This is the story rhyme of Whizz-Bang Gran from the ORT Rhyme and Analogy Pack A. It is part of a series of rhyme stories by a variety of authors and illustrators and introduces the most common rhyme families. Pack A contains one rhyme family per book and Pack B contains two rhyme families per book. The stories are intended for Reception and Year 1 readers to read independently. The books are designed to be read before the already published Rhyme and Analogy Story Rhymes. Accompanying Big Books for shared reading and Copymasters provide teacher support.
Winner of the UKLA Author Award 2009 ′Lockwood has written a useful, supportive book which will help teachers and librarians...He describes the background and summarises the research and then proposes thoroughly practical programmes′ - Carousel ′Michael Lockwood has produced an excellent, practical overview and analysis of what works in the primary school to promote reading for pleasure....Lockwood′s work is grounded and valuable to those who need it most - teachers in the classroom working hard to engender a love of reading′ - English Drama Media ′This book is first class. It puts the matter very clearly and succinctly, and presents a great deal of evidence to support the argument that pleasure is not a frivolous extra, but the very heart and essence of what reading is about. It also gives readers plenty of ideas for carrying the principle into the classroom, and for justifying it...This is an excellent piece of work, which I hope will find a place on every staffroom bookshelf.′ - Philip Pullman English primary school children are less likely to read for pleasure than their counterparts in many other countries. This practical and focused book discusses the background to this situation and looks at how government initiatives have tried to address it. Drawing on the author′s own research project in order to identify good practice in promoting reading for enjoyment, the book presents specific activities which teachers can use to develop their own whole school and classroom practice, enabling them to put the fun back into reading. Each chapter features case-study material and provides examples of planning from schools that have successfully created thriving reading cultures through schemes such as reading assemblies, book clubs, library loyalty cards, school book evenings and quizzes. There is also an extensive, annotated list of print and internet-based resources. Topics covered include: - Becoming a reading for pleasure school - Promoting a love of reading in the early years - Developing reading enjoyment in the later primary years - Getting boys reading Promoting Reading for Pleasure in the Primary School is written for all those involved in education who would like to see as many children as possible develop a love of reading. It will be particularly relevant for primary teachers, teaching assistants, trainee teachers, advisers and consultants, as well as teacher educators and researchers.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For the first time ever—a comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth century’s most innovative creative artists: the incomparable, irreplaceable Jim Henson He was a gentle dreamer whose genial bearded visage was recognized around the world, but most people got to know him only through the iconic characters born of his fertile imagination: Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Miss Piggy, Big Bird. The Muppets made Jim Henson a household name, but they were just part of his remarkable story. This extraordinary biography—written with the generous cooperation of the Henson family—covers the full arc of Henson’s all-too-brief life: from his childhood in Leland, Mississippi, through the years of burgeoning fame in America, to the decade of international celebrity that preceded his untimely death at age fifty-three. Drawing on hundreds of hours of new interviews with Henson's family, friends, and closest collaborators, as well as unprecedented access to private family and company archives, Brian Jay Jones explores the creation of the Muppets, Henson’s contributions to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, and his nearly ten-year campaign to bring The Muppet Show to television. Jones provides the imaginative context for Henson’s non-Muppet projects, including the richly imagined worlds of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth—as well as fascinating misfires like Henson’s dream of opening an inflatable psychedelic nightclub. An uncommonly intimate portrait, Jim Henson captures all the facets of this American original: the master craftsman who revolutionized the presentation of puppets on television, the savvy businessman whose dealmaking prowess won him a reputation as “the new Walt Disney,” and the creative team leader whose collaborative ethos earned him the undying loyalty of everyone who worked for him. Here also is insight into Henson’s intensely private personal life: his Christian Science upbringing, his love of fast cars and expensive art, and his weakness for women. Though an optimist by nature, Henson was haunted by the notion that he would not have time to do all the things he wanted to do in life—a fear that his heartbreaking final hours would prove all too well founded. An up-close look at the charmed life of a legend, Jim Henson gives the full measure to a man whose joyful genius transcended age, language, geography, and culture—and continues to beguile audiences worldwide. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BOOKPAGE “Jim Henson vibrantly delves into the magnificent man and his Muppet methods: It’s an absolute must-read!”—Neil Patrick Harris “An exhaustive work that is never exhausting, a credit both to Jones’s brisk style and to Henson’s exceptional life.”—The New York Times “[A] sweeping portrait that is a mix of humor, mirth and poignancy.”—Washington Independent Review of Books “A meticulously researched tome chock-full of gems about the Muppets and the most thorough portrait of their creator ever crafted.”—Associated Press
From T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne, comes the epic, scintillating narrative of the interconnected worlds of jazz and organized crime in 20th century America. "[A] brilliant and courageous book." —Dr. Cornel West Dangerous Rhythms tells the symbiotic story of jazz and the underworld: a relationship fostered in some of 20th century America’s most notorious vice districts. For the first half of the century mobsters and musicians enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership. By offering artists like Louis Armstrong, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald a stage, the mob, including major players Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, provided opportunities that would not otherwise have existed. Even so, at the heart of this relationship was a festering racial inequity. The musicians were mostly African American, and the clubs and means of production were owned by white men. It was a glorified plantation system that, over time, would find itself out of tune with an emerging Civil Rights movement. Some artists, including Louis Armstrong, believed they were safer and more likely to be paid fairly if they worked in “protected” joints. Others believed that playing in venues outside mob rule would make it easier to have control over their careers. Through English’s voluminous research and keen narrative skills, Dangerous Rhythms reveals this deeply fascinating slice of American history in all its sordid glory.
On deck and ready for your reading lineup, New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies’s ode to “batty” baseball fans. You think humans are the only ones who enjoy America’s national pastime? Grab your bat—the other kind—and your mitt, because it’s a whole new ballgame when evening falls and bats come fluttering from the rafters to watch their all-stars compete. Get set to be transported to the right-side-up and upside-down world of bats at play, as imagined and illustrated by bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies. Hurry up! Come one—come all! We’re off to watch the bats play ball!
