Vonda's mother was one of the countries's greatest fans of television soap operas. Her most uttered phrases were things like "I have to go home now; I don't want to miss my stories." Vonda had often thought she took after her mother in this way. One difference was that while her mother's soap adventures were fiction, Vonda's were real life. For the most part, some of Vonda's "stories" were not as dramatic as those on T.V. but some appeared to be. Her everyday life was an adventure. Her "soaps" consisted of true life experiences, humorous happenings and memorable moments she wanted to share.

Almost every teacher has experienced at least one of "those kids." The kids who won't sit still, who won't do their work, who don't attend, who won't conform to the classroom expectations, who are straight out defiant and disrespectful. These kids, these so-called "bad kids," and their stories actually have a great deal to teach us. This book centers around these stories and the lessons learned from them. Whether in education or in your everyday relationships with others, the lessons these kids teach will touch your hearts and make a difference in your lives. Picking up before the award-winning documentary The Bad Kids began, Lessons from The Bad Kids will teach us not only to improve our educational system but also how to become better people.

Almost every teacher has experienced at least one of "those kids." The kids who won't sit still, who won't do their work, who don't attend, who won't conform to the classroom expectations, who are straight out defiant and disrespectful. These kids, these so-called "bad kids," and their stories actually have a great deal to teach us. This book centers around these stories and the lessons learned from them. Whether in education or in your everyday relationships with others, the lessons these kids teach will touch your hearts and make a difference in your lives. Picking up before the award-winning documentary The Bad Kids began, Lessons from The Bad Kids will teach us not only to improve our educational system but also how to become better people.

Where are parents' skills the strongest--and how can they be encouraged to better support young children's cognitive, social, and language development? Home visitors can find out in minutes with PICCOLO(TM), the quick, reliable observational tool designed to assess and monitor the quality of parent-child interactions. Developed for use with parents of children ages 1 to 3, PICCOLO measures 29 developmentally supportive parenting behaviors in 4 critical domains--Affection, Responsiveness, Encouragement, and Teaching. It's the best way to assess which parenting behaviors are working, develop individualized interventions that help parents improve, and track the positive outcomes of your parent support program.

This User's Guide gives readers explicit guidance on using the PICCOLO, including a Frequently Asked Questions section. A discussion about the tool's development and psychometric properties section are also included. The appendix includes a photocopiable Spanish translation of the PICCOLO and the scoring key for the video clips on the PICCOLO DVD.

Can she find the courage to defy a king? In seventeenth-century France, Louis XIV rules with flamboyant ambition. In his domain, wealth and beauty are all; frivolity begets cruelty; science and alchemy collide. From the Hall of Mirrors to the vermin-infested attics of the Chateau at Versailles, courtiers compete to please the king, sacrificing fortune, principles, and even sacred family bonds. 'A wonderful book! Adventure, love, history, magic - it's an engrossing story with magnificent characters, balanced perfectly on the edge between,' says DIANA GABALDON By the fiftieth year of his reign, Louis XIV has made France the most powerful state in the western world, but the Sun King's appetite for glory knows no bounds. In a bold stroke, he sends his natural philosopher on an expedition to seek the source of immortality: the mythical sea monster. For the glory of his God, his country, and his king, Father Yves de la Croix returns with his treasures: one heavy shroud packed in ice . . . and in a covered basin, an imprisoned sea-creature. Marie-Josephe de la Croix has been looking forward to assisting her brother Yves in the scientific study of the sea monster, until she makes a discovery that will threaten everything her brother, the court and the King believe. 'The finest alternate history ever, light-hearted and wise - a luminous, radiant novel,' said URSULA K. LE GUIN But in the decadent court of King Louis, where morality is skewed and corruption reigns, will anyone listen to a single voice? Somehow, she must find the courage to follow her heart and her convictions - even at the cost of changing her life forever.

Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Vonda N. McIntyre continues the bestselling "Star Wars" saga as the ultimate space adventure unfolds in "The Crystal Star."
Princess Leia's children have been kidnapped. Along with Chewbacca and Artoo-Detoo, she follows the kidnappers' trail to a disabled refugee ship, from which children are also missing. Here she learns of a powerful Imperial officer with a twisted plan to restore the Empire. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are cut off from Leia by the death of a nearby star, which has caused a disruption in the Force. They have gone to the planet Crseih to investigate a report of a lost group of Jedi. Instead they find a charismatic alien named Waru whose miraculous healing powers have attracted a fanatic following. As Leia follows the path of her children across space, Luke and Han draw closer to the truth behind Waru's sinister cult. Together they will face an explosive showdown that will decide the survival of the New Republic . . . and the universe itself

DISCOVER HOW ATHLETES OVER 50 LEAD EXTRAORDINARY LIVES What does it take to continue to participate in athletic activities and sustained exercise later in life? How does it differ from managing these activities when you are in your 20's or 30's? Do you wonder if, or when, you have to give up your physical activities? You will be intrigued and inspired by the answers to these questions from Don McGrath's book about 50 interviews of athletic people over 50 years old. True stories from his spectacular interviewees will inspire you like no others. Many of McGrath's subjects never imagined that they would be role models for exercise and good health. Still, by applying a common set of characteristics, they have broken remarkable mental and physical barriers to succeed. Peek into the lives of Linda Quirk who ran seven marathons on seven continents at age 55, and in 2010 plans to run across four of the world's largest deserts; Sandy Scott, 69, who broke a vertebrae at age 65 and four years later won a state cycling 20k championship; or 75-year-old veteran tap dance Gene GeBauer. With U.S. health concerns at the forefront, the athlete's way of life helps us to understand how to take responsibility for our well being. Lessons learned from these interviews can help us avoid doctors' offices, stave off diseases, and have more joy and contentment. In his final summary, McGrath examines the behaviors and attitudes necessary for all of us to have health and satisfaction through an active life. If you want to know the secrets of those who are still going strong in athletic activities in their later years, then this is the book for you. Foreword by Olympic Cycling Gold Medalist Alexi Grewal.

In seventeenth-century France, Louis XIV rules with flamboyant ambition. In his domain, wealth and beauty are all; frivolity begets cruelty; science and alchemy collide. From the Hall of Mirrors to the vermin-infested attics of the Chateau at Versailles, courtiers compete to please the king, sacrificing fortune, principles, and even sacred family bonds. 'A wonderful book! Adventure, love, history, magic - it's an engrossing story with magnificent characters, balanced perfectly on the edge between,' said DIANA GABALDON By the fiftieth year of his reign, Louis XIV has made France the most powerful state in the western world, but the Sun King's appetite for glory knows no bounds. In a bold stroke, he sends his natural philosopher on an expedition to seek the source of immortality: the mythical sea monster. For the glory of his God, his country, and his king, Father Yves de la Croix returns with his treasures: one heavy shroud packed in ice . . . and in a covered basin, an imprisoned sea-creature. Marie-Josephe de la Croix has been looking forward to assisting her brother Yves in the scientific study of the sea monster, until she makes a discovery that will threaten everything her brother, the court and the King believe. 'The finest alternate history ever, light-hearted and wise - a luminous, radiant novel,' said URSULA K. LE GUIN But in the decadent court of King Louis, where morality is skewed and corruption reigns, will anyone listen to a single voice? Somehow, she must find the courage to follow her heart and her convictions - even at the cost of changing her life forever.

Winner of the Nebula Award and now a major motion picture: "A luminous, radiant novel" (Ursula K. Le Guin, author of the Earthsea series). During the late seventeenth century, Louis XIV's natural philosopher and explorer, Father Yves de la Croix, does what no one has done for four hundred years: he brings a living sea monster to land. Thus begins a stunning fantasy, a journey into science and superstition, and an alternate history in which Yves and his sister, Marie-Josephe--a lady-in-waiting with her own finely tuned intelligence and insatiable curiosity--struggle to learn from and protect the sea woman. As Marie-Josephe translates the sea woman's songs into stories, she hopes to stave off the creature's inevitable execution--for Louis XIV believes the wondrous being holds the secret to the immortality he craves, a twisted obsession that will force brother and sister to choose between their conscience and their loyalty to king and country . . . The basis for the movie starring Pierce Brosnan, The King's Daughter is "a dazzling and spirited evocation of the passions, intrigues, and preconceptions of the age, along with a dandy pair of misfit, star-crossed lovers: an enchanting slice of what-if historical speculation" (Kirkus Reviews). "A wonderful book! Adventure, love, history, magic." --Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of Outlander "A plot that sings, enchanting romance, and a depth of insight into human nature." --SF Site "A marvelous alternative-history fable about greed and goodness, power and pathos set at the 17th century court of Louis XIV, France's glittering Sun King . . . [McIntyre's] imaginings enliven her history with wonder, but, as in the best fantasy, they serve less to dazzle by their inventiveness than to illuminate brilliantly real-world truths--here, humanity's responses, base and noble, when confronting the unknown." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "Combines two demanding genres, with some remarkable twists unlike anything I've seen before. It is a science fiction story of first contact with an alien race, but told in a setting more often associated with fantasy. It is also historical romance at its best, the type of meticulously researched work that brings another era to life. McIntyre infuses it all with her marvelously unique style." --Catherine Asaro, award-winning author Previously published as The Moon and the Sun

The Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of The King's Daughter. On an Earth scarred by nuclear war, Snake harnesses the power of venom to cure illnesses and vaccinate against disease. The healer can even ease patients into death with the power of her dreamsnake. But she is not respected and trusted by all, and when she tries to help a sick nomad child, the frightened clan kills her dreamsnake. Ashamed of being misjudged and grieving the loss of her dreamsnake, Snake has one choice to maintain her livelihood: she must travel to the city, which jealously guards its knowledge. And before she faces the prejudices and arrogance of the people there, Snake must make her way across a barren desert, surviving storms and radiation poisoning, helping those she can--all while a madman stalks her every move . . . "[Dreamsnake] is filled with scenes as suspenseful as anyone could wish . . . but most of all it addresses the humanity in all of us." --The Seattle Times "A haunting, rich, and tender novel that explores the human side of science fiction in a manner that's all too uncommon." --Robert Silverberg "A splendid tale, combining the sensitivity and attention to mood of the new generation of SF writers with a gripping and well-worked-out adventure . . . The novel is rich in character, background and incident--unusually absorbing and moving." --Publishers Weekly "Instead of kicking butt, the lead character is dedicated to saving lives. . . . Snake's blighted world is expertly drawn, and her encounters with dysfunctional societies can be bracing and challenging reading." --The Guardian "This is an exciting future-dream with real characters, a believable mythos and, what's more important, an excellent, readable story." --Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series