eBook downloads, eBook resources & eBook authors
Presents a history of English spelling through chapters that cover such topics as the introduction of the Roman alphabet, each letter's origins, and the development of long and short vowels.
#1 New York Times bestseller and NAACP Image Award winner! The debut picture book from iconic voting rights advocate and bestselling author Stacey Abrams is an inspiring tale of determination, based on her own childhood. Stacey is a little girl who loves words more than anything. She loves reading them, sounding them out, and finding comfort in them when things are hard. But when her teacher chooses her to compete in the local spelling bee, she isn’t as excited as she thought she’d be. What if she messes up? Or worse, if she can’t bring herself to speak up, like sometimes happens when facing bullies at school? Stacey will learn that win or lose . . . her words are powerful, and sometimes perseverance is the most important word of all. Plus don't miss the follow-up from the same team, Stacey's Remarkable Books!
Do you speak English confidently? Or are you paralysed by fear? It's hard enough to learn English. But when you're not confident? It's even harder. This book will take you through the confident English speaking mindset and will show you how to speak with confidence next time (and every time) you speak English. I was never confident... When I was younger I was shy and not confident in front of people. And this held me back and made improving my second language hard. I never took the opportunities I had to really use my Japanese... because I was afraid. Fearless Fluency will show you how to speak English confidently and fluently Yes, I've been there. And this is why I know you CAN overcome your fear of speaking English if you want to. If you want to speak English confidently and be more confident in your everyday life, it's likely you're going to need to make changes to the way that you think and behave. But pay attention, apply the lessons I share, and your confidence will grow. Here's just some of what you'll learn Why some people succeed in English, and others fail (make your YOU succeed). what confidence REALLY is (hint: it's probably not what you think, and this is making it hard for you to overcome your fear). A lesson from the film Jurassic World that could help you speak confident English (and be happier in life in general). How to stand out as confident in English, and gain the respect of everyone around you. The "Three Fears" of speaking English as a second language (and how to overcome them easily, by yourself). The evolutionary reason you feel nervous and afraid when you have to speak English (and the shocking truth about human beings... but just knowing this is enough to break the bad habit). How the most famous, successful people in the world became successful... and how you can (and should) copy what they did with your English. The true meaning of "failure" that you won't find in any dictionary. The unconventional secret to doing any interview confidently in English. How to eliminate embarrassment from your life quickly and easily. A lesson from one of the world's most successful beer brands that you can (and should) apply to everything you do. One simple habit that has nothing to do with speaking English... BUT can help you to be much more confident in English. WHo is Julian? Julian Northbrook is an unconventional punk of the business English learning world. A leading expert in English education and direct response marketing, he's fully equipped to drag you kicking and screaming from English-mediocracy to speaking at an outstanding level. After being turned down for his dream job in the art industry, Julian suffered three long years as a crap Japanese speaker. He understands exactly what it's like to feel like a total idiot every time you speak. But Julian overcame his language problems, mastered the language, and went on to work first as a freelance translator, then as an executive member of a Japanese company. But he soon grew sick of the corporate world and left to do something more satisfying - teaching people how to speak English at an extraordinary level.
This illustrated children’s book celebrates the extraordinary potential of ordinary deeds—showing how one child’s act of kindness can change the world One ordinary day, Ordinary Mary stumbles upon some ordinary blueberries. When she decides to pick them for her neighbor, Mrs. Bishop, her thoughtful act starts a chain reaction that multiplies around the world. Mrs. Bishop makes blueberry muffins and gives them to her paperboy and four others—one of whom is Mr. Stevens, who then helps five different people with their luggage—one of whom is Maria, who then helps five other people—and so on, until the deed comes back to Mary.
Amazing things are happening all around you. You just need to know where to look—and this whimsical picture book is the perfect place to start. Have you ever wished for something extraordinary? Like the ability to fly? Or to breathe underwater? What if you could talk to animals? It’s fun to wish for amazing things. But take a look around, and you just might find that the most “ordinary” things…can be extraordinary.
A highly original examination of a series of unique gardens made by English eccentrics from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries In his new book, Todd Longstaffe-Gowan looks at a series of unique gardens made by English eccentrics in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Their unusual creators--from the superstitious antiquary William Stukeley (d.1765), to the pleasure-ground proprietor Jonathan Tyers (d.1767), and the bird-loving Lady Reade (d.1811)--built miniature mountains, shaped topiary, collected animals, excavated caves, and assembled architectural fragments to realize their gardens in a way that was, and sometimes still is, thought to be excessive. Bringing together garden and landscape history with cultural history and biography, English Garden Eccentrics examines what it is about the gardener and his or her creation that can be seen as eccentric and analyzes an area of garden history that has scarcely been previously explored: gardens seen as expressions of the singular character of their makers, and therefore functioning, in effect, as a form of autobiography. This lively and accessible book calls on gardeners today to learn from example and dare to be eccentric.
Last spring, Pansy chickened out on going to spring break camp, even though she’d promised her best friend, Anna, she’d go. It was just like when they went to get their hair cut for Locks of Love; only one of them walked out with a new hairstyle, and it wasn’t Pansy. But Pansy never got the chance to make it up to Anna. While at camp, Anna contracted meningitis and a dangerously high fever, and she hasn’t been the same since. Now all Pansy wants is her best friend back—not the silent girl in the wheelchair who has to go to a special school and who can’t do all the things Pansy used to chicken out of doing. So when Pansy discovers that Anna is getting a surgery that might cure her, Pansy realizes this is her chance—she’ll become the friend she always should have been. She’ll become the best friend Anna’s ever had—even if it means taking risks, trying new things (like those scary roller skates), and running herself ragged in the process. Pansy’s chasing extraordinary, hoping she reaches it in time for her friend’s triumphant return. But what lies at the end of Pansy’s journey might not be exactly what she had expected—or wanted. Extraordinary is a heartfelt, occasionally funny, coming-of-age middle grade novel by debut author Miriam Spitzer Franklin. It’s sure to appeal to fans of Cynthia Lord’s Rules and will inspire young friends to cherish the times they spend together. Every day should be lived like it’s extraordinary. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
