An enlightening insight into how creative and innovative leaders and their teams can find success, even in the most difficult circumstances. One of the biggest challenges of business leadership is recognising new opportunities and implementing them effectively. Too often, leaders fall back upon the status quo, relying upon tried and tested methods that may lead to good results but will never have the same impact as a bold new strategy. In Bright Sparks, John Tusa explores situations where pioneering leaders in various sectors have overcome challenges to deliver inspired, imaginative and bold initiatives that make a huge impact upon business and society. Through these aspirational stories of leadership, from sectors such as journalism, tech, politics and the arts, John explores the full journey of innovation and how it can lead to significant results. This is an inspirational read for any business leader interested in how to turn their boldest ideas into reality and how, in the process, professional cultures can be enhanced, revitalised and transformed.

From the author of the bestselling Buster Brain Games series for Clever Kids, this brain workout will keep bright sparks entertained for hours. The brain teasing tasks are timed and there are four difficulty levels so kids can either work their way to the top or give themselves the ultimate challenge. Let the brain training begin!

An introduction to fifty extraordinary discoveries, inventions and designs by inspirational women. From windscreen wipers to the life raft; coffee filters to emergency flares; Apollo Mission software to Monopoly: women have discovered, invented and designed some of the most important things we all take for granted, but many of their names are unknown. Meet incredible inventors from around the world, and learn how inventions happen. This beautifully illustrated book is a guide to remarkable, practical, skillful and amazing inventions by women who have made their mark on history. With a step-by-step guide to inspire and encourage readers to come up with their own inventions, Bright Sparks is an empowering book that celebrates the minds of women that resulted in some of the most striking discoveries, inventions and designs in history.

A New York Times Notable Book and the March 2001 selection of Oprah's Book Club® ! Icy Sparks is the sad, funny and transcendent tale of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the 1950’s. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s beautifully written first novel revolves around Icy Sparks, an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or Will Treed in Cold Sassy Tree. At the age of ten, Icy, a bright, curious child orphaned as a baby but raised by adoring grandparents, begins to have strange experiences. Try as she might, her "secrets"—verbal croaks, groans, and physical spasms—keep afflicting her. As an adult, she will find out she has Tourette’s Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, but for years her behavior is the source of mystery, confusion, and deep humiliation. Narrated by a grown up Icy, the book chronicles a difficult, but ultimately hilarious and heartwarming journey, from her first spasms to her self-acceptance as a young woman. Curious about life beyond the hills, talented, and energetic, Icy learns to cut through all barriers—physical, mental, and spiritual—in order to find community and acceptance. Along her journey, Icy faces the jeers of her classmates as well as the malevolence of her often-ignorant teachers—including Mrs. Stilton, one of the most evil fourth grade teachers ever created by a writer. Called willful by her teachers and "Frog Child" by her schoolmates, she is exiled from the schoolroom and sent to a children’s asylum where it is hoped that the roots of her mysterious behavior can be discovered. Here Icy learns about difference—her own and those who are even more scarred than she. Yet, it isn’t until Icy returns home that she really begins to flower, especially through her friendship with the eccentric and obese Miss Emily, who knows first-hand how it feels to be an outcast in this tightly knit Appalachian community. Under Miss Emily’s tutelage, Icy learns about life’s struggles and rewards, survives her first comical and heartbreaking misadventure with romance, discovers the healing power of her voice when she sings, and ultimately—takes her first steps back into the world. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s Icy Sparks is a fresh, original, and completely redeeming novel about learning to overcome others’ ignorance and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique.

Illustrations and text present information about various types of aircraft: hot-air balloons, airships, gliders, helicopters, cargo planes, and airliners.