Breeding Barefoot Bookworms


Book Description

In this story, the author describes in graphic details the experiences of an Australian teenager who started a book charity and then spent a year in a remote African village to set up a school library. His youthful exuberance and great determination to make a difference in the poor community was an inspiration to all the children in the village. Many students took seriously the schools new motto Education to beat poverty. Billys one year stay was packed with fun and excitement. He even volunteered to take part in the annual tribal initiation ceremony. Follow Billy as he goes through the experience of a lifetime.




Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna


Book Description

2022 Pura Belpré Honor Book NYPL Best Book of 2021 Texas Bluebonnet Master List Selection NPR Best Book of 2021 Based on a true story, the tale of one girl's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border and lead her family to safety during the Mexican Revolution. "Wrenching debut about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on."—Booklist, starred review "Blazes bright, gripping readers until the novel's last page."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "Vital and perilous and hopeful."—Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee It is 1913, and twelve-year-old Petra Luna's mama has died while the Revolution rages in Mexico. Before her papa is dragged away by soldiers, Petra vows to him that she will care for the family she has left—her abuelita, little sister Amelia, and baby brother Luisito—until they can be reunited. They flee north through the unforgiving desert as their town burns, searching for safe harbor in a world that offers none. Each night when Petra closes her eyes, she holds her dreams close, especially her long-held desire to learn to read. Abuelita calls these barefoot dreams: "They're like us barefoot peasants and indios—they're not meant to go far." But Petra refuses to listen. Through battlefields and deserts, hunger and fear, Petra will stop at nothing to keep her family safe and lead them to a better life across the U.S. border—a life where her barefoot dreams could finally become reality. "Dobbs' wrenching debut, about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on, illuminates the harsh realities of war, the heartbreaking disparities between the poor and the rich, and the racism faced by Petra and her family. Readers will love Petra, who is as strong as the black-coal rock she carries with her and as beautiful as the diamond hidden within it."—Booklist, starred review




Born to Run


Book Description

A New York Times bestseller 'A sensation ... a rollicking tale well told' - The Times At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an incredible cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark.













The Long Hitch Home


Book Description

Tasmania to London. 800 hitchhiking trips. One year. Intrepid traveler and author Jamie Maslin does it again as he undertakes one of the most grueling, enlightening, and hilarious journeys of his life. How many rides does it take to hitch from Tasmania to London? Intrepid traveler and rogue wanderer Jamie Maslin decides to find out. The Long Hitch Home is a vibrant travelog of well-researched social, cultural, and historical introductions to the score of countries Maslin passed through. Whether writing about the exotic backstreets of cities few of us will get to see firsthand, or the unique geographical wonders of far off countries, Jamie Maslin gives a thrilling account of what it is like to hit the road and live with intensity and rapture.




A Part of the Sky


Book Description

In celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Robert Newton Peck's bestselling classic, A Day No Pigs Would Die, here is the eagerly anticipated sequel. This must for schools, libraries, and summer reading lists is now available for the first time in paperback. Times are difficult during the Great Depression, and thirteen-year-old Rob Peck must struggle to keep his family together after the death of his father. Disaster after disaster strikes and the family is forced to sell their farm. Relying solely on their strong Shaker faith and close family ties, the Pecks finally prevail and young Rob learns that true wealth extends beyond money and that real values are priceless.




Among the Impostors


Book Description

A desperate child escapes from hiding only to face new dangers in the New York Times–bestselling author’s near future YA adventure series. In a world where the Population Police wield terrifying power, Luke Garner is an illegal third child. After spending his entire life in hiding, he’s found a way to escape—by assuming the identity of a deceased child. But living among other people isn’t going at all how he imagined. Luke now attends Hendricks School for Boys, a windowless building with cruel classmates and oblivious teachers. He knows he has to blend in, but he lives in constant fear that his behavior will betray him. Then one day Luke discovers a door to the outside. He knows that beyond the walls of Hendricks lie the secrets he is desperate to uncover. What he doesn’t know is whom he can trust—and where the answers to his questions may lead him.




The Mind of a Mnemonist


Book Description

A welcome re-issue of an English translation of Alexander Luria's famous case-history of hypermnestic man. The study remains the classic paradigm of what Luria called 'romantic science,' a genre characterized by individual portraiture based on an assessment of operative psychological processes. The opening section analyses in some detail the subject's extraordinary capacity for recall and demonstrates the association between the persistence of iconic memory and a highly developed synaesthesia. The remainder of the book deals with the subject's construction of the world, his mental strengths and weaknesses, his control of behaviour and his personality. The result is a contribution to literature as well as to science. (Psychological Medicine ).




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