Mud on the Van in the Little Blossom Stories series uses curriculum based fiction to get children comfortable with reading--while telling a counting story. Each book in this series uses a combination of sight words and short-vowel words in repetition to build recognition and confidence. Original illustrations help guide readers through the text. Text and format is created by Cecilia Minden, PhD, a literacy consultant and former director of the Language and Literacy program at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Invented about 13,000 years ago, mud architecture has since been one of the most common, economical, useful, and widespread forms of building. It has been--and is still being--used for grand palaces and temples as well as simple shops and homes. Research conducted over the last several decades has enabled archaeologists and architects to understand how now-ruined, ancient mud structures were originally built. Gus and Ora Van Beek describe mud-construction techniques from Southwest Asia, the Near East, North Africa, Europe, and the United States, paying specific attention to problems involving foundations, wall and roof construction, cooling and heating, water erosion, and earthquake damage. Glorious Mud! is not only the definitive reference work on one of the world's most important forms of architecture but also a powerful study of the human past.
The Little Blossom Stories series uses curriculum-based fiction to ease children into reading. Each book uses decodable text, a repetition of sight words, and vowel sounds to increase readability. Original illustrations help guide readers through the text.
In Ammi-Joan Paquette and Elisa Ferro's read-aloud preschool picture book, Mucky Truck, a little truck gets stuck in the mud, and it’s up to his other truck friends—crane, digger, forklift, and fire engine—to help him out. When a little truck gets stuck in the mud, his other truck friends come to his aid. At the end of the day, it’s fire engine to the rescue! And the five friends celebrate by playing together in the slippy, sloshy, oh-so-mucky mud. With bouncy verse and visual drama, this read-aloud picture book will be a hit with preschoolers and fans of Little Blue Truck.
"Charles Van Doren has laid a feast before all of us that is irresistible."—Mortimer J. Adler This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the world: from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to Salinger and Heinlein in 20th century America. Like a professor whose enthusiasm enwraps his students, Van Doren explains what's wonderful in the books you've missed and awakens your desire to reopen the books you already know. Divided chronologically by the periods in which these classics were written, each book is put in its historical context and brought to life by Van Doren's brilliant analysis. The Joy of Reading delves into a wide range of genres—fiction, poetry, drama, children's books, philosophy, history and science. This is the one book that brings together everything you need to know about the classics you missed and ignites your passion to read and reread the greatest books the world has ever known. This book is the fruit of a lifelong love affair. Reading, I believe, is my favorite thing to do; books and I have been inseparable almost as long as I can remember ... To this day, I become distressed if I am anywhere without a book, a magazine, a newspaper, any scrap of paper to read .... I like the smell of books, certainly the feel of them. Life without books would be, for me, a vacant horror."—Charles Van Doren "Nothing recommends the joy of reading better than the communication of it by a person who has spent a lifetime enriched by the delights of reading. Charles Van Doren is that kind of reader. He has laid a feast before us that is irresistible."—Mortimer J. Adler, author of How to Read a Book "Mr. Van Doren is that rarity, a truly well read man who reads not for professional purposes but for pleasure. His book spurs us on to explore more deeply and joyfully the infinitely varied terrain of good books."—Clifton Fadiman, author of The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Literature
A classic he-said-she-said romantic comedy! This updated anniversary edition offers story-behind-the-story revelations from author Wendelin Van Draanen. The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. Juli says: “My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss.” He says: “It’s been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.” But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down: just as Bryce is thinking that there’s maybe more to Juli than meets the eye, she’s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed. This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny voices. The updated anniversary edition contains 32 pages of extra backmatter: essays from Wendelin Van Draanen on her sources of inspiration, on the making of the movie of Flipped, on why she’ll never write a sequel, and a selection of the amazing fan mail she’s received. Awards and accolades for Flipped: SLJ Top 100 Children’s Novels of all time IRA-CBC Children’s Choice IRA Teacher’s Choice Honor winner, Judy Lopez Memorial Award/WNBA Winner of the California Young Reader Medal “We flipped over this fantastic book, its gutsy girl Juli and its wise, wonderful ending.” — The Chicago Tribune “Van Draanen has another winner in this eighth-grade ‘he-said, she-said’ romance. A fast, funny, egg-cellent winner.” — SLJ, Starred review “With a charismatic leading lady kids will flip over, a compelling dynamic between the two narrators and a resonant ending, this novel is a great deal larger than the sum of its parts.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred review
