From the author of the bestselling Buster Brain Games series for Clever Kids, this brain workout will keep bright sparks entertained for hours. The brain teasing tasks are timed and there are four difficulty levels so kids can either work their way to the top or give themselves the ultimate challenge. Let the brain training begin!
An introduction to fifty extraordinary discoveries, inventions and designs by inspirational women. From windscreen wipers to the life raft; coffee filters to emergency flares; Apollo Mission software to Monopoly: women have discovered, invented and designed some of the most important things we all take for granted, but many of their names are unknown. Meet incredible inventors from around the world, and learn how inventions happen. This beautifully illustrated book is a guide to remarkable, practical, skillful and amazing inventions by women who have made their mark on history. With a step-by-step guide to inspire and encourage readers to come up with their own inventions, Bright Sparks is an empowering book that celebrates the minds of women that resulted in some of the most striking discoveries, inventions and designs in history.
An enlightening insight into how creative and innovative leaders and their teams can find success, even in the most difficult circumstances. One of the biggest challenges of business leadership is recognising new opportunities and implementing them effectively. Too often, leaders fall back upon the status quo, relying upon tried and tested methods that may lead to good results but will never have the same impact as a bold new strategy. In Bright Sparks, John Tusa explores situations where pioneering leaders in various sectors have overcome challenges to deliver inspired, imaginative and bold initiatives that make a huge impact upon business and society. Through these aspirational stories of leadership, from sectors such as journalism, tech, politics and the arts, John explores the full journey of innovation and how it can lead to significant results. This is an inspirational read for any business leader interested in how to turn their boldest ideas into reality and how, in the process, professional cultures can be enhanced, revitalised and transformed.
A New York Times Notable Book and the March 2001 selection of Oprah's Book Club® ! Icy Sparks is the sad, funny and transcendent tale of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the 1950’s. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s beautifully written first novel revolves around Icy Sparks, an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or Will Treed in Cold Sassy Tree. At the age of ten, Icy, a bright, curious child orphaned as a baby but raised by adoring grandparents, begins to have strange experiences. Try as she might, her "secrets"—verbal croaks, groans, and physical spasms—keep afflicting her. As an adult, she will find out she has Tourette’s Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, but for years her behavior is the source of mystery, confusion, and deep humiliation. Narrated by a grown up Icy, the book chronicles a difficult, but ultimately hilarious and heartwarming journey, from her first spasms to her self-acceptance as a young woman. Curious about life beyond the hills, talented, and energetic, Icy learns to cut through all barriers—physical, mental, and spiritual—in order to find community and acceptance. Along her journey, Icy faces the jeers of her classmates as well as the malevolence of her often-ignorant teachers—including Mrs. Stilton, one of the most evil fourth grade teachers ever created by a writer. Called willful by her teachers and "Frog Child" by her schoolmates, she is exiled from the schoolroom and sent to a children’s asylum where it is hoped that the roots of her mysterious behavior can be discovered. Here Icy learns about difference—her own and those who are even more scarred than she. Yet, it isn’t until Icy returns home that she really begins to flower, especially through her friendship with the eccentric and obese Miss Emily, who knows first-hand how it feels to be an outcast in this tightly knit Appalachian community. Under Miss Emily’s tutelage, Icy learns about life’s struggles and rewards, survives her first comical and heartbreaking misadventure with romance, discovers the healing power of her voice when she sings, and ultimately—takes her first steps back into the world. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s Icy Sparks is a fresh, original, and completely redeeming novel about learning to overcome others’ ignorance and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique.
Bright Sparks Literacy Project is a set of reading materials that provide staged opportunities for the progressive acquisition of literacy skills in the early years of schooling. Each title draws on a broad base of literacy skills, yet focuses on one or two skills, enabling teachers to appropriately select texts according to student's perceived need. Readers are exposed to a range of appropriate text types and language structures. Texts and activities have been developed around common themes explored in contemporary classrooms, allowing teachers to capitalise on the use of context when reading and writing.
A brilliant, beautiful account of how British boffins triumphed across the decades in creating everything from computer games to Martian landers. The book contains chapters on the Beagle II, Elite - the 80s computer game, the Blue Streak missile, Concorde, mobile phone technology and the Human Genome Project, among others. Britain is the only country in the world to have cancelled its space programme just as it put its first rocket into orbit. Starting with this forgotten episode, 'Backroom Boys' tells the bittersweet story of how one country lost its industrial tradition and got back something else. Sad, inspiring, funny and ultimately triumphant, it follows the technologists whose work kept Concorde flying, created the computer game, conquered the mobile-phone business, saved the human genome for the human race - and who now are sending the Beagle 2 probe to burrow in the cinnamon sands of Mars. 'Backroom Boys' is a vivid love-letter to quiet men in pullovers, to those whose imaginings take shape not in words but in mild steel and carbon fibre and lines of code. Above all, it is a celebration of big dreams achieved with slender means.
FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHORS TRAVIS S. TAYLOR AND JODY LYNN NYE.A teenage girl and her fellow Bright Sparks must do what it takes to stay alive and achieve success in this sequel to Moon Beam. Barbara Winton and the rest of the Bright Sparks, Dr. Keegan Bright’s team of young scientists, find themselves facing a challenge that will test all of their scientific skills and personal courage. They are competing in the first ever race to completely circle the Moon. The Sparks, and twenty-five other teams, have to count on one another as they face thousands of kilometers of unknown dangers, where even a simple accident can have fatal consequences. They form close friendships with racers from all over Earth, but also have to deal with former Spark, Pam, a mysterious and threatening figure whose departure from the Sparks program is shrouded in mystery. While the Sparks compete in the race, Dr. Bright himself is part of a groundbreaking project to seek out rare minerals underneath a crater. On the far side of the Moon, in the airless, frozen depths beneath the lunar surface, disaster strikes. On the thinly settled Moon only the Bright Sparks may be close enough help him. The young scientist find themselves not only racing for victory, but to save their beloved mentor. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for prequel Moon Beam: “Taylor and Nye offer up a tense escapade with engaging characters and a fast-paced plot, but their true focus is on scientific detail, plausibility, and ingenuity . . . it’s an entertaining and even educational offering, perfect for those who demand science in their science fiction.”—Publishers Weekly Praise for the work of Jody Lynn Nye: "Infused with humor to keep you entertained and action to make you turn the pages."—Kirkus on Jody Lynn Nye’s Rhythm of the Imperium “I thoroughly enjoyed it, the plot, the settlement, the whole nine yards, and especially the twitch of humor at odd moments...a book I can thoroughly recommend.” —Anne McCaffrey “An unusual story well-told, with characters it's a real pleasure to spend time with.” —David Drake "[An] innovative take on the well-loved theme of fairies and dangerous wishes." —Publishers Weekly on Wishing on a Star by Jody Lynn Nye and Angelina Adams About Travis S. Taylor: “[E]xplodes with inventive action.—Publishers Weekly on Travis S. Taylor’s The Quantum Connection. “[Warp Speed] reads like Doc Smith writing Robert Ludlum. . .You won’t want to put it down”—John Ringo
Ivy and Bean meets Aliens in my Pocket in this start to a brand-new chapter book series about Frankie Sparks, a third grader who uses her love for science and math to help her solve problems she comes across in her daily life. The best thing EVER is happening in Frankie Sparks’s third grade class: They are getting a class pet! Their teacher, Miss Cupid, tells them they will vote on their pet, but it has to meet some “parameters.” Their pet must: 1. Fit in aquarium. 2. Cost less than $50. 3. Be easily portable. 4. Be able to be left alone for the weekend. Frankie thinks that a rat—just like the rats in her beloved Aunt Gina’s lab—would be the perfect fit. But her best friend, Maya, doesn’t think a rat would be great at all. They are kind of gross and not as cool as a hermit crab, which is Maya’s top choice. Using her special workshop, can Frankie find a way to convince her teacher and her best friend that Team Rat is the way to go?