Showing results by publisher "Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd" in Education & Learning

Alain de Botton believes that philosophy can help people enjoy happier lives. And in his numerous best sellers, from Status Anxiety to The Art of Travel, his unique blend of erudition and self-help has reached an audience eager to listen. In On Seeing and Noticing, Alain de Botton takes everyday concerns such as expressing sadness or being romantic and dispenses advice and observations based on the works of some of history's greatest writers, artists and thinkers.

Here are four of the most loved children's fairy tales of all time read and sung by one of Australia's best known children's entertainers, Peter Combe. Classic Fairy Tales includes "Little Red Riding Hood", "Jack & the Beanstalk", "Goldilocks & the Three Bears", and "The 3 Little Pigs". Kids will love the entertaining songs accompanying each fairy tale.

"Get the doctor," said Dad. "The poor thing is green." "Give it to me," said Mum and took the baby away from Chris. At once it screwed up its nose, closed its eyes and stopped breathing. It started turning purple again. A father at eight years old? It could only be a Paul Jennings story. And it is.

It's February and most cities are a cold, grey wasteland. But not New York. At least, not my New York. Our college applications are in and it's time to blow off some steam. Best of all, Fashion Week is just around the corner, giving us plenty of opportunities to get dressed up and go completely wild. And just think: the later you stay out, the quicker the days will blur by. See you out there!

It's time to fill out our college applications. Not applying to the Ivy Leagues is not an option, and not getting into them would be a total embarrassment. But I know a few girls who aren't going to let the pressure get them down.

Ikal is a student at Muhammadiyah Elementary, on the Indonesian island of Belitong, where graduating from sixth grade is considered a major achievement. His school is under constant threat of closure. In fact, Ikal and his friends - a group called The Rainbow Troops - face threats from every angle: pessimistic, corrupt government officials; greedy corporations hardly distinguishable from the colonialism they've replaced; deepening poverty and crumbling infrastructure; and their own faltering self-confidence.

Trevor knew that the man in the white coat was going to stick a knife into him. He was going to cut open Trevor's belly and take out his appendix. Trevor soon found out that life became a lot more complicated without his appendix. Really crazy things started to happen. Trevor and his appendix just had to be together.

Pete's dead and Gwennie's life will never be the same. How could Pete, a young, fit man, leave her now? Their lives together were only just beginning. And pneumonia? It was insane, unthinkable, unbearable. Somehow she struggles through the funeral in a daze, and the mysterious mourner in the tight-fitting red dress barely registers in her consciousness. It's only later, when spotting a discrepancy in Pete's tax records, that she begins to wonder. Who was that woman?

We are never really taught how to make sense of the torrent of news we face every day, writes Alain de Botton (author of the best-selling The Architecture of Happiness), but this has a huge impact on our sense of what matters and of how we should lead our lives. In his dazzling new book, de Botton takes twenty-five archetypal news stories - including an airplane crash, a murder, a celebrity interview and a political scandal - and submits them to unusually intense analysis with a view to helping us navigate our news-soaked age.

Scarlett Finnegan loves to bat. Cricket is her favorite game, but she never gets to play on the team. Then one day she finds a special bat that changes everything...

Australia's novels lie at the heart of the country. Books that Made Us looks at the history of Australian culture through the books we have read and the stories we have told. Capturing everyday lives and exceptional dreams, Australian novels have held up a mirror to the nation, reflecting the good and the bad. 

Filo's got girl problems! But at least they won't track him down at the Show, where he's working on his uncle's show-bag stall. Or will they? And talking about disappearing, what's happened to his Uncle Mike?

Here are four more of the most loved children's fairy tales of all time read and sung by one of Australia's best known children's entertainers, Peter Combe. The stories in this selection, "Cinderella", "The Billy Goats Gruff", "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", and "Rumpelstiltskin" are loved by children the world over. Each story is read in Peter's own inimitable style and includes a captivating and original song.

Every cop has a case that dug its claws in and would not let go. For veteran detective Ron Iddles, it was his very first homicide case - the 1980 murder of single mother Maria James at the back of her Melbourne bookshop. He never managed to solve it, and it still grates like hell. Maria’s two sons, Mark and Adam, have lived in a holding pattern longer than Rachael Brown has been alive. 

Whether we’re aware of it or not, we spend much of our time in this globalised world in the act of translation. Language is a big part of it, of course, as anyone who has fumbled with a phrasebook in a foreign country will know, but behind language is something far more challenging to translate: culture. As a traveller, a mistranslation might land you a bowl of who-knows-what when you think you asked for noodles, and mistranslations in international politics can be a few steps from serious trouble.

Someone who is a bad public speaker can become a good public speaker. And a good public speaker can create as much pleasure as a bad one can create pain. They can inspire, they can move, they can cause the listener to laugh, cry and give money. Sometimes they can even change a listener's life. Public speaking did not come naturally to comedian and TV/radio presenter, James O'Loghlin. But it's something he's mastered over the years.

When the neighbors are forced to sell the farm, Chris is desperate to own the cows he has been milking. But Chris' Dad cannot cope with the idea! Then, one moonlit night, Chris sneaks out and follows the cow Petal on a wild rampage to...a mob of motherless cabbage patch babies. Will Chris get to keep his cows? Will he be able to look after this new crop of cabbage patch babies? Will their mothers ever come back?

From the author who created the memorable world of Toad Rage comes another highly infectious tale of a brave microscopic hero who is unexpectedly propelled from his familiar nostril-home into the big wide dangerous world. In Aristotle's Nostril Morris features a whole new cast of funny and gross characters that kids will love.

As a progressive commentator on Fox News and now CNN, Sally Kohn has made a career out of bridging intractable political differences and learning how to talk respectfully with people whose views she disagrees with passionately. Her viral TED Talk on the need to practice emotional - rather than political - correctness sparked a new way of considering how often we amplify our differences and diminish our connections. But these days even famously 'nice' Kohn finds herself wanting to breathe fire at her enemies. 

"Out you go," says Dad. It is cold outside. How can a little dragon get in? Ben's dad won't let Rascal in until he learns how to beg. Rascal has other ideas, and Dad is not happy. Looks like Rascal is in trouble.