Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Sophie loves to dance. She dreams of being a ballerina, and when she receives ballet lessons for her birthday, she hopes her wish to be a real dancer one day might really come true.

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Jim the cabin boy decides that the pirates of the bad ship Scullywag need cheering up, so he suggests that they should go on a picnic. But he doesn't know that pirates' picnics are not like ordinary picnics at all. Can the Scullywag's crew avoid rain, rotten eggs and quicksand to find the perfect island to hold their party?

This is the first volume to consider the popular literary category of Early Readers – books written and designed for children who are just beginning to read independently. It argues that Early Readers deserve more scholarly attention and careful thought because they are, for many younger readers, their first opportunity to engage with a work of literature on their own, to feel a sense of mastery over a text, and to experience pleasure from the act of reading independently. Using interdisciplinary approaches that draw upon and synthesize research being done in education, child psychology, sociology, cultural studies, and children’s literature, the volume visits Early Readers from a variety of angles: as teaching tools; as cultural artifacts that shape cultural and individual subjectivity; as mass produced products sold to a niche market of parents, educators, and young children; and as aesthetic objects, works of literature and art with specific conventions. Examining the reasons such books are so popular with young readers, as well as the reasons that some adults challenge and censor them, the volume considers the ways Early Readers contribute to the construction of younger children as readers, thinkers, consumers, and as gendered, raced, classed subjects. It also addresses children’s texts that have been translated and sold around the globe, examining them as part of an increasingly transnational children’s media culture that may add to or supplant regional, ethnic, and national children’s literatures and cultures. While this collection focuses mostly on books written in English and often aimed at children living in the US, it is important to acknowledge that these Early Readers are a major US cultural export, influencing the reading habits and development of children across the globe.

'I want to be in the company of her frank intelligence forever' Nigella Lawson In our mothers' day there were good mothers, indifferent mothers, and occasionally, great mothers. Today we have only Bad Mothers: If you work, you're neglectful; if you stay home, you're smothering. If you discipline, you're buying them a spot on the shrink's couch; if you let them run wild, they will be into drugs by seventh grade. Is it any wonder so many women refer to themselves at one time or another as a "bad mother"? Writing with remarkable candor, and dispensing much hilarious and helpful advice along the way--Is breast best? What should you do when your daughter dresses up as a "ho" for Halloween?--Ayelet Waldman says it's time for women to get over it and get on with it in this wry, unflinchingly honest, and always insightful memoir on modern motherhood.

Accidentally left in the woods by his owner, Mr. Tubs the teddy bear meets many woodland creatures, some who are kind and some who are scary.

In Sophie's Kiss, two of Britain's most respected Royal journalists reveal that the Queen has secretly decreed that the engagement of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones will be publicly announced when Charles' divorce is finalised

Whether you deal with preschoolers or teenagers, no children's collection is complete without this practical resource standing front and center on the reference shelf. The 1999 edition of Children's Books in Print arranges over 127,000 in-print titles -- including over 15,000 new entries -- by title, author, and illustrator. Use it to:

Untamed Rogue, Scandalous Mistress by Bronwyn Scott Within minutes of colliding with Lord Ramsden's carriage, Aurora Calhoun finds herself kissing the incorrigible rogue! Crispin Ramsden feels restrained by his inheritance. Especially when faced with this impetuous woman who ignites a scandalous passion! Society is rocked by this outrageous couple. Can they find a place to belong? High Seas Stowaway by Amanda McCabe Balthazar Grattiano, captain of the Calypso and renowned seducer, has just walked into the wrong tavern. One owned by Bianca Simonetti, his sworn enemy. Her chance for retribution is to stow away on his ship for a passionate adventure that will either kill them, or bring them together once and for all. Courting Miss Vallois by Gail Whitiker Miss Sophie Vallois' looks and grace make her an instant hit with London society. No one would know that the French beauty is a mere farmer's daughter. Except Robert Silverton. Yet Sophie's spirit and compassion intrigue him. Soon Robert wants the delectable Miss Vallois in his arms!

A history of the landmark television show draws on interviews with recording stars and music business figures to chronicle the show's four decades of success