The animal kingdom's greatest celebrities and weirdest wonders have been herded together inside this book. Apes and anacondas, penguins and parakeets, whales and wallabies, there's amazing photographs and fascinating facts about them all. So come on a journey from the frozen Arctic, through the boiling desert, to the bottom of the deep blue sea and discover about the wonderful creatures we share our planet with. This brightly illustrated and engaging book will give hours of pleasure as well as help with school work and projects. Find out about it all with Collins. Part of the 'My First' series of reference books for young readers.

This book tells you all you need to know to become the next great scientist! From atoms, to lightening, from android robots of the future right back to the start of life on earth, you'll learn all about the secrets of science. Be astounded... This brightly illustrated and engaging book will give hours of pleasure as well as help with school work and projects. Find out about it all with Collins. Part of the 'My First' series of reference books for young readers.

Discover about the world's fastest planes, boats and floating trains. There's everything inside: cars of the future, one man space-ships, hot air balloons, submarines and more. This brightly illustrated and engaging book will give hours of pleasure as well as help with school work and projects. Find out about it all with Collins. Part of the 'My First' series of reference books for young readers.

Part of the 'My First' series of reference books for young readers. This new book introduces children to some of the most popular myths and legends from around the world. Written in clear and easy-to-follow language for both parent and child, this book helps the reader to associate popular stories with the regions they came from. Supporting exercises and quizzes assist in reinforcing the stories that have always helped people to understand the world around them. Educational and entertaining, My First Book of Myths and Legends is full of colourful images and engaging stories.

My First Book of the Solar System introduces children to the ever-popular topic of space and the amazing worlds that make up our solar system. My First Book of the Solar System is written in clear and easy-to-follow language and packed with colourful illustrations and photographs. Young children can find out facts about the Sun, the planets, asteroids and comets. Educational and entertaining, and full of colourful photographs. Supporting facts and quizzes. Part of the 'Collins My First' series of reference books for young readers.

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are expecting a young orphan boy to help them with farmwork at Green Gables. But when a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead, immediately certain she's home, they get much more than they bargained for. Spirited, adventurous and imaginative, Anne Shirley quickly charms her way into the hearts of the Cuthberts, the entire town of Avonlea and, over 100 years later, the hearts of generations of readers.

Despite dating from the 4th century BC, The Art of Rhetoric continues to be regarded by many as the single most important work on the art of persuasion. As democracy began emerging in 5th-century Athens, public speaking and debate became an increasingly important tool to garner influence in the assemblies, councils, and law courts of ancient Greece. In response to this, both politicians and ordinary citizens became desperate to learn greater skills in this area, as well as the philosophy behind it. This treatise was one of the first to provide just that, establishing methods and observations of informal reasoning and style, and has continued to be hugely influential on public speaking and philosophy today. Aristotle, the grandfather of philosophy, student of Plato, and teacher of Alexander the Great, was one of the first people to create a comprehensive system of philosophy, encompassing logic, morality, aesthetics, politics, ethics, and science. Although written over 2,000 years ago, The Art of Rhetoric remains a comprehensive introduction for philosophy students into the subject of rhetoric, as well as a useful manual for anyone today looking to improve their oratory skills of persuasion.

'The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven' Bassiano, a noble Venetian, hopes to woo the beautiful heiress Portia. However, he requires financial assistance from his friend Antonio. Antonio agrees, but he, in turn, must borrow from the Jewish moneylender Shylock. As recourse for past ills, Shylock stipulates that the forfeit on the loan must be a pound of Antonio's flesh. In the most renowned onstage law scene of all time, Portia proves herself one of Shakespeare's most cunning heroines, disguising herself as a lawyer and vanquishing Shylock's claims; meanwhile, Shylock triumphs on a humanitarian level with his plea for tolerance: 'Hath not a Jew eyes'? Viewed paradoxically as anti-Semitic, while at the same time powerfully liberal for its time, The Merchant of Venice is at its core a bittersweet drama, exploring the noble themes of prejudice, justice and honour.

larissa Dalloway, elegant and vivacious, is preparing for a party and remembering those she once loved. In another part of London, Septimus Warren Smith is shell-shocked and on the brink of madness. Smith's day interweaves with that of Clarissa and her friends, their lives converging as the party reaches its glittering climax. Past, present and future are brought together one momentous June day in 1923.

John Bunyan's masterful religious allegory, narrates the journey of an everyman hero, Christian, as he attempts to navigate the trials and tribulations of this world, the City of Destruction, on the path towards paradise, the Celestial City. Though weighed down by the burden of original sin, Christian overcomes the distractions of the world, moving past the Slough of Despond, the Hill of Difficulty and the Valley of the Shadow of Death, while simultaneously resisting the temptations of the Worldy Wise, the Vain and the Ignorant. The product of a lifetime of religious work and thought, Bunyan's virtuosic narrative fundamentally altered Protestant belief, and remains one of the most important and influential works in the English language.

Bianca is beautiful and demure, with a plethora of wood-be suitors, but marriage is forbidden until her older sister Katherina finds a suitable match. The hitch? Fiery Katherina has sworn to deny the hand or demands of any would-be suitor. That is, until she meets her match in the wily Petrucio. As Katherina's own sharp tongue is met by Petrucio's feigned cruelty, the 'shrew' apparently capitulates. Or does she? This controversial comic tale, famously adapted into Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate and 10 Things I Hate About You, has divided and amused audiences for over 400 years in an unforgettable battle of wits.

Every summer, the Ramsays visit their summer home on the beautiful Isle of Skye, surrounded by the excitement and chatter of family and friends, mirroring Virginia Woolf's own joyful holidays of her youth. But as time passes, and in its wake the First World War, the transience of life becomes ever more apparent through the vignette of the thoughts and observations of the novel's disparate cast. A landmark of high modernism and the most autobiographical of Virginia Woolf's novels, To the Lighthouse explores themes of loss, class structure and the question of perception, in a hauntingly beautiful memorial to the lost but not forgotten. Chosen by TIME magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.

Considered one of Shakespeare's most haunting tragic-comedies, The Winter's Tale is an in-depth analysis of the psychology of family and friendship, jealousy and love, art and nature, all illustrated in rich poetry. Based on Robert Greene's story Pandosto, the play tells the story of Leontes, king of Sicilia, and his childhood friend, Polixenes, king of Bohemia. In a jealous rage, Leontes mistakenly accuses Polixenes and his own his wife, Hermione, of adultery and her newborn daughter as illegitimate, casting her into the wilderness, causing their son to die of grief and Hermione to seemingly follow suit. With his family dead or believed dead, Leontes must face the tragic consequences of his actions. With unbridled honesty and the pain of love, the final act is one of Shakespeare's most moving reconciliation scenes.

The ultimate celebration of the second Hobbit movie reveals the full creative vision of the art and design teams with more than 1,000 exclusive images and photos, including designs and concepts that never made it to the big screen. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles — Art & Design explores and celebrates the creative vision of the second film in Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson's trilogy adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit. This lavish volume follows Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin's Company of Dwarves eastward, through hitherto unseen regions of Middle-earth, on their quest to reclaim the lost realm of Erebor from the Dragon Smaug. Exploring the design and development of the environments, cultures, creatures and artefacts encountered by the characters, it is filled with more than 1,000 stunning images of conceptual art, supplementary photographs and detailed commentary provided by the film's cast and crew. As a bonus feature, unique to this book, there is a special fold-out replica of the portrait of the Master of Lake-town, played by Stephen Fry, exactly as it appears in the film. Compiled by Weta Workshop senior concept designer Daniel Falconer, this is the third book in The Hobbit: Chronicles series and it has been created in full collaboration with key members of the production's creative team to ensure the most comprehensive and authentic film companion possible.

Scale: 1:17,500 (3.6 inches to 1 mile). Full colour street level map of a large area of central London, bound in an attractive card cover. Ideal for tourists. MAIN FEATURES This attractive tourist map, presented in a durable card cover, has clear full colour mapping at 3.6 inches to 1 mile. It has a wealth of detail, showing colour-coded land use information in addition to the intricate named street network. Key destinations are plotted and named on the map and all the streets and places of interest are fully indexed. Main railway lines and stations. Full colour-coded detail. Underground map on the back cover. Underground stations plotted on map. Separate index for places of interest. From Hammersmith in the west to the Isle of Dogs in the east and from Hampstead in the north to Clapham in the south. Ideal for the tourist or visitor who wants a bit more that just central London.

Collins Mini English Dictionary is the perfect dictionary for everyday reference. It contains all the words and definitions you need on a daily basis in a handy portable format that is ideal for carrying to school or work. Collins Mini English Dictionary is a great choice for everyday use. The attractive, open layout is a pleasure to consult, as all entry words and spelling forms are highlighted in colour. Based on analysis of Collins corpus, the largest database of the English language, Collins Mini English Dictionary includes completely up-to-date coverage of written and spoken English. All definitions are provided in clear, no-nonsense language, and modern meanings come first so it is easy to find the sense needed. The clear, concise usage notes give advice on puzzling or disputed points in using English.

This full color double-sided map of Great Britain at 9 miles to 1 inch (1:550,000 approximately) has clear, detailed road network and administrative areas shown in color. With its political coloring of counties and unitary authorities it is ideal for business users but also perfect for tourists as a route planning map.

An introductory atlas for secondary schools, perfectly designed to support and motivate Key Stage 3 students in geographical and mapping skills. Previously published as the award winning Collins Foundation World Atlas the Collins School Atlas has been revised and extended. It features 96 pages of clear, easy to read maps, satellite images, an atlas skills section and hundreds of statistics. This introductory atlas for secondary school students aged 11-14 is designed to help students develop map, atlas and data handling skills. The content adheres closely to the requirements of the National Curriculum and incorporates results of classroom testing. Its clear and accessible layout will motivate pupils of all abilities at Key Stage 3 and S1-S2. An easy to follow introductory 'map and atlas skills' section, useful for both teacher and pupil, is followed by clear, easy to read reference maps presented with locator maps, fact boxes and flags, descriptive text, detailed map keys and photos. For this new edition more detailed reference mapping of the British Isles is included. Carefully selected focus country studies include mapping on contrasting regions and special topics. The latest available country-by-country statistics are listed in a separate section and the index includes full latitude and longitude values. The extended world section in this edition covers all the global issues required by the National Curriculum e.g. climate, population, biomes, earthquakes and volcanoes. Colour coding of the titling and marginalia aids the identification of the sections within the atlas.

Lots of fun activities to help children develop their counting skills. Lots of fun activities to help children develop their counting skills.

Lots of fun activities to help children develop their skills for starting school and during reception year. Lots of fun activities to help children develop their skills for starting school and during reception year.