A thought-provoking new thriller set in the tense moments of the Gulf War. When Clyde Banks, an Iowan Deputy with a newborn baby and a wife in the Gulf, starts looking into odd events in his town, he discovers a plot involving a new Triangle Trade of terrorists, chemical warfare, and training. Mixing the events staged in Washington, D.C. and those happening in the Gulf, a strange thread of deceit appears to be winding its way back to Iowa. "From the Paperback edition.

Todd must conquer his fear of spiders and cobwebs in order to help his third-grade class catch a thief.

"Our All About Reading program is unique in the world of language arts because it is the only multisensory reading program that will teach your child all the fundmentals of reading. We have no gaps--just a full, rich, research-centered program that is guaranteed to teach your child to read. Our pre-reading program teaches five essential pre-reading skills that we call the Big Five Skills. Research shows that these skills prevent reading failure by educating pre-readers in how language works--in essence, familiarizing children with written text and how it is used, so they are prepared to read. In Levels 1-4, our program will teach your child all five Key Components of Reading: Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Decoding, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Reading Comprehension. Every one of these components, when taught in concert with the others, is essential to your child's success in reading. This totally integrated approach to teaching reading ensures your child will not only learn to read with All About Reading, but will learn to read well. and since reading is at the heart of all learning, fluency in this skill is one of the most important gifts you can give your child."--Teacher's Manual, back cover

From his triumphant debut with Snow Crash to the stunning success of his latest novel, Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson has quickly become the voice of a generation. In this now-classic political thriller, he and fellow author J. Frederick George tell a savagely witty, chillingly topical tale set in the tense moments of the Gulf War. When a foreign exchange student is found murdered at an Iowa University, Deputy Sheriff Clyde Banks finds that his investigation extends far beyond the small college town—all the way to the Middle East. Shady events at the school reveal that a powerful department is using federal grant money for highly dubious research. And what it’s producing is a very nasty bug. Navigating a plot that leads from his own backyard to Washington, D.C., to the Gulf, where his Army Reservist wife has been called to duty, Banks realizes he may be the only person who can stop the wholesale slaughtering of thousands of Americans. It’s a lesson in foreign policy he’ll never forget.

Many are called... She alone can save the world and become Death's bride. COBWEB BRIDE (Cobweb Bride Trilogy, Book One) is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death's ultimatum to the world. What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them? In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill.... Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive... While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war... A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father... Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court.... Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living... Look closer--through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars... And one small village girl, Percy--an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter--is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs. As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death's own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North... And everyone is trying to stop her. "... Nazarian writes clean and true prose ..." --Publishers Weekly "Fans of period fantasy and those who like stories that feel like fairy tales should appreciate this skillful novel by the twice Nebula Award-nominated author of Dreams of the Compass Rose and The Duke in His Castle." --Library Journal

A spider spins a cobweb curtain over the mouth of a cave to hide the Holy Family from soldiers who are looking for them.

A Study Guide for Raymond Carver's "The Cobweb," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.

All her life, Tante had heard tales about marvelous happenings on Christmas Eve. Animals might speak aloud. Bees might hum carols, or cocks crow at midnight. Tante wished she could witness a bit of Christmas magic, too. Everybody loves Christmas at Tante's. The old lady decorates a wonderful tree and makes certain to have something for all who come to visit, be it the nearby village children or the shy animals of the pine forest. The only creatures Tante overlooks are the spiders she has swept out of her cottage while cleaning. But the curious spiders want to come inside and see Tante's tree, too. When a midnight visitor lets them into the old lady's home, they unknowingly spin Tante the very gift she has longed for--a gift that has inspired the draping of tinsel on Christmas trees ever since. This Old World tale about the warmth and wonder of Christmas will leave children enchanted with the magical possibilities of the season.