Lively and exciting retelling by popular author John Heffernan of two tales from the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, illustrated in striking sumptuous style by new illustrator Kate Durack.

Some kids refuse to read, others won't stop &– not even at the dinner table! Either way, many parents question the best way to support their child's literacy journey. When can you start reading to your child? How do you find that special book to inspire a reluctant reader? What can you do to keep your tween reading into their adolescent years? Award-winning teacher librarian Megan Daley, the passionate voice behind the Children's Books Daily blog, has the answers to all these questions and more. She unpacks her twenty years of experience into this personable and accessible guide, enhanced with up-to-date research and firsthand accounts from well-known Australian children's authors. It also contains practical tips, such as suggested reading lists and instructions on how to run book-themed activities.Raising Readers is a must-have resource for parents and educators to help the children in their lives fall in love with books.

One of the world's oldest recorded folktales tells the story of a handsome young man and the older woman in whose house he resides. Overcome by her feelings for him, the woman attempts to seduce him. When he turns her down she is enraged, and to her husband she accuses the young man of attacking her. The husband, seemingly convinced of his wife's innocence, has the young man punished. But it is precisely that punishment that leads to the hero's vindication and eventual rise to power and prominence. In the West we know this tale--classified in folklore as the Potiphar's Wife motif--from its vivid narration in the Hebrew Bible. But as Shalom Goldman demonstrates in this book, the Bible's is only one telling of a story that appears in the scriptures and folklore of many peoples and cultures, in many different eras, including ancient Egypt, classical Greece, and ancient Mesopotamia, as well as post-Biblical Jewish literature, the Qur'an, and Inuit culture. Goldman compares and contrasts the treatment of this motif especially in the literature and lore of the ancient Near East, Biblical Israel, and early Islam, at the same time touching on gender issues--the status of women in Middle Eastern societies and the varying constructions of male-female relationships--and the vexed question of "originality" in the narratives of the monotheistic traditions.

Sumerian literature / Gonzalo Rubio -- Egyptian literature / Susan Tower Hollis -- Akkadian literature / Benjamin R. Foster -- Hittite literature / Gary Beckman -- Canaanite literature / Wayne T. Pitard -- Hebrew/Israelite literature / Carl S. Ehrlich -- Aramaic literature / Ingo Kottsieper.

"This splendid work of scholarship . . . sums up with economy and power all that the written record so far deciphered has to tell about the ancient and complementary civilizations of Babylon and Assyria."—Edward B. Garside, New York Times Book Review Ancient Mesopotamia—the area now called Iraq—has received less attention than ancient Egypt and other long-extinct and more spectacular civilizations. But numerous small clay tablets buried in the desert soil for thousands of years make it possible for us to know more about the people of ancient Mesopotamia than any other land in the early Near East. Professor Oppenheim, who studied these tablets for more than thirty years, used his intimate knowledge of long-dead languages to put together a distinctively personal picture of the Mesopotamians of some three thousand years ago. Following Oppenheim's death, Erica Reiner used the author's outline to complete the revisions he had begun. "To any serious student of Mesopotamian civilization, this is one of the most valuable books ever written."—Leonard Cottrell, Book Week "Leo Oppenheim has made a bold, brave, pioneering attempt to present a synthesis of the vast mass of philological and archaeological data that have accumulated over the past hundred years in the field of Assyriological research."—Samuel Noah Kramer, Archaeology A. Leo Oppenheim, one of the most distinguished Assyriologists of our time, was editor in charge of the Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute and John A. Wilson Professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Chicago.

This study examines how the cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, with their highly developed senses of religion and spirituality, provide a useful and even crucial context for a fuller study and understanding of the Bible. The beliefs and practices of these ancient civilizations embodied in such important literary works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Sumerian/Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh, and Homer’s perennially sublime Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the great Hellenic tragedies, are major cultural legacies that have enriched civilization and indubitably deepen our understanding of the Biblical Books, their cultural location, and their enduring moral authority.

This comprehensive atlas explores the varied ritual practices and religious beliefs in the ancient cultural region thought to be the cradle of civilization. The captivating history of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the area known as the Fertile Crescent, unfolds through a pictorial and illustrated journey. Through a robust glossary, sidebars, and thematic introductions the social studies content of this fascinating subject becomes easily digestible, for even the most reluctant reader, while the further reading section inspires future research.

Meet a brave little girl called Masha who outwits a big bad bear with some tasty pies, and a beautiful but none too bright rooster, his long-suffering friends, and a cunning fox! Two Trickster Tales from Russia is the launch title for Christmas Press, a new Australian publisher specialising in beautiful picture books for children which feature traditional stories from many lands, retold by well-known authors and stunningly illustrated in a classic style. Two Trickster Tales from Russia includes the lively, funny Russian folktales, Masha and the Bear and The Rooster with the Golden Crest, retold in a fresh and engaging style by award-winning writer Sophie Masson, author of more than fifty books for children and young adults. It is the first book for new illustrator David Allan, and his gorgeous illustrations are inspired by classic Russian children's picture books. Suitable for a wide age range, Two Trickster Tales from Russia is a delight to read aloud to young children, as well as for older children to read on their own, and makes a wonderful gift for Christmas and any time of the year. About the author The award-winning and internationally-published author of more than 50 books for children, young adults and children, Sophie Masson was born in Indonesia of French expatriate parents and came to Australia as a school-age child, spending much of her childhood shuttling between France and Australia, in the process developing an intense love of writing and reading. Her delight in traditional stories, combined with a lifelong fascination with Russia, a country she has visited several times, has resulted in several books with a Russian theme, including two novels, The Firebird (Hachette 2001) and Scarlet in the Snow(Random House Australia 2013), and her first picture book, Two Trickster Tales from Russia, which is the realisation of a long-held dream.Sophie says: The stories in Two Trickster Tales from Russia, Masha and the Bear and The Rooster with the Golden Crest are two folk tales that are well-loved in Russia, but not so well-known outside it. I chose them because the two of them embody a lively sense of fun--it's great to see the small and apparently powerless outwitting big brutes or cunning schemers! There's also a strong feel of the woods, which are so much a part of Russian life and culture. And there's a great rhythm to the stories which I've added to by having little verses here and there. About the illustrator: David Allan completed a Diploma in Fine Art and has been part of several Fine Art exhibitions of Landscapes and Portraits in Oils. He's worked in bookshops and as a graphic designer and web designer, but always dreamed of becoming an illustrator. Influences in his work include classic illustration masters such as Arthur Rackham and Russian illustrator Ivan Bilibin (especially for Two Trickster Tales), along with Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha and more recent illustrators such as Alan Lee and William Stout. Two Trickster Tales from Russia is his first book. He is currently working on another title for Christmas Press.David says: For the artwork I used pen and watercolour on paper. The style for this book is pretty much an extension of what I normally do. Prior to starting the project, Sophie introduced me to the work of the great Russian Illustrator Ivan Bilibin whose work I had somehow missed before and now love. His use of a clean line and areas of flat colour style has been a huge influence on the look of the illustrations I produced for Two Trickster Tales from Russia. About the designer:Fiona McDonald: A graduate of the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, Fiona McDonald has worked as a graphic designer, doll-maker, cloth sculptor and artist. She is also the author of several books of non-fiction, including the best-selling The Popular History of Graffiti(Skyhorse Publishing 2013), as well as an illustrated novel f

Celebrated for numerous developments in the areas of law, writing, religion, and mathematics, Mesopotamia has been immortalized as the cradle of civilization. Its fabled cities, including Babylon and Nineveh, spawned new cultures, traditions, and innovations in art and architecture, some of which can still be seen in present-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Readers will be captivated by this ancient culture’s rich history and breadth of accomplishment, as they marvel at images of the magnificent temples and artifacts left behind.