From journalist and author of An Ordinary Age, an examination, dismantling, and reconstruction of ambition, where burnout is the symptom of our holiest sin: the lonely way we strive. Ambition—the want, the hunger, the need to achieve—is woven into America’s fabric from the first colonization to capitalism. From our first gold star assignment to acceptance at the “right” college to hustle and grinding our lives, we celebrate our drive, even as we gatekeep who is permitted to strive--and how visibly. Even as we burn out. When we can’t even. When we know: work won’t love us back. All the Gold Stars looks at how the cultural, personal, and societal expectations around ambition are driving the burnout epidemic by funneling our worth into productivity, limiting our imaginations, and pushing us further apart. Through the devastating personal narrative of her own ambition crisis, Stauffer discovers the common factors driving us all, peeling back layers of family expectations, capitalism, and self-esteem that dangerously tie up our worth in our output. Interviews with students, parents, workers, psychologists, labor organizers, and more offer a new definition of ambition and the tools to reframe our lives around true success. All the Gold Stars provides ways for us to reject our current reality and reconceive ambition as more collective, imaginative, and rooted in caring for ourselves and each other.

Criticizes the system of motivating through reward, offering arguments for motivating people by working with them instead of doing things to them.

Sally has a crush on Linus, and she's sure her Sweet Babboo must feel the same way about her. Then Valentine's Day arrives and Sally's mailbox is empty. She's devastated--and mad How big brother Charlie Brown reluctantly steps in to help makes for another hilarious Peanuts story. Full color.

Three Gold Star women, linked forever by unimaginable loss, share their inspiring, unlikely journey that began on the worst day of their lives. What happens when tragedy knocks on your front door? For us, it was a literal knock, with two men standing in crisply pressed uniforms. They had news. News that gutted us to the core -- the death of our loved ones, a brother and two husbands -- in combat zones. The thing about those moments is that it's almost inconceivable that they can happen to you. That is, until they do. This book is for anyone who has ever received a knock at the door. And if you live long enough and have the courage to love others, you will. Maybe it's a cancer diagnosis. Maybe it's the death of your best friend. The betrayal of a spouse. The loss of a child. The implosion of a professional career. Or any tragedy that takes the person we love the most away from us too soon. Life is not without its challenges. The key is how you respond.This is our story. The story of three women, bonded by grief and purpose. Grief because we lost our best friends in war. Purpose because we resolved -- together -- to do something about it. To turn loss into inspiration for others and to channel the love that we had for the men in our lives into love for others through service. It was the only way we could escape the trap of despair and inaction, and we believe it offers a roadmap for anyone else who has ever had to answer a knock at the door.

When it is too wet for Sports Day, the children in Jack's class decide to help Farmer Frank pick his apples.

In this heart-warming tale, Eli helps Punchinello understand how he is - no matter what other Wemmicks may think. Children will learn a vital lesson - regardless of how the world sees them, God loves each of them just as they are.

From the bestselling creators of Room on the Broom, a tale of dragons, princesses, and defying expectations! What do dragons learn at Madam Dragon's school? How to fly. . . How to roar. . . How to breathe fire! Zog is the most eager student in the class, but he's also the most accident-prone. With each test (and each bump, bruise, or scrape), his dream of earning a gold star seems farther away than ever. But a mysterious girl keeps coming to his rescue. And when Zog faces his toughest test yet, she may be just the person to help Zog win classroom glory! The beloved creators of Room on the Broom, The Gruffalo, and The Snail and the Whale are back with this tale of an unexpected hero who's good as gold.