In this intriguing tale (not for children), storyteller extraordinaire Ursula K. Le Guin explores the magic of animals. Her animal characters -- from the irreverent trickster Coyote to the wise matriarch Grandmother Spider -- seem like people to us, just as they do to the little girl who finds herself living among them. We learn, with the girl, that these "Old People" once lived freely on the earth but now must maintain their lifeways carefully alongside the "New People" -- humans. Susan Seddon Boulet chose this tale to illustrate, completing twenty works for its publication. They are extremely effective in bringing Le Guin's characters to life, imbuing them, of course, with Boulet's singular vision of the otherworldly realms occupied by animal spirits. This book is a must for any serious collector of Boulet art.

Tony Fredericks presents a collection of best loved stories in the popular readers theatre format to integrate with the United States history and language arts curriculum in the upper elementary and middle school grades. This collection of over 20 well-known and not-so-well-known tales will be invaluable to teachers in American schools as they do their usual units of study in American history and literature. Plays focus on entertaining folklore, tall tales, and legends to aid teachers in building fluency skills in their young readers. Included are tips for introducing and using Readers Theatre with students in grades 4-8.

The ancient tales of long-dead civilizations to the wild success of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, fantasy has fired our imaginations for as long as there has been story. Whether sweeping sagas of fantastic adventures or cautionary tales told around the campfire, fantasy is deeply woven into the very fabric of humanity, wearing many faces and coming in many flavors. But what fantasy is distinctly American? The American Fantasy Tradition sets out to answer this very question. This comprehensive critical anthology of American fantasy literature applies the groundbreaking theorems of such esteemed American literary critics as Leslie Fiedler, Richard Chase, and Irving Howe to the genre of fantasy in an effort to delineate the true American tradition of fantasy from the more prominent Anglo-European canon, breaking it down into three distinctive strains: The American Tale: Folk, Tall, and Weird Stories that might be considered fables or legends, much like the epics of the Age of Heroes from the classical eras of Rome and Greece, or the tales of the fairy folk from the European tradition, or the fables of Aesop. Fantastic Americana Stories set directly within the American historic landscape, much as the Arthurian tradition is set within the confines of British history. Lands of Enchantment in Everyday Life Stories that involve what might be called the American spirit, focusing on worlds that exist in the shadows of our own, just beyond Rod Serling’s famous signpost for The Twilight Zone.

As students regularly read and perform these age-appropriate texts, they improve decoding, interpretation, fluency, and comprehension.

Every novella by Ursula K. Le Guin, an icon in American literature, collected for the first time in one breathtaking volume. Ursula K. Le Guin has won multiple prizes and accolades from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honor, the Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud Awards. She has had her work collected over the years, but never as a complete retrospective of her longer works as represented in the wonderful The Found and the Lost. Includes: -Vaster Than Empires and More Slow -Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight -Hernes -The Matter of Seggri -Another Story or a Fisherman of the Inland Sea -Forgiveness Day -A Man of the People -A Woman's Liberation -Old Music and the Slave Women -The Finder -On the High Marsh -Dragonfly -Paradises Lost This collection is a literary treasure chest that belongs in every home library.

What if George Bailey wasn’t saved by his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody, on that snowy Christmas Eve in Bedford Falls? This reimagining of the beloved Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful Life (and the Phillip Van Doren Stern story that inspired it) tells the story of Bedford Falls and its inhabitants after the death of their drama’s central character. The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody restores the dark undercurrent of the Van Doren Stern’s short story “The Greatest Gift” to the uplifting plot of Capra’s film, and explores how the familiar characters in it might respond to the dire circumstances created by George Bailey’s disappearance from their lives. The paths of an introspective cab driver, a ruthless henchman, and a wayward daughter collide nearly twenty years later in the town that defined their reputations for better or for worse.

Fluency has two basic components. Reading fluency is the ability to read quickly and accurately while using expression and proper phrasing. Speaking fluency is the ability to express oneself easily and gracefully. Book jacket.