The Big Apple Effect

Fifteen-year-old Maddie has won an art contest and gets to visit New York City.

For three school years, from 2007 to 2010, about 200 high-needs New York City public schools participated in the Schoolwide Performance Bonus Program, whose broad objective was to improve student performance through school-based financial incentives. An independent analysis of test scores, surveys, and interviews found that the program did not improve student achievement, perhaps because it did not motivate change in educator behavior.

As debates about defunding US police forces continue, this book offers an enlightening historical overview of one of the largest metropolitan contingents: the New York City Police Department. The NYPD is America’s largest and most celebrated law enforcement agency. This book examines the history of policing in New York City, from colonial days and the formation of the NYPD at the turn of the twentieth century, through 1930s battles with the Mafia to the Zero Tolerance of the 1990s. Jules Stewart explores political influence, corruption, reform, and community relations through stories of the NYPD’s commissioners and the visions they had for the force and the city, as well as at the level of cops on the beat. This book is an indispensable chronicle for anyone interested in policing and the history of New York.

In Book 4 of the Project Earth-mend Series, Earth is under threat by starships from a distant galaxy sent to destroy humanity before its pollution can spread to other planets. Mick of the Min-Min is in fact Commander of the Abell 2218 strike force. Vanquished by the Kangaroo at the end of Tiger Tames the Min Min, Mick and his robots retreat to the outer reaches of the solar system to plan a new all-out assault on Earth. Tiger the Cat, Wanda the Blue Tongue, Number 12 the racing camel and Syd the dizzy crow team up with Prince, Eudora and Tark, extraterrestrials in disguise, and other species – as well as President Obama and Madonna to head off the confrontation over the skies of New York City (the Big Apple). On their way to New York, they sign up other species to Project Earth-mend like polar bears, timber wolves, beavers, bats, and even the national emblem of the USA, the Bald Eagle. Before the battle, the Team makes their case at United Nations for unity among all living beings, but will it be too late to defend the planet? Will we pay the ultimate price for ignoring Climate Change?

Before Emily in Paris, there was Kim in NYC. Swap out Crazy Rich Asians for Crazy Broke Asians, lured by the city that never sleeps in search of their American dreams. Kim was ready to take a bite off the Big Apple, but the Big Apple decided to take a bite off her. This memoir showcases a SoHo-living, straight girl in an LG, sans the BTQA+ world. Kim's NYC adventure started in 2001, and she faced serious challenges. Everything from being a diamond runner to being laid off from her advertising job due to discrimination. She battled racism, gender bias, and xenophobia before 'Woke Culture' even had a name. She shares her colorful life, from her rooftop parties that attracted more than just party-goers to surprising romantic encounters and shocking revelations in the midst of a feminist sexual revolution. She gives the scoop on her brushes with the drug scene, the porn industry, and even her bond with a homeless man. Plus, she's got some juicy stories about dating a mysterious actor, surviving NYC's biggest blackout, and celebrity run-ins. This book is a shout-out to those who braved the Big Apple, fell through the cracks, but kept going. To her, it's not about success, it's about courage. This is a tale about finding your place in a new world, finding comfort amidst chaos, finding love, and getting stronger through setbacks and failures. Tidbits and photos at: FB: Big Apple Took a Bite Off Me IG: #Bigappletookabiteoffme

Melissa leaves London and her agency, The Little Lady Agency, to join her American boyfriend, Jonathan Riley, for an extended vacation in Manhattan.

This is a heartfelt story of childhood innocence and naivety, a story that began out of boredom one very wet and rainy afternoon in Tokyo, Japan. While on a concert tour of Japan with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1982, cellist, artist, and author Peter David Snyder happened to walk by a local stationary store on a very wet morning and noticed a uniquely packaged set of drawing pens. Wanting something to draw with besides a pencil, he went inside the store and purchased them. Since the continual rainy weather showed no signs of letting up, the pen set would enable him to enjoy the free time in a relaxed and creative manner. As he began to sketch some arbitrary flowers hed seen outside the hotel in the gardens, some ideas began to take shape on his sketchpad. Gradually as he continued drawing, he realized that their look and color could develop into something very special. The idea of a comic strip featuring two talking flowers came to mind. The thought of two flowers talking to one another about the mundane daily activities that usually occurred in an average garden was interesting and intriguing. Worms, snails, all crawling around them, or the ever-pervasive and creeping morning glory vines would provide constant banter for them in the beginning.