Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland

Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland
Author: Tomie De Paola
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1992
Genre: Catholics
ISBN: 9780823409242

Relates the life and legends of Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

The House of the Scorpion

The House of the Scorpion
Author: Nancy Farmer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2013-08-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1471120384

Newberry Honour Award Winner & National Book Award Winner. Matt is six years old when he discovers that he is different from other children and other people. To most, Matt isn't considered a boy at all, but a beast, dirty and disgusting. But to El Patron, lord of a country called Opium, Matt is the guarantee of eternal life. El Patron loves Matt as he loves himself - for Matt is himself. They share the exact same DNA. As Matt struggles to understand his existence and what that existence truly means, he is threatened by a host of sinister and manipulating characters, from El Patron's power-hungry family to the brain-deadened eejits and mindless slaves that toil Opium's poppy fields. Surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards, escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But even escape is no guarantee of freedom . . . because Matt is marked by his difference in ways that he doesn't even suspect. Praise for The House of Scorpions: 'It's a pleasure to read science fiction that's full of warm, strong characters... that doesn't rely on violence as the solution to complex problems of right and wrong. It's a pleasure to read.' Ursula K. LeGuin 'Fabulous' Diana Wynne Jones Also by Nancy Farmer: The Sea of Trolls Land of the Silver Apples The Islands of the Blessed The Lord of Opium

The Necessity of Young Adult Fiction

The Necessity of Young Adult Fiction
Author: Deborah Lindsay Williams
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2023-03-09
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0192848976

Discusses how young adult fiction offers new ways of thinking about climate change and definitions of citizenship. The Necessity of Young Adult Fiction argues that YA fiction helps us to think about some of most pressing problems of the twenty-first century by offering imaginative reconceptualizations about identity, nation, family, and the human relationship to the planet. Using examples from YA fiction that range from the Harry Potter series to Nnedi Okorafor's trilogy set in contemporary Nigeria, this book argues that the cultural work of YA fiction shapes readers perceptions, making them receptive to--and invested in--the possibility of positive social change. The novels examined could all be considered "fantastical," but they offer insights into the real world that all readers--and particularly young adult readers--might draw on in order to reimagine social structures and the well-being of the planet. The book is designed to bring readers into the conversation about how we might create cosmopolitan societies that are shaped around conversation and engagement rather than fear and isolation. Each of these novels, in different ways, illustrate the dangers inherent in fundamentalist visions of the world. Through its discussions about the relationships between reading and citizenship, monsters and families, the local and the global, The Necessity of Young Adult Fiction demonstrates that YA fiction is doing some of the most important and creative work in literature today.

The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology And The Myth Of Israel

The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology And The Myth Of Israel
Author: Thomas L Thompson
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2008-08-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0786725176

The Jewish people's historical claims to a small area of land bordering the eastern Mediterranean are not only the foundation for the modern state of Israel, they are also at the very heart of Judeo-Christian belief. Yet in The Mythic Past, Thomas Thompson argues that such claims are grounded in literary myth, not history. Among the author's startling conclusions are these: There never was a "united monarch" of Israel in biblical times -- We can no longer talk about a time of the Patriarchs -- The entire notion of "Israel" and its history is a literary fiction. The Mythic Past provides refreshing new ways to read the Old Testament as the great literature it was meant to be. At the same time, its controversial conclusions about Jewish history are sure to prove incendiary in a worldwide debate about one of the world's seminal texts, and one of its most bitterly contested regions.

The Legend of El Patron

The Legend of El Patron
Author: Virginia Parker Staat
Publisher: Booklocker.com
Total Pages: 24
Release: 2019-02-10
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781644384923

When an aging male bear joined a rare and natural return of black bears to West Texas, wildlife researcher Bonnie McKinney trapped him for evaluation. She found the bear near starvation. Little did she know that she and El Patron would soon become celebrities throughout the national park and wildlife research communities. El Patron's story tells the trials of a starving bear marked as a nuisance, the dedication of a wildlife researcher, and the commitment of the people of Carlsbad who rallied to aid this renegade bear after he escaped his new home. Certain to captivate, El Patron's story also provides readers the opportunity to learn more about black bears with its sidebars featuring educational information. Ultimately readers will delight in the endearing, true tale of this outlaw bear and how his story became the Legend of El Patron. The Legend of El Patron: A True Story is winner of the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers contest in their unpublished works writing category.

Young Adult Literature in Action

Young Adult Literature in Action
Author: Rose Brock
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2019-06-14
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1440866945

Taking a genre approach, this overview of young adult literature shows new librarians and library science students the criteria to use for selecting quality books, including recommended titles. This third edition of Young Adult Literature in Action draws on the success of the previous two editions authored by Rosemary Chance, updating and expanding on them to meet the needs of today's librarians and library science students. It includes a new focus on diverse books, LGBTQ+ selections, the role of book formats, and the relevance of librarians serving teen populations and is an ideal resource for teaching young adult literature courses. Organized by major genre divisions, this easy-to-use book includes new information on timely topics such as audio and e-books, accessible books, and graphic novels. Each chapter includes revised and updated information on collaborative activities, featured books, special topics and programs, selected awards and celebrations, historical connections, recommended resources, issues for discussion, author comments, and assignment suggestions. Further updates include citations of exemplary young adult books and award winners, references, websites, and a bibliography.

Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen
Author: Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2018-08-14
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476673314

McFarland Companions to Young Adult Literature American novelist Gary Paulsen is best known for his young adult fiction, including bestsellers Nightjohn, Soldier's Heart, and Woods Runner. From his trenchant prose in The Rifle and The Foxman to the witty escapades of Harris and Me and Zero to Sixty, Paulsen crafts stories with impressive range. The tender scenes in The Quilt and A Christmas Sonata speak to his empathy for children, with characters who endure the same hardships that marred his own early life. This literary companion introduces readers to his life and work. A-to-Z entries explore themes such as alcoholism, coming of age, slavery, survival, and war. A glossary defines terms unique to his work. Appendices provide related historical references, writing, art, and research topics.

A Legend of the Future

A Legend of the Future
Author: Augustín de Rojas
Publisher: Restless Books
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2014-10-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1632060108

A morally profound chamber piece, A Legend of the Future is a critique of morality. It takes place inside a spaceship after a crash takes place during a failed mission to Titan, one of the Saturn moons. The journey home forces the crew to face its innermost fears while coexisting with each other in a state of desperation. This mesmerizing novel, recalling Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: Space Odyssey, is a roman a clef about the intense pressures—economic, ideological, psychological—inside Socialist Cuba. Praise for A Legend of the Future "The best science fiction writer in Cuba; the only possible debate is which of his works is the best.... His trilogy of Spiral, A Legend of the Future, and Year 200 is still the best of Cuban science fiction.... With a very refined style and well-established scientific-social background, Agustín’s work surprises through its humanistic content. His concerns surrounding the meaning of life and the evolution of human beings put him in a privileged place among national writers.” —Cuenta Regresiva "The best and most popular novelist of this genre that the Island has ever given.... He is considered one of the principal exponents of Cuban science fiction, and he was undoubtedly the one who knew how to best combine solid scientific formation as plots and attractive characters with a confidence well-based in humanity’s socialist future.” —Yoss "One of the best science fiction writers in Cuba—and, until [his death], one of the best Cuban story tellers alive.... Today Agustín de Rojas’ work, from Spiral through Catharsis and Society, is admired by cult readers, pro-government thinkers, and elitists alike." —Félix Luis Viera, Cubaencuentro "The most elevated figure in Cuban science fiction." —Axxón Agustín de Rojas (1949-2011) is the patron saint of Cuban science fiction. A professor of the history of theater at the Escuela de Instructores de Arte in Villa Clara, he is the author of a canonical trilogy of novels: Espiral (Spiral, 1982), for which he was awarded the David Prize; La leyenda del futuro (The Legend of the Future, 1985) and El año 200 (The Year 200, 1990), all scheduled for publication in English translation by Restless Books. While influenced by Ray Bradbury and a translator of Isaac Asimov into Spanish, he aligned himself with the Soviet line of socialist realism defined by the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky as well as by Ivan Antonovich Yefremov, author of The Andromeda Nebula, made into a movie directed by Yevgeni Sherstobitov and admired by de Rojas. In Cuban literature, he is said to have begun writing after reading Miguel Collazo’s El viaje (The Journey). After the fall of the Soviet Union, de Rojas stopped writing science fiction and embraced other themes such as Christianity, about which he wrote a novel called El publican (1997), about the disciples of Jesus Christ, that was awarded the Dulce María Loynaz Prize. He spent his last years persuaded—and persuading others—that Fidel Castro did not exist. Nick Caistor is a British journalist, non-fiction author, and translator of Spanish and Portuguese literature. He has translated Cesar Aira, Paulo Coelho, Eduardo Mendoza, Juan Marsé, and Manuel Vázquez Montalban, and he has twice won the Valle-Inclán Prize for translation. He regularly contributes to Radio 4, the BBC World Service, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Guardian. He lives in Norwich, England.