A beautifully written and illustrated book that introduces a big subject to little ones Crystal had lived in the garden for many years. She was growing old. Zelda was just starting out in life. They were best friends. They read books together. They took trips together. And they talked about everything. But one day Crystal was not in the garden. She had died. In this gentle story, children learn, with Zelda, that true friendship is a gift that doesn’t die.

The Crystal Experience is a complete crystal workshop in one book. Interactive and practical, the step-by-step learning programme will guide you towards the profound wisdom within crystal lore. - Exercises help you to tailor the book to your own specific needs - Journaling sections allow you to write your experiences directly into the book - Includes revision work and more advanced exercises With practical downloadable digital tracks featuring meditations and inspirational music to bring you into a receptive state for deeper work.

A groundbreaking history of worldwide English in all its dialects, differences, and linguistic delights: “Informative . . . distinctive . . . a spirited celebration.” —The Guardian In this “well-informed and appealing” work (Publishers Weekly), David Crystal puts aside the usual focus on “standard” English, and instead provides a startlingly original view of where the richness, creativity, and diversity of the language truly lies—in the accents and dialects of nonstandard English users all over the world. Whatever their regional, social, or ethnic background, each group has a story worth telling, whether it is in Scotland or Somerset, South Africa or Singapore. He reminds us that for several hundred wonderful years, there was no such thing as “incorrect” English—and traces the evolution of the language from a few thousand Anglo-Saxons to the 1.5 billion people who speak it today. Moving from Beowulf to Chaucer to Shakespeare to Dickens and the present day, Crystal puts regional speech and writing at center stage, giving a sense of the social realities behind the development of English. This significant shift in perspective enables us to understand for the first time the importance of everyday, previously marginalized, voices in our language—and provides an argument too for the way English should be taught in the future. “A work of impeccable scholarship [that] could easily serve as a standard textbook for students of linguistics, but Mr. Crystal, reaching out to a more general audience, recognizes that even the most avid reader might flinch at the sections on Old Norse grammatical influence. Cleverly, he has sprinkled the book with little digressions, set apart in boxes, that address historical mysteries, strange loanwords, interesting etymologies and the like.” —The New York Times “Learned and often provocative . . . demonstrates repeatedly that common conceptions about language are often historically inaccurate—split infinitives bothered no one until recently (likewise sentence-ending prepositions).” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Simply the best introductory history of the English language family that we have. The plan of the book is ingenious, the writing lively, the exposition clear, and the scholarly standard uncompromisingly high.” —J.M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

A hidden lost world. A powerful crystal crown. This gripping fantasy adventure (inspired by a real kid's idea) doubles as a creative writing guide for young writers! An enchanted arrow pierces the wall of Hillview--the city is under attack! Years ago, a powerful crystal crown was stolen from a group of magic wielders called Lysors. Lacking the crown's protection, the Lysors hid themselves behind the city walls, shut off from the rest of the world. But with danger upon them once more, can Laura, a spunky girl with a knack for adventure, journey outside Hillview . . . and reclaim the crystal crown? "Changing kids' lives, one story at a time" is the motto of the Story Pirates, a group of professional comedians and teachers who bring kids' writing to life in animated short films, on their hit podcast, and in theaters and schools across America. Like the first two books, Stuck in the Stone Age and Digging Up Danger, this imaginative fantasy is based on an idea from a real kid! The story is also a jumping-off point for an introduction to the basics of creative writing. With the help of Story Pirate Captain Vincent Rolo and the Fantasy Creation Zone, readers can use this novel as inspiration to create their OWN great fantasy adventure!

A representative sampling of Hugo winner Egan's distinctive hard science fiction drawing from previously uncollected stories.

Join Jen, Kira, and Fizzgig from Jim Henson's beloved cult-classic film The Dark Crystal before their fateful meeting. Here, they each embark on new side-adventures that will transform the life of one little bird after the cruel Skeksis set forth a series of events that ripple across the land.

Wonder, mysticism, heartache, and joy are the stones that set the path to one girl's journey as her destiny unfolds. In the village of Huanan, in medieval China, the deity that rules is the Great Huli Jing. Though twelve-year-old Li Jing's name is a different character entirely from the Huli Jing, the sound is close enough to provide constant teasing-but maybe is also a source of greater destiny and power. Jing's life isn't easy. Her father is a poor tea farmer, and her family has come to the conclusion that in order for everyone to survive, Jing must be sacrificed for the common good. She is sold as a bride to the Koh family, where she will be the wife and nursemaid to their three-year-old son, Ju'nan. It's not fair, and Jing feels this bitterly, especially when she is treated poorly by the Koh's, and sold yet again into a worse situation that leads Jing to believe her only option is to run away, and find home again. With the help of a spider who weaves Jing a means to escape, and a nightingale who helps her find her way, Jing embarks on a quest back to Huanan--and to herself.