The story of a formative year in 12-year-old Franny Chapman's life, and the life of a nation facing the threat of nuclear war. Franny Chapman just wants some peace. But that's hard to get when her best friend is feuding with her, her sister has disappeared, and her uncle is fighting an old war in his head. Her saintly younger brother is no help, and the cute boy across the street only complicates things. Worst of all, everyone is walking around just waiting for a bomb to fall. It's 1962, and it seems that the whole country is living in fear. When President Kennedy goes on television to say that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba, it only gets worse. Franny doesn't know how to deal with what's going on in the world -- no more than she knows how to deal with what's going on with her family and friends. But somehow she's got to make it through. Featuring a captivating story interspersed with footage from 1962, award-winning author Deborah Wiles has created a documentary novel that will put you right alongside Franny as she navigates a dangerous time in both her history and our history.
"[A] deftly layered mystery about family, friendship, and the struggle to speak up." - Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak and Shout From acclaimed author Kate Messner comes the powerful story of a young girl with the courage to make her voice heard, set against the backdrop of a summertime mystery. When Mia moves to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she's recovering from the broken arm she got falling off a balance beam. And packed away in the moving boxes under her clothes and gymnastics trophies is a secret she'd rather forget. Mia's change in scenery brings day camp, new friends, and time with her beloved grandmother. But Gram is convinced someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm. Is it sabotage or is Gram's thinking impaired from the stroke she suffered months ago? Mia and her friends set out to investigate, but can they uncover the truth in time to save Gram's farm? And will that discovery empower Mia to confront the secret she's been hiding--and find the courage she never knew she had? In a compelling story rich with friendship, science, and summer fun, a girl finds her voice while navigating the joys and challenges of growing up.
FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the Net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.
A powerful investigation into the chances for humanity's future from the author of the bestseller The World Without Us. In his bestselling book The World Without Us, Alan Weisman considered how the Earth could heal and even refill empty niches if relieved of humanity's constant pressures. Behind that groundbreaking thought experiment was his hope that we would be inspired to find a way to add humans back to this vision of a restored, healthy planet-only in harmony, not mortal combat, with the rest of nature. But with a million more of us every 4 1/2 days on a planet that's not getting any bigger, and with our exhaust overheating the atmosphere and altering the chemistry of the oceans, prospects for a sustainable human future seem ever more in doubt. For this long awaited follow-up book, Weisman traveled to more than 20 countries to ask what experts agreed were probably the most important questions on Earth -- and also the hardest: How many humans can the planet hold without capsizing? How robust must the Earth's ecosystem be to assure our continued existence? Can we know which other species are essential to our survival? And, how might we actually arrive at a stable, optimum population, and design an economy to allow genuine prosperity without endless growth? Weisman visits an extraordinary range of the world's cultures, religions, nationalities, tribes, and political systems to learn what in their beliefs, histories, liturgies, or current circumstances might suggest that sometimes it's in their own best interest to limit their growth. The result is a landmark work of reporting: devastating, urgent, and, ultimately, deeply hopeful. By vividly detailing the burgeoning effects of our cumulative presence, Countdown reveals what may be the fastest, most acceptable, practical, and affordable way of returning our planet and our presence on it to balance. Weisman again shows that he is one of the most provocative journalists at work today, with a book whose message is so compelling that it will change how we see our lives and our destiny.
A book for pregnant women who would prefer to give birth with as little intervention as possible, so as to make things as good as possible for both themselves and their babies. The 'countdown' takes the reader through 10 key topics, and all discussion of issues is supplemented with birth stories and comments from all kinds of women and professionals too. The tone is practical, reassuring and even inspirational because the many positive birth stories show how it's possible to have a really happy, healthy experience of birth. Contributions come from Janet Balaskas (the woman who realised we're better off not lying down when we give birth!), Michel Odent (pioneer of water births) and Bill Bryson (the travel writer)... as well as from many other experts and 'ordinary' but extraordinary mothers, who made this book possible. The advice is based on current research evidence and in any cases where the evidence is controversial the research and relevant issues are discussed in an optional extra 'notes' section at the back of the book. There is a comprehensive Glossary of pregnancy terms and a user-friendly Index, so as to make it an optimally useful book in all sense of the word. In short, this is a handbook which could make a real difference to a pregnant woman's experience and also to that of her baby. A comment from an antenatal teacher: "What every woman will want to know, put simply and clearly." A comment from a midwife, perinatal researcher and adjunct professor (Betty-Anne Daviss): "Sylvie has created a prescription for healthy birth in a 10-step approach to keep parents focused on what is important in a potentially disastrous birth environment... She has... provided us with a book that encapsulates anything you wanted to know about keeping your birth normal and healthy..." And a comment from a mother: "Had a very late night Friday as I could not put your book down. Wow!"
Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader's doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.
The clock is relentlessly ticking! Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization. Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful 'drivers' will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course with potentially catastrophic consequences. In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear; we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe. Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, The 2030 Spike serves as a guidebook for humanity through the treacherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization. This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.
In North America obesity continues to be a problem, one that extends throughout life as children move into adolescence and adulthood and choose progressively less physical activity and less healthy diets. This public health issue needs to be addressed early in childhood, when kids are adopting the behaviors that they will carry through life. Eat Well & Keep Moving, Third Edition, will help children learn physically active and nutritionally healthy lifestyles that significantly reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases. BENEFITS This award-winning evidence-based program has been implemented in all 50 states and in more than 20 countries. The program began as a joint research project between the Harvard School of Public Health (currently the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) and Baltimore Public Schools. In extensive field tests among students and teachers using the program, children ate more fruits and vegetables, reduced their intake of saturated and total fat, watched less TV, and improved their knowledge of nutrition and physical activity. The program is also well liked by teachers and students. This new edition provides fourth- and fifth-grade teachers with the following: • Nutrition and activity guidelines updated according to the latest and best information available • 48 multidisciplinary lessons that supply students with the knowledge and skills they need when choosing healthy eating and activity behaviors • Lessons that address a range of learning outcomes and can be integrated across multiple subject areas, such as math, language arts, social studies, and visual arts • Two new core messages on water consumption and sleep and screen time along with two new related lessons • A new Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate, created by nutrition experts at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, that offers children simple guidance in making healthy choices and enhances the USDA’s MyPlate Eat Well & Keep Moving also offers a web resource that contains numerous reproducibles, many of which were included in the book or the CD-ROM in previous editions. A separate website, www.eatwellandkeepmoving.org, provides detailed information for food service managers interested in making healthful changes to their school menus; this information includes recipes, preparation tips, promotional materials, classroom tie-ins, and staff training. The web resource also details various approaches to getting parents and family members involved in Eat Well & Keep Moving. A Holistic Approach Eat Well & Keep Moving is popular because it teaches nutrition and physical activity while kids are moving. The program addresses both components of health simultaneously, reinforcing the link between the two. And it encompasses all aspects of a child’s learning environment: classroom, gymnasium, cafeteria, hallways, out-of-school programs, home, and community centers. Further, the material is easily incorporated in various classroom subjects or in health education curricula. Eight Core Principles Central to its message are the eight core Principles of Healthy Living. Those principles—at least one of which is emphasized in each lesson—have been updated to reflect key targets as defined by the CDC-funded Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration partnership. These are the principles: • Make the switch from sugary drinks to water. • Choose colorful fruits and vegetables instead of junk food. • Choose whole-grain foods and limit foods with added sugar. • Choose foods with healthy fat, limit foods high in saturated fat, and avoid foods with trans fat. • Eat a nutritious breakfast every morning. • Be physically active every day for at least an hour per day. • Limit TV and other recreational screen time to two hours or less per day. • Get enough sleep to give the brain and body the rest it needs. Flexible, Inexpensive, Easy to Adopt The entire curriculum of Eat Well & Keep Moving reflects the latest research and incorporates recommendations from the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It fits within school curricula, uses existing school resources, is inexpensive to implement, and is easy to adopt. The content is customizable to school and student population profiles and can help schools meet new criteria for federally mandated wellness policies. Most important, armed with the knowledge they can gain from this program, elementary students can move toward and maintain healthy behaviors throughout their lives.
"This is the revised text of a work first published as Countdown under the pseudonym Michelle Maddox by Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc., in 2008"--Title page verso.
