New Releases by Michael J. Rosen

Sure, you know baseball, soccer, and basketball. But have you heard about kiiking, the Estonian swinging competition? Or chess boxing, the perfect combination of brains and brawn? What about watermelon skiing? Discover a range of entertaining sports from around the world!

Sniffing armpits. Scuba diving for golf balls. Building secret passageways. For some lucky people, these strange tasks are all in a day''s work. Want to learn about the men and women who destroy old buildings or make movie sound effects? Discover a range of weird jobs from around the world!

You might think anchovies and fruitcake are pretty weird foods. But wait until you hear about durian, a huge, spiky fruit that smells like gym socks. Or salmiakki, the licorice with a salty, fishy taste. And don?t forget kopi luwak, the coffee made from?poop! Discover all kinds of unusual foods from around the world!

Would you believe bee''s venom could help you feel better? How about a candle in your ear, or a string running through your nostrils? People have used all sorts of kooky remedies to fight pain and illness. Some work. Others, not so much. Find out more about odd medical cures of past and present!

Can you imagine traveling to school in a flying saucer? What about on a bike-like contraption that looks like a giant donut? People invent all kinds of interesting ways to get around. Some vehicles can get you where you''re going faster and better than ever. Others are mostly for fun. Learn about some of the world''s wackiest vehicles.

A dog-shaped bed-and-breakfast. A house built like a shoe. Two towers that look like they''re dancing. You''re not dreaming. These are only a few of the crazy buildings found throughout the world. Learn about the many loopy landmarks that wild builders have put together.

An inspirational true story by the national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing healthy play areas for children traces the efforts of a group of kids and adults from an Indianapolis community who worked with KaBOOM! to build a playground that became the site of endless imaginative adventures.

Is the grass greener on the other side of the train window? Even a brief brush with a stranger can change our lives. It''s 1970, and Perry feels adrift in turbulent times: his father is missing in action in Vietnam, his mother is studying to become a nurse in the city, his older sister has become a peacenik in college. Traveling between his hometown, where he lives with his grandmother, and his mother''s house in Cincinnati, Perry notices Steve, whose farm lies on the B&O railroad line. Steve likes to race the train as it blows by his fields; Steve skillfully sends his collie after an escaped cow; Steve watches the Cincinnatian, longing for its speed, longing for adventure. In alternating voices, Michael J. Rosen''s poems weave a tale of two boys—one wishing for the stability of home, the other yearning to travel—and the unexpected impact of their fleeting encounter.

Told through the voices of the children, this inside view of life on their farm is authentic and sometimes surprising. Readers will learn about baling hay, tending cattle, work dogs, hunting, manure, and other activities on the Bennett farm, as well as some insights into the culture of living in a rural area.

“Thurber is. . . a landmark in American humor. . . he is the funniest artist who ever lived.” — New Republic James Thurber spent most of his career at the New Yorker magazine, drawing cartoons and writing essays and stories. Collecting Himself is a one-of-a-kind compilation of James Thurber''s vintage writings, featuring previously unanthologized articles, essays, interviews, reviews, cartoons, parodies, as well as Thurber''s reflections on his work in theater and at the New Yorker. An eclectic body of work that offers a glimpse into Thurber the man, the philosopher, and the critic.

In this very special anthology of beautifully poetic short stories, thirty distinguished authors and illustrators explore the unique and varied meanings of home. Their touching words and magnificent art affirm the importance—and joy—of having a place to call one’s own. Culturally diverse, multi-representative, and socially inclusive, this book is nourishment for the young soul. At a time when displacement and homelessness remain painfully present in our society, this classic anthology is indispensable. The distinguished contributors to this collection include: Franz Brandenberg Mimi Brodsky Lucille Clifton Virginia Hamilton Jamake Highwater Karla Kuskin Myra Cohn Livingston Liz Rosenberg Cynthia Rylant Jon Scieszka Laurence Yep Jane Yolen Arthur Yorinks Aliki Karen Barbour Pat Cummings Lisa Desimini Leo and Diane Dillon Richard Egielski Sheila Hamanaka James Marshall Jerry Pinkney Vladimir Radunsky James Ransome Aminah Robinson Marc Simont Lane Smith Mary Szilagyi Vera B. Williams Home can be. . . playing on the stoop of your building, sitting in your grandmother’s kitchen, or hiding under your back porch stairs.

More seriously funny writing from American''s most trusted humor anthology Witty, wise, and just plain wonderful, the inaugural volume of this biennial, Mirth of a Nation, ensured a place for the best contemporary humor writing in the country. And with this second treasury, Michael J. Rosen has once again assembled a triumphant salute to one of America''s greatest assets: its sense of humor. More than five dozen acclaimed authors showcase their hilariously inventive works, including Paul Rudnick, Henry Alford, Susan McCarthy, Media Person Lewis Grossberger, Ian Frazier, Richard Bausch, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Nell Scovell, Andy Borowitz, and Ben Greenman -- just to mention a handful so that the other contributors can justify their feelings that the world slights them. But there''s more! More Mirth of a Nation includes scads of Unnatural Histories from Randy Cohen, Will Durst''s "Top Top-100 Lists" (including the top 100 colors, foods, and body parts), and three unabridged (albeit rather short) chapbooks: David Bader''s "How to Meditate Faster" (Enlightenment for those who keep asking, "Are we done yet?") Matt Neuman''s "49 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth" (for instance, "Make your own honey" and "Share your shower.") Francis Heaney''s "Holy Tango of Poetry" (which answers the question, "What if poets wrote poems whose titles were anagrams of their names, i.e., ''Toilets,'' by T. S. Eliot?") And there''s still more: "The Periodic Table of Rejected Elements," meaningless fables, Van Gogh''s Etch A Sketch drawings, a Zagat''s survey of existence, an international baby-naming encyclopedia, Aristotle''s long-lost treatise "On Baseball," and an unhealthy selection of letters from Dr. Science''s mailbag. And that''s just for starters! Just remember, as one reviewer wrote of the first volume, "Don''t drink milk while reading."

Explains the ins and outs of dog ownership, dog training, and popular dog breeds.

Presents a collection of haiku about the behaviors and characteristics of twenty North American dog breeds.

A fresh step-by-step guide for identifying your nonprofit''s planned giving prospects and inspiring them to give generously Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing helps nonprofit organizations move beyond traditional marketing techniques that have historically yielded only modest results and reveals how putting the focus on the donor can produce the best outcomes for all. Here, nonprofits new to gift planning will learn to market effectively from the start while those with established programs will discover ways to enhance their efforts. You will learn about various donor-centered marketing channels and techniques, as well as how to generate internal support for an improved planned gift marketing effort. Full of useful and proven tips you can implement for immediate results Offers practical tools including forms and checklists Includes a worksheet to help organizations calculate their planned giving potential Sharing the latest research findings, this book shows you how to identify who your planned giving prospects are. You will learn how to effectively focus on them through meaningful communication that ultimately inspires them to give-and give more.

Humour.

In No Dribbling the Squid, armchair athletes--and anyone who enjoys tales of the strange and unusual--get a front-row seat at some of the world''s most mind-blowing feats of strength, endurance, and eccentricity. Here are profiles of more than 70 fringe, far-fetched, and frightening sports, all featured in up-close-and-personal photos. With everything from wayward warfare (Japanese mudflinging, team snowball fighting, professional shin kicking) to displaced races (swamp soccer, outhouse racing, underwater cycling, or elephant polo), to toe- and finger-wrestling, chess boxing, extreme mountain unicycling, spitting and hurling contests, city-wide brawls, and recess games gone grown-up, there''s something here to tickle any competitor''s freaky streak.

"Inside is everything you need to become alpha-better! alpha-best!"--Back cover.

When his parents decide to move to an old house in the country, Chase Riley uses email to his friends back in Columbus, Ohio, and to his sister in college to help him deal with cicadas, deer hunters, and other changes in his life. Originally published as ChaseR. Reprint.

Relates the adventures of a family and their dog on a Sunday drive to the country.

A young boy counts the candles on the family Menorah and the lights he sees in the world around him on each night of Hanukkah. Includes information on the history and significance of the celebration. Illustrations.

Learn about the balls used in basketball, soccer, football, tennis, handball, golf, volleyball, and ping pong: how they''re made, why they look the way they do, some amazing facts about their history ... and a bit about the games that use them, too.

Filled with hundreds of incredible and true facts and statistics, "The 60-Second Encyclopedia" puts a whole new spin on math, science, nature, the human body, and popular culture, too. Includes a one-minute sandglass and dozens of interactive activities. Consumable.

It''s not easy to be little in the middle of everything big! When, oh when, will this little bear grow?

A young boy goes fishing with his father and, as an adult, recalls his dad''s fishing secret when he sees him with his grandson.

Baking is about memories: recipes handed down from generation to generation and tastes that conjure childhood—think of Proust’s madeleines or your mom’s chocolate cake. Sweets are often bound up in our emotional life as adults, too: they’re how we reward ourselves or our children, how we celebrate holidays, birthdays, and special occasions, and how we honor guests. In Baking from the Heart, more than fifty of the nation’s preeminent bakers share their recipes for cookies, cakes, and other dessert favorites, and the memories of why they hold that recipe dear. From the Apple Snacking Spice Cake that Joanna Chang made her fourth-grade teacher to show her how much she loved her to the Polvorones that were a Sunday after-church treat in Miguel Ravago’s home, these are recipes—and stories—to treasure. When James Beard Award–winner Greg Patent was a teenager, he won a trip to New York City to compete in the Pillsbury Bake-Off with his Cherry-Apricot Coconut Bars. Forty years later, his mother earned a place in that same competition with her Walnut Fudge Bars. World-renowned chocolatier Jacques Torres tucked a few pints of hand-picked Michigan blueberries into his luggage so he could again make Blueberry Dame Blanche, the jam-filled cookies he made when he was a child in France, with his aging mother. For her son Gio’s first Valentine’s Day at school, Food TV’s Gale Gand concocted Marshmallow Heart Throbs, a cupcake he could cut into the shape of a heart. When Jimmy Schmidt’s family vacationed in Wisconsin, his contribution to his mother’s Black Walnut Pound Cake were the walnuts he picked and shelled with his siblings, aided by their father who would crack the hulls by driving over them in his ’55 Chevy. Like many of the other contributors, Jimmy Schmidt serves up two recipes with reminiscences (the walnut cake and his Blueberry Slump) for our delectation. Baking from the Heart is also sweet inspiration for anyone who wants to join in The Great American Bake Sale™. When Share Our Strength—the nation’s preeminent hunger-fighting organization—joined with PARADE magazine to launch The Great American Bake Sale™ in 2003, the country’s response was overwhelming: nearly half a million people baked, bought, or sold, raising over a million dollars to end childhood hunger. (More information appears inside.) A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book benefit Share Our Strength, one of the nation’s preeminent anti-hunger agencies.

"Deeply I sat, fixed to the slap, slap, slap of her trot, and the counterpoint thud-plod, thud-plod of her heart, enchanted by a soft percussion I felt part of, floating above the syncopated rhythm like a melody." --Diane Ackerman, recalling her beloved Appaloosa mare Horses have inspired devotion, awe, and love in their human companions for millennia; in Horse People more than forty acclaimed writers and artists share their own passion for these magical, mythical animals. Horse People includes deeply moving reminiscences and stories as varied as Jane Smiley''s memories of her return to riding and Rita Mae Brown''s straight-from-the-horse''s-mouth tale "told" by her horse, Peggy Sue Brown. A wide range of artistic mediums are represented as well: Painter Jamie Wyeth evokes dreamlike memories of a rural past; photographer John Derryberry captures the untamed beauty of wild stallions in Kashmir. Read this moving anthology and "you too will yearn to connect--or reconnect--with horses" (Town & Country).

Advanced System Modelling and Simulation with Block Diagram Languages explores and describes the use of block languages in dynamic modelling and simulation. The application of block diagrams to dynamic modelling is reviewed, not only in terms of known components and systems, but also in terms of the development of new systems. Methods by which block diagrams clarify the dynamic essence of systems and their components are emphasized throughout the book, and sufficient introductory material is included to elucidate the book''s advanced material. Widely used continuous dynamic system simulation (CDSS) languages are analyzed, and their technical features are discussed. This self-contained resource includes a review section on block diagram algebra and applied transfer functions, both of which are important mathematical subjects, relevant to the understanding of continuous dynamic system simulation.

An irresistable collection of scrumptious treats that every fridge-raider, insomniac, and night owl will crave. "Midnight Snacks is a witty, charmingly illustrated guide to satisfying the night-time munchies. From late night to dawn''s early light, readers will be able to crunch, sip, and nosh their way through a tempting variety of satisfying fare appropriate to the hour. Hot and Swee Pumpkin Seed Brittle, Choco-Late Night Martinis, Parmesan Wafers, and dozens of other quick and easy delicacies will helf the sleepless through all-nighters, from tax season to final exams. Whether waiting up for "Your Daughter to Return Home from Her First Date with a Boy Who Just Got His Driver''s License" or, more pleasurably, if "It''s 12:45 a.m. and You''re Watching Late-Night Movies in Bed,"" Midnight Snacks will be a comforting companion and source of inspired edibles in the wee hours.