Can Mimi undo the mayhem caused by her baking in this contemporary-fantasy retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream? Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson comes from a big Indian American family: Dad's a renowned food writer, Mom's a successful businesswoman, and her three older siblings all have their own respective accomplishments. It's easy to feel invisible in such an impressive family, but Mimi's dream of proving she's not the least-talented member of her family seems possible when she discovers a baking contest at the new bakery in town. Plus, it'll start her on the path to becoming a celebrity chef like her culinary idol, Puffy Fay. But when Mimi's dad returns from a business trip, he's mysteriously lost his highly honed sense of taste. Without his help, Mimi will never be able to bake something impressive enough to propel her to gastronomic fame. Drawn into the woods behind her house by a strangely familiar song, Mimi meets Vik, a boy who brings her to parts of the forest she's never seen. Who knew there were banyan trees and wild boars in Massachusetts? Together they discover exotic ingredients and bake them into delectable and enchanting treats. But as her dad acts stranger every day, and her siblings' romantic entanglements cause trouble in their town, Mimi begins to wonder whether the ingredients she and Vik found are somehow the cause of it all. She needs to use her skills, deductive and epicurean, to uncover what's happened. In the process, she learns that in life as in baking, not everything is sweet. . . .

A contemporary synthesis of the philosophical, theoretical and practical methodologies of illustration and its future development Illustration is contextualized visual communication; its purpose is to serve society by influencing the many aspects of its cultural infrastructure; it dispenses knowledge and education, it commentates and delivers journalistic opinion, it persuades, advertises and promotes, it entertains and provides for all forms of narrative fiction. A Companion to Illustration explores the definition of illustration through cognition and research and its impact on culture. It explores illustration’s boundaries and its archetypal distinction, the inflected forms of its parameters, its professional, contextual, educational and creative applications. This unique reference volume offers insights into the expanding global intellectual conversation on illustration through a compendium of readings by an international roster of scholars, academics and practitioners of illustration and visual communication. Encompassing a wide range of thematic dialogues, the Companion offers twenty-five chapters of original theses, examining the character and making of imagery, illustration education and research, and contemporary and post-contemporary context and practice. Topics including conceptual strategies for the contemporary illustrator, the epistemic potential of active imagination in science, developing creativity in a polymathic environment, and the presentation of new insights on the intellectual and practical methodologies of illustration. Evaluates innovative theoretical and contextual teaching and learning strategies Considers the influence of illustration through cognition, research and cultural hypotheses Discusses the illustrator as author, intellectual and multi-disciplinarian Explores state-of-the-art research and contemporary trends in illustration Examines the philosophical, theoretical and practical framework of the discipline A Companion to Illustration is a valuable resource for students, scholars and professionals in disciplines including illustration, graphic and visual arts, visual communications, cultural and media and advertising studies, and art history.

Meet Mia Macarooney, an ordinary eight-year-old who finds out she has an extraordinary super-secret in this first chapter book in the brand-new Mia Mayhem series! Mia Macarooney is a regular eight-year-old girl who finds out that she’s A SUPERHERO! Her life literally goes from totally ordinary to totally super when she’s invited to attend the afterschool Program for In-Training Superheroes a.k.a. THE PITS! And the crazy thing is, in a weird meant-to-be sort of way, all of this news somehow feels super right. Because all her life, Mia thought she was just super klutz...but it turns out, she’s just SUPER! So now, it’s up to Mia to balance her regular everyday life and maintain her secret identity as she learns how to be the world’s newest superhero! With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Mia Mayhem chapter books are perfect for emerging readers.

When the director of the local art gallery calls in sick, it’s up to YOU to put everything together in time for the local competition. Do you know enough about modern art to WOW the judges and WIN the competition? Do you know your Warhol from their Weiwei? Will you be able to uncover the mystery of the counterfeit paintings? Make your way through this thrilling adventure, using your art knowledge to decide how the plot unfolds. Complete your mission and become an artistic whizz, A glossary explains tricky words and provides added reference material.

From the creator of Cosmic Commandos comes a funny, action-packed graphic novel adventure—when a science-obsessed girl finds herself in the middle of one of her favorite monster movies, can she invent her way out of disaster while also saving the monster who has become her friend? Zoe's favorite thing to do—besides invent and build robots—is watch classic monster movies. She has never been comfortable with kids her own age, and so she pretends she doesn't need friends while inside she's longing for connection. And then one day, Zoe finds a mysterious ring on her way home from school. She puts it on, gives it a twist, and—FRZAAKK! There's a massive burst of light! The next morning, a familiar monster appears at Zoe's window. He's from one of her favorite kaiju movies, and he likes Zoe—he wants to be her friend. Has her secret wish been fulfilled? But it turns out that Zoe's ring has brought more than just this friendly monster to life. More monsters have arrived, and they are hungry! Now she'll need to reach out to other people to help her save her town from destruction. Good thing she's a robotics genius!

Trick 'r Treatdelves into the four stories that make up the feature film,Trick 'r Treatreleasing in October 2007. It reflects Dougherty's personal take on the filmmaking process, details how the ideas and art came together, and presents it with exclusive special features in a unique format. The genre encompasses drama, horror, thriller...mixed with a good dose of twisted humor. Set in a small suburban town,Trick 'r Treatexplores Halloween traditions while following a group of people trying to survive the most terrifying night of the year. From a serial killer who specializes in poisoning candy; to a group of mischievous kids who unearth their town's dark secret; to a young woman hunted by masked stalker at the local festival; to a cantankerous old hermit confronted by a demonic trick-or-treater, the film is filled with horrifying surprises, nervous laughs and strange creatures of every variety--human or otherwise. The atmosphere Dougherty creates on film mirrors the flavor of his art--whimsical, yet eerie. It seems welcoming from a distance, but the closer you look, the more you see the twisted, dark side of Dougherty's mind. Dougherty's third-grade teacher once remarked on a report card that his behavior exhibited "early evidence of what may be an extraordinary morbid ingenuity." Years later, his drawings and doodles of the youthful, eerily pumpkin-headed character, Sam--a kind of ghost of Halloweens past--along with a number of other creepy, unforgettable characters, have made it to the big screen. There, Dougherty's art and storytelling promise to take a fresh twist. At the launch of his career he's already got a loyal following eagerly awaiting his next spooky project.