'Why did the guy eat two dead skunks for breakfast?' 'Because dead ones squeal when you stick the fork in.' Gary W. Boone knows he was born to be a stand-up comedian. It is the rest of the kids in the class who think he is a fool. Then the Floyd Hicks Junior High School Talent Show is announced, and he starts practising his routine non-stop to get it just right. Gary's sure that this will be his big break — he'll make everyone laugh and will win the $100 prize money. But when an outrageous surprise threatens to turn his debut into a disaster, it looks as if the biggest joke of all may be on Gary himself.

It is 1939. Eva Delectorskaya is a beautiful 28-year-old Russian emigree living in Paris. As war breaks out, she is recruited for the British Secret Service by Lucas Romer, a mysterious Englishman, and under his tutelage she learns to become the perfect spy, to mask her emotions and trust no one, including those she loves most. Since the war, Eva has carefully rebuilt her life as a typically English wife and mother. But once a spy, always a spy. Now she must complete one final assignment, and this time Eva can't do it alone: she needs her daughter's help.

Give me a dollar or I'll spit on you. That's Bradley Chalker for you. He is the oldest child in the class. He tells enormous lies. He picks fights with girls, and the teachers say he has serious behaviour problems. No one likes him — except Carla, the new school counsellor. She thinks Bradley is sensitive and generous, and she even enjoys his far-fetched stories. Carla knows that Bradley could change, if only he weren't afraid to try. Sometimes the hardest thing in the world is believing in yourself.

Angeline is brilliant! She knows way more than a child of her age ought to. When she is put up a class at school she finds that her intelligence doesn't equip her entirely for dealing with the pressures of being with the older group. Soon she is finding refuge with a teacher and her tropical fish and another unlikely student. With Louis Sachar's hallmark twist-and-turns of plot and lovely humour, this delightful novel is thought-provoking and brilliant.

Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. 'It is time'', he said, 'for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything.' Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is desperate to get back to school and find out why his friends Ron and Hermione have been so secretive all summer. However, what Harry is about to discover in his new year at Hogwarts will turn his whole world upside down...But before he even gets to school, Harry has an unexpected and frightening encounter with two Dementors, has to face a court hearing at the Ministry of Magic and has been escorted on a night-time broomstick ride to the secret headquarters of a mysterious group called 'The Order of the Phoenix'. And that is just the start. This is a gripping and electrifying novel, full of suspense, secrets, and — of course — magic.

WHAT'S LURKING IN THE BASEMENT? Araminta thinks something horrible might be hiding in the deep, secret passages of Spook House. She suspects it might be a werewolf. To make matters worse, Uncle Drac's creepy nephew has arrived and is now Wanda's New Best Friend. Araminta finds him (and the situation) very annoying. She has to come up with a cunning plan to reveal what she believes to be true — that there is more to Max than meets the eye — and also figure out what to do about that werewolf. But even the best laid plans don't always work out quite as you'd hoped...

Akimbo loves his life in Africa. He loves living in the great game reserve where his father is ranger. He is able to see all sorts of wonderful animals. But he doesn't see many snakes — they usually slither away when he gets close. But then his Uncle Peter asks if Akimbo would like to visit his snake park and Akimbo jumps at the chance!

It's 3 a.m. and Elizabeth Gilbert is sobbing on the bathroom floor. She's in her thirties, she has a husband, a house, they're trying for a baby — and she doesn't want any of it. A bitter divorce and a turbulent love affair later, she emerges battered and bewildered and realises it is time to pursue her own journey in search of three things she has been missing: pleasure, devotion and balance. So she travels to Rome, where she learns Italian from handsome, brown-eyed identical twins and gains twenty-five pounds, an ashram in India, where she finds that enlightenment entails getting up in the middle of the night to scrub the temple floor, and Bali where a toothless medicine man of indeterminate age offers her a new path to peace: simply sit still and smile. And slowly happiness begins to creep up on her.

This is vintage Vonnegut — hilariously funny and razor-sharp as he fixes his gaze on art, politics, himself and the condition of the soul of America today. Written over the last five years in the form of a loose memoir, A Man without a Country is an intimate and tender communication to us all, sometimes despairing, always searching and ultimately wise and compassionate.

Ten years on from Brightness Falls, Russell Calloway is still a literary editor although in a diminished capacity; his wife, Corrine, has sacrificed her career to watch anxiously over their children. Across town Luke McGavock, a wealthy ex-investment banker, is taking a sabbatical from making money, struggling to reconnect with his socially resplendent wife, Sasha, and their angst-ridden teenage daughter, Ashley. These two Manhattan families are teetering on the brink of change when 9/11 happens. The Good Life explores through the lens of catastrophe that territory between hope and despair, love and loss, regret and fulfilment. But, ultimately, this is Jay McInerney doing what he does best, presenting us with the life of New York City in all its moral complexity.

With few exceptions, the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice as a whole demonstrates that no rule of international law can be interpreted and applied without regard to its innate values and the basic principles of human rights. Through its case-law the ICJ has made immense contributions to the development of human rights law, and in so doing continues to provide solutions to mounting international problems, such as terrorism and unilateral use of force. Part I of the book argues that the legislative spirit of contemporary international law lies in the doctrine of human rights and that the spirit of human rights doctrine lies in the principle of human dignity. Furthermore it argues that the processes of international legislation and international adjudication are inseparable, and that there is no norm of international law which does not intertwine the grund principle of human dignity with human rights doctrine. Hence human rights law is more a school of law than merely a normative branch of international law, and the ICJ's willingness to engage in the development of human rights law depends upon which judicial ideology its judges subscribe to. In order to evaluate how this human rights spirit is manifested, or occasionally not manifested, through the vast jurisprudence of the ICJ, Parts II and III critically examine the Court's principal contentious and advisory cases in which the Court has treated human rights questions. The legal reasoning of the Court and the opinions appended to its decisions by its individual judges are analysed in light of the principle of human dignity and the doctrine of human rights.

Armpit and X-Ray are living in Austin, Texas. It is three years since they left the confines of Camp Green Lake Detention Centre and Armpit is taking small steps to turn his life around. He is working for a landscape gardener because he is good at digging holes, he is going to school and he is enjoying his first proper romance, but is he going to be able to stay out of trouble when there is so much building up against him? In this exciting novel, Armpit is joined by many vibrant new characters, and is learning what it takes to stay on course, and that doing the right thing is never the wrong choice.

When a little girl can't find her teddy bear she refuses to go to bed. Accompanied by a brilliant cast of animal characters, she searches behind all the wonderful flaps in this beautiful novelty book for the very young. Children will love helping her search!

What do you buy someone for their 500th birthday? Araminta is desperately trying to think of the perfect gift for her favourite ghost, Sir Horace, but it’s hard to buy gifts for someone with no specific hobbies, and no body. Then an inspired idea leads to trouble when all does not go as planned, and Araminta wonders whether she’ll ever see Horace or her family again, let alone have time to organise the party.

Updated to include new terms and references, this workbook helps nonnative English speakers improve their knowledge and understanding of core medical terminology. Students, nurses, doctors, and other medical staff can test and build their medical English vocabulary with a combination of self-study exercises, practical speaking activities, and amusing crosswords, puzzles, and word games. Ideal for home and class-based study, these exercises ensure that language is not a barrier for medical professionals whose first language is not English.

It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursley's house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can't quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursley's of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks' time? Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of Muggle and magic start to intertwine…

101 of the most fascinating, most disgusting, most unbelievable facts — at your fingertips. Utterly addictive (but not illegal) will keep any 10+ child occupied at weekends, on holiday, in the evening... 101 marvellous facts, brilliantly explained: Why do we have nails? Why is the sky blue? Why can birds stand on electric wires and not be electrocuted? Educate your child with minimum effort, and in blissful peace and quiet. The perfect source of fascinating facts for any child who doesn't want to be Boring when they Grow Old.

It's springtime — hundreds of Crows set out on their yearly migration and converge at the Gathering Tree. This sacred Gathering is an opportunity for the six crow Clans of the Family Kinaar to assemble, to make decisions and to celebrate being together. But when young blood is lost, sacred laws are tested as an illegal Mob seeks revenge, and a schism threatens the unity of the flock. The Family's situation is made yet more precarious when a severe blizzard hits and the Crows are faced with the dilemma of where to find shelter. Breaking age-old decrees and working together may offer their only chance of survival. Here is a startling view of the world from a bird's-eye perspective, complete with its own set of beliefs, mythologies and politics. But it's a world familiar to us too — where the needs of the individual often clash with those of the group, and where the desire to be free must be tempered with the need to be safe, to survive.

«Check Your English Vocabulary for Law» is a workbook designed to help non-native English speakers improve their knowledge and understanding of core legal terminology. The workbook includes crosswords, puzzles and word games to test English vocabulary and a combination of self-study exercises and practical speaking activities meaning that this book is ideal for both home and classbased study.»

«With more than 15,000 definitions, this book provides a definitive guide to the use of slang today. It deals with drugs, sport and contemporary society, as well as favourite slang topics such as sex and bodily functions. In this convenient paperback edition of the highly acclaimed «Dictionary of Contemporary Slang», language and culture expert, Tony Thorne explores the ever-changing underworld of the English language, bringing back intriguing examples of eccentricity and irreverence from the linguistic front-line.»