A young boy and his Norwegian grandmother, who is an expert on witches, together foil a witches' plot to destroy the world's children by turning them into mice.
In 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.
The art museum has become a prestige commission for contemporary architects, and for several decades reference has been made to a “museum building boom.” Among these new museums, those of Louis Kahn are especially admired. This significant American architect, who ranks in this century with Frank Lloyd Wright both as a creator and as an influence, has made a special contribution to the architecture of museums and has helped create a subtle but telling change in the concept of what a late twentieth-century museum building should be. After a brief look at the development of a tradition in museum architecture, this study examines Kahn’s three art museums: the Yale University Art Gallery, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the Yale Center for British Art. It traces the development of each museum through museum through its various stages: the background of the institutions and the commissions, the programs for the buildings, their designs and evolutions, their constructions, and the evaluations of the completed buildings. Material on Kahn’s plans for a museum for the De Menil collection, begun shortly before his death, is also included. Accompanying the text are illustrations of the buildings, including Kahn’s personal sketches, architectural plans and sections, and presentation perspective drawings. Photographs of the finished buildings present the transformed vision of the architect in tangible form, showing that the museums, while related, are individualized accomplishments. This is the first comprehensive study of Kahn’s museums.
When Sol and Connie Blink move to Grand Creek, one of the first people to welcome them is an odd older woman, Fay Holaderry, and her friendly dog, Swift, who carries a very strange bone in his mouth. Sol knows a lot more than the average eleven-year-old, so when he identifies the bone as human, he and Connie begin to wonder if their new neighbor is up to no good. In a spine-tingling adventure that makes them think twice about who they can trust, Sol and Connie discover that solving mysteries can be a dangerous game—even for skilled junior sleuths.
Married to a drunken tavern-keeper, Anna Wirth takes solace in her two sons, hard-working Konrad and the beautiful, flaxen-haired Manfred, who sings like an angel and who, some say, has been touched by God. But at the same time, Anna is desperate to prevent people finding out the truth about her younger son. That he is not like other children: he does not communicate, doesn't make eye contact, lives in his own private world, endlessly collecting and arranging piles of leaves and stones. When rumours of witchcraft sweep through the town, Manfred is seized by those who would use him to pursue their own agenda. As innocent townsfolk are accused, a climate of fear prevails. No one is safe - and at the heart of the terror is Anna's own son. As the death toll mounts, Anna realizes there is only one way to stop the madness. But can she act against a mother's deepest instincts?
Presented in an oddly (or perhaps not so oddly) gaudy, sensational dust jacket, this book argues that throughout history, children's stories have sent innocent people to death, from 16th and 17th century hysteria over demonic possession to present day courtrooms where innocent adults are accused of ritual cult abuse and molestation. Sebald (sociology, Arizona State U.) focuses on adults' credulity as well as children's manipulations. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
_______________ 'Historical fiction at its very best' - Waterstones' Guide to Kids' Books 'Prolific, erudite and consistently brilliant ... breathtaking' - Guardian 'Powerful, absorbing and unusual' - The Bookseller _______________ An updated edition of this outstanding historical novel, in a stunning new package to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its publication. When Mary sees her grandmother accused of witchcraft and hanged for the crime, she is silently hurried to safety by an unknown woman. The woman gives her tools to keep the record of her days – paper and ink. Mary is taken to a boat in Plymouth and from there sails to the New World where she hopes to make a new life among the pilgrims. But old superstitions die hard and soon Mary finds that she, like her grandmother, is the victim of ignorance and stupidity, and once more she faces important choices to ensure her survival. With a vividly evoked environment and characters skilfully and patiently drawn, this is a powerful literary achievement by Celia Rees that is utterly engrossing from start to finish.
A translation of Eveline Hasler’s novel, Die Vogelmacherin— literally “The Bird-Maker Girl”—this book tells the story of three children who were prosecuted for witchcraft in seventeenth-century Europe. Challenging strict boundaries between fiction and history, Hasler’s novel draws on trial records and other archival sources that document the legal cases against these children. While the original work offers a detailed portrait of political and religious violence, Maierhofer goes a step further by providing essential context for the novel. Her wide-ranging introduction and meticulous annotations illuminate the relevance and wider significance of Hasler’s writing. For the first time in English, this book brings Hasler’s traumatic history of witchcraft trials to life, exposing the violence of a culture shaped by fear, authoritarian power, and ideals of conformity.