Zippy The Dreamer

Virginia wrote Zippy the Dreamer thinking about an old estate near her childhood home in north western Pennsylvania.It was abandon in disreputable neglect and disrepair.A perfect setting For The story.Since writing the book she is happy to report that the old estate has been majestically restored.A part of history has been reclaimed.Virginia loves children and is well aware of the magic of books, and how children when they learn to read or are read to will learn to appreciate reading.She believes children as a general rule love fantasy and make believe.Virginia resides in Middleburg Florida with her daughter and son in law during the late fall and winter.During the spring and summer she resides in their summer home located in the small village of West Monterey, situated on the banks of the Allegheny river nestled in the foot hills of the picturesque Allegheny mountains.Virginia has one son, three daughters, and ten grand children, nine great grand children and three great great grand children. She also has four step grand children and nine step great grand children.In 1983 her husband passed away after a long hard batlle with multiple sclerosis. In 1985 she decided to go back to school.She went to Florida State College of Jacksonville.Graduated 1987 with a associate degree in interior design.Worked in that fi eld until she decide to retire.This is Virginia's fi rst children's book, but who knows maybe in the near future Virginia will decide to send Zippy on another adventure.

Virginia wrote Zippy the Dreamer thinking about an old estate near her childhood home in north western Pennsylvania.It was abandon in disreputable neglect and disrepair.A perfect setting for the story.Since writing the book she is happy to report that the old estate has been majestically restored.A part of history has been reclaimed.Virginia loves children and is well aware of the magic of books,and how children when they learn to read or are read to will learn to appreciate reading.She believes children as a general rule love fantasy and make believe.Virginia resides in Middleburg Florida with her daughter and son in law during the late fall and winter.During the spring and summer she resides in their summer home located in the small village of West Monterey,situated on the banks of the Allegheny river nestled in the foot hills of the picturesque Allegheny mountains.Virginia has one son,three daughters,and ten grand children,nine great grand children and three great great grand children. She also has four step grand children and nine step great grand children.In 1983 her husband passed away after a long hard batlle with multiple sclerosis. In 1985 she decided to go back to school.She went to Florida State College of Jacksonville.Graduated 1987 with a associate degree in interior design.Worked in that fi eld until she decide to retire.This is Virginias fi rst childrens book,but who knows maybe in the near future Virginia will decide to send Zippy on another adventure.

From acclaimed humorist William Thomas comes the funny yet poignant story of a thoroughbred racehorse that lost 100 races in a row -- but, in everyone's eyes, became the ultimate winner. On April 20, 1991, at Capritaur Farms in Upstate New York, Zippy Chippy strolled into the world. He was born from American horse racing royalty -- Compliance (his father was Kentucky Derby-winner Northern Dancer; his great-grandfather Native Dancer, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner) and Listen Lady (great-granddaughter of Native Dancer). Even before his birth, the hopes (not to mention the bill for his planned production) for Zippy Chippy were high. His pedigree was horse racing gold: Northern Dancer, Man o' War, Count Fleet, Bold Ruler, War Admiral, and Buckpasser were all ancestors. His success and glory seemed inevitable. But moments after his birth, Zippy Chippy struggled to his feet, took two steps forward . . . and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around, took in his surroundings, maybe indulged in a little daydream, then promptly lay down for a nap in the straw. And thus began Zippy Chippy's storied racing career. Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, famously said, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." These words have become the battle cry of athletes, coaches, and teams everywhere, but over the years, sports have taken on a literal interpretation of Lombardi's mantra. Match-fixing, doping, sabotage, cocky and mean sportsmanship, all in the name of winning, have infiltrated and scandalized games, teams, reputations, and newspaper headlines. Yet, since his first moments in the world, Zippy Chippy ignored Lombardi and turned his nose at the concept of winning-at-all-costs. In fact, he decided to not win at all, losing, over the course of his career, 100 consecutive races, at some of the greatest tracks in the country: Belmont Park, Aqueduct, Finger Lakes, and Suffolk Downs among them. And he did so with his owner, Felix Monserrate, by his side -- a man who refused to sell Zippy, or even retire him, simply because he couldn't come in first. Soon, Zippy's cheering squad grew to include people who, enchanted by his story, would travel from all over North America to watch him lose but then happily gallop back to his stable. To them, Zippy Chippy was just like them; someone who wasn't an athlete with a million-dollar contract, or someone with movie star looks -- he was a creature who struggled, who lost, and who failed even the lowest of expectations. But, somehow, he found a way to enjoy himself and eagerly return for the next race. Told with laugh-out-loud wit and a lot of heart, The Legend of Zippy Chippy is the story of the losing-est racehorse in North American history -- a perpetual loser who would become the winning thoroughbred in professional horse racing to steal peoples' hearts.

Uses more than seven hundred illustrations, biographical profiles, and descriptions of genres and themes to survey the variety of American comics and their creators since 1945.

This provocative, rollicking story is the much-anticipated new novel–the first in over a decade–from acclaimed author Bobbie Ann Mason. In An Atomic Romance we meet Reed Futrell, a sexy, thoughtful hero who grapples with radioactive contamination, a midlife crisis, and string theory–all while falling in love. Reed is an engineer at a uranium-enrichment plant near a riverside city in heartland America. He has deep roots in this community: He was raised there; his father worked at the very same plant before him. And it was here that Reed met, married, and then divorced his wife. Reed spends countless nights camping at a local wildlife preserve, gazing at the stars, fishing and hunting–that is, until deformed frogs are discovered at the site. Though his father was killed in a tragic accident at the atomic plant years ago, Reed stays on, proud to perform demanding and dangerous work for the benefit of the nation. As for the radioactive “incidents” he has endured, Reed prefers to think about other things–Hubble photographs of distant galaxies, Albert Einstein, his dog. Reed’s casual attitude toward danger infuriates his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Julia, as much as his quirky mind and muscular body intrigue her. Julia, a biologist, is truly Reed’s match–or maybe more than his match. They both are witty, curious, and fascinated by science. Indeed, their courtship began with banter about Stephen Hawking’s theories of space-time, and ever since it has been an up-and-down adventure of sexual attraction, intellectual game-playing, and long silences when Julia refuses to return Reed’s calls. When news reports reveal evidence of radioactive pollution in the land surrounding the plant, Reed and Julia’s relationship faces an unprecedented challenge. In An Atomic Romance, Bobbie Ann Mason delivers a brilliant novel set against a backdrop of atomic power: a love story between a motorcycle-riding loner and an independent, strong-minded biologist; between the peaceful present in a typical American community and the nation’s violent nuclear past; and, finally, between a good man and the work he takes pride in, though it may be putting his life in danger.

Snuggle up together and enjoy this collection of charming and engaging stories written by Gabby Dawnay and selected especially for four-year-olds by literacy experts. Meet a host of colorful characters and join them on their adventures in this fantastic collection of stories, tailored to suit four-year-old readers. From the garden hijinks in the Slug Olympics, to the delicious story of The Yummiest Cake in the Whole Wide World, to the touching rhyming story The Boy and His Teddy Bear, these stories, some original, some adapted from fairytales around the world, will enchant and enthral in equal measure. This beautiful book contains original, inclusive and fun stories about animals, dragons, pirates, nature, vehicles, music and much more, so there will be something for every young reader in this rich collection. The stories in A Treasury of Tales for Four-Year-Olds are arranged in order of complexity so that the child listening or reading will increase their confidence as they make their way through the book. Most children may not be able to read independently by the age of four, but they can start to prepare for this by building a foundation of literacy skills. For example, many can recognise letters, understand that print carries a message and know that sentences are read from left to right. Some may even be attempting to read. The luxurious package with sparkling foil and ribbon marker will make this a must-have gift for the birthday of any four-year-old and Heidi Griffiths' charming and engaging illustrations will mean that the child will cherish this book even as they grow older.

Contains more than one million alphabetically-arranged synonyms grouped in related clusters.