The Cheshire Teens Story

The sports world coaches us to "practice the basics" over and over until we eventually achieve excellence and ultimate success. Al Baines understood the basics of effective ministry and applied these to a fledgling youth group in a small, rural church of two hundred adults. Within two years of implementing these basic principles, the church's youth program grew to over half the size of its adult congregation. This book will examine these principles and show the results that were obtained. They can bring genuine spiritual impact to any church leadership team looking to answer the question, "How can we build an effective youth program in our church?" The time frame has changed, but the principles remain trustworthy. Ed Kenerson attended Gordon College (B.A. Psychology) and Gordon Conwell Seminary (Masters of Religious Education) and has over 10 years experience in Christian Education and Youth Ministry. At present, he manages his own training and communications business called Steps To Success, delivering multi-media presentations to businesses in areas of career management, customer service, and time management. In addition, he reaches out to teenagers in high schools through Career Coach, USA, a strategic ministry designed to teach young people the principles of both personal and professional success. Ed is married to Kathy with two children and eight grandchildren.

In a one-of-a-kind graphic novel collaboration between the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and the beloved illustrator behind Sarah’s Scribbles, Alice, Wendy, and Dorothy team up to save the multiverse, from Wonderland to Neverland and Oz. Originating as fan fiction from the brilliant imagination of Andy Weir, now brought to vivid life by Sarah Andersen, Cheshire Crossing is a funny, breakneck, boundlessly inventive journey through classic worlds as you’ve never seen them before. Years after their respective returns from Wonderland, Neverland, and Oz, the trio meet here, at Cheshire Crossing—a boarding school where girls like them learn how to cope with their supernatural experiences and harness their magical world-crossing powers. But Alice, Wendy, and Dorothy—now teenagers, who’ve had their fill of meddling authority figures—aren’t content to sit still in a classroom. Soon they’re dashing from one universe to the next, leaving havoc in their wake—and, inadvertently, bringing the Wicked Witch and Hook together in a deadly supervillain love match. To stop them, the girls will have to draw on all of their powers . . . and marshal a team of unlikely allies from across the magical multiverse. Advance praise for Cheshire Crossing “Deliciously funny . . . a shrewd and spirited adaptation that will leave audiences hoping for another installment . . . Andersen’s delightful cartoon drawing style meshes perfectly with Weir’s prose, allowing the work to broaden its appeal beyond middle graders to young adults and adults.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Girls' school stories are still dismissed by adult critics as less significant than boys' school stories, despite recent academic recognition of the importance of children's literature generally. This encyclopaedia helps to redress the balance with over 400 entries on girls' school story writers. There is an entry for every British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand author known to the editorial team who had published at least one full-length story between 1876 and 1999. In the introduction, Sue Sims provides an overview of the development of the girls' school story and the influence on the genre of key authors, works and publishers. Rosemary Auchmuty's analysis of the critical response which these works have received highlights the different reactions of those who work in the book world, feminist critics and fans of the stories. A huge amount of original research is evident in the detailed entries by Sue Sims, Hilary Clare and a number of invited contributors, all experts in their field. Readers will agree that this encyclopaedia demonstrates that as a body of work, girls' school stories have played an enormous part in women's history and the evolution of children's literature in general.

Kel will not allow this first test to be her last. Her adventure begins in the New York Times bestselling series from the fantasy author who is a legend herself: TAMORA PIERCE. Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl who dares to take advantage of a new rule in Tortall—one that allows females to train for knighthood. After years in the Yamani Islands, she knows that women can be warriors, and now that she’s returned home, Kel is determined to achieve her goal. She believes she is ready for the traditional hazing and grueling schedule of a page. But standing in Kel’s way is Lord Wyldon. The training master is dead set against girls becoming knights. He says she must pass a one-year trial that no male page has ever had to endure. It’s just one more way to separate Kel from her fellow trainees. But she is not to be underestimated. She will fight to succeed, even when the test is unfair. More timely than ever, the Protector of the Small series is Anti-Bullying 101 while also touching on issues of bravery, friendship, and dealing humanely with refugees against a backdrop of an action-packed fantasy adventure. "Tamora Pierce's books shaped me not only as a young writer but also as a young woman. She is a pillar, an icon, and an inspiration. Cracking open one of her marvelous novels always feels like coming home." —SARAH J. MAAS, #1 New York Times bestselling author "Tamora Pierce didn't just blaze a trail. Her heroines cut a swath through the fantasy world with wit, strength, and savvy. Her stories still lead the vanguard today. Pierce is the real lioness, and we're all just running to keep pace." —LEIGH BARDUGO, #1 New York Times bestselling author

When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, her normally attentive parents and neighbors are suddenly exhausted and distracted. At school, her teacher tells the class to look for the helpers—the good people working to make things better in big and small ways. She wants more than anything to help in a BIG way, but maybe she can start with one small act of kindness instead . . . and then another, and another.Small things can compound, after all, to make a world of difference. The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul touches on themes of community, resilience, and optimism with an authenticity that will resonate with readers young and old.

A Washington Post Top 50 of 2014 Fiction pick A Wall Street Journal Book of the Year, selected by Phil Klay Electric Literature 2014: Year of the Debut A Largehearted Boy Favorite Novel of 2014 Slaughterhouse 90210's Most Rapturous Book of 2014 Vol. 1 Brooklyn A Year of Favorites: Jason Diamond picks Called "powerful and unflinching" by Column McCann in The New York Times Book Review, "something of a miracle" by Ron Charles in the Washington Post, and named a must read by The Millions, Time Out, New York Magazine, and Grantland; Scott Cheshire's debut is a "great new American epic" (Philipp Meyer) about a father and son finding their way back to each other. "Deeply Imagined"—The New York Times / "Daring and Brilliant"—Ron Charles, Washington Post / "Vivid"—Elle / "One of the finest novels you will read this year."—Flavorwire It's 1980 at a crowded amphitheater in Queens, New York and a nervous Josiah Laudermilk, age 12, is about to step to the stage while thousands of believers wait to hear him, the boy preaching prodigy, pour forth. Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, Josiah's nerves shake away and his words come rushing out, his whole body fills to the brim with the certainty of a strange apocalyptic vision. But is it true prophecy or just a young believer's imagination running wild? Decades later when Josiah (now Josie) is grown and has long since left the church, he returns to Queens to care for his father who, day by day, is losing his grip on reality. Barreling through the old neighborhood, memories of the past--of his childhood friend Issy, of his first love, of the mother he has yet to properly mourn--overwhelm him at every turn. When he arrives at his family's old house, he's completely unprepared for what he finds. How far back must one man journey to heal a broken bond between father and son? In rhapsodic language steeped in the oral tradition of American evangelism, Scott Cheshire brings us under his spell. Remarkable in scale--moving from 1980 Queens, to sunny present-day California, to a tent revival in nineteenth century rural Kentucky--and shot-through with the power and danger of belief and the love that binds generations, High as the Horses' Bridles is a bold, heartbreaking debut from a big new American voice.