Arnold the dog is very unwell, and Sadie doesn't know what to do to help him. A fairy visits Sadie and tells her she must go on a quest to find five magic flowers. She travels to the river, to the forest, the sea and the mountain, and finally to the white witch's garden. She makes many friends along the way. She meets a friendly frog, some otters, a wise owl, a beautiful mermaid, a wolf and a kindly witch. There, the witch concocts a healing potion from the five magic flowers. Sadie returns home and gives Arnold the potion where he is restored to health.
Discover a world of tiny wonders in this enchanting and creative children's book about insects and nature. Follow Erig, a curious and brave little earwig, and best friend Bob, the clever copper beetle, as they embark on delightful adventures within the Long Garden. From daring rescues to discovering the beauty of nature, Erig and Bob's escapades are filled with excitement, friendship, and lessons about the natural world. Their exciting journeys include participating in the dandelion flying competition, uncovering the hidden world of stick insects, solving the mystery of the lost whirligig beetle, and sailing across the Ornamental Pond under the magical glow of a full moon. Beautifully illustrated by Lucy Fleming, these fun and whimsical stories are perfect for bedtime reading, gently educating children about various insects and why these creatures are vital to our planet. Join Erig, Bob, and a host of memorable characters to see just how big the world can be for tiny insects.
Neil Denton, a psychology researcher, has reached a crisis in his career: he no longer believes in research, despite its claim to control variables. Everything seems pointless; nothing is proved. No matter how meticulous the research design, there is no way of knowing if there is some overlooked variable. Every study is challenged by a counter study. Dubbed his Hamlet Complex by Rachel Probender, he can't move forward, languishes in a state of inertia, his own PhD research into research at a standstill. Neil works in a department that specialises in replicating classic studies, led by Professor Matlock, famed for replicating Milgram's obedience research in England. Matlock has no doubts. For him, control of variables defines psychology as a science. Ironically, an uncontrolled variable has begun sabotaging the replications, making the department a target of media ridicule. But who and why? The saboteur is remarkably well informed, but who is the informer - a disgruntled insider perhaps? Rachel Probender, colleague and close friend of Neil, is researching the novel Frankenstein. Unknown to both, there is a connection between Frankenstein, the Psychology Department's celebrated research into obedience, and the sabotage. Suspected of being the informer, Neil, helped by Rachel, sets out to identify the informer and along the way resolves his own crisis. Set in the 1990s, the novel is a satire on the pitfalls of separate disciplines and the limitations of psychology as a science, and asks, what is science?
The aim of the book is to examine the possibility for Christians and Muslims of different sects to live side by side in harmony, taking into account the considerable development of the society and sciences since the advent of these two religions. There are many similarities between the Bible and the Quran, as Prophet Muhammad had knowledge of the Bible due to his contacts with the Christian Clergy and Jewish Rabbis. Prophet Muhammad with his logical analytical mind discussed the different interpretations of the Evangels with Christians of different sects and later discussed the Torah with Jewish Rabbis in Yathrib (Medina), and reached certain conclusions that he expressed in a book "revealed" to him in Arabic language where he tried to correct the misinterpretations of the Bible by others, to serve as a guide for his people. An in-depth reading of the Bible and the Quran reveals the difference in Prophet Muhammad's life in Mecca before the death of his first wife Khadija and her uncle the Arian Christian priest Waraka, when he followed the Christian approach in peacefully calling for the belief in a Single God, lead a monogamous life, and after his migration to Medina where he had as neighbours the Jewish Rabbis. Here the lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad witnessed a deep transformation, thereafter emulating that of Israeli Prophets/kings David and Solomon, in his polygamous marriages and his wars to establish an earthly Muslim Arab State, in sharp contrast with the Heavenly Kingdom preached by Jesus Christ. In spite of the "improvements" entered into the Quran over those of the Torah, the Quran remains a constitution that appropriated much of its components from Moses Law. Even if the ideas In the Torah and the Quran were inspired by God, the tools who revealed them to mankind were humane, using the reasoning and language expression capabilities of human imperfect persons, the level of their scientific knowledge and the traditions of their societies. They were written with the level of writing skills of their time, mostly from memories, tens and hundreds of years after the death of Moses, Jesus Christ and Muhammad. Hand copying these scriptures and translating them during centuries, many mistakes must have occurred. The above leads us to conclude that the Bible and the Quran cannot be literally the words of God. Christians and Muslims should strive to interpret the Bible and the Quran basing their interpretation on reason, logic and nowadays scientific knowledge, and where necessary deleting the incorrect insertions. As we cannot accept many rules of Moses's Law, similarly we cannot accept the Quran's Shari'a Law covering wars of conquest in Allah's name, the notion that the Muslim Nation is the best nation, killing the apostate, payment of tribute by non-Muslims, plunder of women, slavery, polygamy, inequality between men and women in tribunals and inheritance, lashing adulterers, cutting hands and feet. Ignorance is the main cause of human misery.
USA Today–bestselling author Amanda Flower returns with the third cozy mystery in her more-charming-than-ever Magical Bookshop series—for fans of Sofie Kelly and Heather Blake. Niagara region booksellers Violet Waverly and Grandma Daisy get a little help from Little Women as they sleuth the slaying of a sommelier whose book signing turned into her sayonara. January means ice wine season in the Niagara Falls region, but the festivities leave Charming Books owner Violet Waverly cold, still reeling from a past heartbreak. A past heartbreak who will be present at the annual midnight grape-harvest festival, and no magic in the world or incantation powerful enough could get Violet to attend. But Grandma Daisy, an omniscient force all on her own, informs Violet that she’s already arranged for the mystical Charming Books to host celebrity sommelier Belinda Perkins’s book signing at the party. Little do either Waverly women know, the ice wine festival will turn colder still when Violet finds Belinda in the middle of the frozen vineyard—with a grape harvest knife protruding from her chest. Belinda grew up in Cascade Springs, but she left town years ago after a huge falling-out with her three sisters. One of those sisters, Violet’s high school friend Lacey Dupont, attends the book signing in the hope of making amends with her sister, but Belinda and Lacey end up disrupting the signing with a very public shouting match and Lacey quickly becomes the prime suspect in the sommelier’s murder. Violet is sure Lacey is innocent, and to keep her friend out of prison, Violet asks for guidance from her magical bookshop. The shop’s ethereal essence points her to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, but what have the four March sisters to do with the four Perkins sisters? If she can’t figure it out, Violet, herself, may turn as cold as ice. Violet, Grandma Daisy, Emerson the tuxedo cat, and resident crow Faulkner are back on the case in Murders and Metaphors, USA Today–bestselling author Amanda Flower’s enchanting third Magical Bookshop mystery.
Dido is the only girl ever to have raced to victory at the Circus Maximus, Rome's greatest sporting arena. Now she and her beloved horse, Porcellus, are in hiding, and Emperor Caligula has put a price on their heads. Can she outwit the emperor and his bounty hunters? And will a shocking family secret stop her in her tracks, or spur her on to make a daring return, helped by a one-eyed mare with a heart as brave as her own? Horses, history, mystery, thrilling entertainment and sensational storytelling race neck and neck through the second pulse-pounding adventure in Annelise Gray's 9 + series set in Ancient Rome. 'I loved this adventure – full of brilliant horses, and a determined heroine following her dreams against all the odds. Looking forward to discovering what's in store for them next' Pippa Funnell, MBE, three-time Equestrian Olympic medalist
Plant presents an intelligent, provocative and accessible investigation of the intersection between women, feminism, machines and, in particular, information technology. She argues that the telecoms revolution is also a sexual revolution.
People call him Hades. He is like the dark prince himself: enigmatic, mysterious, and dangerous. Nobody knows his real name. Nobody knows anything about him. He has been cursed to lead his life in loneliness, because everyone who's ever been close to him very soon died. Eloise Gunning is hard-working and practical. She helps her brother with his work, keeps to herself, and is set to marry a safe, decent young man. Her entire life is planned out. Suddenly, her world tilts on its axis when she is kidnapped and confined in the lair of the beastly man. Nothing is as it seems in this strange place, especially not its owner. Eloise cannot deny her attraction to the dark and powerful man, nor the pull of his irresistible kisses. As their bond strengthens, the world around them begins to crumble, forcing them to wonder: is the curse real? And can they break it before it's too late?
Prepare to fall under the spell of “this sometimes whimsical, often insightful, always absorbing story” (Shelf Awareness) following two fiercely independent women and their truly magical friendship in a sleepy Southern town, from New York Times bestselling author of Karen Hawkins. Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books live, breathe, and sometimes even speak. As the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler. If the books are right, Grace could be the savior Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents—Sarah chief among them. But with a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, will Grace ultimately embrace the challenge to rescue her charmed new community? “A mesmerizing fusion of the mystical and the everyday” (Susan Andersen, New York Times bestselling author), The Book Charmer is a heartwarming story about the magic of books that feels more than a little magical itself.
“A triumph.” —Philip Pullman, bestselling author of the His Dark Materials saga Four young lives are forever changed at the dawn of World War II in this “stirring and unforgettable” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) novel from award-winning author Hilary McKay. In England, Ruby has no friends because of the speckled blotches on her face that kids say look like dirt. And Kate is sickly all the time, her older siblings each taking turns looking after her. Ruby and Kate’s first meeting is nearly disastrous, but the two lonely girls soon strike up a friendship. Their connection becomes all the more important when England joins the war against Germany and the blitz begins overhead. In Germany, Erik and Hans are best friends filled with plans for their future: Erik taking over their beloved local zoo, and Hans serving pastries right outside the gates. They never expected to be forced to join the national service, training as pilots and tasked with hurting people. And in London a mistreated dog roams the streets looking for handouts, and for a friend. All of these lives will cross in the most surprising ways in this heartrending tale of war and compassion, and hope that can be found in even the most unexpected friendships, brought to life by award-winning author Hilary McKay.
