Clever Bill

Clever Bill
Author: William Nicholson
Publisher: Egmont UK Limited
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-08-02
Genre: Military miniatures
ISBN: 9781405283328

A beautiful brand new hardback edition of one of the greatest children's books of all time, from the renowned artist William Nicholson, illustrator of The Velveteen Rabbit. The perfect balance of words and pictures, this charming story of a busy day and a forgotten toy paved the way for the modern picture book and still manages to capture the heart with its winning simplicity and uniquely gripping story."A brilliant piece . . . never fails to grip three- and four-year-olds." Shirley Hughes"Among the few perfect picture books ever created . . . I would not hesitate to give this to any child I knew." Maurice Sendak

Pleased to Meet Me

Pleased to Meet Me
Author: Bill Sullivan
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2019-08-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1426220561

Why are you attracted to a certain "type?" Why are you a morning person? Why do you vote the way you do? From a witty new voice in popular science comes a clever, life-changing look at what makes you you. "I can't believe I just said that." "What possessed me to do that?" "What's wrong with me?" We're constantly seeking answers to these fundamental human questions, and now, science has the answers. The foods we enjoy, the people we love, the emotions we feel, and the beliefs we hold can all be traced back to our DNA, germs, and environment. This witty, colloquial book is popular science at its best, describing in everyday language how genetics, epigenetics, microbiology, and psychology work together to influence our personality and actions. Mixing cutting-edge research and relatable humor, Pleased to Meet Me is filled with fascinating insights that shine a light on who we really are--and how we might become our best selves.

Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition)

Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition)
Author: David Mitchell
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Total Pages: 541
Release: 2010-07-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307373576

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A timeless, structure-bending classic that explores how actions of individual lives impact the past, present and future—from a postmodern visionary and one of the leading voices in fiction Featuring a new afterword by David Mitchell and a new introduction by Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. The novel careens, with dazzling virtuosity, to Belgium in 1931, to the West Coast in the 1970s, to an inglorious present-day England, to a Korean superstate of the near future where neocapitalism has run amok, and, finally, to a postapocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history. But the story doesn’t end even there. The novel boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, David Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky. As wild as a video game, as mysterious as a Zen koan, Cloud Atlas is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.

Clever Man

Clever Man
Author: Bill Neidjie
Publisher:
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2020-10-29
Genre: Aboriginal Australians
ISBN: 9781925302233

Clever Man: The Life of Paddy Compass Namadbara offers a unique perspective on the life and making of this Aboriginal Western Arnhem clever man or marrkidjbu.Born at the end of the 19th Century when the Western world had scarcely touched Arnhem Land, Paddy Compass Namadbara acted as a healer for his countrymen and became a powerful and revered leader. Using his clever abilities and wisdom to nurture his community, he enabled the community to deal with the cultural and social changes of the encroaching Western world. He achieved the reputation of being one of the most powerful and clever of traditional marrkidjbu described as a proper number one champion!Based on stories told by the people he helped, some profoundly and in extraordinary ways. This unique biography looks at his life through the eyes of his Western Arnhem countrymen who witnessed his extraordinary abilities. Ian White, researcher and compiler for Clever Man: The Life of Paddy Compass Namadbara, encourages readers to give greater consideration to the reality of the extraordinary abilities of clever people such as Paddy Compass.

Charlie Bumpers vs. the End of the Year

Charlie Bumpers vs. the End of the Year
Author: Bill Harley
Publisher: Holiday House
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1682631370

Charlie Bumpers juggles school bullies and a wacky scheme to keep his best friend from moving in this heartfelt conclusion to Bill Harley's beloved middle grade series. When Charlie learns that Hector's family is moving back to Chile at the end of the year, he is crushed. So with Tommy's help, he immediately starts cooking up schemes to keep Hector here, including a campaign to get him selected as next year's School Ambassador. (Surely Hector will have to stay, Charlie reasons, if he has such an important job.) As usual, Charlie's schemes lead to one near-disaster after another. But moving away from his friends turns out to be the least of Hector's problems. Three mean boys have targeted him for bullying and are making his life miserable. Hector wants to solve the problem by himself, but Charlie and Tommy see that he needs help. They start a campaign to save Hector and to defeat "The Jerzollies of Darkness." Black and white illustrations throughout.

My Crayons Talk

My Crayons Talk
Author: Patricia Hubbard
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 36
Release: 1999-03-15
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780805061505

Brown crayon sings "Play, Mud pie day," and Blue crayon calls "Sky, Swing so high" in this story about talking crayons.

Pecos Bill Tames a Colossal Cyclone

Pecos Bill Tames a Colossal Cyclone
Author: Eric Mark Braun
Publisher: Capstone
Total Pages: 35
Release:
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1479584053

Ever hear of a feller named Pecos Bill? They say he fell off his family's covered wagon and was raised by wolves! But did you know that Pecos Bill once tamed a colossal cyclone from rippin' up the West? Kick off yer boots and listen to this fascinatin' tale of Pecos Bill.

How Not to Be Wrong

How Not to Be Wrong
Author: Jordan Ellenberg
Publisher: Penguin Press
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2014-05-29
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1594205221

A brilliant tour of mathematical thought and a guide to becoming a better thinker, How Not to Be Wrong shows that math is not just a long list of rules to be learned and carried out by rote. Math touches everything we do; It's what makes the world make sense. Using the mathematician's methods and hard-won insights-minus the jargon-professor and popular columnist Jordan Ellenberg guides general readers through his ideas with rigor and lively irreverence, infusing everything from election results to baseball to the existence of God and the psychology of slime molds with a heightened sense of clarity and wonder. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives. How Not to Be Wrong shows us how--Publisher's description.

Energy and Civilization

Energy and Civilization
Author: Vaclav Smil
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2018-11-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262536161

A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.