Turning Cartwheels

Emma is desperate to join Carly's Cartwheel Club. But is being in Carly's club as much fun as Emma thinks it will be? A clever exploration of the social bullying conducted by 'frenemies' that is so often experienced by primary school-aged girls.

From the bestselling author of the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club comes a series for a new generation! Over and OverKaren thinks gymnastics is gigundo fun. She can walk on the balance beam, and do a perfect forward roll. But most of all Karen wants to be on a special gymnastics team. Only the best kids in her class will be picked. There is just one problem. She cannot turn a cartwheel. What will Karen do?

This book is designed to engage students' interest and promote their writing abilities while teaching them to think critically and creatively. Dowden takes an activist stance on critical thinking, asking students to create and revise arguments rather than simply recognizing and criticizing them. His book emphasizes inductive reasoning and the analysis of individual claims in the beginning, leaving deductive arguments for consideration later in the course.

Rarely does a very compliant child evolve into the kind of teen-age rebel that Susan was. This is her story of a humble beginning, a wrong turn that led to rock-bottom failure, and GODs restorative power.

In this colorful, eye-opening memoir, Jayanti Tamm offers an unforgettable glimpse into the hidden world of growing up “cult” in mainstream America. Through Jayanti’s fascinating story–the first book to chronicle Sri Chinmoy–she unmasks a leader who convinces thousands of disciples to follow him, scores of nations to dedicate monuments to him, and throngs of celebrities (Sting, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela) to extol him. When the short, bald man in flowing robes prophesizes Jayanti to be the “Chosen One,” her life is forever entwined with the charismatic guru Sri Chinmoy, who declares himself a living god. A god who performs sit-ups and push-ups in front of thousands as holy ritual, protects himself with a platoon of bodyguards, and bans books, TV, and sex. Jayanti’s unusual and increasingly bizarre childhood is spent shuttling between the ashram in Queens, New York, and her family’s outpost as “Connecticut missionaries.” On the path to enlightenment decreed by Guru, Jayanti scrubs animal cages in his illegal basement zoo, cheerleads as he weight lifts an elephant in her front yard, and trails him around the world as he pursues celebrities such as Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. But, when her need for enlightenment is derailed by her need for boys, Jayanti risks losing everything that she has ever known, including the person that she was ordained to be. With tenderness, insight, and humor, Jayanti explores the triumphs and trauma of an insider who longs to be an outsider, her hard-won decision to finally break free, and the unique challenges she confronts as she builds a new life.

Lillian Williams and her twin brother, Anthony, have been through thick and thin together, especially lately since Anthony has been the victim of bullying in their high school. But on the day she is prepared to surprise Anthony with an awesome eighteenth birthday present, Lily is the one who ends up receiving the biggest shock of her life when she opens the boys’ bathroom door and finds her brother’s body on the floor--mercilessly murdered by the jocks of her school. Driven by rage that her brother’s death has been labeled a suicide not murder, Lily runs away during winter break to determine how to seek revenge and justice. As days turn into weeks, she meets a charming guy who helps her transform from a shy Goody Two-shoes to a strong woman prepared to place the jocks’ heads on a silver platter. But when she finally returns to school, someone from her past resurfaces with an evil plan that prompts crazy thoughts to fill her head. As she attempts to muddle through her fight--with help from her friends--only time will tell if Lily will win or if her thoughts will take control of her actions. I’m Back and with Revenge is the powerful tale of a teenager’s vengeful journey after her twin brother is murdered by bullies.

Embodied wisdom tells us that we have a great capacity to change brain function through proper movement. But powerful culture pressures dictate the way we move and underlies some of our personal failures, our aches and pains, and our feelings of apathy when it comes to changing our lives"--Page 3 of cover.