A simple introduction to the Jewish festival of Purim. Follow a family as they dress up in costume, give presents and make lots of noise to celebrate! This pre-school series introduces young children to world religions and focuses on the way the festival is celebrated today. There is detailed historical and cultural information at the end for parents and teachers.

Everyone's favorite New York Times bestselling Grumpy Monkey is back in this hilarious sequel about managing social anxiety and listening to your needs! Have you ever been a little anxious about going to a party? Jim Panzee feels that. Porcupine is having a big party, and according to Jim's best friend Norman, there will be--gulp--dancing. Jim can DEFINITELY not dance. When he tells his friends, they all try to teach him cool moves--surely that's the only reason Jim isn't excited about this party! Now, their job complete, the other animals sweep Jim along, all the way to the dance floor. Jim is dipped, swayed, and twirled until he can't take it anymore--he just doesn't like to dance! When he lets everyone know, he's met with disbelief...until Water Buffalo reveals that he doesn't much care to dance, either. As more and more animals have the courage speak their truths, does this mean there's no place for them at this party? In this hilarious sequel to GRUMPY MONKEY, kids will learn that it's okay not to go with the flow if they're uncomfortable, and that speaking up about what they need can help others speak up, too--and maybe they need the same thing!

Move over Martha - this young dynamic couple sets a new, simpler, and more elegant entertaining style - focused on guests, not glue guns.

"A vintage version of 'Gossip Girl' meets bigger hair." —The Skimm "DiSclafani’s story sparkles like the jumbo diamonds her characters wear to one-up each other. Historical fiction lovers will linger over every lush detail." —People From the bestselling author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls comes a story of lifelong female friendship – in all its intimate agony and joy – set within a world of wealth, beauty, and expectation. Joan Fortier is the epitome of Texas glamour and the center of the 1950s Houston social scene. Tall, blonde, beautiful, and strong, she dominates the room and the gossip columns. Every man wants her; every woman wants to be her. Devoted to Joan since childhood, Cece Buchanan is either her chaperone or her partner in crime, depending on whom you ask. But when Joan’s radical behavior escalates the summer they are twenty-five, Cece considers it her responsibility to bring her back to the fold, ultimately forcing one provocative choice to appear the only one there is. A thrilling glimpse into the sphere of the rich and beautiful at a memorable moment in history, The After Party unfurls a story of friendship as obsessive, euphoric, consuming, and complicated as any romance.

merica is going Bunco! According to a recent article in Time magazine, 'Women are going crazy over this old game.' Now the World Bunco Association offers one book full of everything Bunco players need to know. Complete with rules, scorecards, recipes, and information on how to start a Bunco club and organize a Bunco party, It's Bunco Time! will let readers join the craze-without rolling the dice. Played by 8-20 people, Bunco is a friendly game of dice. Players are divided into small groups and compete with each other to roll a set of 'ones,' progressing in rounds up to rolling 'sixes.' Bunco encourages social interaction, and eating and drinking are a big part of the fun. The old-fashioned game of the future is becoming ever more popular at parties and social events, and new groups are popping up across the country. The cookbook includes recipes for beverages, appetizers, main and side dishes, desserts, and much more, all aimed at increasing the fun!

Christine Whitman offers an insider’s view of the corrosive effects—on the party and the country as a whole—of the rise of zealous conservatism. She tells many stories from the front lines of her battles with conservatives, as well as those of other moderate Republicans, and argues that the rise of this bullying faction—as opposed to being the voting juggernaut party leaders have considered it—has kept the Republican party from building a true voting majority. It has also, she argues, pushed the polarization of the electorate to an appalling extreme. Each chapter focuses on the key hot-button issues that were the most contentious battlegrounds between moderates and conservatives in 2005, and the areas where she thinks the conservatives took the party in the wrong direction: race relations, abortion rights, the environment, taxes, and international affairs. In each of these areas, Whitman tells stories about how in her own career she has been able to make great progress by taking a moderate approach—by finding what she calls “the productive middle,” such as in her unprecedented admission that racial profiling was indeed happening on New Jersey’s highways. This is a fascinating insider’s account of how politics happens on the ground and behind the closed doors, with a message that will speak powerfully to an all too silent moderate Republican majority.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together