Oxford University Press

Ronia lives with her father, a robber chieftain, and his band of men in their fortress on the top of a mountain. On the night Ronia was born, a bolt of lightning split the stronghold in two, leaving a huge chasm — Hell's Gap — in between. Soon Ronia is old enough to explore the forest around her, but she must beware of the grey dwarfs and wild harpies that live there. One day she meets Birk, the son of a rival robber leader who has claimed the other side of Hell's Gap, and upon whom Ronia's father instantly declares war. Ronia and Birk develop a friendship that is as indestructible as the mountain fortress itself. But with their families sworn enemies they are forced to keep their friendship a secret until one fateful day when Ronia's father catches Birk... prompting Ronia and Birk to escape into the woods and fend for themselves. How long can Ronia and Birk survive in the magical forest? And will their fathers ever put aside their differences to get their beloved children back?

'If life could write, it would write like Tolstoy.'Isaac Babel Tolstoy's epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. The fortunes of the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys, of Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei, are intimately connected with the national history that is played out in parallel with their lives. Balls and soirees alternate with councils of war and the machinations of statesmen and generals, scenes of violent battles with everyday human passions in a work whose extraordinary imaginative power has never been surpassed. The prodigious cast of characters, both great and small, seem to act and move as if connected by threads of destiny as the novel relentlessly questions ideas of free will, fate, and providence. Yet Tolstoy's portrayal of marital relations and scenes of domesticity is as truthful and poignant as the grand themes that underlie them. In this revised and updated version of the definitive and highly acclaimed Maude translation, Tolstoy's genius and the power of his prose are made newly available to the contemporary reader.

This best-selling dictionary includes more than 3,700 entries covering all aspects of accounting, including financial accounting, financial reporting, management accounting, direct taxation, indirect taxation, auditing, corporate finance, and accounting bodies and institutions. It boasts feature entries on key areas (e.g. Bankruptcy Law and the FTSE share indexes), and its international coverage includes important terms from UK, US, Australia, India, and Asia-Pacific. Over 250 new entries have been added to this edition to reflect the very latest developments in the accounting profession, e.g. the growing importance of International Accounting Standards, recent legislation, UK tax changes, and reliefs and allowances (e.g. Entrepreneurs' Relief, Annual Investment Allowance). In addition, coverage of taxation, finance, and audit has been increased and all entries have been revised to ensure they are up-to-date. With its authoritative and straightforward definitions and its wide-ranging coverage, this dictionary is essential for students and professionals in accounting and finance. It is also an ideal source of reference for anyone seeking a clear guide to the often-confusing world of accountancy terms.

This beautiful book will delight young animal lovers. Through evocative paintings, children are brought face to face with wildlife from around the world. Brian Wildsmith has captured the essence of each animal — from the playfulness of otters to a noisy gathering of parrots. His panoramic pictures also give a real sense of the animals' habitats-from a sun-soaked plain where elephants roam to icy Antarctica where penguins huddle together. Collective nouns — some familiar, others wonderfully surprising — are used to describe each group of animals. This is a book that will inspire a love of nature and a respect for animals from the earliest age.

When Puddle was barely more than an egg, he couldn't wait to start duckling school.' So begins this story about feelings of excitement, anticipation, and understandable nervousness that surround an approaching first day at nursery school. Puddle, a little duckling, is like so many preschool children in desperately wanting to be grown-up enough to go to school and to have his own school bag. But as the day draws nearer, Puddle begins to feel rather wobbly about the whole concept! Luckily Mummy knows just what to do. She packs items into Puddle's school bag that will help him through his first day — one of her softest feathers to remind him she is never far away, some home-made biscuits for him to share with his new friends, his Cuddly for the afternoon nap — and, as the story unfolds, we discover how Puddle's enjoyment of his first day builds each time he finds one of Mummy's tokens in his bag. Puddle spends a happy day counting caterpillars, matching ladybirds, leaping from lily pad to lily pad, and decorating a leafy twig. So, by going-home time, he can put his twig in his bag to take home for Mummy. This is just the right story to boost confidence for those starting preschool, nursery or kindergarten — children will love to share everything about Puddle's first day.

Wobble Bear is learning to talk and his mum is trying to teach him about colours. But the only colour he will say is 'yellow'. Yellow to the pink soap, yellow to the red towel, yellow to his green pyjamas ...until finally he gets it right and says yellow to the harvest moon at bedtime. Parents and toddlers everywhere will love watching Wobble Bear learn and will relate to all his little triumphs and disasters as they follow his antics. A very loveable little bear is ready to entertain in this fun-filled celebration of language — perfect for toddlers who are just starting to build up their own vocabulary and a perfect format for little hands, too!

This activities book is part of a two-level English course for children aged 6-8 that takes an aural/oral approach to learning English. The language arises naturally from the original chants, songs, and stories. Games, puzzles, cutting and pasting activities, and mini-projects are presented in a lively and colourful way. The action centres around a family, the children's imaginary friend, their teddy, and their dog.

Toddlers and parents everywhere will recognize Small Rabbit's lack of enthusiasm as the story opens. He just doesn't want to go for a walk and he comes up with all sorts of excuses to stay indoors. But Big Rabbit is having none of it. She bundles him into his coat and out they go, with Small Rabbit shivering and grumbling as he shuffles along. Perhaps it's because he's too far behind Big Rabbit, perhaps it's because the wind is howling, but when Big Rabbit says, 'Try to keep up!' what Small Rabbit hears is 'Jump in the mud!' And so he does. In fact everything Big Rabbit says-thanks to the wind-turns from a rather humdrum instruction into something much more exciting and Small Rabbit finds himself having a really wild time. Becoming muddier by the moment, and causing more and more mayhem, Small Rabbit romps ahead. Big Rabbit's last instruction, as Small Rabbit bounds home to their burrow is, 'Please don't go inside!' (she's worried about muddy footprints and leaves all over her lovely clean burrow). But Small Rabbit thinks she's asking him to find somewhere to hide and the story ends with a resounding 'Boo!' from Small Rabbit as he jumps from his hiding place into Big Rabbit's arms, declaring 'Windy walks are lots of fun!'

The best material I've seen at this level: — Motivating, real-world text. — Grammar bank with rules and exercises. — Illustrated Vocabulary Bank and Sound Bank. — Practical English focus on everyday language.

Fun, motivating lessons that work. The perfect balance of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and skills to help your students use English really effectively. A complete package for teachers and students. The Teacher's Book gives you the support you need, and all the components work together for more effective learning.

Drawing on a wide range of case studies, Richard English argues that we have as yet failed to understand terrorism properly, and that this is at the root of our disastrous failure to respond effectively to terrorism in the post-9/11 crisis.

This book provides all the information a student of Britain and British culture needs to know. What's it like living in Britain today? Find out about the country and its people in this new edition of Britain. All the information is completely up-to-date and illustrated with new colour photographs. • Understand the attitudes and beliefs that shape Britain's character. • Discover the history and cultural background to British society and institutions such as the NHS and the BBC. • Find out about people's daily lives from charts, graphs, and extracts from popular fiction and newspapers. • Use the questions at the end of each chapter to consider what you have read and to make comparisons with your own culture. • NEW Workbook Pack with activities that make you consider cultural issues you have read about and test your knowledge of the content of the book. • NEW website at www.oup.com/elt/britain, regularly updated with new information and useful links. Suitable for Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate, and Advanced students.

A new edition of the best-selling, story-based course for children starting English at the beginning of the school system. Happy House introduces children to English through the adventures of a lively family with their three children, their cat, Otto, and the mouse characters who live under the floor. The Activity Book contains: • One page of practice activities per Class Book lesson. • Take-home English: activities to involve parents in children's learning. • A MultiROM, with interactive language games, songs and stories.

A new edition of the best-selling, story-based course for children starting English at the beginning of the school system. Happy House introduces children to English through the adventures of a lively family with their three children, their cat, Otto, and two mice. Spike and Ruby, who live under the floor. For the pupil: • Class Book, with new cross-curricular and culture pages and motivating Take-home English projects. • Activity Book, with stickers for children to keep a record of their learning, cut-outs and a MultiROM, with games, songs and stories. For the teacher: • Teacher's Book. • Class AudioCDs, with karaoke songs. • Happy House iTools: digital classroom resources, DVD clips, make-your-own worksheets and much more. • Teacher's Resource Pack containing puppets, 40 storycards, masks, a poster, flashcards, Teacher's Resource Book and Evaluation Book.

First Friends is a two-year beginner's course that develops vocabulary, practices phonics, and teaches family values. The Numbers Book provides additional numeracy practice. It combines traditional numbers activities, such as counting and writing numbers, with engaging puzzles, games, and fun activities. By the end of Level 1, children will be able to: • Write the numbers from 1-10. • Count objects to 10. • Carry out simple picture additions and sums. • Group objects to 10. • Identify number sequences. By the end of Level 2, children will be able to: • Write the numbers from 11-20. • Write the words for numbers from 1-20. • Count objects to 20. • Group objects to 20. • Carry out sums. • Identify more complex number sequences. The Numbers Book is a flexible and easy-to-use component of First Friends. Its lessons may be done at the end of each unit or at any time after Lesson 4 of the Class Book, since Lesson 4 always presents the unit's new numbers (see page 7 for the structure of the Class Book). The Numbers Book is also based on the premiss that all children can succeed, and therefore offers easy-to-do activities that can be completed in class or at home. No new vocabulary is presented through the Numbers Book. All counting and number work is done through known vocabulary, with a special emphasis on the vocabulary presented in the corresponding unit of the Class Book. There are complete notes for each Numbers Book activity at the end of the main notes for each unit in the Teacher's Book.

Read at Home First Skills are fun early learning books, which use your favorite Oxford Reading Tree characters to introduce important first skills to your child. The books are ideal for reading together and sharing. They accompany all your Read at Home storybooks. Wilf's Shapes helps your child to: — learn the names of a variety of 2D and 3D shapes. — recognize properties of these shapes. — consolidate their learning with fun activities and questions.

This fantastic book about snakes covers a wide range of topics. From the emerald tree boa to the orange sand viper, find out how snakes hunt, eat and survive. Did you know for instance that big snakes can eat almost any animal — even crocodiles?! Or learn how to avoid a deadly snake bite in a dessert or a steamy rainforest. For real snake enthusiasts this book also suggests websites and places to visit to find out even more! Other titles in this series: Big Cats, Spiders, Elephants, Bees, Dinosaurs, Wolves, Sharks, Rats, Frogs and Toads, Whales and Crocodiles.

An Infinity of Things tells the story of one of the largest private collections ever created, and the life of the man behind it. Wellcome planned a great museum filled with treasures from all corners of the globe, charting the history of human health from prehistory to the present day. The breadth of his vision was matched only by the depth of his pockets. During the opening decades of the twentieth century he acquired a collection so large that later generations of staff took to describing its contents by the ton. But Wellcome's museum was never finished, and his collection was still stored in vast warehouses when he died, unseen and incomplete. Today, after decades of work by his successors, artefacts from the collection can be seen in museums and libraries throughout the world. Demonstrating what can happen when a collector's aspirations are left unconstrained by wealth, Frances Larson explores Wellcome's life through his possessions, revealing the many tensions in his character: between his talents as a businessman and his desire for scholarly recognition; his curiosity and his perfectionism; and his philanthropic aspirations and his drive for personal glory.

It is sometimes said that the Bible is one of the most unread books in the world, yet has been a major force in the development of Western culture and continues to exert an enormous influence over many people's lives. This Very Short Introduction looks at the importance accorded to the Bible by different communities and cultures and attempts to explain why it has generated such a rich variety of uses and interpretations. It explores how the Bible was written, the development of the canon, the role of Biblical criticism, the appropriation of the Bible in high and popular culture, and its use for political ends.

The Voyage Out (1915) is the story of a rite of passage. When Rachel Vinrace embarks for South America on her father's ship she is launched on a course of self-discovery in a modern version of the mythic voyage. Virginia Woolf knew all too well the forms that she was supposed to follow when writing of a young lady's entrance into the world, and she struggled to subvert the conventions, wittily and assiduously, rewriting and revising the novel many times. The finished work is not, on the face of it, a 'portrait of the artist'. However, through The Voyage Out readers will discover Woolf as an emerging and original artist: not identified with the heroine, but present everywhere in the social satire and the lyricism and patterning of consciousness.

With these words, Washington Irving expresses the dilemma of every American artist in the nineteenth century. The Sketch-Book (1820-1) looks simultaneously towards audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, as Irving explores the uneasy relationship of an American writer to English literary traditions. He sketches a series of encounters with the cultural shrines of the parent nation, and in two brilliant experiments with tales transplanted from Europe creates the first classic American short stories, 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow'. The result was not only a hugely successful travel book; it exerted a strong formative influence on American writers from Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe to Henry James, and is well worth rediscovery in its own right today. Based on Irving's final revision of his most popular work, this new edition includes comprehensive explanatory notes of The Sketch-Book's sources for the modern reader. In her introduction, Susan Manning suggests that the author forged a new idiom, the 'Literary Picturesque', to accommodate and turn to advantage his dilemma of dual literary allegiances.

In this vigorous and fast-moving novel of post-Napoleonic France, Julien Sorel's plans to reach the higher echelons of society through the priesthood are defelected by his realization that the attainment of happiness is of greater consequence than the pursuit of ambition. Subtitled 'A Chronicle of 1830', Stendhal's depiction of a nation of smug hypocrites scandalized contemporary readers, who recognized themselves or their peers and felt uncomfortable with the energy, imagination, and sincerity of a hero so patently inspired by their lately deposed Emperor. Julien's restless energy is fully captured in this specially commissioned translation of one of the world's great novels.

Katherine Hilbery, torn between past and present, is a figure reflecting Woolf's own struggle with history. Both have illustrious literary ancestors: in Katherine's case, her poet grandfather, and in Woolf's, her father Leslie Stephen, writer, philosopher, and editor. Both desire to break away from the demands of the previous generation without disowning it altogether. Katherine must decide whether or not she loves the iconoclastic Ralph Denham; Woolf seeks a way of experimenting with the novel for that still allows her to express her affection for the literature of the past. This is the most traditional of Woolf's novels, yet even here we can see her beginning to break free; in this, her second novel, with its strange mixture of comedy and high seriousness, Woolf had already found her own characteristic voice.

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes are overshadowed by the event with which they close — the meeting of the great detective and Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime. Their struggle, seemingly to the death, was to leave many readers desolate at the loss of Holmes, but was also to lead to his immortality as a literary figure. However illogical as a detective story, 'The final Problem' has proved itself an unforgettable tale. The stories that precede it included two narratives from Holmes himself, on a mutiny at sea and a treasure hunt in a Sussex country house, as well as a meeting with his brilliant brother Mycroft, of whom Holmes says, 'If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from any armchair, my brother would be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived.'