Age range 3 to 6 Phoenix was just like any other fox. He lived a happy life in the forest with his friends. But when Phoenix's friends decide to hold a talent contest to find the most talented animal in the forest, Phoenix's happy world comes crashing down around him. He discovers that not only are all his friends better at everything than him, but also that he doesn't have any talents at all. Not one! Or does he...?
A wicked shaman traps a golden eagle and disguises her as a phoenix. She is to be a pawn in his villainous scheme to swindle the townsfolk out of their money, but will he succeed? 'The Phoenix & The Peacock' is an atheist short story for teenagers. They will enjoy the use of rhyme, the emotive plot and the inclusion of some remarkable birds as metaphors. It is also subtly educational. Not only does it introduce the philosophies of both science and humanism but, through the comfortable medium of exciting fiction, it gently warns of the dangers of ultra-religious cults. The book's goal is to be light, engaging and thought-provoking; to succeed in conveying a message where a long prescriptive factual tome would surely bore and fail. At the end there is a 'Did You Know?' section full of interesting scientific facts related to the story, including an explanation of Darwin's Theory of Evolution. 11+ years
A collection of stunning images from some of the world's leading photographers of animals in the human environment. HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene is an unflinching book of photography about our conflict with non-human animals around the globe. Through the lenses of thirty award-winning photojournalists, HIDDEN shines a light on the invisible animals in our lives: those with whom we have a close relationship and yet fail to see. The animals we eat and wear; the animals we use for research, work, and for entertainment; the animals we sacrifice in the name of tradition and religion. HIDDEN is a historical document, a memorial, and an indictment of what is and should never again be. Showcased by award-winning designer David Griffin, HIDDEN represents the work of thirty photojournalists who have documented--and continue to document--animal stories. Their exhaustive and in-depth work has resulted in some of the most compelling and historic images of animals ever seen. Among them are (in alphabetical order): Aaron Gekoski, Aitor Garmendia, Amy Jones, Andrew Skowron, Britta Jaschinski, Daniel Beltrá, Djurattsalliansen, Francesco Pistilli, Jan van Ijken, Joan de la Malla, Jo-Anne McArthur, Jose Valle, Kelly Guerin, Kristo Muurimaa, Konrad Lozinski, Louise Jorgensen, Luis Tato, Murdo MacLeod, Paul Hilton, Sabine Grootendorst, Selene Magnolia, Stefano Belacchi, Tamara Kenneally, and Timo Stammberger. "The photojournalists featured in Hidden have entered some of the darkest, most unsettling places in the world. The images they have captured are a searing reminder of our unpardonable behavior towards animals and will serve as beacons of change for years to come."--Joaquin Phoenix, actor "I am, quite simply, in awe of these photographers. In a way, they are like war photographers, except witness to a war that so many people choose to suppress that exists. This takes enormous inner strength and bloody-minded determination, because they cannot save any of the animals that they photograph; they can only hope that their photos will help illuminate the mass extermination that unfolds every second of every day across the planet. To me, they are heroes. Not just for one day, but over and over and over again."--Nick Brandt, photographer
It is 1931 and the world is still reeling from the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash. Polly Morland has returned to Morland Place, saving it from financial ruin. Her plans to change things are met with resistance, however, and she must prove her mettle in a man's world. Jack, war hero and family man, knows that he must make a change for the sake of those he holds dear so when an opportunity arises that would take him back to York, he seizes it with both hands. In London, Robert is bored with his office job and seeks something grander. Fatherless and dealing with the repercussions of his family's bankruptcy, he must make his own way now that he has been left to the mercy of the world. His sister Charlotte, also frustrated with her life and sure that she will never receive an offer of marriage, longs for something different as well. As the years roll by, the threat of another war hangs in the air and when King Edward VIII takes to the throne, things seem to be on the brink of change once more. But like a phoenix rising up from the ashes, the Morlands prove yet again that they will emerge from whatever they must face stronger than ever before.
FAITH"Run! Run faster than you've ever done before."My entire life, I'd been trained for one thing, and that was to grow up and become a suitable wife to a respectable businessman. One day I woke up and everything was perfect, just as it had always been. The next, well, everything took a sharp turn for the worst.I was forced to run away from the only home I'd known. I was coerced into leaving my dying parents at the scene of a crime. That night, I ran harder than I ever had before. My only goal was to get somewhere safe, but that turned out to be more than I ever bargained for.I stumbled across a massive secret that threatened to shake my very existence...LOGANA routine call to investigate a deadly crash ended up taking a sinister turn, unravelling into a conspiracy which sucked me into its murky depths.Whispers of women being captured without a trace become too loud to ignore when I stumble onto the scene. The more I unravel, the more I'm pulled into the darkness.When my questions earn the wrong attention, I must fight to protect what I believe in before it's too late.
In a bustling marketplace in Iran, a traditional storyteller regales her audience with the tale of Prince Zal and the Simorgh. High up on the Mountain of Gems lives the Simorgh, a wise phoenix whose flapping wings disperse the seeds of life across the world. When King Sam commands that his long-awaited newborn son Zal be abandoned because of his white hair, the Simorgh adopts the baby and raises him alongside her own chicks and teaches him everything she knows. But when the king comes to regret his actions, Prince Zal will learn that the most important lesson of all is forgiveness. In this special edition, the story has been set to music, with each instrument representing a different character. You can download music composed by Amir Eslami (ney), Nilufar Habibian (qanun), Saeid Kord Mafi (santur), and Arash Moradi (tanbur). The music accompanies Sally Pomme Clayton's stunning narration of this classic tale from the Shahnameh.
Whether you are exploring the rabbit warren of rooms that comprise Mystery Castle, hiking the steep, jagged face of Piestewa Peak named after the country's first female Native American killed in combat, or standing among the towering saguaro cacti found only in the Sonoran Desert, it is hard to avoid adventure with a copy of Secret Phoenix: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure in your backpack. This book traverses the historical, geographical and cultural landscape of an unlikely city that has risen from the dust of an ancient civilization to be the sixth largest city in the U.S. From the native peoples who first established the vital canals of yore to the lungers plagued with tuberculosis who flocked to the dry, dry desert to find some relief to the builders, engineers and architects who created the highways and skyline you see today, the city's story is one of survival, innovation and rugged determination. A new and eager city bent on growth, Phoenix has often eschewed history for the sake of progress and over time has lost too much of its heritage; however, for those who look closely, ask the probing questions and choose to explore, there is a history (and a future) to be found. From Glendale to Tempe, Scottsdale to Goodyear, Chandler to Carefree, this book is an examination of metropolitan Phoenix through the bits and pieces left behind and the new spaces and places just beginning to take shape.
The author was among the first to study western occultism as a spiritual tradition rather than as pseudoscience or religion. This 1909 survey of the Holy Grail legend weaves together the history of how a pagan folk-tale became a vital Christian allegory. Waite makes it a point to extensively describe all source texts of the Grail legend--employing readable yet interesting prose.
