Home Ask Question Answer Questions My Q&A Categories Ask the experts Expert leader board

myjunction's Questions & Answers

in Computers & Technology, Books & Authors& Kolkata

12

Rank

Total Points: 50626

Answers Given: 13770

Questions Asked: 444

Best Answers: 403

Looking for a biography of author/ actor Denis Bond?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 10:57 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

Denis Bond first worked as an actor on stage and in television, then became a teacher for some years. He wrote the Pipkins children's television series, then Rainbow, The Munch Bunch and Let's Pretend. In 2005 he wrote Picme for RTE, and is currently writing a second series.

His first books were a series of stories about a boy from space called Dagon, and these have been followed by many others, including picture books for younger children, such as The Witch Who Loved To Make Children Cry (1996) and The Shark Who Bit Things He Shouldn't (1998). He writes for older readers for the Scholastic 'Point' Series, and 'Point Romance' books, including Spotlight on Love (1995) and Love Letters (1997), under the pseudonym Denise Colby.

His latest book is Pop Rivals (2004).

Genres (in alphabetical order): Children

Bibliography:

The Fantastic Fairground (lyrics) French, 1976

Dagon and the Spider (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1981

Freddy: The Naughtiest Mouse in the World (illustrated by Maggie Allen) Bunny Books, 1981

A Ghost Among the Lettuces (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

A Load of Old Rubbish (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

A Safer Way to Fly (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

Dagon Comes Down to Earth (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

Granny Greenfly's Flower-Sap Fizz (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

Never Borrow From a Slug (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

The Show Must Go On (illustrated by Ken Morton) Studio Publications, 1983

The Munch Bunch (various titles) (as Giles Reed; illustrated by Angela Miston) Studio Publications, 1984

The Slave Traders of Ganox Studio Publications, 1985

The Time Lords of Tolemac Studio Publications, 1985

Rough Mix Methuen, 1988

Soap Methuen, 1989

The Dragon Who Couldn't Help Breathing Fire (illustrated by Valeria Petrone) Scholastic, 1990

The Train Who Was Frightened of the Dark (illustrated by Valeria Petrone) Scholastic, 1992

The Granny Who Wasn't Like Other Grannies (illustrated by Valeria Petrone) Scholastic, 1993

The Monster Who Couldn't Scare Anyone (illustrated by Valeria Petrone) Scholastic, 1994

Two Weeks in Paradise (as Denise Colby) Scholastic, 1994

No. 1 Scholastic, 1995

Spotlight On Love (as Denise Colby) Scholastic, 1995

The Brave Sea Captain (illustrated by Martin Remphry) Collins Educational, 1995

The Witch Who Loved To Make Children Cry (illustrated by Valeria Petrone) Scholastic, 1996

Love Letters (as Denise Colby) Scholastic, 1997

The Shark Who Bit Things He Shouldn't (illustrated by Valeria Petrone) Scholastic, 1998

Avenue Scholastic, 2000

The Big Bad Story Book (contents: 'The Witch Who Loved To Make Children Cry'; 'The Dragon Who Couldn't Help Breathing Fire'; The Monster Who Couldn'r Scare Anyone'; illustrated by Valeria Petrone) Scholastic, 2000

The Very Clever Farmer (illustrated by Steve Cox) Scholastic, 2000

It's a Boy/Girl Thing! (with Anne Finnis) Red Fox, 2002

Pop Rivals Book Guild Ltd., 2004

Answered at 10:58 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

Could anybody share a synopsis of CINDERELLA: A Pop-Up Fairy Tale by Matthew Reinhart?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 10:55 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

CINDERELLA: A Pop-Up Fairy Tale
by Matthew Reinhart

Little Simon
ISBN: 1416905014
All Ages
12 pages

For ages, people have been enchanted by the story of Cinderella. Told again and again throughout literary history by writers like Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney, this classic tale continually finds its way into the hearts and imaginations of children of all ages. In his latest work, illustrator and paper engineer extraordinaire Matthew Reinhart joins the ranks of these illustrious storytellers by breathing new life and a new kind of magic into a centuries-old story with CINDERELLA: A POP-UP FAIRY TALE.

Through Reinhart's painstakingly elaborate pop-up settings constructed on six spreads of the tale's most famous scenes, a whimsical and larger-than-life world unfolds, inviting readers into the fantasy realm of three-dimensional glass slippers and fairy godmothers. Elegant ballroom dancers twirl across their laps and nobles' steeds jump from the pages to create a truly mesmerizing and breathtaking experience. As if these weren't wondrous enough, several mini pop-ups open to reveal even more intricately detailed cardboard cutouts that move along with the pages, adding to the book's charm and appeal.

In this beloved fairy tale where good always overcomes evil and true love prevails, Reinhart offers a rich and stunning vision that will captivate and enthrall a whole new generation of readers for years to come.

Answered at 10:56 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

Pls share a biography of author Robyn Bolam?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 10:49 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

Robyn Bolam (formerly published as Marion Lomax) was born in Newcastle in 1953 and grew up in Northumberland in the north of England. Educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic and the University of Kent, she gained her doctorate from the University of York in 1983 and is now Professor of Literature at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, where she has taught since 1987. She began publishing as Robyn Bolam in December 2000.

Her publications include Stage Images and Traditions: Shakespeare to Ford (1987), a study of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, and she is the editor of a collection of four plays by John Ford, published in 1995, as well as the New Mermaid edition of The Rover by Aphra Behn. She was awarded an Eric Gregory Award by the Society of Authors in 1981, and also won the Cheltenham Prize. Her libretto for Bennett Hogg's opera Beyond Men and Dreams was performed by the Royal Opera House Garden Venture in 1991, and she held a Hawthornden International Fellowship in 1993.

Her first book of poetry, The Peepshow Girl, was published in 1989, and her second, Raiding the Borders, in 1996. She is a regular contributor of poems and reviews to periodicals including the Times Literary Supplement and Poetry Review, and has given poetry readings at venues throughout the world. Her poems have also been published in numerous anthologies and broadcast on radio and television. She recently edited Eliza's Babes, an anthology of four centuries of poetry by women writers. Her most recently published poetry collection is New Wings: Poems 1977-2007 (2007).

Genres (in alphabetical order): Criticism, Drama, Poetry

Bibliography:

Time Present and Time Past: Poets at the University of Kent at Canterbury, 1965-1985 (editor) Yorick, 1985

Stage Images and Traditions: Shakespeare to Ford Cambridge University Press, 1987

The Peepshow Girl Bloodaxe, 1989

New Worlds: the 1992 Berkshire Literature Festival Anthology (editor with David Constantine) Berkshire Libraries, 1992

'Tis Pity She's A Whore and Other Plays / John Ford (editor) Oxford University Press, 1995

The Rover/Aphra Behn (editor) A. & C. Black, 1995

Raiding the Borders Bloodaxe, 1996

Out of the Blue (Stockholm Papers in English Literature and Linguistics 10, editor with Steven Hartman) Universitet Stockholm, 1998

A Companion to English Renaissance Literature and Culture (contributor) Blackwell, 2000

The Rover/Aphra Behn (editor, 2nd revised edition) A. & C. Black, 2000

The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's History Plays (contributor) Cambridge University Press, 2002

Eliza's Babes (editor) Bloodaxe, 2003

New Wings: Poems 1977-2007 Bloodaxe, 2007

Prizes and awards:

1981 Eric Gregory Award

1981 The Cheltenham Prize

Answered at 10:50 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

Looking for a detailed review of CHU JU'S HOUSE by Gloria Whelan?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 10:54 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

CHU JU'S HOUSE
by Gloria Whelan

HarperCollins
ISBN: 0060507241
Ages 10-up
240 pages

In her previous novels, including ANGEL ON THE SQUARE and HOMELESS BIRD (winner of the 2000 National Book Award), Gloria Whelan brought to life specific times and places --- such as modern India and revolutionary Russia --- through the stories of individual young women. With CHU JU'S HOUSE, Whelan applies her same eye for detail to modern China, in the story of a young woman who must travel far away to find the self-respect she'll never gain at home.

When Chu Ju is fourteen years old, her mother becomes pregnant. In China, poor families are limited to two children, so the whole family prays that the baby will be a boy. When the baby is a girl, Chu Ju's disappointed parents and grandmother consider sending the baby to an orphanage to give them another chance to have a son. Instead, Chu Ju, after learning of this plan, runs away to save her baby sister from an unpleasant fate. Young and inexperienced, Chu Ju travels from place to place and job to job, learning about her country and about herself as she goes. Finally, she finds what seems like a real home with the kindly old woman Han Na. Chu Ju flourishes under the older woman's care and begins to have hope for the future, and maybe even the promise of love. As Chu Ju travels throughout rural China, readers will learn about many traditional Chinese occupations: fishing, silk making and rice farming. Because of its focus on rural life and traditional work, the novel sometimes seems to be set in the distant past. But occasional references to city life (including a harrowing journey to Shanghai) and recent events such as the Tiananmen Square tragedy remind readers that this novel is indeed set in modern times.

CHU JU'S HOUSE touches on political issues in modern China, and it would be an excellent jumping-off point for discussions about politics, culture and gender roles. It's also an entertaining adventure story. Although the book is short, it covers several years in Chu Ju's life. Readers will enjoy watching this headstrong, idealistic girl grow into a strong-willed, responsible young woman.

Answered at 10:55 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

Share a gist of THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY GIFT SET by Susan Wojciechowski?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 10:50 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY GIFT SET
by Susan Wojciechowski

Candlewick
ISBN: 0763613754
Age Level: 5-up

The warm, joyful and immensely moving story of a boy who helps a bitter woodcarver emerge from a cloud of grief is now available in a handy-dandy gift set. Follow along in the hardcover book while listening to actor James Earl Jones's recording of the story on CD. A Cat's Meow wooden ornament for your tree is also included.

Answered at 10:51 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

Pls share a gist of THE CHRISTMAS RAT by Avi?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 10:53 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

THE CHRISTMAS RAT
by Avi
Atheneum/Dick Jackson
ISBN: 0689838425
Age Level: 8-12

Eric's Christmas becomes a lot less boring when he meets up with an unusual exterminator named Anje in his family's apartment complex. In this fast-paced story, Eric agrees to help Anje hunt down and kill the rat he's seen in the basement. But when Anje goes after the rat full-force with traditional poisons and traps and more, Eric isn't so sure he wants to kill the rat anymore. When Eric lets Anje know his feelings, the exterminator turns on the boy and the tale takes some intriguing twists.

Answered at 10:54 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

Share a detailed review of THE CHRISTMAS BARN by C.L. Davis?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 10:43 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

THE CHRISTMAS BARN by C.L. Davis
Pleasant Company
ISBN: 1584854146
Ages 8-11
192 pages

Roxie Dockery lives with her family in the North Carolina Mountains in 1930. The Depression is raging everywhere in the country, but it doesn't make much difference to the Dockery family. They have always been poor and they've learned to manage very well. Roxie knows that how much money you have isn't important. The stuffing you have inside you is what counts when trouble hits.

And trouble hits hard just before Christmas. Roxie and her five brothers and sisters are all looking forward to Grandpa George and Grandma Vic, her father's parents, coming to visit like they always do at Christmas. And they're looking forward to the candy that their father brings from town for their stockings, too. But snow comes instead. Lots and lots of it. Roxie wakes up one morning, opens the front door, and sees snow filling their whole porch, from floor to roof. All the kids have to climb out a little window and scoop out a trail from the side of the house all around to the door so their father can get out and help them. They use buckets and pans. Then they have to bail a path to the water pump and all the outbuildings. It takes the whole day. Worse than that, more snow comes that night, and the next day they have to do it all over again. They can't walk through the snow to school, Grandpa George and Grandma Vic won't be able to get through the snow, either, and there won't be any Christmas candy from town. But trouble isn't through with the Dockery family. One morning a few days before Christmas, when everybody except four-year-old John is outside doing the laundry, they hear a groaning sound, and then a loud snap. The big pine tree beside their house, covered with ice, bends and then breaks. Everybody watches it fall on the house, with John inside. What will they do if they've lost John? What will they do without a house in the middle of a cold and bitter winter? You will want to read this book to discover how the Dockery family face up to their troubles and show how it's what's inside you that counts, not how much trouble you have.

Answered at 10:44 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

Could you share the gist of THE CHRISTMAS GIFT/EL REGALO DE NAVIDAD by Francisco Jimenez?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 10:48 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

THE CHRISTMAS GIFT/EL REGALO DE NAVIDAD
by Francisco Jimenez

Houghton Mifflin
ISBN: 0395928699
Age Level: 5-up

An award-winning author uses his own childhood as inspiration for this bilingual (English/Spanish) holiday story. Panchito, a boy growing up in a family of migrant farm workers in California, wants a bright red ball for Christmas. Unfortunately, his parents cannot afford to get such a gift for him. But as Christmas arrives, Panchito and his family realize that difficult times don't mean they don't have anything to celebrate --- they have each other.

Answered at 10:49 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

What is the gist of THE CHRISTMAS BIRD by Sallie Ketchum?

Asked by Anne Frank in Books & Authors at 10:46 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

THE CHRISTMAS BIRD
by Sallie Ketchum
Augsburg
ISBN: 0806638710
Age Level: All Ages

Did you ever wonder how the robin got its red breast? This story offers an explanation: the robin used to be all one dark color until the special night when Jesus was born. The bird fanned the flames of a fire to keep the newborn baby warm --- and burned its breast feathers red in the process.

Answered at 10:47 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer

I want to know about author Valerie Bloom?

Asked by Mitana Mukhe in Books & Authors at 10:45 PM on February 05, 2009

myjunction's Answer

Valerie Bloom was born in Jamaica and came to England in 1979. She studied English with African and Caribbean Studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

She writes poetry in English and Jamaican patois for all ages, and has performed her work throughout the world, with many television and radio appearances. Her poetry is included in a number of anthologies and she tutors regularly for schools and colleges. Her books include the Jamaican poetry collections Touch mi! Tell mi! (1983); and Duppy Jamboree and other Jamaican Poems (1991); Hot Like Fire (2002), a collection of poems in English and Jamaican patois; and more recently, Whoop an'Shout! (2003). She has edited several collections of poetry such as On a Camel to the Moon and other poems about journeys (2001) and One River, Many Creeks: poems from all around the world (2003). Her children's novel, Surprising Joy, was published in 2003. Valerie Bloom has been awarded an Honorary Masters Degree from the University of Kent, and lives in Kent. Her latest books are The Tribe and A Soh Life Goh, both published in 2008. Genres (in alphabetical order): Fiction, Poetry

Bibliography:
Touch mi! Tell mi! Bogle- L'Ouverture, 1983

Duppy Jamboree and other Jamaican Poems Cambridge University Press, 1991

Fruits (illustrated by David Axtell) Macmillan Children's Books, 1997

Ackee, Breadfruit, Callaloo: An Edible Alphabet (illustrated by Kim Harley) Bogle-L'Ouverture, 1999

Let Me Touch The Sky: Selected Poems for Children (illustrated by Kathy Lucas) Macmillan Children's Books, 2000

New Baby (illustrated by David Axtell) Macmillan Children's Books, 2000

Selected Poems for Children Macmillan Children's Books, 2000

The World is Sweet (illustrated by Debbie Lush) Bloomsbury, 2000

On a Camel to the Moon and other poems about journeys (illustrated by Garry Parsons) Belitha, 2001

Hot Like Fire Bloomsbury, 2002

One River, Many Creeks: poems from all around the world (editor) Macmillan Children's Books, 2003

Surprising Joy Macmillan Children's Books, 2003

Whoop an' Shout! (illustrated by David Dean) Macmillan Children's Books, 2003

A Twist in the Tale (editor) Macmillan Children's Books, 2005

On Good Form: Poetry Made Simple Apples & Snakes, 2006

A Soh Life Goh Bogle-LOuverture Press, 2008

The Tribe Macmillan Children's Books, 2008

Prizes and awards:
1997 Américas Honor Award (USA) Fruits

1997 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Bronze Award) (0-5 years category) Fruits

2003 CLPE Poetry Award (shortlist) Hot Like Fire

2004 CLPE Poetry Award (shortlist) Whoop an' Shout!

2004 CLPE Poetry Award (shortlist) One River, Many Creeks: poems from all around the world

Answered at 10:46 PM on February 05, 2009

Read answer