Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.

One of the most beloved novels of all time, Colleen McCullough's magnificent saga of dreams, struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian outback has enthralled readers the world over. The Thorn Birds is a chronicle of three generations of Clearys—an indomitable clan of ranchers carving lives from a beautiful, hard land while contending with the bitterness, frailty, and secrets that penetrate their family. It is a poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit. Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys' only daughter, Meggie, and the haunted priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart—and the intense joining of two hearts and souls over a lifetime, a relationship that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma.

Helps students become familiar with the question format on standardized tests and learn how to apply logic and reasoning skills to word knowledge. Focuses on exact word definitions and secondary word meanings, relationships between words and how to draw logical conclusions about possible answer choices. Identifies analogies, cause/effect, part/whole, type/category, synonyms, and antonyms.

This book explores the subject of metaphor, using the imagery of cartography to set a course. It explores the creative aspects of thinking and learning through literature, writing, and word play, drawing connections between English and other content areas. Theory and practical applications meet in the book, linking activities and resources to current classroom concerns--to multiculturalism, imagination in reading and writing, critical thinking, and expanding language experiences. The first part of the book examines the uses of metaphor in constructing meaning. The second part takes up issues related to multiple perspectives--using metaphors to experience other lives, and exploring cultures through traditions. The third part of the book is devoted to a consideration of the history and current status of the English language and focuses on using cross-cultural stories in the English classroom, offering a number of resources for teaching multicultural literature in English. The fourth part examines the sensory experience of metaphors by seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching with the imagination. Contains 14 pages of references and an index. (NKA)

This text explores, in both historical and critical contexts, the evolution of folk tales and fairy tales, their influence on popular beliefs, the politics behind them and their incorporation in mass media culture today. It focuses particularly on socio-historical forces which have changed the function of fairy tales since the 1700s.