The moon's in the sky and the kingdom's asleep. The cows are all slumbering. So are the sheep. The ducks are tucked up in the roots of the willow. The rabbit is drowsily nibbling his pillow . . . Night has fallen on the castle, and all the people and animals in the kingdom are snuggled up and snoozing. All except Princess Sleepyhead - she's tried running, jumping, counting and chasing, but it's no use - she just can't get to sleep! Luckily the Night-Night Bear is on hand to help. He knows that what every little princess needs at bedtime is a story, and - most importantly - a goodnight kiss. This sweet rhyming story by the winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize is perfect for sharing at bedtime.

This is a quirky, amusing, information-packed book for all lovers of sleep. It's a celebration of nature's greatest free gift, the perfect companion for the bedside table. It's the book to curl up with before falling asleep. It looks at the history, culture, folklore, language and science of sleep. Did you know that the siesta was once a British tradition? Why do we say 'sleep like a top'? Does counting sheep work? What are the very best sleeps? Who invented pyjamas? If dogs sleep so much, why are they always yawning? What are the best films about sleep? Do today's children have less sleep than Edwardian children? Does booze help or hinder sleep? Not only is sleep a great natural pleasure, it's also essential to good health. The book examines how a lack of sleep is increasingly seen as a health risk. Sleep is also the place of dreams and nightmares. Why are so many dreams the same and what are the archetypal recurring dreams? What is the origin of the word 'nightmare'? And what do Bugs Bunny, the surrealists and Freud have to do with dreaming? Sleep is there to be enjoyed. It's not worth getting into bed for anything else.

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In this pathbreaking volume, Velina Hasu Houston gathers together eleven plays that speak in the "hybridized, unique American voices of Asian descent -- and often dissent." These writers resist the bigotry that attempts to target them solely as people of color as well as the homogenizing tendencies of a multiculturalism that fails to recognize the varied make-up of Asian America. Anthologized for the first time, these plays testify to the rich complexity of Asian American experience while they also demonstrate the different styles and thematic concerns of the individual playwrights. What are Asian American plays about? Family conflicts, sexuality, social upheaval, betrayal ... the stuff of all drama. Whether the characters are a middle-aged Taiwanese woman who is married to an Irish American and who dreams of opening a Chinese restaurant, a Chinese American female bond trader trying to survive a corporate takeover, or an ABC (American Born Chinese) gay man whose lover has AIDS, their Asian-ness is only a part of their story. As a playwright, Houston is keenly aware of the rigid formulas that often exclude writers of color and women women writers from mainstream theater. But Still, Like air, I'll Rise brings forth vibrant new work that challenges producers and audiences to broaden their expectations, to attend to the unfamiliar voices that expresses the universal and particular vision of Asian American playwrights.

Nicholas Brandon - tall, powerful, handsome; he runs his elite operatives with a masters touch. Cool and collected, his steel-gray eyes give no hint of the wild emotions seething beneath the elegant, enigmatic face he shows the world. Marsh Donovan - rich, influential, powerful; his wealth and shrewd business ability were not enough to keep his family safe from disaster. Lisa Donovan- Marshs beautiful, sunny-natured, vivacious daughter, pampered and innocent, her life was a fairytale until she was abducted, held captive, raped and tortured. Can she ever escape her tormenters and return from the brink of madness to salvage any part of her life and learn to live without her lost love? Trippy - Nicks top operative; elusive, arrogant and mysterious. Despite his ragingly beautiful, angelic looks, his lethal intelligence and ruthless, brutal nature keeps anyone from getting too close and discovering his terrible secret past. Fate brings them all together in a headlong crash that will change their lives forever.