Well-chosen stories give children good role models and increase their empathy for others. Simplistic moral precepts in simple language; each story comes with a caricature type illustration to retain interest of young readers. The moral at the end of the story summaries precisely what the child is supposed to learn! These stories educate children about a family, tradition, ethos, social mores or share cultural insight or a combination of all these. Thoughtful stories not only provide enjoyment, they also shape and influence lives of children.
The inspiration for a hit Disney film and named one of “13 Detective Book Series You Obsessed Over as a Kid” by BuzzFeed, the masterful Great Mouse Detective is back and ready to investigate a library haunting! Basil of Baker’s Street, the masterful mouse detective who studied under Sherlock Holmes, is on his way to a school reunion with his old friends from Ratcliffe College. Along for the trip is his steadfast companion, Doctor Dawson. But all is not well, as they soon learn that the dastardly Ratigan has escaped from prison in London. Could the rat possibly be planning revenge against his old nemesis, Basil himself? But before Basil and Dawson can worry too much about the wily rat, they hear another piece of worrying news. The duo arrives in Oxford only to be informed that the library of Basil’s old college is haunted! The students are thoroughly spooked, and the whole mess threatens to sour the festive mood of the reunion. Basil, for one, doesn’t believe in the supernatural and plans to put the rumors to rest. But the strange occurrences continue, without any obvious explanation. Is this one case that can stump even the Great Mouse Detective? And as Basil and Dawson dig deeper, are there even more sinister secrets afoot?
A follow-up to Rockport Publishers' best-selling Universal Principles of Design, a new volume will present one hundred principles, fundamental ideas and approaches to making art, that will guide, challenge and inspire any artist to make better, more focused art.Universal Principles of Art serves as a wealth of prompts, hints, insights and roadmaps that will open a world of possibilities and provide invaluable keys to both understanding art works and generating new ones. Respected artist John A. Parks will explore principles that involve both techniques and concepts in art-making, covering everything from the idea of beauty to glazing techniques to geometric ideas in composition to minimalist ideology. Techniques are simple, direct and easily followed by any artist at any level. This incredibly detailed reference book is the standard for artists, historians, educators, professionals and students who seek to broaden and improve their art expertise.
An authentic, definitive and no-holds-barred narrative – packed with fascinating incidents and anecdotes – that brings alive the life and times of one of the most prominent, multifaceted and striking individuals (a former royal) in the sphere of Punjab politics Beginning with a historical background of how the Patiala kingdom came to be established, and ruled, over the centuries, the author moves on to describe the early years of Amarinder Singh (a scion of that kingdom). He then portrays the Indo?Pak war zone of 1965 (where the protagonist earned his spurs) and finally focuses on the combative arenas of Punjab politics, where numerous electoral and other battles have been (and continue to be) fought. This informative work unravels the subterfuges of politicians and others (including religious leaders) in trying to ensure their dominance. The pages reveal behind-the-scenes intrigues, plots and counter-plots even as Punjab was in the vice-like grip of terrorism in the late twentieth century. Operation Bluestar (June 1984) and its consequences have been objectively recorded. Besides tracing the career graph of Amarinder Singh, who reached his pinnacle when he became the chief minister of Punjab in February 2002, the author provides useful insights into crucial events that have made an immense impact on that state and the neighbouring areas over the past few decades. The text also throws light on Amarinder Singh’s five-year tenure as chief minister (marked by both positive and negative aspects) and on the following period, when Parkash Singh Badal regained that post. The contents are rounded off with an update on the Punjab scenario up to February 2017, which saw Amarinder Singh come back with a thumping victory. Here’s a saga that records history in the making in Punjab.
A book as effervescent and alive as the city itself. My First New York features candid accounts of coming to New York by more than fifty of the most remarkable people who have called the city home. Here are true stories of long nights out and wild nights in, of first dates and lost loves, of memorable meals and miserable jobs, of slow walks up Broadway and fast subway rides downtown. The contributors—a mix of actors, artists, comedians, entrepreneurs, musicians, politicians, sports stars, writers, and others—reflect an enormous variety of experiences: few have arrived with less than filmmaker Jonas Mekas, a concentration-camp survivor on a UN refugee ship; few have swanned in with more than designer Diane von Furstenberg, a princess. And an extraordinary number managed to land in New York just as something historic was happening—the artist Cindy Sherman arrived in the middle of the Summer of Sam; restaurateur Danny Meyer came on the day John Lennon was shot. Arranged chronologically, these moving and memorable stories combine to form an impressionistic history of New York since the Great Depression. They also provide an accidental encyclopedia of New York hotspots through the ages: from the Cedar Tavern and the Gaslight to Lutèce and Elaine's, from Max's Kansas City and the Mudd Club to the Odeon and Bungalow 8, they're all here, dots on the unbroken line of the Next Next things. Taken together, My First New York is a collection of fifty-six testaments to a larger revelation, one that new arrivals of all stripes and all eras have experienced again and again in New York, regardless of how the city proceeds to treat them: what the songwriter Rufus Wain-wright calls "having cracked the code of living life to the fullest."
“I don’t know what people expect when they meet me. They seem to be afraid that I’m going to piss in the potted palm and slap them on the ass.”—Marlon Brando “I should have been dead ten times over. I believe in miracles. It’s an absolute miracle that I’m still around.”—Dennis Hopper “You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police.”—Jack Nicholson “The best time to get married is noon. That way, if things don’t work out, you haven’t blown the whole day.”—Warren Beatty They’re the baddest bad-asses Hollywood as ever seen: Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty, and Jack Nicholson. They are men to whom rules did not apply; normal standards of behavior were simply too wearisome to worry about. These are men who brawled, boozed, snorted, and screwed their way into legendhood—but along the way they changed acting and the way movies were made forever. Hollywood Hellraisers is a whistle-stop tour of jaw-dropping sexual activity, misbehavior of an Olympic standard, all-out excess, and genuine madness. It’s a wonder Hollywood survived.
