Confessions of a Serial Entertainer


Book Description

Menus and anecdotes give away one man’s secrets for entertaining in style. Steven Stolman has a gregarious personality. He loves to entertain: cocktail parties in Palm Beach, football game-day gatherings in Wisconsin, family Passover Sedars in Connecticut, and dinner parties in his New York apartment. “Of all our friends, we have the smallest places, yet we seem to do more entertaining than anyone.” It’s about the people and the food, he says. He also loves old community and church cookbooks from the 1950s to the ’70s. And these are his inspirations for party food: dips and cheese spreads with crackers, family recipes for delicious roasts, breakfast casseroles, and desserts. What Stolman confesses is that he hates hostess gifts and isn’t afraid to say so. He advises women not to take a purse to a party and just “tuck it behind here” to avoid holding it—thanks for ruining my furniture arrangement! He advises about the importance of having silver serving pieces and how to dress for a cocktail party or a dinner party (at least try!). And he confesses that even when he has hired servers to pass hors d’oeuvres, he can’t help but carry a tray around himself! This book will give any novice party host ideas and confidence, and it will inspire seasoned hosts to simplify and enjoy the party. Steven Stolman is the author of 40 Years of Fabulous and Scalamandré: Haute Décor. He divides his time among homes in Palm Beach, New York, and Milwaukee.




Entertaining Children


Book Description

Children have been exploited as performers and wooed energetically as consumers throughout history. These essays offer scholarly investigations into the employment and participation of children in the entertainment industry with examples drawn from historical and contemporary contexts.







The Secrets of Rochester Place


Book Description

A beautiful story of love and survival for fans of Ruth Hogan and Sally Page. ----- A LOST CHILD. A LONG-KEPT SECRET. THE HOUSE THAT HOLDS THE KEY Spring 1937: Teresa is evacuated to London in the wake of the Guernica bombing. She thinks she's found safety in the soothing arms of Mary Davidson and the lofty halls of Rochester Place, but trouble pursues her wherever she goes. Autumn 2020: Corinne, an emergency dispatcher, receives a call from a distressed woman named Mary. But when the ambulance arrives at the address, Mary is nowhere to be found. Intrigued, Corinne investigates and, in doing so, disturbs secrets that have long-dwelt in Rochester Place's crumbling walls. Secrets that, once revealed, will change her life for ever . . . Who is Mary Davidson? And what happened at Rochester Place all those years ago? Set between the dusty halls of Rochester Place and the bustling streets of modern-day Tooting, this emotive, intricately layered mystery tells the spellbinding story of two people, separated by time, yet mysteriously connected through an enchanting Georgian house and the secrets within its walls. ----- 'A moving, page-turning story - beautifully written and heartfelt' Amanda Prowse, To Love and Be Loved 'A rich and tender story of fortitude, family and friendship' Ruth Hogan, The Keeper of Lost Things 'Simply spellbinding, very addictive, and so beautifully written' Sophie Irwin, A Ladies Guide to Fortune Hunting 'Richly atmospheric, evocative and moving - a triumph of storytelling' Abbie Greaves, The Silent Treatment 'Full of intrigue and loss, this beautifully written gothic tale makes for a spellbinding read' Rhiannon Ward, The Quickening 'This atmospheric tale of family, friendship and long held secrets is a compelling read' My Weekly 'An intriguing story which skilfully entwines the past and present' Heidi Swain, A Taste of Home 'Absorbing, moving and multi-layered... A book to curl up with' Emma Curtis, Keep Her Quiet 'Beautifully written with a story that draws you in' Jane Corry, We All Have Our Secrets




Fun with Science


Book Description

Instructions on how to do demonstrations with electricity, magnetism, air pressure, and other scientific principles




The Secret Power of Middle Children


Book Description

This myth-busting book shows how "forgotten" middle children can-and do-rule the world. In this counterintuitive book, psychologist Catherine Salmon and journalist Katrin Schumann combine science, history, and real-life stories to reveal for the first time that our perception of middle children is dead wrong. Using unpublished and little-known research from evolutionary psychology, sociology, and communications, The Secret Power of Middle Children illustrates how adaptive strategies middleborns develop during childhood translate into stronger friendships, lasting marriages, successful careers, and effective parenting. Over seventy million adult Americans are middle children, and forty percent of young American families have middle children. With constructive advice on how to maximize the benefits and avoid the pitfalls of being a middle child, Salmon and Schumann help middle children at any age (and their parents) use birth order as a strategy for success.




Horizontal Parenting


Book Description

Need a break . . . now? Horizontal Parenting offers 50 hilarious and effective activities designed to entertain kids while you lie down. Children are exhausting! In the marathon of modern parenting, everyone needs a break—just 10 precious minutes to rest your body and tune out the chaos. Enter Horizontal Parenting, the super-simple parenting hack for everyone, everywhere. With creative and practical advice for overworked parents and caretakers who "just need a minute," this book includes 50 fun, effective, and hilarious games to play with toddlers and children while lying down. Activities include: • What's on My Butt • Hide and Seek-ish • Don't Wake the Giant • Railroad to Relaxation • And many more! Relax and let your little ones release some energy while you catch your breath (and maybe a few even a few z's). All you need is a comfortable surface, a few household items, and your child's imagination, and you too can master the sanity-saving art of horizontal parenting. • 50 activities to keep your kids engaged and keep you lying down • Entertaining ideas for children and toddlers • No endless supply lists, screens, or batteries needed • Perfect for long days at home • Great gift for new (or seasoned!) parents Perfect for: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and caretakers of kids ages 2+




Four Years Old in an Urban Community


Book Description

Although psychologists by training, John and Elizabeth Newson have more aptly been described as pioneers in social ecology; they work from the conviction that the causes and the consequences of child-rearing attitudes can fruitfully be investigated only in the framework of the total social environment in which they occur. This book continues their analysis of child rearing in an English urban setting.







Rumpelstiltskin’s Secret


Book Description

Everyone knows Rumpelstiltskin’s story—or thinks they do. But this innocent-seeming tale hides generations of women’s shrewd accounts of their relationships with men. And the verdict is not flattering. The fairytale may count among the world’s oldest dirty jokes. The theme of the tale, an observation repeated and varied throughout, mocks male inadequacy in many forms, beginning with sexual failure. The punchline misplaced, over time its wickedly funny insights about adult life passed for childish nonsense. The story hides, in plain sight, criticism of workplace sexual harassment—centuries before society took notice of the indignity. Rumpelstiltskin tells a feminist tale with lessons for men and women, about what women said to each other when they thought their private conversation and complaints passed unnoticed. In the story’s different versions, the Brothers Grimm, who recorded the tale, missed women’s wry observations.