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• Current

Type: fiction

Status: I recommend

Author: Lauren St. John

Tags: adventure africa giraffes

Description: On the night of her 11th birthday, Martine's life changes -- her parents are killed inOn the night of her 11th birthday, Martine's life changes -- her parents are killed in a fire and she is sent to South Africa to a grandmother she has never heard of -- and who doesn't seem to like her. Life on a nature reserve is fascinating, especially as Martine becomes involved -- and friends with -- a white giraffe that has been predicted but never seen. Martine helps her giraffe escape poachers -- barely....

2008-04-21

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• Current

Type: fiction

Status: I recommend

Author: Andrew Norriss

Tags: travel space science_fiction uk siblings missing_parents

Description: William and Daniel Seward's parents disappear one day -- and eventually the boys learnWilliam and Daniel Seward's parents disappear one day -- and eventually the boys learn that their parents are the guardians of a secret intergalactic portal (out of their basement). The mystery of where the parents have gone is eventually solved, but meanwhile William has learned that he has inherited a knack for taking care of (intergalactic) guests. The perfect space-age hotelier!...

2008-04-21

• Current

Type: fiction

Status: I recommend

Author: Lloyd Jones

Tags: reading culture literature teaching dickens islands storytelling south_pacific

Description: The story of how the book Great Expectations finds new life in the imaginations of school childrenThe story of how the book Great Expectations finds new life in the imaginations of school children stuck on an island in the South Pacific during an uprising. Brutal in parts (so not for children), but interesting example of how literature can leap cultures and lodge in the minds of others, sustaining them. The power of storytelling.......

2007-12-27

  & 2 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Authors: Chip Heath Dan Heath

Tags: metaphors information cognitive_science storytelling

Description: Following on from Gladwell's The Tipping Point, this book teaches and summaries (completeFollowing on from Gladwell's The Tipping Point, this book teaches and summaries (complete with "clinics" at the end of chapters and an "easy reference guide" of notes at the end of the book) what makes ideas sticky: SUCCESs = 1. Simple (find the core), 2. Unexpected (get attention), 3. Concrete (help people understand), 4. Credible (help people believe), 5. Emotional (make people care), and 6. Stories (get people to act)...

2007-12-27

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Howard Gardner

Tags: teaching creativity cognitive_science brains

Description: Gardner defines the five cognitive attributes necessary for the future -- the disciplinaryGardner defines the five cognitive attributes necessary for the future -- the disciplinary mind (i.e., mastery of major schools of thought), the synthesizing mind (ability to integrate ideas and communicate them), the creating mind, the respectful mind (appreciating differences among human beings), and the ethical mind (fulfillment of the duties of citizens and workers)....

2007-12-27

• Current

Type: children's

Status: I recommend

Author: Julia Golding

Tags: mystery adventure historical_fiction writing uk theater orphans 19th_century class_system first_person

Description: First-person narrative by Catherine Royal -- or Cat as she is called by everyone at the TheatreFirst-person narrative by Catherine Royal -- or Cat as she is called by everyone at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London in 1790 when the story opens. The book is solidly set in the era of Sheridan (Cat's pseud-guardian as she is, of course, an orphan). There is a mystery -- about a diamond Mr Sheridan is hiding in the theatre. There is adventure -- Pedro, a freed slave from Africa, gets introduced to good and bad street gangs in London -- and manage to help a political satirist hide from the law. There are class distinctions -- as Cat and Pedro befriend Lord Francis and Lady Elizabeth. The four young people manage to save the day. Features a budding author as Cat is encouraged to start writing a tale that an aristocrat promises to publish. There are sequels. Double-spaced print. Good "thick" but easy to read chapter book. Cat even provides a list of characters and a glossary....

2007-12-27

• Current

Type: fiction

Status: I recommend

Author: Alan Bennett

Tags: reading funny uk

Description: Short and very funny account of what might happen if the Queen of England started reading literature.Short and very funny account of what might happen if the Queen of England started reading literature. What if there was a bookmobile parked outside the back gates of Buckingham Palace one night? What if she took out a book? How would her reading trail go and where would it take her? She thinks about both what she's reading and the whole process of reading and its place in life....

2007-11-16

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• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Douglas Hofstadter

Tags: philosophy math metaphors cognitive_science brains

Description: Some of it is beyond me, of course, but a great exercise in thinking about thinking -- especiallySome of it is beyond me, of course, but a great exercise in thinking about thinking -- especially about what makes an "I" to think. The idea of self and interiority developing over time via encounters that Hofstadter compares to "video loops" -- a camera trained on its own output, feeding back into itself endlessly and settling into a stable pattern eventually. His use of and belief in metaphor is central and effective....

2007-08-03

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: John Sutherland

Tags: reading literature novels

Description: A book to skim -- which I did more with an eye to discussions with students in the libraryA book to skim -- which I did more with an eye to discussions with students in the library re reading and how to approach books. A good overall summary of books and their position in society and the components you can analyse....

2007-08-03

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Tyler Cowen

Tags: globalization culture economics

Description: Interesting exploration by an economist of the different meanings of cultural diversity --Interesting exploration by an economist of the different meanings of cultural diversity -- within vs. across societies -- and how cultural heterogeneity and homogeneity go hand in hand (not in opposition) -- and how cultural exchange both disrupts and encourages cultures. His examples of African music and of Navajo textiles were very interesting -- and detailed....

2007-08-02