Neil Gaiman, writer of THE SANDMAN, tells a powerful and mysterious tale that begins when all the children of an English village mysteriously vanish. Rowland and Paine, the Dead Boy Detectives introduced in SANDMAN (1989 2nd Series) #25, investigate the disappearances and learn of the existence of the otherworldly Free Country. But the denizens of that realm have conceived a mysterious plot that involves several young beings of power-Suzy, the child Black Orchid; Animal Man's daughter, Tef_; Dorothy Spinner of the Doom Patrol; and Tim Hunter, the young mage introduced in THE BOOKS OF MAGIC.

The Goddess has half of the Marvel Universe on her side, but if she doesn't get her way, she's ready to destroy all of it! The Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Defenders, the X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, the New Warriors, and more are turned against each other in her cosmic inquisition, and while Adam Warlock seeks answers within, could an even bigger crisis loom if ultimate power is stolen by...Pip the Troll?! Plus, mayhem on Monster Island and a Drax/Thor grudge match - Destroyer against Thunderer! Collects Infinity Crusade #4-6, Warlock Chronicles #4-5, and Warlock and the Infinity Watch #20-22.

A long time ago, I wrote the first part of a story, and waited to find outhow it middled, then worked with Jamie Delano and Alisa Kwitney on the end. Foryears people have asked how and when they could read all the story of TheChildren's Crusade. I'm glad to say that it's now been retooled and refinished,and is something both old and new - a forgotten jewel and a new delight."-NeilGaiman For the first time ever, the two-issue miniseries THE CHILDREN'SCRUSADE, written by Neil Gaiman, Alisa Kwitney and Jamie Delano, is collected -and with them, a new chapter written by Toby Litt that completes the tale asGaiman originally envisioned it. When several children go missing in asmall English town, the Dead Boy Detectives are on the case. A series of strangeand unexpected twists takes them to Free Country, a place that dates back amillennium, where children never grow old and are free from the abuse andtyranny of adults. But Free Country is failing, and what it needs is thestrength of five innately powerful children - including the young sorcererTimothy Hunter - to restore their uncanny world to what it once was. Thishardcover collects THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE #1 and THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE #2,written by Gaiman with cowriters Alisa Kwitney and Jamie Delano. A brand-newmiddle chapter written by DEAD BOY DETECTIVES novelist Toby Litt and drawn byartist Peter Gross (THE BOOKS OF MAGIC, THE UNWRITTEN) completes this compellingtale of ancient history, stolen dreams and lost children. It also features a newintroduction by Gaiman, plus new cover art by artist Mark Buckingham (FABLES,DEAD BOY DETECTIVES).

Continued from ARCANA ANNUAL BOOKS OF MAGIC (1994) #1. In the conclusion of the monumental Vertigo Annuals event, the plans of the strange children of Free Country come to fruition and the fate of that mystical land is decided. The children of the Vertigo titles will all be changed by their experiences...and one will not return.

Over the past twenty years, Neil Gaiman has developed into the premier fantasist of his generation, achieving that rarest of combinations—unrivaled critical respect and extraordinary commercial success. From the landmark comic book series The Sandman to novels such as the New York Times bestselling American Gods and Anansi Boys, from children's literature like Coraline to screenplays for such films as Beowulf, Gaiman work has garnered him an enthusiastic and fiercely loyal, global following. To comic book fans, he is Zeus in the pantheon of creative gods, having changed that industry forever. For discerning readers, he bridges the vast gap that traditionally divides lovers of "literary" and "genre" fiction. Gaiman is truly a pop culture phenomenon, an artist with a magic touch whose work has won almost universal acclaim. Now, for the first time ever, Prince of Stories chronicles the history and impact of the complete works of Neil Gaiman in film, fiction, music, comic books, and beyond. Containing hours of exclusive interviews with Gaiman and conversations with his collaborators, as well as wonderful nuggets of his work such as the beginning of an unpublished novel, a rare comic and never-before-seen essay, this is a treasure trove of all things Gaiman. In addition to providing in depth information and commentary on Gaiman's myriad works, the book also includes rare photographs, book covers, artwork, and related trivia and minutiae, making it both an insightful introduction to his work, and a true "must-have" for his ever growing legion of fans.

Integrating interviews with individuals ranging from senior policymakers to frontline soldiers, a look at the Persian Gulf War shows how the conflict transformed modern warfare.

The inspiring story of the 1963 Birmingham Children's March as seen through the eyes of four young people at the center of the action. The 1963 Birmingham Children's March was a turning point in American civil rights history. Black Americans had had enough of segregation and police brutality, but with their lives and jobs at stake, most adults were hesitant to protest the city's racist culture. So the fight for civil rights lay in the hands of children like Audrey Hendricks, Wash Booker, James Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter. We've Got a Job tells the little-known story of the four thousand Black elementary, middle, and high school students who answered Dr. Martin Luther King's call to "fill the jails." Between May 2 and May 11, 1963, these young people voluntarily went to jail, drawing national attention to the cause, helping bring about the repeal of segregation laws, and inspiring thousands of other young people to demand their rights. Drawing on her extensive research and in-depth interviews with participants, award-winning author Cynthia Levinson recreates the events of the Birmingham Children's March from a new and very personal perspective. Archival photography and informational sidebars throughout. Back matter includes an afterword, author's note, timeline, map, and bibliography.

Kurt Vonnegut’s masterpiece, Slaughterhouse-Five is “a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century” (Time). Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.” An instant bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five made Kurt Vonnegut a cult hero in American literature, a reputation that only strengthened over time, despite his being banned and censored by some libraries and schools for content and language. But it was precisely those elements of Vonnegut’s writing—the political edginess, the genre-bending inventiveness, the frank violence, the transgressive wit—that have inspired generations of readers not just to look differently at the world around them but to find the confidence to say something about it. Authors as wide-ranging as Norman Mailer, John Irving, Michael Crichton, Tim O’Brien, Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Strout, David Sedaris, Jennifer Egan, and J. K. Rowling have all found inspiration in Vonnegut’s words. Jonathan Safran Foer has described Vonnegut as “the kind of writer who made people—young people especially—want to write.” George Saunders has declared Vonnegut to be “the great, urgent, passionate American writer of our century, who offers us . . . a model of the kind of compassionate thinking that might yet save us from ourselves.” More than fifty years after its initial publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut’s portrayal of political disillusionment, PTSD, and postwar anxiety feels as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever, an enduring beacon through our own era’s uncertainties.

In his classsic book, Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and powerful Ideas, Seymour Papert set out a vision of how computers could change school. In The Children's Machine he now looks back over a decade during which American schools acquired more than three million computers and assesses progress and resistance to progress.