO THANK YOU MA'AM): Worry about a bit of dust. Eat someone else's chocolate. Blame others - 'my Panda made me do it'. Dwell too much on the past. Take things for granted.

You're stuck in traffic and you're late to work, but it doesn't matter. Your cat woke you up with a kiss that morning, you've just spotted your first freckle of the year (summer must be here) and now your favourite song is playing on the radio. Life is good. Packed with cute, funny and silly everyday scenarios, and beautifully illustrated throughout, this book is a reminder to stop stressing about life's problems, and to start appreciating the little things instead. Learn to laugh at the ridiculous, revel in your small achievements, delight in the mundane and start living your best life.

While the experts tell us that breastfeeding is the absolute healthiest thing a mother can do for her baby, it isn't always a walk in the park. In this straightforward and infectiously fun debut, Breastfeeding Shouldn't Suck And Some Other Things You Should Know about Babies, author Sarah Ford, P.T., offers parents invaluable guidance on what it takes to survive the newborn years. From advice on first feedings to tips on PDBF 'public displays of breastfeeding' to directives on taking medications and the occasional alcoholic beverage, it is clear that Ford has done her research. In twenty anecdotal chapters, this parenting guide offers more than just the vernaculars of breastfeeding; it is a manifesto of mothering the natural and holistic way. While it celebrates the newborn child as a distinct and individual creature, it also finds comforting similarities in all wee ones. It is a guide for all mothers in simple techniques that improve comfort and wellbeing of both mother and child.

Mermaid is happy in her own fins. She is fiercely independent and is just as happy taking herself out for dinner as she is on a night out with the squad. Never one to bow out early, she confronts every challenge head on and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty (though her tail will always be sparkling clean). So let Mermaid guide you through the trials and tribulations of real girl power and you can be sure she'll always have your back. Be a Mermaid is a great gift for friends who need reminding of their inner mermaid, as well as a must-have addition for anyone who needs to regain the power.

In The Little Book of Mumfulness, a non-expert mum takes you through the non-perfect guide to getting through motherhood without losing your mind from exhaustion. If you have: 1) Not eaten in well over twelve hours; 2) Run out of nappies; 3) Got a house that is beginning to look like it's been burgled... ...then this book is for you. Advice includes: - How to take time throughout the day to restore your equilibrium (like having a long, loud scream in a closet) - How to shortcut child-related tasks (by avoiding them altogether) - How to let off steam through mumful exercises It also includes the news that IT'S NOT JUST YOU who is struggling with the demands of being the 'perfect' mother, and if you need a long swig of prosecco (or any wine from the fridge, or the cupboard for that matter) at the end of a day of parenting, then that is more than a-ok. Most importantly, this book will help you to remember that being a good mum is about finding your own mumfulness amongst the imperfect chaos.

Gardeners who loved "50 Ways to Kill a Slug"-which has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide-will welcome this equally practical and wildly funny follow-up. It promises to save plants and banish bad bugs from the backyard with 100 organic, chemical, and simply silly ways to wreak revenge on even the smallest pests. For example, did you know that ants don't like lemon, salt, Vaseline, or cinnamon? That those pesky fruit flies hate basil? Learn how to attract the good creepy-crawlies, including ladybugs that can munch their way through up to 40 destructive aphids a day, as well as soil-nurturing worms. Includes appealing cartoons throughout.