The sheriff of a dusty western town rescues Sweetness, an unusually resourceful orphan, from nasty old Mrs. Sump and her terrible orphanage.

The definitive biography of Chicago Bears and Hall of Fame superstar Walter Payton. Based on meticulous research and interviews with nearly 700 contacts, an unforgettable portrait that describes a man who lived his life just like he played the game: at full speed.

From the author of "Italian for Beginners," a lush, heartwarming novel about a woman who travels to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother--and discovers more than she ever imagined.

Over the last century, the Everglades underwent a metaphorical and ecological transition from impenetrable swamp to endangered wetland. At the heart of this transformation lies the Florida sugar industry, which by the 1990s was at the center of the political storm over the multi-billion dollar ecological “restoration” of the Everglades. Raising Cane in the ’Glades is the first study to situate the environmental transformation of the Everglades within the economic and historical geography of global sugar production and trade. Using, among other sources, interviews, government and corporate documents, and recently declassified U.S. State Department memoranda, Gail M. Hollander demonstrates that the development of Florida’s sugar region was the outcome of pitched battles reaching the highest political offices in the U.S. and in countries around the world, especially Cuba—which emerges in her narrative as a model, a competitor, and the regional “other” to Florida’s “self.” Spanning the period from the age of empire to the era of globalization, the book shows how the “sugar question”—a label nineteenth-century economists coined for intense international debates on sugar production and trade—emerges repeatedly in new guises. Hollander uses the sugar question as a thread to stitch together past and present, local and global, in explaining Everglades transformation.

Emily wished she was invisible. But after moving to a new town with her dad, a charming boy makes it impossible for her to disappear. Despite her feelings of unworthiness, Emily soon finds herself drawn to the safety of Jake's world. Good looking and the star of the hockey team, Jake has a lot going for him. What most people don't see is the difficult life he has at home. When quiet Emily steals his heart, Jake vows to help her discover she is worthy of love. Just when the two of them realize the sweetness of their relationship, they are put to the test. Only together can they overcome their haunted pasts to fight for a future together

This CIERA sponsored book is based on the premise that high-quality texts of all kinds are essential to good teaching in elementary classrooms. Experts on a variety of text-related topics were asked to summarize existing research and then apply it to literacy development in an "ideal" classroom. The most comprehensive and up-to-date book in its field, it moves progressively from an examination of discrete literacy processes and forms to a holistic overview and assessment of the classroom literacy environment. Content coverage in this outstanding new book includes: *Literacy Processes--Part I examines basic reading processes (instruction, comprehension, word recognition, fluency, and motivation) as they relate to text features. *Forms of Texts--Part II examines the wide variety of text types (fiction, nonfiction, leveled, local, and electronic) that comprise an effective classroom literacy program. Discussions include the nature of these texts, their qualities and quantities, how they fit into an instructional plan, and how a teacher might assess their effectiveness. *Text Selection--Part III examines special issues (linguistic diversity and teachers as censors) related to the selection of classroom texts. *Personal Applications--The final, hands-on chapter synthesizes the book's ideas and offers practical tools (checklists and inventories) whereby teachers can self-assess the literacy environment of their own classrooms. This book is suitable for anyone (graduate students, in-service reading specialists and curriculum directors, college faculty, and researchers) who deal directly with issues of classroom literacy.

It's 1973, and David Leveraux has landed his dream job as a Flavorist-in-Training, working in the secretive industry where chemists create the flavors for everything from the cherry in your can of soda to the butter on your popcorn. While testing a new artificial sweetener -- "Sweetness #9" -- he notices unusual side-effects in the laboratory rats and monkeys: anxiety, obesity, mutism, and a generalized dissatisfaction with life. David tries to blow the whistle, but he swallows it instead. Years later, Sweetness #9 is America's most popular sweetener -- and David's family is changing. His wife is gaining weight, his son has stopped using verbs, and his daughter suffers from a generalized dissatisfaction with life. Is Sweetness #9 to blame, along with David's failure to stop it? Or are these just symptoms of the American condition? David's search for an answer unfolds in this expansive novel that is at once a comic satire, a family story, and a profound exploration of our deepest cultural anxieties. Wickedly funny and wildly imaginative, Sweetness #9 questions whether what we eat truly makes us who we are.

Teaching students to make connections across related texts promotes engagement and improves reading comprehension and content learning. This practical guide explains how to select and teach a wide range of picture books as paired text--two books related by topic, theme, or genre--in grades K-8. The author provides mini-lessons across the content areas, along with hundreds of recommendations for paired text, each linked to specific Common Core standards for reading literature and informational texts. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 22 reproducible graphic organizers and other useful tools. Purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.