Best Selling Books by David Kirk

This joyful story and picture book about creativity and acceptance will touch little monsters and their families, especially those who love TRUCKS! Everyone in Truckeroo Must drive a truck—the children too. The very day that kids are born They''re handed tailpipes, wheels, a horn Meet the little monsters of Truckeroo! The kids all have trucks that suit their personalities—big trucks, small trucks, loud trucks, quiet trucks. Families help them build and care for their trucks. And they get to bring them to school!

Honour, duty, vengeance... The way of the Samurai. A thrilling new adventure from a bold new voice in historical fiction, for fans of Conn Iggulden Scholar. Warrior. Samurai. His name was Bennosuke, son of the great Munisai Shinmen, known throughout the empire as one of the greatest warriors who ever lived. His destiny was to become a great warrior like his father - a Samurai, one of the most feared and respected in the world. But before fame comes action, and Bennosuke must prove himself on the battlefield before he can claim his inheritance. And in his way stands the vengeful Hayato, son of Lord Nakata, the face of the enemy, a man who is determined to kill Bennosuke. It is a battle between honour and vengeance, pride and reputation. And Bennosuke must look death in the eye before he can call himself a warrior. Before he can call himself Musashi, the greatest warrior of all time… ''A fascinating, exciting book, beautifully observed. Kirkcreates characters of great depth. An absolute gem'' Conn Iggulden ''Mr Kirk restores my faith in historical fiction to bring lost worlds to life. Bravo! The keenest and most vivid evocation of the inner life of the East since James Clavell''s Shogun''Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire

Can we imagine a future in which physical education in schools no longer exists? In this controversial and powerful meditation on physical education, David Kirk argues that a number of different futures are possible. Kirk argues that multi-activity, sport-based forms of physical education have been dominant in schools since the mid-twentieth century and that they have been highly resistant to change. The practice of physical education has focused on the transmission of de-contextualised sport-techniques to large classes of children who possess a range of interests and abilities, where learning rarely moves beyond introductory levels. Meanwhile, the academicization of physical education teacher education since the 1970s has left teachers less well prepared to teach this programme than they were previously, suggesting that the futures of school physical education and physical education teacher education are intertwined. Kirk explores three future scenarios for physical education, arguing that the most likely short-term future is ‘more of the same’. He makes an impassioned call for radical reform in the longer-term, arguing that without it physical education faces extinction. No other book makes such bold use of history to interrogate the present and future configurations of the discipline, nor offers such a wide-ranging critique of physical culture and school physical education. This book is essential reading for all serious students and scholars of physical education and the history and theory of education.

"One lonely spider wished to play. Two beetles cried and ran away." Three fireflies, four bees, five rubber bugs, and more insects reject Miss Spider, leaving her with ten cups of tea and a broken heart. But when Miss Spider comes to the rescue of a rain-soaked moth, everyone joins Miss Spider''s party! This easy-to-read adaptation of the bestselling picture book is sure to delight!

Miss Spider is spinning with joy! She has met a wonderful spider man called Holley who is wise and kind. Perhaps he''s just the one to be Miss Spider''s Mr Right. Her well-meaning friends set out to find her a more dashing mate but their candidate, Spiderus Reeves, turns out to be only after her money! He attacks his rival Holley, but luckily Miss Spider saves him, and when he recovers, he asks Miss Spider to marry him!

While hurrying home to join their family for a Holly Day feast, Miss Spider and her sons become trapped in a snowstorm before meeting up with some helpful insect friends.

Shimmer decides to put on a play for Bug-a-Boo Day, but her friends don''t seem to be as excited as she is about working on the project.

During the day, Oh So Tiny Bunny is very, very small. But at night, he dreams of being big—as big as a dragon, or even a mountain! At first, that''s fine, but then he feels lonely. There''s no one to share it with. Are there no other bunnies so big as him? Every small child dreams of the day they will grow up to be big, but in this book David Kirk reminds us that sometimes . . . it''s not so bad being small.

It''s Christmas Eve and Little Miss Spider is lonely--she doesn''t have a little brother or sister to help build snowy creatures and join in her holiday games. Just when Little Miss Spider is wishing her hardest for a friend, she gets whopped with a snowball and discovers Asparagus Beetle.

Hoping to be with other dragonflies, Dragon joins the Flying Aces, but he finds that he misses his insect friends and family.

Miss Spider and her husband go shopping for a car.

Instead of sharing the berries, Spiderus eats them all and learns a lesson of giving from the other bugs.

Dragon knows he is supposed to be brave—because that''s what dragons do. He''s so brave and valiant, he''s ready to try out his fearsome roar! But when he hears something that scares him, he turns to his forest friends to find the noise, and to help him be brave. Young readers will relate to Dragon''s fears, and delight in his quest to be brave. Bestselling author/artist David Kirk, creator of the popular Miss Spider series, has created another beautiful, meaningful picture book to follow Oh So Tiny Bunny.

This book invites the reader to come along for playtime with the Sunny Patch kids.

War has destroyed all he knew. Now he must find a new way to live. The second Samurai adventure from David Kirk, perfect for fans of Conn Iggulden. Musashi Miyamoto''s reputation precedes him. He is known as the greatest warrior of all time. But all that must change for Miyamoto and his men have been defeated in the great battle of Sekigahara. Tens of thousands of men lie slaughtered and the Armies of the East have claimed a glorious victory. And now, alone but alive, he must contemplate his future. Until this moment he has lived and fought as a Samurai, proud of its ancient tradition, following The Way with honour. But in defeat he must question everything, and what he once saw as honour he now sees as ignorance. But tradition is strong and he is just one man. But though he seeks to throw off the past, the past will not let him go. His name is on a list of those who have dishonoured the Yoshioka warriors, and a man has been sent to claim is head in their name. And so, though he renounces violence, he must protect himself and seek revenge on those who would have him dead… Praise for Child of Vengeance: ''A fascinating, exciting book, beautifully observed. Kirkcreates characters of great depth. An absolute gem'' Conn Iggulden ''This is the book I''ve been waiting for all year! Razor sharp samurai action coupled with a brutally realistic vision of life in sixteenth-century Japan, a real find'' Anthony Riches ''Mr Kirk restores my faith in historical fiction to bring lost worlds to life. Bravo! The keenest and most vivid evocation of the inner life of the East since James Clavell''s Shogun''Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire ''A brilliant piece of historical fiction - loaded with treachery and betrayal - that pulses with life. This one is going to find an honoured place on so many a keeper shelf. It''s a must-read debut from an exciting new voice'' Steve Berry, author of The Templar Legacyand The Columbus Affair

Squirt and his family have to store seeds in the stump for winter before they can go to Ned and Ted''s Summer''s Never Ending Party.

The Curriculum is the focal point for the study of educational practice. It is the area in which individual, group and societal needs and interests meet and is consequently the source of much friction and contention. This book, first published in 1988, introduces students to some of the major points of debate; in particular, the role of curriculum-based study in the development of physical education and the credibility of the subject as an educational activity. David Kirk emphasises the beneficial effects of physical education and suggests ways in which instructive programmes can be created. A practical and interesting title, this reissue will be of particular value to students and teachers of sport science, and educational practitioners more generally.

Squirt and Shimmer care for a pet caterpillar, and even though it requires a lot of work, the end result is worth it.

Nova, a robot boy from the planet Roton, accidentally rockets himself into space during a class field trip and eventually stumbles across the energy source his planet needs for survival.

Theories of learning physical activity - Psychological factors in learning physical skills - Motion - Forces and torques - Physiological dimensions of physical activity - Sociocultural dimensions_____________

On Heartwood Day in Sunny Patch, all the bugs have a big party and give and receive gifts, except for Dragon, who needs to learn how to share.

This sequel to Graphics Gems (Academic Press, 1990), and Graphics Gems II (Academic Press, 1991) is a practical collection of computer graphics programming tools and techniques. Graphics Gems III contains a larger percentage of gems related to modeling and rendering, particularly lighting and shading. This new edition also covers image processing, numerical and programming techniques, modeling and transformations, 2D and 3D geometry and algorithms,ray tracing and radiosity, rendering, and more clever new tools and tricks for graphics programming. Volume III also includes a disk containing source codes for either the IBM or Mac versions featuring all code from Volumes I, II, and III. Author David Kirk lends his expertise to the Graphics Gems series in Volume III with his far-reaching knowledge of modeling and rendering, specifically focusing on the areas of lighting and shading. Volume III includes a disk containing source codes for both the IBM and Mac versions featuring all code from volumes I, II, and III. Graphics Gems I, II, and III are sourcebooks of ideas for graphics programmers. They also serve as toolboxes full of useful tricks and techniques for novice programmers and graphics experts alike. Each volume reflects the personality and particular interests of its respective editor. - Includes a disk containing source codes for both the IBM and Mac versions featuring code from volumes I, II, and III - Features all new graphics gems - Explains techniques for making computer graphics implementations more efficient - Emphasizes physically based modeling, rendering, radiosity, and ray tracing - Presents techniques for making computer graphics implementations more efficient

This unflinching analysis explains the nature of precarity and its detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of young people. It exposes physical educators’ unpreparedness to provide inclusive, fair and equitable forms of physical education that might empower young people to overcome the mal effects of precarity. Following a thorough analysis and critique of critical pedagogy, David Kirk advocates for critical pedagogies of affect as physical education’s response to precarity, providing detailed outlines of these pedagogies and their grounding in research. He argues that now more than ever physical educators need to be alive to the serious social and economic challenges that shape young people’s health, happiness and life chances. This bold and provocative book is essential reading for all researchers in the field of physical education and health education pedagogy, as well as teacher educators, curriculum policy makers, and other professionals who work with young people living in precarity.

From February 1967 to April 1968, David Vaughan flew the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in Southeast Asia. Initially a co-pilot, he moved up to aircraft commander and then instructor pilot as he mastered the challenges of landing on very short, unimproved airstrips in difficult terrain and bad weather. He describes his progression from inexperienced novice to veteran flyer as he learned his trade under combat conditions. Vaughan''s airlift missions took him to more than 50 fields in South Vietnam, from the Delta in the south to the DMZ in the north, carrying supplies, mail, food, ammunition, and soldiers alive, wounded, and dead. Among his most harrowing flights were resupply missions into the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh during the most intensive days of the 1968 Tet offensive. This expanded and revised edition of his memoir details several additional episodes and features more than twice as many photographs as appeared in the original edition.

This book offers a comprehensive synthesis of over 40 years of research on models in physical education to suggest Models-based Practice (MbP) as an innovative future approach to physical education. It lays out the ideal conditions for MbP to flourish by situating pedagogical models at the core of physical education programs and allowing space for local agency and the co-construction of practice. Starting from the premise that true MbP does not yet exist, the book makes a case for the term "pedagogical model" over alternatives such as curriculum model and instructional model, and explains how learners’ cognitive, social, affective and psychomotor needs should be organised in ways that are distinctive and unique to each model. It examines the core principles underpinning the pedagogical models that make up MbP, including pedagogical models as organising centres for program design and as design specifications for developing local programs. The book also explores how a common structure can be applied to analyse pedagogical models at macro, meso and micro levels of discourse. Having created a language through which to talk about pedagogical models and MbP, the book concludes by identifying the conditions - some existing and some aspirational - under which MbP can prosper in reforming physical education. An essential read for academics, doctoral and post-graduate students, and pre-service and in-service teachers, Models-based Practice in Physical Education is a vital point of reference for anyone who is interested in pedagogical models and wants to embrace this potential future of physical education.

First published in 1992, David Kirk’s book analyses the public debate leading up to the 1987 General Election over the place and purpose of physical education in British schools. By locating this debate in a historical context, specifically in the period following the end of the Second World War, it attempts to illustrate how the meaning of school physical education and its aims, content and pedagogy were contested by a number of vying groups. It stresses the influence of the culture of postwar social reconstruction in shaping these groups’ ideas about physical education. Through this analysis, the book attempts to explain how physical education has been socially constructed during the postwar years and, more specifically, to suggest how the subject came to be used as a symbol of subversive, left wing values in the campaign leading to the 1987 election. In more general terms, the book provides a case study of the social construction of school knowledge. The book takes an original approach to the question of curriculum change in physical education, building on increasing interest in historical research in the field of curriculum studies. It adopts a social constructionist perspective, arguing that change occurs through the active involvement of competing groups in struggles over limited material and ideological (discursive) resources. It also draws on contemporary developments in social and cultural theory, particularly the concepts of discourse and ideological hegemony, to explain how the meaning of physical education has been constructed, and how particular definitions of the subject have become orthodoxes. The book presents new historical evidence from a period which had previously been neglected by researchers, despite the fact that 1945 marked a watershed in the development of the understanding and teaching of physical education in schools.