Dopo un'operazione in apparenza insignificante, il quattordicenne David Small scopre di non poter più parlare: gli sono state rimosse la tiroide e una delle corde vocali, e il taglio con cui i medici gli hanno squarciato la gola è stato suturato alla bell'e meglio, con ventinove punti che lo accompagneranno per il resto della vita. Sarà solo a cose fatte che David scoprirà di aver avuto un cancro alla gola, trascurato dalla superficialità dei medici e dall'indifferenza della sua famiglia. In un caleidoscopio di immagini folgoranti, Small ci regala il difficile racconto del viaggio che ha segnato la sua esistenza: quello di un ragazzino che, dopo essere stato ridotto a un solitario silenzio, ritrova la propria voce grazie all'arte. Prefazione di Luca Sofri.

«Non sono figlio di nessuno.» Parole dure, soprattutto se a pronunciarle è un ragazzino come Russell Pruitt. Gracile, introspettivo, abbandonato prima da sua madre e, pochi mesi dopo, da suo padre alcolizzato: Russell è la vittima perfetta per i bulli che lo tormentano, in una California anni Cinquanta tutt'altro che solare e spensierata. Nella sconfinata provincia in cui è costretto a crescere, ogni suo legame è dettato - più che da un sincero affetto - da una necessità: la coppia cinese che lo sfama da quando è rimasto solo, gli amici teppisti che a loro modo lo proteggono dall'isolamento e, infine, Warren, l'unico coetaneo che lo tratta con rispetto e lo riempie di piccoli regali. Ma per la gente del posto, Warren è anche più strano di Russell: vive solo con la nonna, ha un ratto come animale da compagnia ed è preso di mira da chiunque per la sua omosessualità. Quando si fa buio racconta un mondo duro, in cui le regole sono chiare e inaggirabili, dove il diverso deve relegarsi ai margini della società, se vuole sperare di farla franca. Small dimostra che la strada verso la serenità non è una linea retta, ma un percorso che prevede molte terribili deviazioni.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Doreen Cronin and Caldecott Medal–winning illustrator David Small comes a picture book about how an extraordinary “ordinary” girl can save a kingdom with the help of a mud fairy.

A glass kingdom is no place for a Mud Fairy. Bloom and her mud fairy magic might be able to turn weeds into flowers and spin sand into glass, but the people of the kingdom ceaselessly complain about the trails of dirt and puddles of mud that seem to follow her every step, and finally they cast her out.

But when the glass castle begins to crack, then cracks some more, the King and Queen in a panic search for the long-banished fairy, but they can’t find Bloom anywhere. Desperate to save their home, they send their meekest, most ordinary subject, a girl named Genevievewhose sole task until now has been to polish the Queen’s crystal sugar spoon—to coaxany worthy fairy to come and save the kingdom. Genevieve finds Bloom exactly where the king and queen failed to see her, and Bloom knows exactly how to save the kingdom. But it will take the two girls working together, along with a mighty dollop of self-confidence—and some very messy hands—to accomplish the extraordinary.

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Overview of Commentary Organization

• Introduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology.
• Each section of the commentary includes:
• Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope.
• Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English.
• Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation.
• Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here.
• Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research.
• Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues.
  • General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

Solve the riddles to find the runaway gingerbread men in this funny and magical cookie hunt!

Over 40? Getting forgetful? Having trouble learning new things, or remembering that actress’s name without reaching for your smartphone? Neurobics are simple, unique brain exercises that can be done anywhere, anytime. Now, the Neurobics bestseller How to Keep Your Brain Alive is repackaged in a trim, tote-able format that makes it an ideal gift.

Based on leading neurobiological research, Keep Your Brain Alive introduces a regimen of mental cross-training—a series of deceptively simple exercises that help stimulate the production of natural growth factors called neurotrophins, which in turn grow brain cells and keep the brain younger and stronger. And nothing so easily stimulates the brain as breaking routines and using the five senses in new and unexpected ways. So if you’re right-handed, wake up tomorrow and brush your teeth with your left hand. Or close your eyes before you get in the car and insert the key into the ignition. Every time you open a new circuit in your brain, it’s like doing a round of mental sit-ups.

Nearly a decade later, leading change pioneers in the field have realigned to bring you the second edition of the Change Champion's Fieldguide.

This thoroughly revised and updated edition of the Change Champion's Field Guide is filled with the information, tools, and strategies needed to implement a best practice change or leadership development initiative where everyone wins. In forty-five chapters, the guide's contributors, widely acknowledged as the "change champions" and leaders in the fields of organizational change and leadership development, explore the competencies and practices that define an effective change leader. Change Champions such as Harrison Owen, Edgar Schein, Marv Weisbord, Sandra Janoff, Mary Eggers, William Rothwell, Dave Ulrich, Marshall Goldsmith, Judith Katz, Peter Koestenbaum, Dick Axelrod, David Cooperrider, and scores of others provide their sage advice, practical applications, and examples of change methods that work.

Change Champion's Field Guide examines the topic of leadership and change within four main topics including:

• Key elements of leading successful and results-driven change
• Tools, models, instruments, and strategies for leading change
• Critical success and failure factors
• Trends and research on innovation, change, and leadership
• Guidelines on how to design, implement, and evaluate change and leadership initiatives
• Fresh case studies that highlight leading companies who are implementing successful change in innovative and inspired ways.

Everyday street signs act as deadpan captions for the slapstick happenings in this ingenious picture book that is hilariously told in street signs. Go!

The sign says: “Put litter in its place.” But someone isn’t paying attention. He drops a banana peel on the ground—and a series of comical slips, spills, and falls are set hilariously into motion. First the grocer, then the painter, next the bicycle messenger, and then—oh, no—not the baby in the carriage! An entire town turned upside down, all by a banana peel!

Caldecott Medalist David Small and award-winning author Jennifer Armstrong have created a roller-coaster ride of a picture book told in rhyming street signs that will tickle and delight readers from beginning to end, over and over again.

In the tradition exemplified by Mozart in his "Musical Jokes", Jeff Smallman has written a work for brass band that should bring a smile to every face. As all conductors know, not every player in a band learns at the same speed and, therefore, mistakes are bound to happen. For your enjoyment, By THAT Much has already provided a plethora of typical (and not so typical) mistakes for players of every age to make.

An adorable collection of pocket-sized board books for pint-sized readers, each a charming retelling of beloved Bible stories through the eyes of the animals involved. The set includes six individual board books in a handy and colorful slipcase. Each eight-page story uses clear and simple text, with heartwarming illustrations by Steve Smallman. Ideal for little hands to hold, and perfect for travel or small reading areas.

David Small, a best-selling and highly regarded children's book illustrator, comes forward with this unflinching graphic memoir. Remarkable and intensely dramatic, Stitches tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who awakes one day from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he has been transformed into a virtual mute—a vocal cord removed, his throat slashed and stitched together like a bloody boot. From horror to hope, Small proceeds to graphically portray an almost unbelievable descent into adolescent hell and the difficult road to physical, emotional, and artistic recovery.

A National Book Award finalist; winner of the ALA's Alex Award; a #1 New York Times graphic bestseller; Publishers Weekly and Washington Post Top Ten Books of the Year, Los Angeles Times Favorite Book, ALA Great Graphic Novels, Booklist Editors Choice Award, Huffington Post Great Books of 2009, Kirkus Reviews Best of 2009, Village Voice Best Graphic Novel, finalist for two 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (Best Writer/Artist: Nonfiction; Best Reality-Based Work).

When a little girl pretends she's a real princess, her imagination soars and her bedtime routine is transformed into a majestic affair. While practicing curtsies on her way to bed, she gets the royal treatment: chocolate cream Éclairs, glass slippers, ladies-in-waiting, a tiara?even a bubble bath with a special fluffy towel to dry her toes. Being a princess is so much fun! But at bedtime, there's one thing a little girl?or a princess?always gets: a kiss before saying goodnight.

When a little girl pretends she's a real princess, her imagination soars and her bedtime routine is transformed into a majestic affair. While practicing curtsies on her way to bed, she gets the royal treatment: chocolate cream Éclairs, glass slippers, ladies-in-waiting, a tiara?even a bubble bath with a special fluffy towel to dry her toes. Being a princess is so much fun! But at bedtime, there's one thing a little girl?or a princess?always gets: a kiss before saying goodnight.