Lessons in life, love, and running in packs—from one remarkable pug The first thing Gracie remembers is being at the bottom of a big pile of other dogs, scrambling as hard as she could to get a taste of her mother’s milk. Life is sweet, but life—as always—has to change. One day, a friendly new woman picks Gracie up in her arms, hugging her so tightly it seems she will never let go. This is Gracie’s new mommy, who has come to take this headstrong young pug on the adventure of a lifetime. Gracie moves to a new house, which is ruled with an iron paw by a no-nonsense feline named Aretha. Gracie is descended from wolves, and she knows enough about her ancestors to understand that not every critter gets to run the pack. Everyone in this little family has their part to play, and Gracie is determined to be the best pug she can be—no matter what life throws her way!
In this award-winning, coming-of-age novel, ten-year-old Gracie Lee struggles to make sense out of her life as an Arkansas farm girl in the early 1970s. Wise beyond her age yet imbued with child-like innocence, Gracie focuses on the three things that keep her awake at night: Solving the mystery of the man in the gray house; Surviving another school year at Savage Crossing Elementary; and, Saving her alcoholic Daddy from himself (and thereby saving the whole family and wider world). Gracie feels certain there is more to life beyond school and dull church sermons. She worries about the soldiers in Vietnam and wonders what it must be like to have been born Lisa Marie Presley from Tennessee instead of Gracie Lee Abbott from Arkansas. Mostly, she wishes her Daddy wasn't so mean. Gracie's unchecked imagination leads to Nancy Drew-type adventure. Adventure leads to trouble. She confides in unexpected characters and seeks solace in a mysterious gray house beyond the cotton field. When Gracie faces a difficult family situation, she must make a life-altering decision, one that will test the very essence of her character. "At best, most first novels indicate potential. It would be wrong to say that, when reading Talya Tate Boerner's The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee, I was pleasantly surprised. Actually, I was amazed. There's magic here, in a wonderfully-told story that will find a special place in any reader's heart." Jeff Guinn, New York Times bestselling author. "Boerner's prose is a wonderful medium for unspooling Gracie's story, imbued with all the snark, wonder, and colorful details that characterize childhood... The author addresses real, high-stakes issues without slathering them in melodrama or saccharine sentimentality, and her book hearkens back to an older YA tradition of stories of plucky preteen girls, spooky houses, and inevitable tragedies that help mark the turning point from childhood to adolescence. A stirring novel with a distinctive young narrator." Kirkus Reviews
Includes speeches on Asia, inflation, corruption, South farm policy, labor and labor legislation, civil rights, nuclear policy, natural resources, communism, McCarthyism, war and peace.
Grace had it all. Her life was perfectly planned. She breezed through high school and college seemed to be the means to an end. Until one fateful night that would send the perfect plan crashing to a halt. It seemed that luck and love were the two rewards that escaped her as she lived day by day on a rollercoaster of emotional highs in a backdrop of panoramic landscapes. Could she find true love while back packing in the back country of the Carolina mountain side, or would she wander the trails forever searching for the answers to the questions that we all wish to find?
The original title for this work was “Mathematical Literacy, What Is It and Why You Need it”. The current title reflects that there can be no real learning in any subject, unless questions of who, what, when, where, why and how are raised in the minds of the learners. The book is not a mathematical text, and there are no assigned exercises or exams. It is written for reasonably intelligent and curious individuals, both those who value mathematics, aware of its many important applications and others who have been inappropriately exposed to mathematics, leading to indifference to the subject, fear and even loathing. These feelings are all consequences of meaningless presentations, drill, rote learning and being lost as the purpose of what is being studied. Mathematics education needs a radical reform. There is more than one way to accomplish this. Here the author presents his approach of wrapping mathematical ideas in a story. To learn one first must develop an interest in a problem and the curiosity to find how masters of mathematics have solved them. What is necessary to be mathematically literate? It’s not about solving algebraic equations or even making a geometric proof. These are valuable skills but not evidence of literacy. We often seek answers but learning to ask pertinent questions is the road to mathematical literacy. Here is the good news: new mathematical ideas have a way of finding applications. This is known as “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics.”
"A Thomas More Sourcebook" brings together classic texts by and about Thomas More to reflect his views on education, politics, church-state relations, love, and friendship. The writings shed light on More's distinctive Christian humanism and feature three famous sixteenth-century accounts of More's life by Erasmus, Roper, and a team of London playwrights including William Shakespeare. Catholic University of American Press
