Gather Ye Wild Things


Book Description

First published in 1980, Gather Ye Wild Things is not a field guide in the strictest sense but rather a meditation on some of the most common and useful plants in North America. The volume's fifty-two brief essays- each focusing on a particular species or subject during a season in which it is likely to come to the would-be gatherer's attention- touch on culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic uses for wildlings.




Frankenstein


Book Description

This lively history of the Frankenstein myth, illuminated by dozens of pictures and illustrations, is told with skill and humor. Hitchcock uses film, literature, history, science, and even punk music to help readers understand the meaning of this monster made by man.




China Bayles' Book of Days


Book Description

A treasury of recipes, crafts, gardening tips, and more from the national bestselling author of the China Bayles series—a great gift for both mystery fans and herb & craft enthusiasts! Readers of the China Bayles mystery novels are familiar with the usefulness and wonder of the many herbs the amateur sleuth sells in her beloved Thyme and Seasons shop. Compiled by national bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert at the request of her fans, China Bayles' Book of Days gathers together tidbits and treasures about plants and reveals ways you can put more green into your daily life. Featuring 365 days of recipes, crafts, gardening tips, remedies, and more, this special volume is a personal calendar of the legends and lore of herbs and also features brand-new essays from the author, clues from China's mysteries, and some special contributions by the irrepressible members of the Myra Merryweather Herb Guild, Pecan Springs's oldest civic organization.




The Essential Wild Food Survival Guide


Book Description

Full of data, charts, nutritional breakdowns, and a poisonous look-alike section, this guide discusses how to identify, gather, prepare, store, and enjoy an endlessly nutritious and renewable resource of wild, edible plants.




An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days


Book Description

From Eudora Welty's memoir of childhood to May Sarton's reflections on her seventieth year, writers' journals offer an irresistible opportunity to join a creative thinker in musing on the events—whether in daily life or on a global scale—that shape our lives. In An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days, best-selling mystery novelist Susan Wittig Albert invites us to revisit one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory, 2008, through the lens of 365 ordinary days in which her reading, writing, and thinking about issues in the wider world—from wars and economic recession to climate change—caused her to reconsider and reshape daily practices in her personal life. Albert's journal provides an engaging account of how the business of being a successful working writer blends with her rural life in the Texas Hill Country and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. As her eclectic daily reading ranges across topics from economics, food production, and oil and energy policy to poetry, place, and the writing life, Albert becomes increasingly concerned about the natural world and the threats facing it, especially climate change and resource depletion. Asking herself, "What does it mean? And what ought I do about it?", she determines practical steps to take, such as growing more food in her garden, and also helps us as readers make sense of these issues and consider what our own responses might be.




The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts


Book Description

Edible wild plants, mushrooms, fruits, and nuts grow along roadsides, amid country fields, and in urban parks. All manner of leafy greens, mushrooms, and herbs that command hefty prices at the market are bountiful outdoors and free for the taking. But to enjoy them, one must know when to harvest and how to recognize, prepare, and eat them. The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts provides everything one needs to know about the most commonly found wild foods—going beyond a field guide’s basic description to provide folklore and mouth-watering recipes for each entry, such as wild asparagus pizza, fiddlehead soup, blackberry mousse, and elderberry pie. This fully illustrated guide is the perfect companion for hikers, campers, and anyone who enjoys eating the good food of the earth. With it in hand, nature lovers will never take another hike without casting their eyes about with dinner in mind.




More Novels and Plays


Book Description

Another information-packed, time-saving tool for teachers from the authors of Novels and Plays, this book contains 30 teaching guides for some of the best literature commonly taught in grades 6-12. With initiating activities, chapter-by-chapter discussion questions, writing assignments, and interdisciplinary extensions, these are complete lesson plans. For each book there is also a brief plot summary, a critique, lists of themes and literary concepts for teaching, suggestions for outside reading and vocabulary study, and lists of available print and electronic media resources.




A Naturalist's Guide to Seashore Plants


Book Description

Donald D. Cox uses nontechnical terminology in order to provide clear references for the general public as well as professional and amateur naturalists and students. He explores the origins of the oceans, tides, wind belts, and land plants and includes useful illustrations for aid in identification. Most significantly, this guide brings together a wide range of information relative to ocean and seashore ecosystems. Cox includes the types of plants that grow near the seashore; adaptations that help plants survive in seashore habitats; poisonous, medicinal, and edible plants of the ocean and seashore; seasonal changes in the seashore habitat; and methods of naming plants and the folklore of common names. The author also provides complete and accurate details for those readers who are interested in collecting plants and preserving plant collections. The final chapter offers non-technical investigations, activities, and projects. Conservation and habitat preservation are emphasized throughout the book.




What Your Preschooler Needs to Know


Book Description

Give your child a smart start with What Your Preschooler Needs to Know Designed for parents to enjoy with children, filled with opportunities for reading aloud and fostering curiosity, this beautifully illustrated anthology offers preschoolers the fundamentals they need to prepare for a happy, productive time in school—and for the rest of their lives. Hundreds of thousands of children have benefited from the acclaimed Core Knowledge Series, developed in consultation with parents, educators, and the most distinguished developmental psychologists. In addition to valuable advice for parents, such as what it means for a child to be ready for kindergarten, special sidebars throughout the book help parents make reading aloud fun and interactive, suggesting questions to ask, connections to make, and games to play to enrich their preschooler’s learning experience. Inside you will discover • Favorite poems and rhymes—all beautifully illustrated, to be read and recited together, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s “At the Seaside” to limericks by Edward Lear and tongue twisters by Jack Prelutsky, plus fun “clap along!” and “fingerplay” verses that parents and children can act out together • Beloved stories and fables—stories such as “The Three Little Pigs” and the African folktale “Why Flies Buzz” will open whole new worlds of learning and discovery • Visual arts—beautiful full-color reproductions of classic works that foster early appreciation of art history while igniting discussions about shapes, colors, and different styles and media • Music—dozens of songs to sing and dance to, including such “move around” songs as “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “The Wheels on the Bus” • History—a delightful introduction to American history, from the first Thanksgiving to Martin Luther King, Jr., with activities and stories parents and children can enjoy together • Science—from exploring the wonder of animals to the physical properties of light, air, and water—fun activities that will let children observe, experience, and enjoy the natural world




The University of Virginia


Book Description

The definitive treatment of Mr. Jefferson's favorite institution, with an updated section on entering the twenty-first century. In the nearly two centuries since the first building's completion in Thomas Jefferson's academical village, programs and facilities at the University of Virginia have been continually expanded and updated. The four years since the first publication of The University of Virginia: A Pictorial History have been no exception to that tradition: science and technology, athletics, public service, international programs, business, and the arts are just a few of the current growth areas at Mr. Jefferson's university. When the Board of Visitors approved a new master plan for growth and development in 1999--and the capital campaign of 2000 supported its ambitious outline with a $1.4 billion purse--they set in motion massive upgrades at the university. A South Lawn complex and "groundswalk" to reconnect the sprawling areas of the university, a new special collections library, expanded.