Keen Mens Coronado II, 11, Black Gargoyle

• Coronado II
• Medium (D, M)

Between 1539 and 1542, two thousand indigenous Mexicans, led by Spanish explorers, made an armed reconnaissance of what is now the American Southwest. The Spaniards' goal was to seize control of the people of the region and convert them to the religion, economy, and way of life of sixteenth-century Spain. The new followers were expected to recognize don Francisco Vázquez de Coronado as their leader. The area's unfamiliar terrain and hostile natives doomed the expedition. The surviving Spaniards returned to Nueva España, disillusioned and heavily in debt with a trail of destruction left in their wake that would set the stage for Spain's conflicts in the future.

Flint incorporates recent archaeological and documentary discoveries to offer a new interpretation of how Spaniards attempted to conquer the New World and insight into those who resisted conq! uest.

From Dennis Lehane, the award-winning author of Mystic River, Shutter Island, and the Kenzie-Gennaro series, comes a brilliant collection of five short stories and a play.

Along with completely original material, this new col-lection is a compilation of the best of Dennis Lehane's previously published short stories, including "Until Gwen," which was adapted for the stage in 2005 and appears in this book as the title play, Coronado.

At turns suspenseful, surreal, romantic, and tragically comic, these tales journey headlong into the heart of our national myths—about class, gender, freedom, and regeneration through violence—and find that the truth waiting for us there is not what we'd expect.

The Coronado Expedition to Tierra Nueva is an engaging record of key research by archaeologists, ethnographers, historians, and geographers concerning the first organised European entrance into what is now the American Southwest and nort! hwestern Mexico. In search of where the expedition went and wh! at peopl es it encountered, this volume explores the fertile valleys of Sonora, the basins and ranges of southern Arizona, the Zuni pueblos and the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico, and the Llano Estacado of the Texas panhandle. The twenty-one contributors to the volume have pursued some of the most significant lines of research in the field in the last fifty years; their techniques range from documentary analysis and recording traditional stories to detailed examination of the landscape and excavation of campsites and Indian towns. With more confidence than ever before, researchers are closing in on the route of the conquistadors.A young woman's visit to Switzerland to surprise her fiance` finds only an empty post office box and clues that lead her to a secret military installation in Central America. Things are not what they seem as she and a seasoned reporter get caught up in the action of a political revolution.

DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Featurette!

During the 1880s, a great land boom was sweeping California. Two visionary entrepreneurs, Elisha Babcock and H. L. Story, imagined Coronado as a resort and brought their dream to reality by luring the wealthy and famous to their exclusive red-roofed hotel on the beach. John D. Spreckels continued to build upon that dream, leaving a legacy through his many gifts to the city. The U.S. Navy has played a prominent role in Coronado's development, with North Island officially known as the birthplace of naval aviation, and later, with U.S. Navy SEALs stationed at Naval Amphibious Base. Coronado and North Island are surrounded by water and only accessible by the peninsular Silver Strand and the iconic Coronado-San Diego Bay Bridge. This creates a small town atmosphere with a unique combination of cosmopolitan beach resort and navy town, rich in history.This riveting true story recounts the authorÂ’s journey on horseback across Arizona and New Mexico, retracing CoronadoÂ! ’s desperate search for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. ! First pu blished in 1992 and now available only from UNM Press, this classic adventure tale reveals the Southwest as it was when Europeans first saw it and shows how much, and how little, it has changed. “The great myth of the American West,” Preston writes, “is that there was a winning of it.”

Along with completely original material, this new collection is a compilation of the best of Dennis Lehane's previously published short fiction, including "Until Gwen," which was adapted for the stage in 2005 and appears in this book as the play Coronado. By turns suspenseful, surreal, romantic, and tragically comic, these powerful tales journey headlong into the heart of our national mythsâ€"and reveal that the truth awaiting us there is not what we would expect.

Along with completely original material, this new collection is a compilation of the best of Dennis Lehane's previously published short fiction, including "Until Gwen," which was adapted for the stage ! in 2005 and appears in this book as the play Coronado. By turns suspenseful, surreal, romantic, and tragically comic, these powerful tales journey headlong into the heart of our national mythsâ€"and reveal that the truth awaiting us there is not what we would expect.

Keen Coronado II Mens Black Gargoyle

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Coco Chanel

• Academy Award winning actress Shirley MacLaine stars as Coco Chanel in this critically acclaimed film that charts the rise of one of the most influential designers of the 20th century. From her humble childhood and early days as a young dressmaker's assistant, to her passionate love affair with a dashing Englishman and ultimate success as a pioneering fashion icon, Coco Chanel is the story of a gl

Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amélie) shines in this intriguing portrait of the early life of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the orphan who would build a fashion empire and be known universally by her nickname, Coco. She journeys from a mundane seamstress job to boisterous cabarets to the opulent French countryside, possessing little more than her unwavering determination, unique style and visionary talent. Also starring Benoît Poelvoorde (In His Hands) and Alessandro Nivola (Junebug). Featuring lush settings and stunning costume design, Coco Before Chanel is the gripping and dramatic story of an icon who defied convention and defined the modern woman.Before she became Coco, the world-famous fashion designer, Gabrielle Chanel (Audrey Tautou in a fiercely determined performance) struggled to make ends meet. After her mother's death, her father deposited her and her sister, Adrienne (Marie Gillain), at an orphanage, where they learned to sew (and where Chanel developed a taste for monochromatic ensembles). They went on to become cabaret singers, but when Adrienne runs off with a wealthy suitor, the newly christened Coco must go it alone until she meets gentleman farmer Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde). She lives comfortably at his chateau, but he refuses to take her out in public, so she puts her skills as a seamstress to good use and designs outfits for his lady friends, like Emilienne (Emmanuelle Devos), an actress. Chanel's sit! uation improves further when British investor Arthur "Boy" Cap! el (Ales sandro Nivola with an impeccable French accent) enters the scene. Her working-class origins present less of a problem with Capel, though the couple will have other issues with which to contend. In the meantime, he gives her the money to open her own Parisian studio, and the film ends with the tweed suit-clad Chanel of the popular imagination. Until that time, writer-director Anne Fontaine (The Girl from Monaco) presents a very different character, a woman who wasn't worldly or sophisticated, but who saw no reason why fashion--or "style," as she called it--should be complicated or uncomfortable. In transforming herself, Coco Chanel transformed an entire industry and, arguably, an entire gender. --Kathleen C. Fennessy


Stills from Coco Before Chanel (Click for larger image)

Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amélie) shines ! in this intriguing portrait of the early life of Gabrielle Bon! heur Cha nel, the orphan who would build a fashion empire and be known universally by her nickname, Coco. She journeys from a mundane seamstress job to boisterous cabarets to the opulent French countryside, possessing little more than her unwavering determination, unique style and visionary talent. Also starring Benoît Poelvoorde (In His Hands) and Alessandro Nivola (Junebug). Featuring lush settings and stunning costume design, Coco Before Chanel is the gripping and dramatic story of an icon who defied convention and defined the modern woman.Before she became Coco, the world-famous fashion designer, Gabrielle Chanel (Audrey Tautou in a fiercely determined performance) struggled to make ends meet. After her mother's death, her father deposited her and her sister, Adrienne (Marie Gillain), at an orphanage, where they learned to sew (and where Chanel developed a taste for monochromatic ensembles). They went on to become cabaret singers, but when Adrienne runs off ! with a wealthy suitor, the newly christened Coco must go it alone until she meets gentleman farmer Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde). She lives comfortably at his chateau, but he refuses to take her out in public, so she puts her skills as a seamstress to good use and designs outfits for his lady friends, like Emilienne (Emmanuelle Devos), an actress. Chanel's situation improves further when British investor Arthur "Boy" Capel (Alessandro Nivola with an impeccable French accent) enters the scene. Her working-class origins present less of a problem with Capel, though the couple will have other issues with which to contend. In the meantime, he gives her the money to open her own Parisian studio, and the film ends with the tweed suit-clad Chanel of the popular imagination. Until that time, writer-director Anne Fontaine (The Girl from Monaco) presents a very different character, a woman who wasn't worldly or sophisticated, but who saw no reason why fashion--or "styl! e," as she called it--should be complicated or uncomfortable. ! In trans forming herself, Coco Chanel transformed an entire industry and, arguably, an entire gender. --Kathleen C. Fennessy


Stills from Coco Before Chanel (Click for larger image)

Academy Award winning actress Shirley MacLaine stars as Coco Chanel in this critically acclaimed film that charts the rise of one of the most influential designers of the 20th century. From her humble childhood and early days as a young dressmaker's assistant, to her passionate love affair with a dashing Englishman and ultimate success as a pioneering fashion icon, Coco Chanel is the story of a glamorous woman who was hard to love and harder to ignore. Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominated, Coco Chanel is a must-see film for every lover of fashion and romance.Lovers of fashion, Paris, and love will adore Coco Chanel, a stylish biopic about the legend! ary fashion designer whose incredible vision and style would g! o on to become one of the most influential of the 20th century. And while Coco (née Gabrielle) Chanel's focus on her work was undeniable, and expertly chronicled in Coco Chanel, so, too, are her passionate loves--giving the film its depth and humanity. Shirley MacLaine shines as the older Coco, looking back at her legacy from the middle of the century, with her longtime companion and No. 1 booster, Marc Bouchier (Malcolm McDowell), at her side. MacLaine is equal parts arrogant, dismissive, and steadfast in her objective--yet just vulnerable enough to let viewers see the real woman beneath the hard exterior of international success. The stunning cast includes the Czechoslovakian-born Barbora Bobulova as the young Coco--as gamine and winsome as the young Shirley MacLaine--a determined young woman willing to work hard in a man's field and stay true to her own vision. Fashion fans will love learning the story of Chanel's rise from her poor beginnings in an orphanage to he! r hardscrabble start as a seamstress in Paris, slowly making contacts (and charming dashing young gentlemen) and insinuating her idea of elegant chic into the minds of a populace hungry for it. Chanel's conception of a fashion empire included the then-revolutionary idea of incorporating other products, like perfume; the young Coco, in creating her signature scent, said when launching Chanel No. 5, "I am sure this will be my lucky number." The DVD includes a fascinating making-of feature that shows the details of shooting on location and how the filmmakers got the period details absolutely parfait. --A.T. Hurley

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Dorian Gray

• DORIAN GRAY (DVD MOVIE)

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.A lush, cautionary tale of a life of vileness and deception or a loving portrait of the aesthetic impulse run rampant? Why not both? After Basil Hallward paints a beautiful, young man's portrait, his subject's frivolous wish that the picture change and he remain the same comes true. Dorian Gray's picture grows aged and corrupt while he continues to appear fresh and innocent. After he kills a young woman, "as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife," Dorian Gray is surprised to find no difference in his vision or surroundings. "The roses are not less lovely for all that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden."

As Hallward tries to make sense ! of his creation, his epigram-happy friend Lord Henry Wotton encourages Dorian in his sensual quest with any number of Wildean paradoxes, including the delightful "When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy." But despite its many languorous pleasures, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an imperfect work. Compared to the two (voyeuristic) older men, Dorian is a bore, and his search for ever new sensations far less fun than the novel's drawing-room discussions. Even more oddly, the moral message of the novel contradicts many of Wilde's supposed aims, not least "no artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style." Nonetheless, the glamour boy gets his just deserts. And Wilde, defending Dorian Gray, had it both ways: "All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment."This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community ! of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase o! f the Ki ndle edition includes wireless delivery.Forever young. Forever cursed. Based on the acclaimed novel by Oscar Wilde. Upon arriving in London, the young and powerful Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) becomes drawn into a world of debauchery and decadence by Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth). Desperate to preserve the beauty captured in his exquisite portrait, Dorian trades his soul for eternal youth â€" leading him down a path of wickedness and murder in order to protect his horrifying secret.

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

• Fantasy Adventure. Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahlic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his

Fantasy Adventure. Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, draw golden tickets from Wonka chocolate bars! and win a guided tour of the legendary candy-making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years. Dazzled by one amazing sight after another, Charlie is drawn into Wonka's fantastic world in this astonishing andenduring story.Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous Wonka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to! be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's morality tale! on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in Finding Neverland), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka from 34 years earlier. --Jeff ShannonWilly Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last! But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt,! Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee, and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, along with Roald Dahl's other tales for younger readers, make him a true star of children's literature. Dahl seems to know just how far to go with his oddball fantasies; in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, for example, nasty Violet Beauregarde blows up into a blueberry from sneaking forbidden chewing gum, and bratty Augustus Gloop is carried away on the river of chocolate he wouldn't resist. In fact, all manner of disasters can happen to the most obnoxiously deserving of children because Dahl portrays each incident with such resourcefulness and humor.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a singular delight, crammed with mad fantasy, childhood justice and revenge, and as much candy ! as you can eat. The book is also available in Spanish (Char! lie y la Fabrica de Chocolate). (The suggested age range for this book is 9-12, but nobody this reviewer has met can resist it, including New York City bellhops, flight attendants, and grumpy teenagers.) A poor little boy wins a ticket to visit the inside of a mysterious and magical chocolate factory. When he experiences the wonders inside the factory, the boy discovers that the entire visit is a test of his character.Having proven itself as a favorite film of children around the world, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is every bit as entertaining now as it was when originally released in 1971. There's a timeless appeal to Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, which was playfully preserved in this charming musical, from the colorful carnival-like splendor of its production design to the infectious melody of the "Oompah-Loompah" songs that punctuate the story. Who can forget those diminutive Oompah-Loompah workers who recite rhyming parental warnings ("Oompah-Loom! pah, doopity do...") whenever some mischievous child has disobeyed Willy Wonka's orders to remain orderly? Oh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves ... it's really the story of the impoverished Charlie Bucket, who, along with four other kids and their parental guests, wins a coveted golden ticket to enter the fantastic realm of Wonka's mysterious confectionery. After the other kids have proven themselves to be irresponsible brats, it's Charlie who impresses Wonka and wins a reward beyond his wildest dreams. But before that, the tour of Wonka's factory provides a dazzling parade of delights, and with Gene Wilder giving a brilliant performance as the eccentric candyman, Wonka gains an edge of menace and madness that nicely counterbalances the movie's sentimental sweetness. It's that willingness to risk a darker tone--to show that even a wonderland like Wonka's can be a weird and dangerous place if you're a bad kid--that makes this an enduring family classic. --Jeff ! ShannonSummary:
0

About the Author:
• 0
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator:0
Publisher:Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published Date:09/11/2001
Format:Hardcover
ISBN:0375815597
#of pages:#N/A
Deliciously madcap mayhem and out-of-this-world fantasy--this is what you'll find within the casing of this boxed set of two of Roald Dahl's most brilliant creations: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.

For decades, delighted readers of all ages have explored Willy Wonka's fabulous chocolate factory, met the Oompa Loompas, and sampled the chocolate river along with Augustus Gloop. And later, they have zoomed off into the stratosphere in the most remarkable elevator ever created. Now, a new generation of readers barely needs to pause between the first and the second of Roald Dahl's masterful volumes. Hardcover editions of each title, illustrated of course by the incomparable Quentin Blake, are tucked in a hand! y cardboard sleeve, ready for the next set of hungry eyes. Sadly, the convenience of the set is counterbalanced by the poor quality of the paper used for the books. Classics like these deserve thick, creamy, opaque pages; not the flimsy, rough, semitransparent sheets used here. (Ages 7 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG
•Format: Blu-Ray
•Runtime: 115 minutes
Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own ! unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous W! onka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's morality tale on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in Finding Neverland), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of ! Wonka from 34 years earlier. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
The second disc is filled with a number of distinctive featurettes. The likely crowd-pleaser in most households is "Attack of the Squirrels," which recounts how those fuzzy little creatures (a combination of hard-to-train live animals, animatronics, and computer graphics) can be ornery in their own right. "The Fantastic Mr. Dahl" is a 17-minute look at author Roald Dahl through vintage footage and new interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. "Becoming Oompa-Loompa" follows Deep Roy as he is filmed over and over again through his dance steps and music performances.

Roy is a constant throughout the kids' activities as well. You can follow him to learn two different dance steps "Augustus Gloop" and "Violet Beauregarde," and make him taste weird candy inventions in a simple game. "Search for the Golden Ticket" is a five-part challenge that tests your remote-control fingers, your deducti! ve abilities, or your luck. Finally, if you just want basic be! hind-the -scenes information, "Making the Mix" is a collection of featurettes (around 40 minutes total) covering the film's casting, music, production design, and special effects. --David HoriuchiA poor little boy wins a ticket to visit the inside of a mysterious and magical chocolate factory. When he experiences the wonders inside the factory, the boy discovers that the entire visit is a test of his character.Having proven itself as a favorite film of children around the world, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is every bit as entertaining now as it was when originally released in 1971. There's a timeless appeal to Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, which was playfully preserved in this charming musical, from the colorful carnival-like splendor of its production design to the infectious melody of the "Oompah-Loompah" songs that punctuate the story. Who can forget those diminutive Oompah-Loompah workers who recite rhyming parental warnings ("Oompah-Loompah, doopi! ty do...") whenever some mischievous child has disobeyed Willy Wonka's orders to remain orderly? Oh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves ... it's really the story of the impoverished Charlie Bucket, who, along with four other kids and their parental guests, wins a coveted golden ticket to enter the fantastic realm of Wonka's mysterious confectionery. After the other kids have proven themselves to be irresponsible brats, it's Charlie who impresses Wonka and wins a reward beyond his wildest dreams. But before that, the tour of Wonka's factory provides a dazzling parade of delights, and with Gene Wilder giving a brilliant performance as the eccentric candyman, Wonka gains an edge of menace and madness that nicely counterbalances the movie's sentimental sweetness. It's that willingness to risk a darker tone--to show that even a wonderland like Wonka's can be a weird and dangerous place if you're a bad kid--that makes this an enduring family classic. --Jeff ShannonWe recommend you read this unit on your kindle machine with a! 1 font for best viewing
This unit study offers many wonderful activities to use while having students read the book. There are between 6 and 10 lessons. Activities in this lesson include Fill in the Blank, Multiple Choice, True and False, Comprehension, Encyclopedia Skills Activity, Journal Activity, Vocabulary, Sequencing, Handwriting, Main Idea, Prediction, Comparison

Literature Skills Activities including: Main Character, Main Setting, Main Problem, Possible Solutions, Character Traits, Character Interaction, Cause and Effect, Description, Pyramid of Importance, Villain vs. Hero.

Creative Writing Activities including: Letter, Fairy Tale, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fable, Dream or Nightmare, Tall Tale, Memoir, Newberry Award, A Different Ending.

Writing Skills Activities including: Description, Expository, Dialogue, Process, Point of View, Persuasion, Compare and Contrast, Sequel, Climax and Plot Analysis.

Poetry Skills Activities i! ncluding: Couplet, Triplet, Quinzain, Haiku, Cinquain, Tanka, Diamanté, Lantern and Shape Poem.

Create a Newspaper Layout Activities including: Editorial, Travel, Advice Column, Comics, Society News, Sports, Obituary, Weddings, Book Review, Want Ads, Word Search.

Poster Board Activities including: Collage, Theater Poster, Wanted Poster, Coat of Arms, Story Quilt, Chalk Art, Silhouette, Board Game Construction, Door Sign, Jeopardy.

We also offer more activities including instructions for a lapbook at our home site. If you purchase this unit study and let us know by sending us proof of purchase, we will download this unit in PDF version to you which has more activities and the lapbook instructions.

We recommend you read this unit on your kindle machine with a 1 font for best viewing
This unit study offers many wonderful activities to use while having students read the book. There are between 6 and 10 lessons. Activities in t! his lesson include Fill in the Blank, Multiple Choice, True an! d False, Comprehension, Encyclopedia Skills Activity, Journal Activity, Vocabulary, Sequencing, Handwriting, Main Idea, Prediction, Comparison

Literature Skills Activities including: Main Character, Main Setting, Main Problem, Possible Solutions, Character Traits, Character Interaction, Cause and Effect, Description, Pyramid of Importance, Villain vs. Hero.

Creative Writing Activities including: Letter, Fairy Tale, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fable, Dream or Nightmare, Tall Tale, Memoir, Newberry Award, A Different Ending.

Writing Skills Activities including: Description, Expository, Dialogue, Process, Point of View, Persuasion, Compare and Contrast, Sequel, Climax and Plot Analysis.

Poetry Skills Activities including: Couplet, Triplet, Quinzain, Haiku, Cinquain, Tanka, Diamanté, Lantern and Shape Poem.

Create a Newspaper Layout Activities including: Editorial, Travel, Advice Column, Comics, Society News, Sports, Obituary, Weddings, Book! Review, Want Ads, Word Search.

Poster Board Activities including: Collage, Theater Poster, Wanted Poster, Coat of Arms, Story Quilt, Chalk Art, Silhouette, Board Game Construction, Door Sign, Jeopardy.

We also offer more activities including instructions for a lapbook at our home site. If you purchase this unit study and let us know by sending us proof of purchase, we will download this unit in PDF version to you which has more activities and the lapbook instructions.

Fantasy Adventure. Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, draw golden tickets from Wo! nka chocolate bars and win a guided tour of the legendary cand! y-making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years. Dazzled by one amazing sight after another, Charlie is drawn into Wonka's fantastic world in this astonishing andenduring story.Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous Wonka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's mora! lity tale on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in Finding Neverland), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka from 34 years earlier. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
The second disc is filled with a number of distinctive featurettes. The likely crowd-pleaser in most households is "Attac! k of the Squirrels," which recounts how those fuzzy little cre! atures ( a combination of hard-to-train live animals, animatronics, and computer graphics) can be ornery in their own right. "The Fantastic Mr. Dahl" is a 17-minute look at author Roald Dahl through vintage footage and new interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. "Becoming Oompa-Loompa" follows Deep Roy as he is filmed over and over again through his dance steps and music performances.

Roy is a constant throughout the kids' activities as well. You can follow him to learn two different dance steps "Augustus Gloop" and "Violet Beauregarde," and make him taste weird candy inventions in a simple game. "Search for the Golden Ticket" is a five-part challenge that tests your remote-control fingers, your deductive abilities, or your luck. Finally, if you just want basic behind-the-scenes information, "Making the Mix" is a collection of featurettes (around 40 minutes total) covering the film's casting, music, production design, and special effects. --David Horiuchi

Read more »

Factory Girl (Unrated)

• (Drama) "Factory Girl" tells the story of the rise and fall of the original "IT GIRL" Edie Sedgwick. When Edie meets famed artist Andy Warhol, she is thrust into a life of glamour, parties and ultimately tragedy. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR Age: 796019804943 UPC: 796019804943 Manufacturer No: 80494

(Drama) "Factory Girl" tells the story of the rise and fall of the original "IT GIRL" Edie Sedgwick. When Edie meets famed artist Andy Warhol, she is thrust into a life of glamour, parties and ultimately…tragedy.The lovely face of Sienna Miller fills in for luminous but tragic 1960s icon Edie Sedgwick, the child of wealth and privilege who found brief delight but eventual destruction in the fabled Factory of Pop artist Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce). Factory Girl begins with Sedgwick as a naive art student who comes to New York City seeking freedom from her troubled family, j! ust as Warhol was surrounding himself with oddballs, sycophants, and drug addicts. The eager girl briefly becomes Warhol's favorite and the center of the city's attention, but when she falls into an affair with 'The Musician' (the only slightly ambiguous depiction of a certain nasal-voiced rock star, played by Hayden Christensen, Shattered Glass), Warhol is stricken with jealousy. Factory Girl wants to paint Warhol as the villain in this story of innocence corrupted, but the casting undercuts the movie's moral. Miller, though pretty and capable, never takes us under Sedgwick's skin, and Christensen's performance is one-note and clumsy. But Pearce's Warhol fascinates; it's a sneaky, stealthy performance, predatory yet passive, hiding a million neuroses beneath a cunningly vapid facade. Whenever Pearce is on-screen, Factory Girl sparkles; when he's not--despite abundant views of Miller's and Christensen's attractive naked flesh in the "uncut unrated" vers! ion--the movie loses its fizz. Also featuring Mena Suvari (! American Beauty), Jimmy Fallon (Fever Pitch), and Illeana Douglas (Grace of My Heart). --Bret Fetzer

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Captain America: The First Avenger (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

• 1 Blueray Disk Only.
• In Jewel Case
• Preowned
• Great Condition

Captain America leads the fight for freedom in the action-packed blockbuster starring Chris Evans as the ultimate weapon against evil! When a terrifying force threatens everyone across the globe, the world’s greatest soldier wages war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, The Matrix). Critics and audiences alike salute Captain America: The First Avenger as “pure excitement, pure action, and pure fun!” â€" Bryan Erdy CBS-TVThe Marvel Comics superhero Captain America was born of World War II, so if you're going to do the origin story in a movie you'd better set it in the 1940s. But how, then, to reconcile that hero with the 21st-century mega-blockbuster The Avengers, a 2012 summit meeting of the Marvel giants, where Captain America join! s Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk and other super pals? Stick around, and we'll get to that. In 1943, a sawed-off (but gung-ho) military reject named Steve Rogers is enlisted in a super-secret experiment masterminded by adorable scientist Stanley Tucci and skeptical military bigwig Tommy Lee Jones. Rogers emerges, taller and sporting greatly expanded pectoral muscles, along with a keen ability to bounce back from injury. In both sections Rogers is played by Chris Evans, whose sly humor makes him a good choice for the otherwise stalwart Cap. (Benjamin Button-esque effects create the shrinky Rogers, with Evans's head attached.) The film comes up with a viable explanation for the red-white-and-blue suit 'n' shield--Rogers is initially trotted out as a war bonds fundraiser, in costume--and a rousing first combat mission for our hero, who finally gets fed up with being a poster boy. Director Joe Johnston (The Wolfman) makes a lot of pretty pictures along the way, ! although the war action goes generic for a while and the clima! x feels a little rushed. Kudos to Hugo Weaving, who makes his Nazi villain a grand adversary (with, if the ear doesn't lie, an imitation of Werner Herzog's accent). If most of the movie is enjoyable, the final 15 minutes or so reveals a curious weakness in the overall design: because Captain America needs to pop up in The Avengers, the resolution of the 1943 story line must include a bridge to the 21st century, which makes for some tortured (and unsatisfying) plot developments. Nevertheless: that shield is really cool. --Robert Horton

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Fred Claus

• This is a story you?ve never heard before, a hilarious and heartwarming comedy about Fred Claus, Santa?s brother ? and complete opposite. After growing up in saintly Nick?s shadow, Fred becomes a grouch who?s lost his belief in Christmas. Then, one magical December, Fred flies north (first via reindeer) to find brother Nick is in trouble: a scheming efficiency expert is out to shut down Christmas

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG
•Format: DVD
•Runtime: 116 minutes
Vince Vaughn is enormously enjoyable as the titular Fred Claus, disgruntled older brother of the better-known St. Nicholas himself, i.e., the North Pole’s very own Santa (Paul Giamatti). A garrulous hustler running from the emotional fallout of the ultimate sibling rivalry, poor Fred keeps trying to find happiness through one failed scheme after another, pushing away the people! who care about him most. When brother Santa puts the squeeze on him to help out in the toy factory atop the world, Fred turns the place into one big, raucous party. Unfortunately, he’s unaware that Santa and Mrs. Claus (Miranda Richardson) are under tight scrutiny from an oversight committee (represented by a calculating Kevin Spacey) and could be shut down. The film, directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), gleams and twinkles the way a holiday movie should, and has plenty of fun material for youngsters, including a wacky chase scene in which Fred goes on the run from a half-dozen, angry Salvation Army Santas. But Fred Claus is also supposed to appeal to hip adults with a taste for ironic farce, and on that score the movie feels like a succession of Saturday Night Live skits more than an organic whole. Still, Vaughn holds everything together with a smart, insightful performance that looks deep into his character’s torment--with more than a few! laughs. --Tom Keogh

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National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition

• ISBN13: 9780792253143
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

A New York Times Book of the Year
A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
Winner of the Salon Book Award
A Village Voice Book of the Year

Birds of America is the celebrated collection of twelve stories from Lorrie Moore, one of the finest authors at work today.
 
“Fluid, cracked, mordant, colloquial…. Stand[s] by itself as one of our funniest, most telling anatomies of human love and vulnerability.” â€"The New York Times Book Review

“A marvelous collection…. Her stories are tough, lean, funny, and metaphysical…. Birds of America has about it a wild beauty that simply makes one feel more connected t! o life.” â€"The Boston Globe
 
“At once sad, funny, lyrical and prickly, Birds of America attests to the deepening emotional chiaroscuro of her wise and beguiling work.” â€"The New York Times
 
“Stunning…. There’s really no one like Moore; in a perfect marriage of art form and mind, she has made the short story her own.” â€"Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
“Birds of America stands as a major work of American short fiction…. Absolutely mastered.” â€"Elle
 
“Wonderful…. These stories impart such terrifying truths.” â€"Philadelphia Inquirer
 
“Lorrie Moore soars with Birds of America.... A marvelous, fiercely funny book.” â€"Newsweek
 
“Fifty years from now, it may well turn out that the work of very few American writers has as much to say about what it means to be alive in our time as that of Lorrie Moore.â€!  â€"Harper’s MagazineLorrie Moore made her debut in ! 1985 wit h Self-Help, which proved that she could write about sadness, sex, and the single girl with as much tenderness--and with considerably more wit--than almost any of her contemporaries. She followed this story collection with another, Like Life, as well as two fine novels, Anagrams and Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? Yet Moore's rapid-fire alternation of mirth and deep melancholy is so perfectly suited to the short form that readers will greet Birds of America with an audible sigh of relief--and delight. In "Willing," for example, a second-rate Hollywood starlet retreats into a first-rate depression, taking shelter in a Chicago-area Days Inn. The author's eye for the small comic detail is intact: her juice-bar-loving heroine initially drowns her sorrows in "places called I Love Juicy or Orange-U-Sweet." Yet Moore seldom satisfies herself with mere pop-cultural mockery. She's too interested in the small and large devastations of ! life, which her actress is experiencing in spades. "Walter leaned her against his parked car," Moore relates. "His mouth was slightly lopsided, paisley-shaped, his lips anneloid and full, and he kissed her hard. There was something numb and on hold in her. There were small dark pits of annihilation she discovered in her heart, in the loosening fist of it, and she threw herself into them, falling." Elsewhere, the author serves up a similar mixture of one-liners and contemporary grief, lamenting the death of a housecat in "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens" and the death of a marriage in "Which Is More Than I Can Say About That." And her hilarious account of a nuclear family undergoing a meltdown in "Charades" will make you want to avoid parlor games for the rest of your natural life. --James Marcus Subtitled The Audubon Society baby elephant folio , this spectacular new edition reproduces all 435 of Audubon's hand-colored engravings from the original p! lates of the Audubon Society's archival copy of the Double ele! phant fo lio . Reorganized and annotated by the famed Roger Tory Peterson (who also

From the National Wildlife Federation® comes the most up-to-date, all-photographic field guide to North American birds. Birders will find it indispensable: this single, portable volume features more than 750 species, along with more than 2,000 stunning images by leading nature photographers showing birds in their natural habitats. Captions highlight important field marks, and comprehensive species accounts describe habitats, behavior, flight, migration, songs, and plumages. Other features include: more than 600 maps showing bird distribution in every season; strategies for watching and identifying birds; a complete species index plus a quick-flip index; a glossary of terms; and a checklist of birds. The guide’s unique waterproof cover makes it especially valuable for use in the field.

Essential for the estimated 62 million Americans who watch and feed birds in their backyardsâ€"from the ex! perts at National Geographic and co-author of the popular and perennial best seller Field Guide to the Birds of North America.
 
No matter where you liveâ€"in the country, city, a high-rise or houseâ€"this handy guide will quench your curiosity about the feathered creatures in your midst. It features 150 of the most common and interesting birds likely to be observed at backyard feeders, nesting nearby or just migrating through. An indispensable visual index of all 150 species appears on the inside front and back laminated covers, making identification a snap.
 
Beginning with Backyard Basics, an easy-to-follow, richly illustrated presentation on observing and identifying birdsâ€"with tips on attracting and feeding your favorite birds, birdhouses, and bird-friendly landscapes to entice nestingâ€"the book is full of National Geographic’s iconic field guide images and maps.
 
Core species on everyone’s listâ€"such as robins, woodpeckers, bluebi! rds and chickadeesâ€"are featured in two-page spreads includin! g practi cal tips with additional imagery. Sidebars captivate with interesting and little known facts.
 
Backyard Guide to Birds is linked to even more content, including audio of each of the book’s 150 birds’ songs and calls at nationalgeographic.com/birding.Birding is the fastest growing wildlife-related activity in the U.S., and even conservative estimates put the current number of U.S. birders at 50 million. According to the New York Times, some authorities predict that by 2050 there will be more than 100 millionâ€"and the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America will be the essential reference for field identification and the cornerstone of any birder's library. This is the ultimate, indispensable bird field guideâ€"comprehensive, authoritative, portable, sturdy, and easier than ever to use.

Among the the new edition's key elements and practical improvements: Every North American speciesâ€"more than 960, including a ! new section on accidental birdsâ€"classified according to the latest official American Ornithologists' Union checklist 4,000 full-color illustrations by the foremost bird artists at work todayand newly updated range maps that draw on the latest data New durable cover for added protection against adverse weather, plus informative quick-reference flaps that double as placemarkers New reader-friendly features like thumbtabs that make locating key sections faster and easier, and a quick-find index to direct users straight to the information they need.

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Dollie & Me Girls 2-6X Holiday Plaid Dress, Black/Red Plaid, 6

• Front center non-functional velvet bow with square silver buckle at waistline
• Functional self fabric back ties
• Entire dress is lined
• Invisible zipper at center back
• Crinoline attached to lining hem of skirt

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