“Ursula Le Guin at her best . . . This is an important collection of eloquent, elegant pieces by one of our most acclaimed contemporary writers.” —Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post Book World “I have decided that the trouble with print is, it never changes its mind,” writes Ursula K. Le Guin in her introduction to Dancing at the Edge of the World. But she has, and here is the record of that change in the decade since the publication of her last nonfiction collection, The Language of the Night. And what a mind—strong, supple, disciplined, playful, ranging over the whole field of its concerns, from modern literature to menopause, from utopian thought to rodeos, with an eloquence, wit, and precision that makes for exhilarating reading. “If you are tired of being able to predict what a writer will say next, if you are bored stiff with minimalism, if you want excess and risk and intelligence and pure orneriness, try Le Guin.” —Mary Mackey, San Francisco Chronicle

The National Book Award–winning author’s biographical novel of Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev: “Exuberant and exhilarating . . . a brilliant leap of imagination” (San Francisco Chronicle). In Dancer, Colum McCann tells the ballet icon’s story through the myriad voices of those who knew him. There is Anna Vasileva, Rudi’s first ballet teacher, who rescues her protégé from the stunted life of his provincial town; Yulia, whose sexual and artistic ambitions are thwarted by her Soviet-sanctioned marriage; and Victor, the Venezuelan street hustler, who reveals the lurid underside of the gay celebrity set. Spanning four decades and many worlds, from the horrors of the Second World War to the wild abandon of New York in the ‘80s, Dancer is peopled by a large cast of characters, obscure and famous: doormen and shoemakers, nurses and translators, Margot Fonteyn, Eric Bruhn, and John Lennon. And at the heart of the spectacle stands the artist himself, willful, lustful, and driven by a never-to-be-met need for perfection.

If he had been with me everything would have been different... I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial. So let me tell you...

Do you want to . . . • create a rich and vibrant classroom environment? • stimulate your students’ minds in multiple ways? • transform your teaching through incorporating the arts in your mathematics and science curriculums? Then Dance Integration: 36 Dance Lesson Plans for Science and Mathematics is just the book for you! The dance lesson plans in this groundbreaking book infuse creativity in mathematics and science content. Students will gain a wealth of critical knowledge, deepen their critical-thinking skills, and learn to collaborate and communicate effectively. Written for K-5 teachers who are looking for creative ways to teach the standards, Dance Integration will help you bring your mathematics and science content to life as you guide your students to create original choreography in mathematics and science and perform it for one another. In doing so, you will help spark new ideas for your students out of those two curriculums —no more same-old same-old! And in the freshness of these new ideas, students will increase comfort in performing in front of one another and discussing performances while deepening their understanding of the core content through their kinesthetic experiences. The creative-thinking skills that you will teach through these lesson plans and the innovative learning that dance provides are what set this book apart from all others in the field. Dance Integration was extensively field-tested by authors Karen Kaufmann and Jordan Dehline. The book contains these features: • Instructions on developing modules integrating mathematics and science • Ready-to-use lesson plans that classroom teachers, physical education teachers, dance educators, and dance specialists can use in teaching integrated content in mathematics and science • Tried-and-true methods for connecting to 21st-century learning standards and integrating dance into K-5 curriculums This book, which will help you assess learning equally in dance, science, and mathematics, is organized in three parts: • Part I introduces the role of dance in education; defines dance integration; and describes the uses, benefits, and effects of dance when used in tandem with another content area. • Part II offers dance and mathematics lessons that parallel the common core standards for mathematics. • Part III presents dance and science learning activities in physical science, life science, earth and space sciences, investigation, experimentation, and technology. Each lesson plan includes a warm-up, a developmental progression of activities, and formative and summative assessments and reflections. The progressions help students explore, experiment, create, and perform their understanding of the content. The plans are written in a conversational narrative and include additional notes for teachers. Each lesson explores an essential question relevant to the discipline and may be taught in sequence or as a stand-alone lesson. Yes, Dance Integration will help you meet important standards: • Common Core State Standards for Mathematics • Next Generation Science Standards • Standards for Learning and Teaching Dance in the Arts More important, this book provides you with a personal aesthetic realm in your classroom that is not part of any other school experience. It will help you bring joy and excitement into your classroom. And it will help you awaken a community of active and eager learners. Isn’t that what education is all about?

The girl in red, the girl in yellow, the girl in blue, and the boy in black and white are all set to stir up the rainbow. Watch them create a living kaleidoscope, step by step by step.

This acclaimed graphic memoir that Kirkus calls “cathartic and uplifting” is the tale of losing a parent and what it feels like to grieve and to move forward. “I can’t recommend this kind, funny, and poignant memoir enough. It’s an intimate, life-affirming story of resilience that feels like a good friend.” —Mari Andrew, author of Am I There Yet? Tyler Feder had just white-knuckled her way through her first year of college when her super cool mom was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Now, with a decade of grief and nervous laughter under her belt, Tyler shares the story of that gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, extremely awkward time in her life—from her mom’s first oncology appointment to her funeral through the beginning of facing reality as a motherless daughter. She shares the sting of loss that never goes away, the uncomfortable post-death firsts, and the deep-down, hard-to-talk-about feelings of the grieving process. Dancing at the Pity Party is a frank and refreshingly funny look at what it’s like to grieve—for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it.

This book is both a handbook for defining and completing a research project, and an astute introduction to the neglected history and changeable philosophy of modern social science.