Each of the 52 volumes in the World Almanac Library of the States is filled with the most up-to-date information, including the latest Census results. Full-color photos bring to life the story of each state, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other outlying areas. In addition to an in-depth factual profile of each state in the form of a state Almanac, each book offers fascinating and lively discussions of the state's history, people, geography, government, economy, culture, and lifestyles. Each title also includes a section on notable people, a calendar of events, and enough primary source documents, time lines, maps, and other tools to make this unquestionably the best young adult reference material on the United States of America available anywhere.

"A play about the power of books, muscles and human kindness. Josh (or Jo, since almost any role can be cast as male or female) is the children's librarian at a poor public library facing a huge budget crisis. He's also a power lifter, pumping iron in the library basement and running a video blog about young adult and children's books, weights and life. Kids flock to his unconventional story time and check out books by the dozens. All but one kid, that is - a loner named Mr. T (or Ms. T), who has the loud tics of Tourette syndrome. Slowly, Josh and Mr. T form a friendship, and Mr. T finally ventures to Josh's basement gym, where a friendship is born. The stakes go up when the town says the library needs to close for monetary reasons. This hits Josh and the kids hard and leads to them staging a '60s-inspired Read-In rather than letting their library be shut down. At the play's end, a Sixth Sense-like ending reveals the true identity of Mr. T. The World's Strongest Librarian will get kids pumped up to read, to work themselves into shape and especially to be kind to others."

"Written in 1944 by Ben Gold, the president of the Furriers Union, this working-class, coming-of-age novel traces the family origin, immigration, and radicalization of an everyman named Avreml Broide. Mirroring Gold's own life, Avreml's story begins entangled in a complex intergenerational social and criminal community in Bessarabia just after the turn of the twentieth century. Personal dramas drive a young Avreml to New York City in his young adult years, where he finds a job in the fur industry and devotes himself entirely to his union, party, and the fight against fascism, often to the detriment of his personal life and relationships. Through strikes, dissidence, and finally on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War, Avreml's journey presents the fascinating ambiguity of subsuming the self in service to party discipline... This novel offers a powerful counternarrative to histories and narratives of Jewish immigration that emphasize materialist American dreams and upward class mobility. Your Comrade, Avreml Broide offers an enticing mix of fact and fiction to demonstrate the personal risks, revolutionary dreams, and heartaches of Yiddish-speaking American Communists."--Publisher's description.

"Written in 1944 by Ben Gold, the president of the Furriers Union, this working-class, coming-of-age novel traces the family origin, immigration, and radicalization of an everyman named Avreml Broide. Mirroring Gold's own life, Avreml's story begins entangled in a complex intergenerational social and criminal community in Bessarabia just after the turn of the twentieth century. Personal dramas drive a young Avreml to New York City in his young adult years, where he finds a job in the fur industry and devotes himself entirely to his union, party, and the fight against fascism, often to the detriment of his personal life and relationships. Through strikes, dissidence, and finally on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War, Avreml's journey presents the fascinating ambiguity of subsuming the self in service to party discipline... This novel offers a powerful counternarrative to histories and narratives of Jewish immigration that emphasize materialist American dreams and upward class mobility. Your Comrade, Avreml Broide offers an enticing mix of fact and fiction to demonstrate the personal risks, revolutionary dreams, and heartaches of Yiddish-speaking American Communists."--Publisher's description.

An emerging spokesperson for a new generation addresses the grim state of young people today--and tells us how we can, and must, save our future. The nature of youth is to question, SO when 24-year-old Kamenetz started out as a journalist, she began asking hard questions for which no one seemed to have good answers. Why were her friends thousands of dollars in credit-card debt? Why did so many jobs for people under thirty-five involve a plastic name badge, last only for the short-term, and not include benefits? With record deficits and threats to Social Security, what kind of future was shaping up for the nation's kids? In this book, she talks to experts in economics, labor markets, the health-care industry, and education, and amasses a startling array of evidence that building a secure life is harder for young people today than it was thirty years ago.--From publisher description.

"It is the summer of 1967, and Andy Newmark, a 17-year-old New Yorker, takes a maintenance job at a Thunder (read Fire) Island resort. The reader is carried along by Andy's sense of exploration as he works, makes friends, surfs, and experiments with drugs, alcohol and sex. All the while, the fear of not being accepted to college and so being drafted into Vietnam hovers over him. Gradually overcoming personal conflictshis parents' divorce, his fear of failure and the social ills he encounters: the war, the prejudice he experiences as a Jew at a Catholic club, the decadence of Thunder Island by summer's end, Andy feels comfortable with himself and the dimensions of the adult world he is entering. Andy and his friends are likable, even if they seem as deeply characterized as the people in the rock songs that play everywhere on Thunder Island. And, like many novels of initiation, the adults are portrayed as ridiculous stuffed-shirts. Overall, though hackneyed expressions and trite situations diminish the effect of its simple story of innocence and discovery, this novel has charm. Steeped in the news and social events of the time as they appeared to young adults then, Thunder Island offers a sentimental, nostalgic version of adolescence in the late '60s and will be a welcome read on the beach in the late '80s."--Publishers weekly

Kings and Queens by Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon is a highly entertaining collection of poems about all forty-one English Kings and Queens since William I. Reissued in Puffin Poetry Kings and Queens is an authentic classic that has delighted young readers and adults alike. With wonderfully witty illustrations by Robin Jacques, history has never been so much fun! Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon were born in the 1880s into a highly literary family. Eleanor published nearly 70 books, mostly for children. Together with Herbert, her younger brother, she also wrote a children's panto, two operettas and a musical fairy story.

How did Nazi persecution affect the later lives of children and young adolescents? In Light from the Ashes, eighteen eminent social scientists trace the connection between their early wartime experiences and their adult research careers, personality, and values. Autobiographical essays describe their trauma of fleeing from or surviving the Holocaust during childhood or adolescence, and how this influenced their eventual choice of work and general outlook on life. The introductory and closing chapters set these narratives in historical and theoretical context and discuss their broader psychological and social implications. A unique feature of the book is that its contributors were children or adolescents when they became targets of Nazi persecution. Each chapter covers the contributor's experiences during and after the war, his or her professional education, development, and activities, and the perceived connection between those factors. The wider impact of the early years on adult attitudes, political orientation, ethics, religion, family life, important values, and personality characteristics is also discussed. The book will be of primary interest to psychologists and to literary scholars interested in narrative and autobiography. It will be relevant to historians, sociologists, and philosophers of science, especially social science; and to scholars and researchers of all disciplines interested in the impact of traumatic violence, dislocation, war, persecution, and emigration (particularly, but not only, related to the Holocaust) on the subsequent lives of children and adolescents. It will also be valuable to psychologists, psychiatrists, and other scientists working in the field of stress and coping .For the general reader, the book offers the reminiscences of articulate and introspective people who as children experienced a wide variety of adverse circumstances and responded to them--then and later--in a wide variety of mostly adaptive ways. Readers intrigued by first-person narratives of war, persecution, and resilience will find the book of great interest. Peter Suedfeld is Professor of Psychology, University of British Columbia.

For 25 years, the March of the Living has organized visits for adults and students from all over the world to Poland, where millions of Jews were enslaved and murdered during WWII by Nazi Germany. The organization's goal is not only remembrance and ongoing witness to the terrible events of the past, but also a looking forward. They want to inspire participants to build a world free of oppression and intolerance, a world of freedom, democracy and justice for all members of the human family. Rooted in a touring exhibit launched at the United Nations, this book is a compilation of photographs and text that give firsthand accounts from the survivors who have participated in March of the Living programs, together with reaction and responses from the people, young students in particular, of many faiths and cultures who have traveled with the group over the years. "I tell my story for the purpose of improving humanity, drop by drop by drop," says Holocaust survivor and March of the Living participant Pinchas Gutter. At a recent memorial event, US President Barak Obama defined the purpose of Holocaust remembrance by praising Gutter's words: "Those are the words of one survivor... performing the sacred duty of memory that will echo throughout eternity. Those are good words for all of us to live by."

'How life was and is' is always a subject of filtered memory. We seem to remember the worst and best of our past, but not the basic dark hardships that everyone faces in every generation. That ultimately leads many of us 'old codgers' to refer to our past as the 'golden era.' Obviously, every generation has its positives and negatives. We just do not remember things that way culturally. In this compilation, I attempt to focus on three general topics: 1-My Life and Some Lessons I have Learned2-On Teaching: A Collection of My Writings3-On Boyhood: A Collection of My Reflective Writings'How life should be' is a matter of opinion and applied lessons learned; therefore, I address this aspect of my compilation at the end of my various narrative entries.One of my main points of focus in this book is the degradation of our cultures value of male identity. To that end I address one small, but very important aspect of that degradation, i.e., decreased reading skills in all areas and genres for boys. This cultural phenomenon has led to the ever decreasing 'reading for fun' among our youth and especially our boys. This is causing a measurable deleterious effect. Males in large numbers are entering adulthood without knowing the fine art of manliness or possessing employable intellectual skills, e.g., writing well, reading instructions, and creative expressions which are hallmarks of a productive population.To that end, I write and record stories that have a Christian worldview and attempt to appeal to the young men and boys struggling to grow an awesome imagination. My sincere desire is to provide quality narratives to invigorate creativity and mostly to encourage Reading for Fun. Visit my author page, link below, and see what adventures you find interesting: all are available in paper back and eBook (Kindle) formats.

Esther of the Singing Hands is Perach's Sweetheart, a young and beautiful musician with a Girl Next Door image. When her violin is stolen after a concert in the capital city, she doesn't expect the queen herself to show up, intent upon solving the mystery. But Queen Shulamit -- lesbian, intellectual, and mother of the six-month-old crown princess -- loves to play detective. With the help of her legendary bodyguard Rivka and her dragon, and with the support of her partner Aviva the Chef, Shulamit turns her mind toward the solution -- which she quickly begins to suspect involves the use of illegal magic that could threaten the safety of her citizens.

Relates the friendship between a little girl whose legs are paralyzed and a young boy whose mother is a mermaid and whose father is a human.

Psychologist Alexander Lescziak savors a life of quiet sophistication on Manhattan's Upper West Side, turning a blind eye to the past of his Polish émigré parents. Then a new patient declares that he is the doctor's half-brother, the product of a union between Lescziak's Jewish mother and a German prisoner of war. The confrontation jolts Lescziak out of his complacency: suddenly, his failing marriage, his wife's infatuation with his best friend, and the disappearance of his young lover and suicidal patient, Nella, close in on him. Lescziak escapes into the recesses of his imagination, where his mother's affair with the German prisoner comes to life in precise, gorgeous detail. The novel unfolds into a romance set in England's Lake District in wartime, as Busch shows how our past presses on the present.

A boy sent by an African god to tend the spirits of the dead struggles to fulfill his duty from within the bonds of slavery in Time's Memory , by National Book Award finalist Julius Lester . Amma is the creator god, the master of life and death, and he is worried. His people have always known how to take care of the spirits of the dead – the nyama – so that they don't become destructive forces among the living. But amid the chaos of the African slave trade and the brutality of American slavery, too many of his people are dying and their souls are being ignored in this new land. Amma sends a young man, Ekundayo, to a plantation in Virginia where he becomes a slave on the eve of the Civil War. Amma hopes that Ekundayo will be able to find a way to bring peace to the nyama before it is too late. But Ekundayo can see only sorrow in this land – sorrow in the ownership of people, in the slaves who have been separated from their children and spouses, in the restless spirits of the dead, and in his own forbidden relationship with his master's daughter. How Ekundayo finds a way to bring peace to both the dead and the living makes this an unforgettable journey into the slave experience and Newbury Honor author Julius Lester's most powerful work to date. Time's Memory is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

At a time when politics and virtue seem less compatible than oil and water,Democracy and Moral Developmentshows how to bring the two together. Philosopher David Norton applies classical concepts of virtue to the premises of modern democracy. The centerpiece of the book is a model of organizational management applicable to the state, business, the professions, and voluntary communities.

'The ultimate book for any Jennings or Gleitzman fan.' Kids Book Review Shortlisted - BILBY Children's Choice Awards 2002 - Prize for Writing for Young Adults Winner - KROC Children's Choice Awards 2000 - Prize for Writing for Young Adults Winner - YABBA Children's Choice Awards 1998 - Older Readers Winner - Dymock's Children's Choice Awards 1999 - Older Readers Winner - CROW Children's Choice Awards 1998 - Prize for Writing for Young Adults Winner - COOL Children's Choice Awards 1998 - Prize for Writing for Young Adults Something very weird is happening to Dawn and Rory. And it's not just their new step-family. Slurping slobberers want to suck their bones out. Strange steel sheep want to smash them to pieces. Giant frogs want to crunch them up. Cruel killer creepers want to squeeze the life out of them. Their parents can't help them. Dawn and Rory are on their own. It's wild. It's wacky. It's WICKED! With the perfect mix of humour and suspense, Wicked! will keep middle-grade readers on the edge of their seat as Rory and Dawn navigate the challenges of life, family ... and monsters! A must-read for any kid (or adult) who loves a good mix of creepy, funny and clever storytelling. ALL SIX PARTS IN ONE! Part 1- The Slobberers Part 2- Battering Rams Part 3- Croaked Part 4- Dead Ringer Part 5- The Creeper Part 6- Till Death Us Do Part ------------------ PRAISE FOR MORRIS GLEITZMAN 'Readers can't get enough of him.' The Independent 'A brilliantly funny writer' Sunday Telegraph 'A virtuoso demonstration of how you can make comedy out of the most unlikely subject' Sunday Times 'He is one of the finest examples of a writer who can make humour stem from the things that really matter in life.' The Guardian

Rebecca Nachman is a Rabbi without a synagogue. Having resigned from her dwindling congregation, she now works as a college counselor at a small Vermont college advising students about private matters and offering the "Jewish perspective" on issues raised at faculty dinner parties. Deeply lonely and on the edge of losing her faith, she comes into possession of a Torah, the last relic of Czechowa, a village of Polish Jews who were exterminated by the Nazis. With the Torah, the unquiet spirits of the village dead begin to visit Rebecca. On one visit they leave a manuscript written in Hebrew and titled My Life, an autobiography by God who, like any eager author, is seeking a sympathetic reader. No one has ever finished reading the manuscript, including Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Maimonides, and Augustine. God thinks Rebecca will. Rebecca's life is further complicated when one of her advisees-a troubled young woman who seemed on the verge of confessing something-is found murdered. As the college struggles to comprehend the tragedy and a police investigation is launched, Rebecca begins reading, and so comes to confront the central challenge to her faith in His most troubling and unlikely incarnation. Julius Lester's first adult novel in more than a decade, The Autobiography of God marks the return of an utterly original and provocative voice in American letters, addressing religion with wicked humor and profound reverence.

Family is one topic that Lindsey wants to avoid. She loves her family more than anything, but no one else understands their dynamic. So what if her family fights or the next meal is a big question mark? That's all normal in the Holdermann house. When Lindsey begins a friendship with Baylee, things start to change. Her views of herself and her family all come into question. What once was so simple has Lindsey struggling to find her identity and her place in her family. Speaking the Truth of Family is a novel-in-verse that delves into family secrets, explores self-identity, and fosters the bonds of friendship.

In the tradition of the old "Ace Doubles" two-in-one books (flip one over to read the second title)--here is the twelfth Wildside Double: LISA KANE: A NOVEL OF WEREWOLVES, by Richard A. Lupoff. Lisa is a 12-year-old girl with all the worries of any normal girl beginning the transition to womanhood. She's frightened by the changes happening to her body--the budding breasts, the stiff black hairs that appear on the back of her hands, and the way her nails twist to look like claws during the full moon. Is this normal? Why is she so different from everyone else? Scott A. Culp says: "A good book...that does not deserve to be forgotten." THE PRINCES OF EARTH: A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL, by Michael Kurland. Adam Warrington is a young man from a repressive plant in the grasp of fundamental Puritanism. Then he's accepted by the University of Sol on Mars, and his great adventure begins. On the way there his spaceship is hijacked by a disgruntled noble who wants to overthrow the emperor, and Adam is forced to choose sides. A grand tale in the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein. A Young Adult Literary Guild Selection.