Verduz’ house on Parsley Street were an unbelievable stroke of luck. No matter that every stick of furniture and even the cracked dishes were borrowed from a grudging but kind landlady, that food was so scarce they were nearly always hungry, that Matthias, loving the stars and growing things, was assigned to construction work by the Labor Office. Now that there was a roof over their heads, Joey and Andrea could attend school, and perhaps Father, if he was still alive, would find his way to them from the prison camp in Russia.It was a makeshift arrangement at best, but somehow Mother made the cheerless rooms homelike, and soon there were good friends⁠—lovable, half wild Hans Ulrich who treasure hunted with Joey in the ruins of bombed out houses; musical Dieter; and plump, cheerful Lenchen⁠—to share their meager but merry Christmas celebration. Only shy, lonely Margaret, who felt that half herself had died with her twin brother Christian in East Germany, made no special friend, unless one counted Caliph, Mrs. Verduz’ cat. But eventually it was Margaret’s love of animals that led her to sprightly Mrs. Almut and Rowan Farm and, before the next Christmas, Matthias had exchanged his hated job for the hard but satisfying work of the farm. Margaret, too, happily caring for Mrs. Almut’s Great Danes, was beginning to understand the inexorable cycle of life and death, and the Ark, an old railroad car on the farm converted into a home, was ready to receive a reunited family.The Ark paints an honest, realistic picture of the terrible aftermath of war in a defeated country. Most of all, it is the story of courage⁠—the courage of real people who, caught up in the adversity that shattered their lives, can still look at the future with hope and at the past without bitterness.

    Alison was broken hearted that she could not fulfil her dream of keeping house for her father. Elizabeth decided that the new Mrs Verney had somehow trapped her father into marriage. Georgie’s vision was coloured by fairy tales, and even Susan was shaken out of her comfort zone. But Nan had her own weapons which included patience, humour and good cooking and the battle was more than half won before Nigel Gifford, the great Shakespearean actor, arrived on the scene to give the thrill of a lifetime to a family who loved acting above everything.

    She remembers the sweet cedar smell in the air and the sun pressing on her head. But she also remembers Tabitha, the slave at the hotel who doesn’t have a last name, and she remembers the heaps of rags the slaves use for beds. Most of all, though, she remembers the slave auction where people were bought and sold like sacks of flour. Nettie can't forget these images, and she can't help but wonder what life would be like if she were a slave.

    Based on a series of lectures given at Harvard in 1944 and first published in 1948, this book is a brilliant examination of the materials and concepts that are the basic building blocks of music — harmony, melody, counterpoint, and form.An admirable reconciliation of traditional and modern (mainly 12-tone) trends in composition, this book shows all types of writing must respond to psychological wants of the listener and how similar goals may be achieved in seemingly opposed styles. Illustrating his discussion with 390 musical examples, Toch not only introduces new ideas and approaches, but examines many age-old problems with clarity and precision — consonance and dissonance, form versus number, and more. His analysis of the expanding harmonic universe, the wave line of melody, and the formative influence of movement are particularly penetrating.New to this edition are a biographical introduction by Toch's grandson, Lawrence Weschler; a previously unpublished letter from Thomas Mann to Toch about this book (in English translation); and a complete checklist of Toch's compositions. Intended for all those who have a minimum understanding of musical notation and theory, this book will appeal to music lovers, practical musicians and amateurs, and incipient composers.

    After his death, life is hard, fighting back loneliness and eking out a meager pension. So when her brother Dan, newly demobbed from the Navy, arrives to whisk them away to the seaside, Dinah can at last find peace - and, when she least expects it, love.

    She sings too loudly, she laughs too loudly, and everyone knows when she is around. At home she disturbs the peace and wakes the baby. At school she gets her friends into trouble. She can't help it. But one day a new teacher, Miss Loopiola, comes to school to teach music and drama, and Lily discovers that she is doing exactly the right thing at last. When the school play comes around, Lily finds she is loud in just the right way.

    For Ages 5+This Enid Blyton book contains the stories:Mr. Icy-cold --The Left-behind cat --Chinky goes adventuring --The Noah's ark lion --The Funny little hedgehog --The Little green imp --The Magic rubber --Oh, Simple Simon! --The Tale of the goldfish --Winkle makes a mistake --What a surprise! --The Cow that lost her moo --Miss Mary Ann Mouse.

    Much of the action takes place in England before the expedition sails and after the explorers return. The reader gets a good sense of Elizabethan politics and the excitement that exploration held for well-born adventurers. Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, John White, Richard Hakluyt, and Thomas Hariot all have roles in the novel. The lowly-born Colin provides additional human interest, as he becomes a trusted aide to Grenville and a suitor to one of Grenville’s wards.