Child S Play

Finally we’re playing a game. A game that I have chosen. I give one last push of the roundabout and stand back. ‘You really should have played with me,’ I tell her again although I know she can no longer hear. Late one summer evening, Detective Kim Stone arrives at Haden Hill Park to the scene of a horrific crime: a woman in her sixties tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck. The victim, Belinda Evans, was a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. As Kim and her team search her home, they find an overnight bag packed and begin to unravel a complex relationship between Belinda and her sister Veronica. Then two more bodies are found bearing the same distinctive markings, and Kim knows she is on the hunt for a ritualistic serial killer. Linking the victims, Kim discovers they were involved in annual tournaments for gifted children and were on their way to the next event. With DS Penn immersed in the murder case of a young man, Kim and her team are already stretched and up against one of the most ruthless killers they’ve ever encountered. The clues lie in investigating every child who attended the tournaments, dating back decades. Faced with hundreds of potential leads and a bereaved sister who is refusing to talk, can Kim get inside the mind of a killer and stop another murder before it’s too late? The addictive new crime thriller from multi-million copy, number one bestseller Angela Marsons explores the dark side of child prodigies and will have you absolutely hooked. Read what everyone is saying about Child’s Play: ‘The must-read thriller for the year. Fabulous characters and well written. I can't wait to read more by this author.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I have nothing but praise for this amazing series, 11 books and counting and the series keeps getting better with each instalment. I highly recommend this series to all fans of original high -quality mystery thrillers.’ Bookish ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Angela Marsons pushes the limits again to bring us the best of crime fiction! To me, reaching a point where you trust an author this much with your precious time, is invaluable… This is why finding your happy place, your go-to people, your - rather deadly - dreamland is the best feeling in the world and I must thank Angela Marsons for never letting me down…’ Chocolate’n’Waffles ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved loved this book, Angela has done it again, just brilliant. This story is great pulls you in from the first page and never lets go…Get it, read it, you won't be disappointed.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The quality of Angela Marsons writing has never diminished over the entire series. The release of a Kim Stone novel is an event to look forward to. Full of engaging characters and humour this series is fast becoming one of my favourites. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars because it certainly deserves it. Excellent and I happily recommend it and the series to anyone.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Superb!!... one of the best openings to a book I have read…DI Kim Stone is one of my favourite all time characters in this genre… This is one of the best books in the series and as this is already book 11 in the series that says a lot as not a lot of authors can keep producing books this strong and so well written - very, very highly recommended!!’ Donnasbookblog ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow Wow!!! How did I not see any of that coming!...I could barely put the book down…’ Rachel’s Random Reads ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Marsons for me is the QUEEN of this genre. She knows how to add the human touch to each story and I just adore her. Bloody FABULOUS.’ Postcard Reviews

A chilling tale from the bestselling author of The Devil’s Advocate, “a master of psychological thrillers” (V. C. Andrews). They were four perfect little children. Alex had taught them well. They helped with the house, set the table for meals, and went straight upstairs after dinner to do their homework. They did as they were told. Sharon didn’t miss the glances that passed between her husband and the foster children. From the day they arrived, they had looked up to Alex, worshiped him. Why, it even seemed they were beginning to act like Alex—right down to the icy sarcasm, the terrifying smile, and the evil gleam in their eyes when they looked at her. Oh yes, they’d do anything to please Alex. Anything at all . . .

Improve your quilt designs by learning how to organize fabric by size and color, while making adorably sophisticated quilts (both pieced and appliquéd) for babies and children. Each of the 20 bright, happy quilts is shown in warm and cool colorways to spark the imagination and use up your stash. Stacey Day’s friendly voice and great advice make it easy to choose beautiful palettes and add design flair, while also guiding you through the best methods for organizing fabrics by color and size, from tiny scraps to bulky yardage.

Few things make Japanese adults feel quite as anxious today as the phenomenon called the “child crisis.” Various media teem with intense debates about bullying in schools, child poverty, child suicides, violent crimes committed by children, the rise of socially withdrawn youngsters, and forceful moves by the government to introduce a more conservative educational curriculum. These issues have propelled Japan into the center of a set of global conversations about the nature of children and how to raise them. Engaging both the history of children and childhood and the history of emotions, contributors to this volume track Japanese childhood through a number of historical scenarios. Such explorations—some from Japan’s early-modern past—are revealed through letters, diaries, memoirs, family and household records, and religious polemics about promising, rambunctious, sickly, happy, and dutiful youngsters.

Is sport good for kids? When answering this question, both critics and advocates of youth sports tend to fixate on matters of health, whether condemning contact sports for their concussion risk or prescribing athletics as a cure for the childhood obesity epidemic. Child’s Play presents a more nuanced examination of the issue, considering not only the physical impacts of youth athletics, but its psychological and social ramifications as well. The eleven original scholarly essays in this collection provide a probing look into how sports—in community athletic leagues, in schools, and even on television—play a major role in how young people view themselves, shape their identities, and imagine their place in society. Rather than focusing exclusively on self-proclaimed jocks, the book considers how the culture of sports affects a wide variety of children and young people, including those who opt out of athletics. Not only does Child’s Play examine disparities across lines of race, class, and gender, it also offers detailed examinations of how various minority populations, from transgender youth to Muslim immigrant girls, have participated in youth sports. Taken together, these essays offer a wide range of approaches to understanding the sociology of youth sports, including data-driven analyses that examine national trends, as well as ethnographic research that gives a voice to individual kids. Child’s Play thus presents a comprehensive and compelling analysis of how, for better and for worse, the culture of sports is integral to the development of young people—and with them, the future of our society.

This book contains descriptions of 172 games for children from toddlerhood through adolescence, and is designed as a guide for parents, teachers, and play leaders. Following an introduction describing the child's relationship to games, the book is divided into two parts. Part 1 is aimed at toddlers and contains over 90 circle games, singing games, and games based on traditional crafts. Part 2 is divided into sections according to age, and gives descriptions and backgrounds of games with movements. Recommended ages are given for each game, and music notation for each game is included. (KB)

Taking its impetus from remarkable fact that holy things were given to children as toys in the early modern period as a way of destroying their power, this book rethinks the meaning of both iconoclasm and child's play then and now.