Flights Of Fancy

Life is filled with emotional highs and lows. Riding the wave of this experience is part of living, but for poet Bernadette Bland, dreaming was even more important. No matter the attitude, mood, or circumstance, Ms. Bland has always believed in the beauty of life. Never to be deterred from her hearts desire, she has ridden her own life wave with an eye to her dreams and an eye to the beauty of nature. In her new poetry collection, Flights of Fancy, Ms. Bland shares her imagery with the outside world. She delves into the lavish splendor of nature in Drifting Grace: Gods Art Show. She peers behind the protective mask of a weeping clown in Behind the Mask. She recalls watching her mother slowly grow old in the poignant Mama. In all her words, she reveals her deepest yearnings and fears with selfless honesty. Flights of Fancy is an example of an imagination set free. Ms. Bland fills her poetry with wonder and will leave you longing to step out into the sun. She is not afraid to depict the sometimes traumatic rollercoaster of life; yet she encourages us to move on, move up, and not look back. Within every word, she calls to the reader, challenging each one of us to never stop dreaming!

Through the mysteries and myths of Christmas and Easter, families balance the values of receiving and giving, of growth and sacrifice. Each aspect of the Santa myth, from his slide down a chimney to his big red suit, plays a part in a child's imagination. Through their offerings of milk and cookies and their letter writing, children bring their relationship to Santa into developing attitudes toward giving and receiving gifts. The Easter Bunny story, with its ritual egg hunt and baskets of brightly colored candy, is explored in terms of life and its possibility of growth. In these examples, Clark shows how children play an active role in constructing family rituals and cultural reality, since their willingness to make the stories their own helps to renew the traditions.

Miss Isadora Delafield may be an heiress, but her life is far from carefree. When her mother begins pressuring her to marry an elderly and uncouth duke, she escapes from the high society world she's always known and finds herself to be an unlikely candidate for a housekeeper position in rural Pennsylvania. Mr. Ian MacKenzie is known for his savvy business sense and has built his reputation and fortune completely on his own merits. But when his adopted parents are in need of a new housekeeper and Isadora is thrown into his path, he's unexpectedly charmed by her unconventional manner. Neither Isadora nor Ian expected to find the other so intriguing, but when mysterious incidents on the farm and the truth of Isadora's secret threaten those they love, they'll have to set aside everything they thought they wanted for a chance at happy-ever-after.

Graceful winged creatures from every corner of the globe — including Africa, Asia, and North and South America — flutter across the pages of this breathtaking coloring book. Rendered in a wide range of glorious and imaginative styles, from Art Nouveau to psychedelic, 31 stunning butterfly designs are enriched with decorative floral arrangements that showcase Marjorie Sarnat's signature style. Pages are printed on one side only and perforated for easy removal. Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display. Specially designed for experienced colorists, Butterflies Flights of Fancy and other Creative Haven® adult coloring books offer an escape to a world of inspiration and artistic fulfillment. Each title is also an effective and fun-filled way to relax and reduce stress.

People, children especially, have been baffled, bewildered, and even outraged by the fact that Pluto is no longer called a planet. Through whimsical artwork and an entertaining dialogue format, Pluto’s Secret explains the true story of this distant world. Providing a history of the small, icy world from its discovery and naming to its recent reclassification, this book presents a fascinating look at how scientists organize and classify our solar system as they gain new insights into how it works and what types of things exist within it. The book includes a glossary and bibliography. Praise for Pluto's Secret "Pairing a lighthearted narrative in a hand-lettered†“style typeface with informally drawn cartoon illustrations, this lively tale of astronomical revelations begins with the search for Planet X.†? —Kirkus Reviews "This picture book offers a fresh, positive perspective on Pluto, showing that its change of status is not a demotion but a correction." —Booklist "Light-hearted imagining of a gregarious Pluto.†? —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Fun reading... The book provides a factual history of our faraway 'dwarf,' and on its companion icy worlds, and on the discovery of Kuiper-like bands around other stars." —School Library Journal Award New York Public Library’s annual Children’s Books list: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013

In-depth analyses are presented of 15 superior films, each one representing a subgenre of fantasy cinema--Beauty and the Beast, Conan the Barbarian, The Dark Crystal, Dragonslayer, 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, It's a Wonderful Life, Jason and the Argonauts, King Kong, Lost Horizon, Popeye, Superman, The Thief of Baghdad, Time Bandits, Topper, and The Wizard of Oz. A chapter is devoted to each film, providing a plot summary and detailed information about cast and crew, special effects (stop-motion animation, miniatures, hanging miniatures, optical effects, tricks of perspective, blue screens, matte paintings, glass shots, reverse projection, slow motion, rear and front projection, etc.), and strengths and weaknesses, as well as explorations of the film's relationship to written fantasy, other films, and cultural myths.

The perfect bedside companion for every bird-watcher and nature lover, inside Flights of Fancy you’ll find: Cranes “Don’t promise the crane in the sky, but give the titmouse in your hand.” Russian proverb Magpies “One for sorrow, two for joy…” Traditional English rhyme Owls “The owl shrieked at thy birth, an evil sign.” Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III Peacocks “The peacock is ashamed of its large black feet.” Medieval Persian tradition Ravens “When the raven tried to bring fire to the world, ash turned its feathers black.” Cherokee Indian legend Swans “Sewing a swan’s feather into your husband’s pillow will keep him faithful.” British superstition

The first and only book to reveal the secrets of writing 3-D game applications for C++ programmers. Flights of Fantasy takes programmers behind the scenes to show achieved. Features sample games, demos, and a complete flight simulator on the enclosed disk.

Quentin Blake - Anne Fine - Michael Morpurgo - Jacqueline Wilson - Michael Rosen - Anthony Browne - Julia Donaldson - Malorie Blackman - Chris Riddell - Lauren ChildThe exceptional talents behind some of the nation's best-loved books - from The Gruffalo to The BFG, We're Going on a Bear Hunt to the Charlie and Lola series - the Children's Laureates are the perfect ambassadors for children's literature. This beautiful gift anthology marks twenty wonderful years of the Laureateship, with stories, poems and pictures by all ten former honourees. Among others, Quentin Blake tells the stories behind his pictures of weird and wonderful beasts, Michael Morpurgo draws on childhood memories for a moving wartime tale and Michael Rosen plays with language and shapes in his witty, read-aloud poems. Each contribution is designed to inspire children to create their own work, and is accompanied by a note from the authors - rare insights from the finest talent in the world of children's books. Above all else, Flights of Fancy celebrates the Laureateship's most important achievement: encouraging children to let their imaginations soar.

Collects the features, jokes, and other supplementary materials included at the end of the "Akiko" comic books that offer another look at Akiko and her friends, the planet Smoo, and other aspects of their world.