New Releases by Margaret Bateson

Bethlehem has never been so busy! Leah, the innkeeper''s daughter, is rushed off her feet. Then in the starlight, miracles begin. This beautiful, fresh new telling of the Nativity story, through the eyes of a young girl, brings a wonderful humanity to this familiar tale. Karin Littlewood is a UK-based illustrator, author, and educator who has illustrated more than thirty books for kids.

Jasper is so busy during his summer on Acorn Farm that he does not notice that a lamb is missing. The reader is invited to press out pieces and use them on the pop-up farm to help find the lost lamb. Includes a pocket for holding the pieces.

A tired and hungry little girl helps herself to the belongings of three bears in the woods.

As the Brixton Caves expand to Brighton to train a new generation of Dragon Flyers, JoJo knows her time at the top is limited especially considering that vengeful villain, Marius King is out of prison and vying to exact justice on Joanna and Excelsior.

Joanna Morris has no idea that her life is about to change once she shoots to stardom as the youngest racing dragon flyer in the country. Flying Excelsior, the stunning silver spiked-back dragon is more exciting than anything she''s ever known and he''s soon her closest friend in the world. But beneath the glitz and glamour of dragon racing lie burning ambitions and a greed that threatens to consume anything and anyone that stands in the way - including the sport''s rising stars.

Discover a world of monstery surprises in this fabulous pop-up Monster House! Mich and Mulch, the monster twins, can hear strange noises in their home. Mummy and Daddy monster say it''s nothing - old houses creak and groan. But Milch and Mulch are determined to investigate. Will they be brave enough to get to the bottom of the mystery and find out what is lurking in the depths of the Monster House? A fabulous spooky adventure with pop-up house, press-out pieces, moving parts and hidden surprises.

Following the death of Vincent, JoJo is now owner of the Brixon caves. But with all that training and Spiky Mike being as difficult as ever, tensions are running high. Then tragedy strikes when their new dragon Aurora suddenly dies.

Everyone''s favourite fairies are off to the Spectacular Spell Competition at the Three Wishes Fairy School, an amazing magical castle set high-up in the mountains. There''s an ice crystal waterfall, a balloon ride to enjoy, magic flying lessons and so many amazing rooms to explore. Read the story, press-out the characters and take them on a tour of this gloriously glittering pop-up school.

Count five little piggies on your fingers and toes. Lift the flaps and find out what each busy little piggy is up to, whether it''s shopping, cleaning, cooking, painting-or coming back to a special surprise!

An imaginative reworking of the popular children''s rhyme.

Everybody knows and loves this traditional rhyme about 5 intrepid ducks who head off into the hills for adventure. But what happens to them whilst they are away? And why have they gone? Just lift the flaps and find out in this new and endearing interpretation by the talented Roberta Angeletti and Margaret Bateson-Hill. This wonderful picture book is highly interactive, perfect for use in nursery and pre-school. Moreover it helps to promote counting and observational skills and now comes with a CD of nursery rhymes.

A winter wonderland! Lily and Rosie are off to the glittering Ice Palace party. Join them as they skate their way through a magical, snow-filled day. Drawer pieces include characters, costumes and dazzling accessories and a host of snowy animals!

Stowaway Sam Swallow is looking for adventure, but when he hides aboard the Ruby Rose, the most notorious pirate ship ever to sail the Seven Seas, he gets more than he bargained for. Can Sam help Captain Crow find the pirate treasure, or will he be made to walk the plank? A swashbuckling pirate story with 3 pop-up and play scenes, plus a drawer full of pirate characters and amazing pirate accessories, which include hats, cutlasses, canons, treasure and an easy-assembly raft!

It''s the day of the Fairy Fashion Show. Daisy and Lizzie can''t believe their luck when they win special tickets to tour the fashion studio before the show and watch the fashion fairies at work. They even get to model on the catwalk.

Little Leah is very concerned about the couple who come seeking a room at her father''s inn. The woman is about to have a baby - and there is nowhere for them to stay except the stable. Here is a heartwarming retelling of the traditional Nativity story. It remains faithful to the gospel accounts but allows us to view them through the eyes of a child. In a deft and utterly convincing conclusion, the reader is drawn into Leah''s belief that the tiny baby in her arms is in fact holding her with unshakeable love.

It''s a dream come true for everyone''s favourite fairies - they are going to be bridesmaids! Join Petal, Poppy and Rose as they put on their pretty dresses, throw confetti and dance the night away at Princess Crystal and Prince Felix''s wedding. Read their story, then unfold this incredible pop-up fairy castle and explore the fairies'' world.

Jump aboard the Cherryblossom Balloon and float over meadows to Blossom Orchard. This is where the Cherrytree Fairies live. With several pieces, including a twirling dancer on a stage, a miniature recipe book (with a secret recipe for Fairy Fizz!), this is a pop-up fairy treehouse.

Genome sequences of two Synechococcus ecotypes inhabiting the Octopus Spring microbial mat in Yellowstone National Park revealed the presence of all genes required for nitrogenase biosynthesis. We demonstrate that nif genes of the Synechococcus ecotypes are expressed in situ in a region of the mat that varies in temperature from 53.5°C to 63.4°C (average 60°C); transcripts are only detected at the end of the day when the mat becomes anoxic. Nitrogenase activity in mat samples was also detected in the evening. Hitherto, N2 fixation in hot spring mats was attributed either to filamentous cyanobacteria (not present at u003e50°C in these mats) or to heterotrophic bacteria. To explore how energy-generating processes of the Synechococcus ecotypes track natural light and O2 conditions, we evaluated accumulation of transcripts encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis, respiration, and fermentation. Transcripts from photosynthesis (cpcF, cpcE, psaB, and psbB) and respiration (coxA and cydA) genes declined in the evening. In contrast, transcripts encoding enzymes that may participate in fermentation fell into two categories; some (ldh, pdhB, ald, and ackA) decreased in the evening, whereas others (pflB, pflA, adhE, and acs) increased at the end of the day and remained high into the night. Energy required for N2 fixation during the night may be derived from fermentation pathways that become prominent as the mat becomes anoxic. In a broader context, our data suggest that there are critical regulatory switches in situ that are linked to the diel cycle and that these switches alter many metabolic processes within the microbial mat.

The fairies of Snowberry Wood live in a sparkling world of ice and snow. This story unfolds this magical world of frozen waterfalls, snowy markets and cosy cabins. These fairies can go from scene to scene, zooming down ice toboggans, skating on the lake or playing in the toy and sweet emporium.

Presented in the style of traditional folktales of India and Europe Chanda finds herself reduced to a servant in her stepmother''s house when her mother dies and her father marries again. All the lonely girl can do is seek peace walking along the near-by river and gazing into the magical mirror her mother left her as a parting gift. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.

A greedy emperor demands an impossible task from Lao Lao, a peasant woman who makes beautiful shapes from paper. Includes instructions for making traditional.

Retelling of a folktale from the Lakota indians of North America in which a young girl and her grandmother make a star quilt as a celebration of their friendship, love and community. Includes brief factual information on the Lakota indians and instructions for making a star collage. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.

A 3D carousel fairy garden with press-out figures. Come and visit the fairies at the bottom of the garden - everyone is busy for a wedding. Peep inside the house and take the fairy figures through the enchanted garden, where they can sail across the brook and dance until dawn.

Pages pop open to reveal a castle, complete with fountains, stairways, gardens, and arbors.

Detection of chimeric artifacts formed when PCR is used to retrieve naturally occurring small-subunit (SSU) rRNA sequences may rely on demonstrating that different sequence domains have different phylogenetic affiliations. We evaluated the CHECK_CHIMERA method of the Ribosomal Database Project and another method which we developed, both based on determining nearest neighbors of different sequence domains, for their ability to discern artificially generated SSU rRNA chimeras from authentic Ribosomal Database Project sequences. The reliability of both methods decreases when the parental sequences which contribute to chimera formation are more than 82 to 84% similar. Detection is also complicated by the occurrence of authentic SSU rRNA sequences that behave like chimeras. We developed a naive statistical test based on CHECK_CHIMERA output and used it to evaluate previously reported SSU rRNA chimeras. Application of this test also suggests that chimeras might be formed by retrieving SSU rRNAs as cDNA. The amount of uncertainty associated with nearest-neighbor analyses indicates that such tests alone are insufficient and that better methods are needed.