New Releases by Maggie Smith

Winner of the NASEN/TES Book Award for Teaching and Learning Award 2007! Includes CD-Rom ′Any setting will find this a useful, informative and accessible book′ - Early Years Update ′ I really enjoyed reviewing this book and will find it an excellent resource to share with the childminders with whom I work. I feel that it would benefit early years practitioners from all settings and would be a useful tool for tutors and students working at all levels′- National Childminding Association ′The straight forward step-by-step practical advice and guidance in this essential guide really helps to demystify exactly what is meant by inclusion . It is a vital and essential read for all those working with the 0-5 age range. It is an easy read that will leave you feeling more confident and well-informed about your role and it empowers you to help children with difficulties that you may have been reluctant to include in your setting′ - Early Years Educator ′I really liked the way the book is set out with hands-on activities, checklists, discussion points and further reading after each chapter...[it] is full of brilliant suggestions and practical ideas to ensure all children can play and learn together...I will be recommending this book to early years practitioners and colleagues′ - Nursery World ′A useful and informative book, written in a style that is easily understood and accessible to practitioners at different levels. I found the case studies and activities within the book helpful to practitioners in evaluating their own practice, and its references to further sources of support will be invaluable to the busy childcare professionals of today′ - Natalie Chaplin, Head of Care, Education & Public Services, Suffolk College Are you looking for straight-forward practical advice on inclusion in the Pre-School? This first book in the Hands on Guides series provides step-by-step instruction on how to make your pre-school setting inclusive, and provides lots of helpful photocopiable resources, checklists and practical activities. Issues covered include: o advice on inclusive environments, play and planning to meet individual needs in 0 - 3 and Foundation stage settings o coverage of current legislation, such as the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and what it means for the pre-school practitioner; o quick-reference materials, for planning and auditing any early years setting; o a CD Rom with templates that can be customised to fit your needs. This book is essential for those working with Birth to Three Matters and the Foundation Stage curriculum, including pre-school practitioners, managers, advisory teachers, Area SENCOs, Inclusion Officers Tutors and Child Care and Education students and tutors.

"Here in Maggie Smith''s first book we encounter a voice that is spare, confident, and precise. Her images click into place, and the movement of each poem is deft, muscular, taut. These are poems we trust, poems that ask hard questions while at the same time convincing us of the magic in the world. Smith''s voice is reserved, yet she carries her world forward in her teeth, so to speak. There''s wisdom and acceptance in many of the poems, coupled with a willingness to utter what she does not understand, a recognition ''that worse happens to better than I.'' She embraces the mystery. There''s a kinship with the Ohio landscape, but also the recognition that ''darkness ploughs its furrows here.'' These are poems that do not flinch in the face of grief while at the same time they do not give into formulas that either comfort or accuse. I admire the courage and the control, the gorgeous turns, the leaps she takes in the poems while keeping the center of each poem intact. These are poems that do not wobble; the voice is confident and secure, the authority claimed, and the darkness met head on-''mealy, and bitter'' but as she writes in ''The Poem Speaks to Danger'': ''I am the mouth/that can hold more . . . the globe // of some new, ready fruit.'' This is a book that delights, intrigues, and instructs. A wonderful debut." -Carol Potter

A child describes how Desser the cat had always been part of the family and how much he was loved even after he died.

When Daisy comes down with chicken pox, Peter proves he’s a friend she can count on: On Monday, he makes her a get-well card–and his stuffed elephant comes to life to deliver it. On Tuesday, he sends two zebras with flowers. By the time five monkeys arrive with balloons on Friday, Daisy is feeling much better. So on Saturday, she delivers a gift of her own–an invitation to come over and play. With very few words, this story speaks volumes about the magic of having a very best friend.

A little girl, given good tools and seeds, begins to grow a garden that needs water, sun, weeding, and her encouragement.

An American original! This collection catches the life of a contemporary woman in the last five decades. It is a life lived with intensity & an awareness of the complexity of things. The language is simple & musical. Sudden, quirky images tumble through the lyrical internal rhymes & explode into a new awareness of the cultural shadows that inform our life. SONGS OF A FAR-WALKING WOMAN leads us to experience the dazzling whirl of snow on a frosty morning, to feel the call of the lost wilderness, to see the hidden human trauma in the business world & to find, in the deaths of three men from the Red Lake Reservation, the quiet acceptance of things as they are. Joined with these & informing it all is the quiet exploration of a deep religious faith which continues to question & discover. From her beginnings on a sheep ranch in western Canada, Maggie Smith has traveled far. She shares with us the beauty of that journey as well as the darker mysteries & forces that we know are there. She leaves us, as all poets should, with a new way of seeing & a sense of surprise.

When Argo the dog wins the lottery, he finds out what money is and starts making decisions about how to spend his new wealth.

Changing Course will show you new ways to greet changes in your life with a positive outlook.

A child loves to spend time in Grandma''s chair.

Frances tries everything to get rid of the witch lurking under the basement stairs.

Frances tries everything to get rid of the witch lurking under the basement stairs.

Noly is the best doll anyone could have because she understands about bee stings, brussel sprouts, and scary things.