Selected for their high interest, appealing formats, appropriate reading levels, outstanding writing, and popularity, these contemporary, spellbinding titles (20 for grades 5-8 and 20 for grades 9-12) reflect a variety of genres and themes that will encourage lifelong literacy. Given for each title are genre and themes, review citations, author information, plot summary, reading and interest rankings, booktalks, literature extensions, alternative book report suggestions, and reproducible bookmarks that suggest further reading.

Help students expand critical thinking and research skills while they learn to work as a team. Featuring 38 novels and 5 picture books, this title offers everything you need to effectively improve your literature-based learning program and make reading fun and exciting. From detailed instructions on how to teach literature circles, to reproducible worksheets and complete lesson plans, you will find this is a versatile resource adaptable to any teaching style. Each title centers on a particular concept (i.e., imagination, discovery, justice and freedom, empathy, and courage and survival) allowing students to explore an idea critically and answer an author-suggested Essential Question. For each novel, a list of vocabulary items is provided along with discussion starters, activities, and writing assignments based on the text, ensuring that students gain a thorough understanding of the content area. A must-have for public and private school teachers, homeschoolers, and parents! Grades 3-8.

A collection of autobiographical essays written by prominent authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults.

A guide based on a 1997 survey of popular children's book authors provides biographical sketches and selected bibliographies for such writers as Beverly Cleary, Lois Lawry, Lewis Carroll, Mary Downing Hahn, and C.S. Lewis.

The church can be uncertain of itself in our digital age. Some Christians denounce the twenty-first century's media culture while others embrace the latest gadgets and apps as soon as they appear. Many of us are stumbling along amidst the tweets, status updates, podcasts, and blog posts, wondering if we have ventured into a realm beyond the scope of biblical wisdom. Though there is such a thing as 'new media', Andrew Byers reminds us that the actual concept of media is ancient, theological, andeven biblical. In fact, there is such a thing as the media of God. 'TheoMedia' are means by which God communicates and reveals himself - creation, divine speech, inspired writings, the visual symbol of the cross, and more. Christians are actually called to media saturation. But the media that are to most prominently saturate our lives are the media of God. If God creates and uses media, then Scripture provides a theological logic by which we can create and use media in the digital age. This book is not an unqualified endorsement of the latest media products or a tirade against media technology. Instead, Byers calls us to rethink our understanding of media in terms of the media of God in the biblical story of redemption.

Human beings are interpreters. •When, what, and how do we interpret? •Which is more reliable: literal information or symbolic expression? •What consequences—in school and in all of life—are attached to our interpretative judgments? We find answers to these questions in stories. Beginning with the question “What do these stones mean?” in Joshua 4, Stones and Stories examines the elements, purposes, and effects of storytelling and story-writing. Written for high school students, Stones and Stories is filled with questions, writing suggestions, sample essays, and drawing exercises to promote meaningful engagement with Scripture and with literature in general. Its questions are suitable for individual reflection and group study and discussion.

A rebel and feminist, the Switzerland-born Miriam Cahn is one of the major artists of her generation. Widely known for her drawings and paintings, she also experiments with photography, moving images, sculptures, and performance art. Cahn’s diverse body of work is disturbing and dreamlike, filled with striking human figures pulsing with an energy both passionate and violent. These pieces, along with Cahn’s reflections on artistic expression, have always responded to her contemporary moment. In the 1980s, her work addressed the feminist, peace, and environmental movements, while the work she produced in the 1990s and early 2000s contains allusions to the war in the former Yugoslavia, the conflict in the Middle East, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. Her recent production tackles ever-evolving political conflicts, engaging with the European refugee crisis and the “#metoo” movement. Miriam Cahn: I as Human examines different facets of the artist’s prolific and troubling oeuvre, featuring contributions from art historians, critics, and philosophers including Kathleen Bühler, Paul B. Preciado, Elisabeth Lebovici, Adam Szymczyk, Natalia Sielewicz and .