Like Our Very Own

Embracing the crossroads that made the region distinctive, this book reveals how American families have always been characterized by greater diversity than idealizations of the traditional family have allowed. He essays show how family life figured prominently in relations to larger struggles for conquest and control.

"Berebitsky reveals that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the rules governing adoption were much less rigid and adoptive parents and families were surprisingly diverse. In Like Our Very Own, she chronicles the experiences of adoptive parents and children during a century of great change, illuminating the prominent role adoption came to play in defining both motherhood and the family in America." "Drawing on case histories, letters from adoptive parents, congressional records, and popular fiction and magazines of the day, Berebitsky recovers the efforts of single women, African Americans, the elderly, and other marginalized citizens to adopt children of their own. She contends, however, that this diversity gradually diminished during the hundred years between the first adoption laws in 1851 and the postwar baby boom era." "A fascinating chapter in American social and cultural history, Like Our Very Own offers compelling evidence of the role that adoption has played in our evolving efforts to define the meaning and nature of both motherhood and family."

George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times

Brain-Compatible Activities for Mathematics, Grades 4–5 provides brain-friendly, ready-to-use mathematics lessons for the classroom. Teachers will find step-by-step guidance and all the necessary reproducible materials for mathematics instruction that involves group work, reflection, movement, and visualization. Through activities such as Scuba Division, Party Planners, Sunken Treasure, and Parachute Drop, intermediate learners will enjoy developing skills connected with multiplication and division, fractions and decimals, geometry and measurement, algebra, data analysis, and more. Aligned with NCTM standards and focal points, the instructional strategies enhance motivation and content retention, while addressing individual intelligences. Also included is instruction to: Promote writing as an important learning tool Use concrete models to make concepts meaningful Connect mathematical ideas to the real world Incorporate graphic organizers to help students organize their thinking Deepen and revitalize instruction using Sousa’s proven brain-compatible approach for helping every student develop self-confidence in mathematics!

Born into a fog-ridden south London slum in 1931, Eileen Killick quickly learned to look after herself. Her brothers were wayward, her mum had TB and her dad was working all hours on the railways. By the time she was fourteen she had survived the Blitz, a spell in a care home and her mother's death, but she craved excitement, embarking on shoplifting sprees, liberating fur coats and rolling toffs up west with notorious 'queen of thieves' Shirley Pitts. Eileen soon found herself in borstal, put to work building roads like a navvy. Known as 'Kill', she had a reputation as one of the hardest woman behind bars. Then, in the 1950s she met and married career criminal Harry 'Big H' MacKenney, and she was soon fraternising with the toughest, most colourful characters in the London underworld. She went on to have four children, whom she loved and protected, but life was extremely tough and Eileen fell back into her old ways, thieving and fighting to make ends meet. The 1970s brought police corruption and brutality to Eileen's doorstep. When Harry was banged up, Eileen carried on the 'family business' alone and found herself on the wrong side of the law - again. Yet throughout a catalogue of trouble this defiant London bad girl of the old school always kept her defiant sense of humour. Borstal Girlis a true story of shocking violence and survival that pulls no punches, but it is also a secret criminal history of a London long past. There is no other female memoir like it.

A husband's God-given responsibility to his wife is to be her shepherd: to love her, serve her, comfort her, protect her, provide for her, sacrifice for her, and lead her. Like the Shepherd guides men on how to embrace the role of shepherd, drawing on the wisdom of the Bible to give men practical, powerful advice on how to take responsibility for their relationships and realize the Christian ideal of a healthy, happy marriage.

Miguel Guzman isn't exactly looking forward to the summer now that his mother has agreed to let the Sword family—a father, his three daughters, and their dog—live with them while they decide whether or not to move to Vermont. Little does Miguel know his aunt has something up her sleeve that just may make this the best summer ever. With her usual flair for creativity and fun, Tía Lola decides to start a summer camp for Miguel, his little sister, and the three Sword girls, complete with magical swords, nighttime treasure hunts, campfires, barbecues, and an end-of-summer surprise! The warm and funny third book in the Tía Lola Stories is sure to delight young readers and leave them looking forward to their own summer fun!

How did Australian politics get so weird? This book argues that Australia is part of a major shift happening across the world's democracies. Pundits say populism is the big new danger, but they're wrong. Political parties are at the core of democracy, yet all over the West, big parties are hollowing out: losing members, voters and the support of key interest groups. Australia is no exception. Our major parties have lost their connection with the public, and with history. As parties weaken, they become less stable, hence Australia's leadership coups. They also become more vulnerable to demands from the political fringes, which is why David Cameron couldn't resist Britain's Eurosceptics. Could Australia have a Brexit moment? Yes. If one of Australia's big parties succumbs to fringe pressure on immigration, Australia too could make a political break from the continent it flanks.