Eisner award-winning author David F. Walker explodes onto the YA literary scene with a remarkable story about justice and second chances and all the ways we can make our own world in the image of our dreams. Darius Logan is far from a hero. Since his parents were killed, he has spent most of his life navigating foster homes and shelters, abandoned neighborhoods and decaying buildings. All Darius knows is survival. Life was hard enough, but now he finds himself being hunted by the police after a drug deal he never should have been involved in goes bad. And when they catch him, Darius is positive he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. But in place of a long prison sentence, Darius is handed an opportunity almost too good to be true: the chance to get away from his circumstances by joining the Second Chance program of the Super Justice Force, a league of people with special powers who strive to do good and protect the world from harm. Darius soon discovers a strength he never knew he possessed, but evil forces manifest and threaten to destroy everything he holds dear. Will Darius be able to save the world when he faces a deadly--and all too familiar--enemy? This incredibly powerful YA debut by Eisner award-winning author David F. Walker, dives into matters of social justice and identity, courage and second chances, in a world where heroes loom large and what seems ordinary is anything but.

Why Mahler? Why does his music affect us in the way it does? Norman Lebrecht, one of the world’s most widely read cultural commentators, has been wrestling obsessively with Mahler for half his life. Following Mahler’s every footstep from birthplace to grave, scrutinizing his manuscripts, talking to those who knew him, Lebrecht constructs a compelling new portrait of Mahler as a man who lived determinedly outside his own times. Mahler was—along with Picasso, Einstein, Freud, Kafka, and Joyce—a maker of our modern world. Why Mahler? is a book that shows how music can change our lives.

Whether used for thematic story times, program and curriculum planning, readers' advisory, or collection development, this updated edition of the well-known companion makes finding the right picture books for your library a breeze. Generations of savvy librarians and educators have relied on this detailed subject guide to children's picture books for all aspects of children's services, and this new edition does not disappoint. Covering more than 18,000 books published through 2017, it empowers users to identify current and classic titles on topics ranging from apples to zebras. Organized simply, with a subject guide that categorizes subjects by theme and topic and subject headings arranged alphabetically, this reference applies more than 1,200 intuitive (as opposed to formal catalog) subject terms to children's picture books, making it both a comprehensive and user-friendly resource that is accessible to parents and teachers as well as librarians. It can be used to identify titles to fill in gaps in library collections, to find books on particular topics for young readers, to help teachers locate titles to support lessons, or to design thematic programs and story times. Title and illustrator indexes, in addition to a bibliographic guide arranged alphabetically by author name, further extend access to titles.

The first smile, the first laugh, the first word... These are the eagerly anticipated and treasured moments in a child's early life. From the moment they're born, children are ready to experiment and learn about communicating -- whether with the cries of a hungry infant, the chuckles of a baby playing peek-a-boo, or the emphatic "No!" of an independent toddler. As parents and caregivers, our love for the young children in our lives points the way for us in responding to their needs and wants. But there are many ways that we can turn those responses into opportunities to nurture our children's developing understanding of language, and to start them on the path of becoming successful and lifelong learners. In Born to Learn: Developing a Child's Reading and Writing, the authors share decades of experience as teachers, researchers, and mothers in describing how to turn everyday activities into learning opportunities for babies and young children. From suggestions about language games, to ideas about turning household chores into times for conversation, to advice about books to share, Born to Learn is full of practical, hands-on, and fun ways to encourage speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Each chapter focuses on a particular stage in children's development -- from infancy through the pre-school years -- and highlights ways you can help your child learn and grow, and be ready to meet the challenges and adventure of entering school.

After his father goes missing in the Great War, Owen is abandoned to live with his cruel aunt, and wishes he could escape his life of drudgery in her small seaside guesthouse. There he meets a mysterious guest, who appears to make his ventriloquist’s dummy speak, even in his sleep. Soon Owen realises that the dummy, Mr Sparks, can really talk – and he’s looking for a newer, younger puppetmaster. But Mr Sparks has a dark past . . .

"Bodman's hard-won information and sheer storytelling talent make this a book to remember.” —LEE CHILD, #1 worldwide bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series "Karna Bodman’s Trust But Verify is a riveting page-turner you won’t want to put down!" - CARLA NEGGERS, bestselling author of Imposter's Lure Samantha Reid, the brilliant Director of the White House Office of Homeland Security, is enjoying a rare evening away from Washington at a Florida charity ball when a bomb sends the well-heeled attendees stampeding into the night. Narrowly escaping the blast, Reid returns to the White House, where she has been trailing the massacres and illicit arms sales of a shadowy group of Russian oligarchs... all of whom want her dead. Caught in an ever-tightening spiral of lies and ruthless hitmen, Reid must race the clock against her assassins. But she's not alone. When FBI special agent Brett Keating discovers Samantha was the target of the Florida bomb, he resolves to protect her, while also unravelling a brazen plot that threatens the lives of international financial leaders and stock markets worldwide.

Contained within the numerous items on display at the DDR Museum in Berlin is a brief though detailed account of a 1980 initiative on the part of the East German Politburo whereby the objective of this initiative was the seizure, by force, of West Berlin. Although the East German leader Erich Honecker and his colleagues in government were serious as regards to their incorporating West Berlin into East Germany, the Soviet Union, at that time, did not share the East German enthusiasm, due to the potential impact any invasion of West Berlin might have had on the Moscow Olympics and also because Brezhnev was conscious of Soviet presence in Afghanistan. However, two years later, with Leonid Brezhnev close to death, there are shenanigans afoot involving his would-be successors. One of the gambits is a plan by Yuri Andropov to resurrect the Erich Honecker initiative and deliver West Berlin for the Warsaw Pact. How would the West respond if this audacious Andropov power grab strategy was put into practice?

Reprint of the original, first published in 1868.