A wonderful collection of new poems and old favourites, some funny and some serious, by a talented children's poet. Covering almost two decades of Chrissie Gittins's best work, this collection will appeal to anyone who loves words and what they can do. With charming line illustrations by Calef Brown, this is a delightful selection to get children thinking, reading and rhyming.

How did a company best known for its glass jars hit a comet 83 million miles away? The answer involves technical expertise, heroic dedication, an industrial giant’s push to modernize, Hitler’s V-2 rocket, speakers destined for a Hall & Oates summer concert tour, and the search for life’s origins. In “From Jars to the Stars: How Ball Came to Build a Comet-Hunting Machine,” award-winning science journalist Todd Neff presents an inside look at the backgrounds and motivations of the men and women who actually create the spacecraft on which the American space program rides. A timeless story of science, engineering, politics and business strategy intertwining to bring success in the brutal business of space, “From Jars to the Stars” is a lively account of one of mankind’s great modern achievements. It is a story about people, foremost those on the Deep Impact mission, which smashed a spacecraft into the comet Tempel 1. “From Jars to the Stars” explores the improbable beginnings of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which built the comet hunter, and the evolution of the American space agency that funded it. The book begins with the story of a group of University of Colorado students who built a “sun seeker” for the noses of sounding rockets studying the home star. The pathbreaking device sparked the creation and development of both Ball Aerospace and the University of Colorado’s formidable Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. “From Jars to the Stars” describes how Ed Ball, president of the Ball Brothers Company of Muncie, Indiana, ended up owning a space business in Boulder, Colorado, through a combination of strategic intent and serendipity. Neff explores the personalities and the technologies behind Ball’s pioneering spacecraft, the Orbiting Solar Observatory launched in 1962. The Ball orbiter prepares the ground for Deep Impact, showing readers how much—and how little—changed across four decades of American space exploration. Neff goes on to show how Ball Aerospace evolved into an organization capable of building seven Hubble Space Telescope instruments as well as the comet hunter at the center of the story. The author describes the development of the American space enterprise as it went from emphasizing big-budget “gigabuck” missions to “faster, better, cheaper” spacecraft of the sort Ball specialized in. Neff pays special mind to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the world leader in interplanetary space exploration and Ball’s partner on Deep Impact. It was often a rocky marriage. Throughout, Neff makes clear that robotic space missions are indeed manned: the people just happen to stay on the ground.

Named a "Parents Best Children's Books 2018"! What would you do with a fallen star? When a little boy stumbles across a lost star, he decides to take care of it, putting it in a jar and carrying it with him everywhere. But when the sky calls out for its missing star, can the little boy and his sister figure out a way to return the star to its friends in the sky...even if it means saying goodbye forever? This warm-hearted and enchanting bedtime story celebrates the rewards of true friendship. Praise for Star in the Jar: "A cheery, warm-hearted tale, beautifully told." —The Guardian

Here's a marvelous picture book, charmingly written and beautifully illustrated, about the power of memory and the magic of friendship. Llewellyn, a little rabbit, is a collector. He gathers things in jars--ordinary things like buttercups, feathers, and heart-shaped stones. Then he meets another rabbit, Evelyn, and together they begin to collect extraordinary things--like rainbows, the sound of the ocean, and the wind just before snow falls. And, best of all, when they hold the jars and peer inside, they remember all the wonderful things they've seen and done. But one day, Evelyn has sad news: Her family is moving away. How can the two friends continue their magical collection--and their special friendship--from afar?

Two sisters, aged fourteen and fifteen, offer their views of events that occur during the year after their mother is diagnosed with schizophrenia and their family, including a recently adopted Russian orphan, begins to disintegrate.

A comprehensive guide to home preserving and canning in small batches provides seasonally arranged recipes for 100 jellies, spreads, salsas and more while explaining the benefits of minimizing dependence on processed, store-bought preserves.