Arnold Hap Fox tells the story of his adventures with Henry Hawk when they run away from the sixth grade in Cleotis, Indiana, trying to join their fathers in Biloxi on the Gulf. Inspired by Huckleberry Finn, they patch up a derelict canoe to float down the Wabash to the Ohio and then to the Mississippi. Cap'n Veech warns them, These days Huck's trip couldn't happen. There'd be Amber Alerts and squads of social workers on his tail to bring him back home and put him in counseling. Wouldn't get much past Paducah. Hap and Henry with Hap's dog Shep nearly drown, wash up in Kentucky, and begin hiking. Henry is a talented liar. Hap is more innocent and imagines the dangers ahead. They are arrested for vagrancy, thrown in jail, and wind up in protective custody on a farm where Augusta and Arbutus Gorch are experienced foster parents. Ignoring warnings about bears and snakes, Henry insists they run away to head south. After three nights in Bobcat Woods, Hap decides he isn't cut out to be an explorer. He is happy to hole up at Eve's Orchard, a floundering commune, that keeps afloat selling goat cheese and marijuana. From his reading about motherless boys, Hap worries that he will receive his comeuppance for his rebellion, but he cannot imagine what that comeuppance will be. Along the way he learns that he is more comfortable at home in his bed instead of playing Daniel Boone. He also finds out that even when adults are confused, there is more than one kind of family that cares about its children.

From her home in New Mexico, Baba continues to navigate the unpredictable currents of old age with her usual ironic sense of humor. She is renting an apartment in a Victorian house where the heating and plumbing challenge her and her landlord.. Her three daughters and her grandchildren live in Oregon, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, so she must tackle airline regulations if she visits. Damp and cold weather set off arthritis in her knees and spine, but she seldom babies herself to get where she is going. When she is not playing bridge or doing crossword puzzles, she contemplates decorated sweatshirts, her pleasures and displeasures gambling in Las Vegas, the laws of physics pertaining to clogged drains, plastic and pills to enhance sexual prowess, meerkats, cell phones, the ignorance of American tourists in the beautiful Alaskan wilderness, zombies and aliens, and teenage ego-centricity. She avoids the health police whenever she can but still manages to give up smoking.

James Paul Gee begins his classic book with "I want to talk about video games--yes, even violent video games--and say some positive things about them." With this simple but explosive statement, one of America's most well-respected educators looks seriously at the good that can come from playing video games. In this revised edition of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, new games like World of WarCraft and Half Life 2 are evaluated and theories of cognitive development are expanded. Gee looks at major cognitive activities including how individuals develop a sense of identity, how we grasp meaning, how we evaluate and follow a command, pick a role model, and perceive the world.

Discover how the ancient Egyptians controlled their immortal destiny! This book, edited by Foy Scalf, explores what the Book of the Dead was believed to do, how it worked, how it was made, and what happened to it.

Provocative, challenging, and fun, The Ideal Problem Solver offers a sound, methodical approach for resolving problems based on the IDEAL (Identify, Define, Explore, Act, Look) model. The authors suggest new strategies for enhancing creativity, improving memory, criticizing ideas and generating alternatives, and communicating more effectively with a wider range of people. Using the results of laboratory research previously available only in a piece-meal fashion or in scientific journals, Bransford and Stein discuss such issues as Teaming new information, overcoming blocks to creativity, and viewing problems from a variety of perspectives.