World-renowned dark fantasy artist Brom combines dramatic storytelling with his uniquely arresting images to create a work of striking imagination, a world where fairy-tale tradition collides with vileness and depravity, love and heroism, suffering and sacrifice.Harry N. Abrams Inc.

Discarded as a child's toy, Jack finds himself forgotten underneath the bed, but when the Plucker, a malevolent spirit, is set loose upon the world, Jack must defend Thomas, the very child who abandoned him.

This book tells small-farm and backyard poultry producers how to easily build an inexpensive professional-style "Whizbang" tub plucker. The Whizbang plucker will strip feathers (pinfeathers too) off scalded chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese with the simple flip of a switch. It takes about 15 seconds to completely pluck the birds. The reader need not be a welder, engineer or machinest to build a Whizbang plucker--basic carpentry skills are all that's needed. A Resources chapter at the end of the book tells the reader where to find needed parts.

"A clever whodunit featuring believable animal characters in a convincing, recognizable society. A few full-color illustrations from Muravski add to the appeal. Mystery fans (around the world) should rejoice." — Kirkus In the finale of the four-book Beastly Crimes series, Chief Badger faces his most bizarre case yet, in which someone is plucking and burning the feathers of birds in the Far Woods. To make things even worse, the top suspect is his former assistant, young Badgercat. Chief Badger knows that Badgercat can't possibly be the Plucker, so who plucked Lady Cuckoo and attacked the owl twins, Chuck and Huck? Was it Warbler the barber, who's obsessed with hair, fur, and feathers? Or the sly, treacherous Arctic Fox? Was it the compulsive thief, Sneaky Sal the salamander? Or someone else? Newly translated from the original Russian, this delightfully offbeat mystery is graced by a wealth of full-color illustrations and is certain to thrill all young sleuths. Look for the previous novels in the Beastly Crimes series — In the Wolf's Lair,A Predator's Rights, and The Claws of Rage.

“Funny, charming, and utterly captivating! I devoured this sparkling read.” - New York Times bestselling author Annika Martin

The man I hate might be the first one to pluck my petals…

Confession: I, Dandelion “Dani” Wright, am twenty-six years old and have yet to be deflowered. No man has hosed my hyacinth. Fondled my freesia. Diddled my daffodil.

You get the point.

My excuse? I was too busy running my family’s flower shop and winning floral design competitions.

Suddenly that whole pesky virginity thing becomes a big deal when Jacob West walks back into my life. The boy I once loved. The same boy who humiliated me when he stood me up for prom.

This Jacob is no boy, though: he’s all man now—confident, charming, and so sexy my metaphorical blossoms are getting scorched. I can almost forget I’m supposed to hate him forever. Almost.

To make things worse, he’s my main competition now, since he took over his parents’ flower shop. If I give into this sizzling attraction between us, it could jeopardize everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve.

But if I’m not careful, he might not just be the first man to pluck my petals—he might also be the only man to capture my heart.

2017 Texas Association for Gifted and Talented Legacy Scholar Book Award 2017 National Association of Gifted Children Scholar Book of the Year Award In Excellence Gaps in Education, Jonathan A. Plucker and Scott J. Peters shine a spotlight on “excellence gaps”—the achievement gaps among subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement. Much of the focus of recent education reform has been on closing gaps in achievement between students from different racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds by bringing all students up to minimum levels of proficiency. Yet issues related to excellence gaps have been largely absent from discussions about how to improve our schools and communities. Plucker and Peters argue that these significant gaps reflect the existence of a persistent talent underclass in the United States among African American, Hispanic, Native American, and poor students, resulting in an incalculable loss of potential among our fastest growing populations. Drawing on the latest research and a wide range of national and international data, the authors outline the scope of the problem and make the case that excellence gaps should be targeted for elimination. They identify promising interventions for talent development already underway in schools and provide a detailed review of potential strategies, including universal screening, flexible grouping, targeted programs, and psychosocial interventions. Excellence Gaps in Education has the potential for changing our national conversation about equity and excellence and bringing fresh attention to the needs of high-potential students from underrepresented backgrounds.

"Creativity and innovation are frequently mentioned as key skills for career and life success in today's world. This award-winning book brings together some of the world's best thinkers and researchers to offer insights on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The new edition features fully updated chapters, including expanded coverage of exciting topics such as group creativity, ethics, development, Makerspaces, and lessons from other fields. Educational applications are emphasized throughout. Creativity is often the spice of life, that little extra something that makes the mundane into the interesting, making our routines into fresh new approaches to our daily lives. With this book's comprehensive and readable approach, you'll be able to understand what creativity truly is (and isn't), how to foster it, and how it relates to intelligence, leadership, personality, and other concepts"--