In 1990, Dave Muller sails to Mozambique with his wife, Sandy, and two young children, to fulfil a boyhood dream of voyaging to the tropics on the yacht he's spent ten years building. The fantasy holiday comes to a shocking end when the yacht runs aground on a stretch of beach near the Bazaruto Islands. While waiting for high tide to re-float their vessel, a patrol of five child soldiers armed with AK47s arrive, along with their two adult captives. The young boys ransack the yacht. Not Child's Play brilliantly traverses the Mullers' nightmare of seven weeks as hostages of Renamo, a militant resistance organisation in Mozambique. Dave and Sandy, desperate to protect their children, come close to collapse, plagued by intense mental and emotional strain. The fear of violence and death is a constant. Twice the camp in which they are held is attacked by the warring government forces, Frelimo. Yet, after 49 days, the family becomes strangely comfortable in their captivity. The Mullers' eventual rescue, which etched their names in history and is retold remarkably here, involved a covert operation by the SA Navy and Navy Seals - the kind of dramatic stuff that Hollywood action movies are made of!

A chilling tale from the bestselling author of The Devil’s Advocate, “a master of psychological thrillers” (V. C. Andrews). They were four perfect little children. Alex had taught them well. They helped with the house, set the table for meals, and went straight upstairs after dinner to do their homework. They did as they were told. Sharon didn’t miss the glances that passed between her husband and the foster children. From the day they arrived, they had looked up to Alex, worshiped him. Why, it even seemed they were beginning to act like Alex—right down to the icy sarcasm, the terrifying smile, and the evil gleam in their eyes when they looked at her. Oh yes, they’d do anything to please Alex. Anything at all . . .

Is sport good for kids? When answering this question, both critics and advocates of youth sports tend to fixate on matters of health, whether condemning contact sports for their concussion risk or prescribing athletics as a cure for the childhood obesity epidemic. Child’s Play presents a more nuanced examination of the issue, considering not only the physical impacts of youth athletics, but its psychological and social ramifications as well. The eleven original scholarly essays in this collection provide a probing look into how sports—in community athletic leagues, in schools, and even on television—play a major role in how young people view themselves, shape their identities, and imagine their place in society. Rather than focusing exclusively on self-proclaimed jocks, the book considers how the culture of sports affects a wide variety of children and young people, including those who opt out of athletics. Not only does Child’s Play examine disparities across lines of race, class, and gender, it also offers detailed examinations of how various minority populations, from transgender youth to Muslim immigrant girls, have participated in youth sports. Taken together, these essays offer a wide range of approaches to understanding the sociology of youth sports, including data-driven analyses that examine national trends, as well as ethnographic research that gives a voice to individual kids. Child’s Play thus presents a comprehensive and compelling analysis of how, for better and for worse, the culture of sports is integral to the development of young people—and with them, the future of our society.

This stunning collection of stories demonstrates once again why Alice Munro is celebrated as a pre-eminent master of the short story. While some of the stories are traditional, set in “Alice Munro Country” in Ontario or in B.C., dealing with ordinary women’s lives, others have a new, sharper edge. They involve child murders, strange sex, and a terrifying home invasion. By way of astonishing variety, the title story, set in Victorian Europe, follows the last journey from France to Sweden of a famous Russian mathematician. This daring, superb collection proves that Alice Munro will always surprise you.

Finally we’re playing a game. A game that I have chosen. I give one last push of the roundabout and stand back. ‘You really should have played with me,’ I tell her again although I know she can no longer hear. Late one summer evening, Detective Kim Stone arrives at Haden Hill Park to the scene of a horrific crime: a woman in her sixties tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck. The victim, Belinda Evans, was a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. As Kim and her team search her home, they find an overnight bag packed and begin to unravel a complex relationship between Belinda and her sister Veronica. Then two more bodies are found bearing the same distinctive markings, and Kim knows she is on the hunt for a ritualistic serial killer. Linking the victims, Kim discovers they were involved in annual tournaments for gifted children and were on their way to the next event. With DS Penn immersed in the murder case of a young man, Kim and her team are already stretched and up against one of the most ruthless killers they’ve ever encountered. The clues lie in investigating every child who attended the tournaments, dating back decades. Faced with hundreds of potential leads and a bereaved sister who is refusing to talk, can Kim get inside the mind of a killer and stop another murder before it’s too late? The addictive new crime thriller from multi-million copy, number one bestseller Angela Marsons explores the dark side of child prodigies and will have you absolutely hooked. Read what everyone is saying about Child’s Play: ‘The must-read thriller for the year. Fabulous characters and well written. I can't wait to read more by this author.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I have nothing but praise for this amazing series, 11 books and counting and the series keeps getting better with each instalment. I highly recommend this series to all fans of original high -quality mystery thrillers.’ Bookish ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Angela Marsons pushes the limits again to bring us the best of crime fiction! To me, reaching a point where you trust an author this much with your precious time, is invaluable… This is why finding your happy place, your go-to people, your - rather deadly - dreamland is the best feeling in the world and I must thank Angela Marsons for never letting me down…’ Chocolate’n’Waffles ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved loved this book, Angela has done it again, just brilliant. This story is great pulls you in from the first page and never lets go…Get it, read it, you won't be disappointed.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The quality of Angela Marsons writing has never diminished over the entire series. The release of a Kim Stone novel is an event to look forward to. Full of engaging characters and humour this series is fast becoming one of my favourites. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars because it certainly deserves it. Excellent and I happily recommend it and the series to anyone.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Superb!!... one of the best openings to a book I have read…DI Kim Stone is one of my favourite all time characters in this genre… This is one of the best books in the series and as this is already book 11 in the series that says a lot as not a lot of authors can keep producing books this strong and so well written - very, very highly recommended!!’ Donnasbookblog ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow Wow!!! How did I not see any of that coming!...I could barely put the book down…’ Rachel’s Random Reads ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Marsons for me is the QUEEN of this genre. She knows how to add the human touch to each story and I just adore her. Bloody FABULOUS.’ Postcard Reviews

This comprehensive book explores theories and practice of play. It suggests that media influences have a profound effect on behaviour, and by stressing the importance of understanding play as a chart of development, and drawing links between home, school, clinics and therapy, he offers the prospect of an understanding of delinquency and difficulty.

Bullying Epidemic: Not Just Child's Play is a powerful new book on children s bullying and the corrosive, enabling role adults inadvertently play. Why is bullying still a growing crisis, after a decade of bullying prevention programs? Bullying Epidemic looks clearly at the self-serving excuses adults make for failing to step in and stop bullying, and the tremendous human cost of looking away while our kids are suffering. Caught early, bullying is easily stopped. Unchallenged, bullying becomes impossibly complex, with no rewind button, leaving permanent emotional scars and, too frequently, costing children their lives. No law can provide consolation or damage repair for parents who ve lost children to suicide. All of us are damaged by the roles we play bully, target, and, most frequently, bystander. Adults must reclaim our roles as leaders to children, clean up the bullying in adult workplaces, in our personal lives, and on TV. We must unwaveringly insist that kids do the same. Kids should know that every day is bullying prevention day not just when cameras are rolling or the bullying prevention expert is in the school. Bullying Epidemic offers a commonsense action plan for all adults determined to turn the tide of children s bullying. Lorna Blumen is an educational consultant and bullying prevention specialist. Author of Girls Respect Groups: An Innovative Program To Empower Young Women & Build Self-Esteem!, she has appeared on Canadian and U.S. television and radio.

Danny loves music; Molly loves painting; and Marcus loves writing. And they all love playing together. But there's something worrying them: they'll soon be moving to a new house. Child's Play is a tale of love, dedicated to creativity, to change, and to all of the children who have had to leave their home countries in search of a brighter future.

'A reality TV show that's worth its weight in failed Big Brother auditionees . . . a tiny TV miracle' IRISH TIMESon Families in Trouble