Ted Dewan has been a full-time illustrator and cartoonist since 1988. He was grew up in Massachusetts where he became a science teacher, but moved to London in 1988, making a living from drawing for various publications and playing the accordion. He married fellow author/illustrator Helen Cooper and they had their first child in 1998. His picture book, Crispin, the Pig Who Had It All, won the Blue Peter Award and was an Honour book for the Kate Greenaway Award. The Bing series of eight books were first published in 2003. Ted lives with his family in Oxford.

Doreen Cronin is the author of the bestselling Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type and Giggle, Giggle, Quack.

By day Rob is the award-winning art director of the Observer Magazine. By night he makes up silly stories for his three daughters, and draws pictures to go with them.He lives and works in London, and his first book was the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize-winning Blown Away, starring Penguin Blue. You can visit Rob, Fred and Penguin Blue at www.robbiddulph.com.

Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad in 1963. As a child she emigrated to Queens, New York, and attended colleges in Long Island. Then she moved to England and attended Essex University, before returning to America. She lives in New York with her husband and children.

Rachel is a writer of words, drawer of pictures and thinker of happy thoughts. With a cacophony of quirky characters tumbling tirelessly from her imagination, she is one of the South West’s most prolific talents. Creating a growing portfolio of beautifully imagined children’s stories, an award-winning card and gift empire and a smorgasbord of delicate etchings, silk-screens and hand-printed poems, Rachel brings her own unique sunshine to the very young and the slightly older alike

Emma studied art at the Royal College of Art. She has worked as a freelancer for magazines, publishers and advertising agencies as well as teaching art for several years, but now dedicates most of her time to children’s books.

Rachel is a writer of words, drawer of pictures and thinker of happy thoughts. With a cacophony of quirky characters tumbling tirelessly from her imagination, she is one of the South West’s most prolific talents. Creating a growing portfolio of beautifully imagined children’s stories, an award-winning card and gift empire and a smorgasbord of delicate etchings, silk-screens and hand-printed poems, Rachel brings her own unique sunshine to the very young and the slightly older alike.

Rachel is a writer of words, drawer of pictures and thinker of happy thoughts, with a cacophony of quirky characters tumbling from her imagination. Creating a growing portfolio of children’s stories, an award-winning card and gift empire and a smorgasbord of delicate etchings, silk-screens and hand-printed poems, Rachel brings her own unique sunshine to the very young and the slightly older alike.

David Mackintosh was born in Belfast and grew up in Australia. He is a graphic designer, art director and illustrator. His innovative book designs have won him numerous awards in Britain and internationally, and has collaborated with some of the most celecrated names in children’s publishing. David lives in London, draws a lot, has a bicycle and built a plastic model of a lunar module while creating this book.

Oliver Jeffers graduated from The University of Ulster in 2001 with First Class honours. His outstanding talent has been recognised by several high-profile awards, including the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize Gold Award. ‘Lost and Found’ animation was broadcast on Channel 4. Oliver lives and works in Brookyln, New York.

David O’Connell is a writer and illustrator living in London, UK. His favourite things to draw are monsters, naughty children (another type of monster), batty old ladies and evil cats! Francesca Gambatesa is an Italian illustrator and animator based in London. She is currently enjoying the English favourites of Pimms and bunting, and illustrating her very first picture book!

Michelle Robinson grew up in Gloucestershire. She worked as a copywriter for radio and TV adverts before becoming a full-time children’s author. She lives in Frome, Somerset. Emily Fox gained a first class degree in Illustration and was awarded 'Highly Commended' in the Macmillan Children's Book competition in 2012. Elephant's Pyjamas is her first picture book.

Daniel Howarth is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. He lives near Exeter, with his wife and family, and works from his garden studio. www.danielhowarth.com

Daniel Howarth is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. He lives near Exeter, with his wife and family, and works from his garden studio. www.danielhowarth.com

Daniel Howarth is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. He lives near Exeter, with his wife and family, and works from his garden studio. www.danielhowarth.com

Some guides to a subject could more or less be written by any expert in that field, but a small minority are unique creations of a rare individual who has their own view. Unfortunately most of the latter types of guides fail to be good general guides. Verity's genius makes him the exception. This book is arranged in chronological chapters that trace the evolution of poetry as an art form. At the same time, each chapter gives a most practical explanation of how that aspect of poetry that it covers works and why. The book is immensely readable, hugely informative, and adds to the ability of the reader to enjoy and to create poetry. It is a classic.' "Epictetus" (Amazon review) 'The great merit of Verity's approach is that he quotes lavishly throughout, not only from the poems themselves, but also from a variety of critics' LIBRARY REVIEWS 'Of his first book of sonnets Kingsley Amis wrote ‘They belong within the corpus of English poetry’ Excerpts of Interview with Kenneth Verity on The Vanessa Phelps BBC Radio programme on June 2009 on the News Page (off the Home page) 'The amount of reading which underpins this book is breathtaking. The great merit of Verity's approach is that he quotes lavishly throughout, not only from the poems themselves, but also from a variety of critics ... The chapter on poetry's figurative element is a model of lucid definition and telling illustration, showing how many layers of meaning may lie behind a single word' LIBRARY REVIEWS The author writes:'The intention of this book is to examine and analyse the essential nature of the phenomenon we call poetry; to seek an understanding of the power this art form exerts over mind and heart; to comprehend its potency; and to explain its perennial ability to command the respect of mankind'. Almost a library in one volume, this unusual book, written by an accomplished poet, examines the 4000 years old phenomenon of poetry. Combining history, literature and philosophy, it explains the underlying power of this art form and how its effect is exerted over human hearts and understanding. Since the Greeks at least, poetry has been accorded pre-eminence in the arts. Poetry’s aesthetic supremacy and inhering mystery has made it the foremost form of expression when human beings need to say something important in a special way. Poetry has been defined as the best words in the best order. In poetry, the author suggests, the eternal intersects the everyday – it has been said that poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement. He shows how poetry has provided a vehicle for inspiration and fresh ways of thinking and interpreting the perennial questions of the human race. The author makes clear that poetry ‘works’ because it acknowledges the universality of human psychology, and because it unites emotion with reason and tempers imagination with understanding. Over 200 poets from both East and West are quoted, and the work of 10 master poets is critically analysed and assessed. The major factors involved in translating poetry are discussed, particularly the difficulty of conveying the meaning without losing the spirit. The central features of inspiration and creativity are elucidated. The unbroken stream of poetry carries resonances of the growth and decay of civilisations, the vicissitudes of wars, the effects of migrations and trading, the influences of religious belief. The author considers, from his own experience, that poetry remains peerless in evaluating and articulating the riches of the human spirit.

This do it yourself workshop manual has been specially written for the owner who wishes to maintain his vehicle & carry out the bulk of his own servicing & repairs. There are step by step instructions & many illustrations are given of most dismantling, overhauling & assembling operations. Covers the 356A, 356B & 356C. Sb.

David Crystal, one of the world’s leading commentators on language, tackles the proverbs of the world. A new anthology of global proverbs has not been compiled for over 70 years. Crystal brings his customary commercial eye and linguistic expertise to this wonderfully rich topic. Proverbs are fascinating in what they tell us about a culture's view of everyday life: whether it be the importance of animals or the significance of the weather, proverbial wisdom is a key factor in understanding different peoples and cultures. Here David Crystal, the world's leading commentator on language, takes us on a global tour of the world's proverbs. Whether you are in Andorra, China or Tierra del Fuego, there is a nugget of local wisdom to inform and entertain. Some proverbs to entertain: When two elephants struggle, it is the grass which suffers. (Zanzibar) One must chew according to one's teeth (Norway) Admiration is the daughter of ignorance (Spain) A blind man needs no looking glass (Scotland) Never bolt your door with a boiled carrot (Ireland) Don't call the alligator a big-mouth till you have crossed the river (Belize) An untouched drum does not speak. (Liberia) Do not try to borrow combs from shaven monks. (China)

Meet the man who makes the mission of learning any language possible! The all-you-need guide to learning a language. Language hacker Benny Lewis shows how anyone anywhere can learn any language without leaving their home, using a simple toolkit and by harnessing the power of the Internet. Benny definitely wasn’t born with the ‘language gene’. After graduating in electronic engineering in his native Ireland he spent six months in Spain struggling to learn Spanish. This frustrating experience fuelled his determination to take a different approach to learning foreign languages. Today he speaks over ten languages including Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French, German, Portuguese, and Hungarian. He has also learnt Japanese in Spain. This typifies one of his ‘3-month challenges’ where he targets a new language and proceeds to become fluent in it within just three months. He charts his progress on his blog, proving that his techniques allow anyone to learn a language from anywhere. Benny’s blog, also called Fluent in 3 Months, is the largest language learning blog in the world. The key principles of Benny’s method: ? Speak from day one: find mother-tongue speaking partners online. Don’t be self-conscious – keep the flow going! ? Change your mindset: ditch the excuses, you can do it! ? Stay focused and determined: even if you don’t have much time, never forget the goal you’ve set yourself and work at it. ? Learning a language doesn’t need to be expensive: there is a wealth of free resources out there, if you know where to find them ? Reap the rewards! Learning a new language is not an end in itself, but a means to meeting new people and discovering new cultures. Curiosity will fuel your determination.

If ever there were a book to make you switch off your television set, The Dangerous Book for Boys is it. How many other books will help you thrash someone at conkers, race your own go-cart, and identify the best quotations from Shakespeare? The Dangerous Book for Boys gives you facts and figures at your fingertips – swot up on the solar system, learn about famous battles and read inspiring stories of incredible courage and bravery. Teach your old dog new tricks. Make a pinhole camera. Understand the laws of cricket. There's a whole world out there: with this book, anyone can get out and explore it. The Dangerous Book for Boys is written with the verve and passion that readers of Conn Iggulden's number one bestselling novels have come to expect. This book, his first non-fiction work, has been written with his brother as a celebration of the long summers of their youth and as a compendium of information so vital to men of all ages. Lavishly designed and fully illustrated in colour and black and white throughout, it's set to be a perfect gift for Father's Day and beyond. Chapters in The Dangerous Book for Boys include: The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, Conkers, Laws of Football, Dinosaurs, Fishing, Juggling, Timers and Tripwires, Kings and Queens, Famous Battles, Spies, Making Crystals, Insects and Spiders, Astronomy, Girls, The Golden Age of Piracy, Secret Inks, Patron Saints of Britain, Skimming Stones, Dog Tricks, Making a Periscope, Coin Tricks, Marbles, Artillery, The Origin of Words and The Solar System.

A practical teacher guide book for helping students to improve their communication skills in English How can teachers bridge the gap between the language of the classroom and the world outside? The lively activities in this book give learners a chance to experiment creatively with newly-acquired language so they can communicate in a meaningful way in real-life situations.