In the beginning before Thread before the Dragons before the Holds & the Weyrs & the elite Dragonriders of Pern was just the great ships gliding through space with nearly six thousand colonists prepared to tackle the mighty task of beginning a new world on a strange planet. It was a jewel of a planet with rivers & seas & mountains & breathable air & growing things. Then came the terror. The strange unidentifiable circles in the grass suddenly revealed a meaning & every living thing was at risk. Many died -- a horrible & consuming death. All resources every man woman & child had to fight the terrible nightmare of Thread. But a new creature was about to save the planet. From the delicate fire lizards a new life was born -- a new symbiosis between man & beast. ...

When Menolly daughter of Yanus Sea Holder arrived at the Harper Craft Hall she came in style aboard a huge bronze dragon followed by her nine fire lizards. The Masterharper of Pern aware of her unique skills had chosen her as his only girl apprentice. But the holdless girl had first to overcome many heartaches in this strange new life. Two things sustained her -- her devoted lizards a subject on which she was fitted to instruct her Masters -- & the music...music of compelling beauty music-making where at last she was accepted. In the Great Hall Menolly could fulfil her destiny. ...

' Dear Uncle Morton. You'd better get on a plane right now & come back here. Your dragon has eaten Jemima.' It had sounded so easy: Edward was going to look after Uncle Morton's unusual pet for a week while he went on holiday. But soon the fridge is empty the curtains are blazing & the postman is fleeing down the garden path. ' Short sharp & funny'
- Telegraph
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Dear Uncle Morton Ziggy wont move from the linen cupboard. He still hasnt eaten a thing. Not even a Malteser. Im really quite worried about him. Eddie had thought that this time dragonsitting would be easy
- until Ziggy disappears only to be found in the linen cupboard refusing to budge. But moving Ziggy is the last thing on Eddies mind when he learns that his uncles dragon has been keeping a big secret...
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With its fiery breath scaly armour & baleful malevolent stare the dragon became the ultimate symbol of evil & corruption in European folklore & mythology. Often serving as a st&-in for Satan or the power of evil gods dragons spread death & hopelessness throughout the l&. Only heroes of uncommon valour courageousness & purity could hope to battle these monsters & emerge victorious. Those that did became legends. They became dragonslayers. The list of dragonslayers is small but it is filled with great & legendary names. Hercules Beowulf Sigurd & Saint George all battled to the death with dragons. Other heroes such as Cadmus founder of the city of Thebes Dieudonne de Gozon the Knight of Rhodes & the Russian warrior Dobrynya Nikitich might be less well known to western readers but also fought & defeated dragons. This book retells the greatest legends of this select group of warriors while examining the myth of the dragonslayer in historical mythological & even theological contexts. ...

In the wake of an earthquake the water level of an Icelandic lake drops suddenly revealing the skeleton of a man half-buried in its sandy bed. It is clear immediately that it has been there for many years. There is a large hole in the skull. Yet more mysteriously a heavy communication device is attached to it possibly some sort of radio transmitter bearing inscriptions in Russian. The police are called in & Erlendur Elinborg & Sigurdur Oli begin their investigation which gradually leads them back to the time of the Cold War when bright left-wing students would be sent from Iceland to study in the heavenly state of Communist East Germany. The Draining Lake" is another remarkable Indridason mystery about passions & shattered dreams the fate of the missing & the grief of those left behind." ...

Georgie loves acting & is desperate to win her dream role in the school play. But when she messes up at the audition her smug rival gets the part instead. Disappointed but ever hopeful Georgie secretly attends the plays rehearsals but its only a matter of time before shes discovered
- & finds herself in trouble. Will she ever get the chance to show what she can really do? Filled with secrets hopes dreams & above all the power of friendship School Friends" is addictive reading for girls."
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The residents of Prior's Ford are facing more upheaval.. . There are new arrivals at Prior's Ford
- Meredith & Genevieve Whitelaw
-

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This book is a compact guide to reading plays & to the art & techniques of drama. Ranging from classical Greece to modern Drama & performance but with particular emphasis on the playwrights (including Shakespeare) who are most widely taught & performed the Handbook covers the whole range of literary aesthetic & political questions attending drama from theatre designs & acting styles to audience composition & editing printed texts. Looking closely at both text & performance successive sections give clear & detailed information about the conventions of playtexts the histories of genre performance spaces & theatre personnel as well as current theatre practices. Each chapter also provides an appropriate technical & critical vocabulary conveniently gathered in a full indexed glossary. A final section dealing with drama essays & exams

Includes:: sample student essays & the bibliography

Includes:: targeted further reading as well as extensive guides to playwrights in print & plays on film. Lucid practical & thorough this book is an invaluable resource for anyone who reads plays.



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The first publication of Drama of Being a Child & of this 1997 edition are separated by fifteen years of experience
- the authors
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