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.

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.

Ted Dewan grew up in Massachusetts where he became a science teacher, but moved to London in 1988, making a living from drawing and playing the accordion. 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 books were first published in 2003. Ted and his wife, author/illustrator Helen Cooper, live in Oxford.

Ted Dewan grew up in Massachusetts where he became a science teacher, but moved to London in 1988, making a living from drawing and playing the accordion. 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 books were first published in 2003. Ted and his wife, author/illustrator Helen Cooper, live in Oxford.

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.

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

Michael Bond was born in Newbury, Berkshire on 13 January 1926 and educated at Presentation College, Reading. He served in the Royal Air Force and the British Army before working as a cameraman for BBC TV for 19 years. In 2015, Michael was awarded a CBE for his services to children’s literature, to add to the OBE he received in 1997. Michael died in 2017, leaving behind one of the great literary legacies of our time.

Jeanne Willis worked as an advertising copywriter for TV, cinema and radio before becoming a full-time writer. Her picture books have won awards including the Silver Smarties Prize for Tadpole’s Promise, The Red House Children’s Book Award for Who’s in the Loo? and the Booktrust Early Years Award for The Bog Baby. She also writes children’s fiction including the Super Cat and Penguin Pandemonium books for HarperCollins.

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.

Paddington: The Movie Storybook (Paddington movie)

Eggy Heads & Diggers (Bing)

The question seems unnecessary. After all, argument is a universal human activity in which we all engage as regularly and naturally as breathing. Even if we have never given much thought to the theory behind it, we have enough practical experience to recognize an argument the moment we become embroiled in one or hear others engaged in verbal conflict.

A new-look picture book featuring the irrepressible little Twirlywoos and their elusive sidekick, Peekaboo.Join the Twirlywoos on their latest adventure as they explore the concept of ‘collecting’. First the Twirlywoos visit a hen yard where they see some children collecting eggs, and help them finish the job. Then they find lots of other examples of collecting in the outside world, before coming back to the Big Red Boat to discover a collection of brightly-coloured pebbles belonging to Peekaboo, which they have fun dividing into different colours.

"To those who think Europe matters, and even more so, to those who don’t”… Michael Tracy’s “Memoirs” recount his experiences from boyhood in wartime Scotland, through hi life in “public school” and university, to postings in various international organisations and a senior position within the European Union in Brussels; then to involvement in Russia and other Central/European countries in the 1990s. The book concludes with an assessment of current issues facing both the EU and Russia; also Britain in its relations with the EU. . . . . . Michael Tracy grew up in Scotland during the war of 193945. After gaining scholarships to Fettes College in Edinburgh, then to Cambridge University (studying Modern Languages, then Economics), he worked in international organisations and for ten years was a Director in the Council Secretariat of the European Union. He also pursued an academic career, writing on agricultural policy and economics and lecturing in various European universities, including Wye College in England and the College of Europe in Bruges. In Moscow in 1991 he witnessed at close quarters the collapse of the Soviet Union, and subsequently was involved in a new institute in St. Petersburg. Subsequently he had advisory and teaching roles in the countries of Central/Eastern Europe during their transition to market economies and accession to the European Union. His final chapter assesses the issues currently facing both the European Union and Russia. Taking the story up to May 2010, it discusses the prospects for the eurozone, and the implications of Britain’s new coalition government for Britain’s relations with the EU (a subject which he has followed from the outset in the late 1950s). This is not a history: it is a personal, lively and often humorous account of Michael Tracy’s experiences, in which personal contacts figure largely. Nor is it a tract for or against the European Union; on the other hand, it sheds a more human light on proceedings in “Brussels”. Graham Dalton of the University of Aberdeen admires the depth of knowledge at the heart of Michael Tracy’s memoir and concludes: “His thoughts on Europe are wellfounded, rounded and are to be taken seriously.” Michael Tracy has been President of the British Agricultural Economics Society and is an honorary member of the Académie d’Agriculture de France. His other main works are: Government and Agriculture in Western Europe, 18801988 (3rd edn. 1989); Food and Agriculture in a Market Economy – an introduction to theory, practice and policy (1993); and in retirement: The World of the Edwardian Child, as seen in Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclop?dia 19081910 (2008). c After retirement, Michael continues to live mainly in Belgium, where he and his wife have a “hobby farm” with pedigree sheep. He also spends time in an Andalucian mountain village. His main hobby in both places is as an amateur pianist, is making music with friends.

The contributors wish to thank the Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, for access to their holdings of Thom Gunn’s manu*s; the Graduate Research Board and the Department of English at the University of Maryland, for material support; Thom’s brother Ander, for the use of his photograph of Thom for this volume’s cover; and Mike Kitay, for permission to print excerpts from unpublished writings and the several published poems, in their entireties, in this volume.

In writing, style matters. Our favorite writers often entertain, move, and inspire us less by what they say than by how they say it. In The Sound on the Page, acclaimed author, teacher, and critic Ben Yagoda offers practical and incisive help for writers on developing and discovering their own style and voice. This wonderfully rich and readable book features interviews with more than 40 of our most important authors discussing their literary style, including:Dave BarryHarold BloomSupreme Court Justice Stephen BreyerBill BrysonMichael ChabonAndrei CodrescuJunot DíazAdam GopnikJamaica KincaidMichael KinsleyElmore LeonardElizabeth McCracken Susan OrleanCynthia OzickAnna QuindlenJonathan RabanDavid ThomsonTobias Wolff

Are you the type of person who stays up nights wondering how they get the paper tag into Hershey's KissesOr why portholes are roundEven if you don't lose sleep over such matters, you have to admit that such questions are, well, worthy of consideration. Here, from David Feldman, creator of the Imponderables series, are the latest questions on the minds of his devoted readers and fans. No question from his readers is too small or obscure for Feldman to tackle. From the return of red Ms (they are back, if you've missed it) to new-car smell, the answers to life's little mysteries are dissected in these pages. Although it's all done in great fun, there is also an educational edge to the answers, as Feldman ferrets out top experts in diverse fields to come up with his entertaining answers. And their answers may surprise you from the detailed physics involved in why cans of Diet Coke float but regular Coke doesn't, all the way to why they put crinkly paper into pairs of men's socks (but only one sock, not both).Complete with drawings by longtime Imponderables illustrator Kassie Schwan, and a special section updating answers to questions in previous books in the series, this eleventh book of Imponderables is sure to entertain the thousands of Feldman fans who have purchased over 2 million copies to date. Prepare to be delighted!

Most writing books dwell on common issues of style and grammar. Yet most writers also confront complex problems of story design.This 50-rule guide by Francis Flaherty, a New York Times editor, offers much-needed solutions and sage advice to address these concerns. "Sometimes, say things sideways," Flaherty writes. "The reader will be grateful." "White is whitest on black," he observes. "Let contrast work for you." Through such hard-won, story-level insights, sprinkled with examples from real stories and leavened with a good dose of newsroom memoir, The Elements of Story merits a spot on every writer's shelf.

"What do you think of my fiction book writing?" the aspiring novelist extorted. "Darn," the editor hectored, in turn. "I can not publish your novel! It is full of what we in the business call 'really awful writing.'" "But how shall I absolve this dilemmaI have already read every tome available on how to write well and get published!" The writer tossed his head about, wildly."It might help," opined the blonde editor, helpfully, "to ponder how NOT to write a novel, so you might avoid the very thing!" Many writing books offer sound advice on how to write well. This is not one of those books. On the contrary, this is a collection of terrible, awkward, and laughably unreadable excerpts that will teach you what to avoid at all costs if you ever want your novel published. In How Not to Write a Novel, authors Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman distill their 30 years combined experience in teaching, editing, writing, and reviewing fiction to bring you real advice from the other side of the query letter. Rather than telling you how or what to write, they identify the 200 most common mistakes unconsciously made by writers and teach you to recognize, avoid, and amend them. With hilarious "mis-examples" to demonstrate each manu*-mangling error, they'll help you troubleshoot your beginnings and endings, bad guys, love interests, style, jokes, perspective, voice, and more. As funny as it is useful, this essential how-NOT-to guide will help you get your manu* out of the slush pile and into the bookstore.

Countless mothers of brides and grooms have asked Peggy Post for a wedding planner just for them. Here it is! Whether you're helping a little or a lot, or like most moms are serving as combination coach, diplomat, and troubleshooter, this planner is packed with useful ideas, including: Planning lists especially for moms Questions to ask before hiring wedding professionals Times when a mother's tactful advice is most helpful A Resources section with worksheets for keeping track of guests, gifts, budget, and more An Address Book you'll refer to again and again Peggy Post will help you navigate finances, guest list, ceremony, and reception details; interact with your daughter's or son's future in-laws; and plan your role (including your outfit!) while making memories to last a lifetime.

"Never let 'em see you sweat." "Never change diapers in mid-stream." "Never let a crisis go to waste." "Never ruin an apology with an excuse." "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." When we strongly encourage people to do something, it's called an exhortation. But what is the proper term for strongly discouraging peopleOne candidate is admonition. Another is dehortation, the opposite of exhortation. But perhaps the best term for an emphatic piece of dissuasive advice is neverism. You won't find the term in any dictionary (at least not yet) because quotation anthologist Dr. Mardy Grothe coined it himself for this collection of nearly two thousand quotable cautionary warnings. With the whimsical and witty intermixed with the serious and profound, contributors range from Aesop and Marcus Aurelius to John Wayne and Mae West. Grothe also tells the fascinating "back stories" of scores of classic quotations as well as the history of hundreds more that have never before appeared in a quotation anthology. Organized by topics such as Wit & Wordplay, Politics & Government, Sports, Stage & Screen, and The Literary Life, this is a book about quotations as well as a book of them. Neverisms is sure to delight quotation lovers and language aficionados everywhere.