The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the United Kingdom. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured international renown and success; therefore, the prize is of great significance for the book trade. From its inception, only novels written by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African citizens were eligible to receive the prize; in 2014 it was widened to any English-language novel—a change which proved controversial.
The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba.
The púca, pooka, phouka, phooka, phooca, puca or púka is primarily a creature of Celtic folklore. Considered to be bringers both of good and bad fortune, they could either help or hinder rural and marine communities. The Púca can have dark or white fur or hair. The creatures were said to be shape changers which could take the appearance of horses, goats, cats, dogs, and hares. They may also take a human form, which includes various animal features, such as ears or a tail.
RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is the trade name of an American retailer founded in 1921. Since 2017, General Wireless Operations, Inc. has leased the name from Kensington Capital Holdings and operates primarily as an e-commerce website, a network of approximately 425 independently owned authorized dealer stores, and as a supplier of parts for HobbyTown. All stores are located in the United States.
The Feast of the Goat is a novel by the Peruvian Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa. The book is set in the Dominican Republic and portrays the assassination of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, and its aftermath, from two distinct standpoints a generation apart: during and immediately after the assassination itself, in May 1961; and thirty-five years later, in 1996. Throughout, there is also extensive reflection on the heyday of the dictatorship, in the 1950s, and its significance for the island and its inhabitants.
The Troll by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts is a children's story about a troll and some pirates. The troll in this story is based on the troll from the Three Billy Goats Gruff fairy tale. However, in this story, no goats ever cross the troll's bridge and he is forced to survive on fish that he catches from the river. He does encounter, in turn, a spider, a mouse and a rabbit, each of which convinces the troll not to eat them by telling him that he should try a bridge further down the river that is more suitable for capturing goats as he is "sick of fish". Meanwhile, the pirate captain Hank Chief and his crew are searching for the treasure that is marked on their map, but are unable to locate the correct island. The pirates also display very poor culinary skills. Eventually, the troll reaches the sea and realises that he has been tricked by the other animals; he sees what he thinks are goat tracks in the sand and sets about laying a trap for the goat in a spot not too far from the location on the pirate's treasure map. He duly discovers an old chest when digging a large hole to ensnare his prey and throws away the "round shiny objects" he finds therein. He decides to lie in wait in the chest for the goat and falls asleep. Predictably, the pirates then arrive and make off with their "treasure"; upon opening the chest the pirates decide to make the troll walk the plank, until Peg discovers the troll's frying pan and cookbook. On discovering the troll's culinary talents, they agree to spare the troll and make him their cook. The troll is delighted and proceeds to tell the pirates that he will make them his favourite goat stew only to be advised, to his horror, that all the pirates desire is .. fish.
Green Eggs and Ham is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2016, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The story has appeared in several adaptations starting with 1973's Dr. Seuss on the Loose starring Paul Winchell as the voice of both Sam-I-am and the first-person narrator.
Eric Carle is an American designer, illustrator, and writer of children's books. He is most noted for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a picture book that has been translated into more than 65 languages and sold more than 46 million copies, which is equivalent to 1.7 copies sold every minute since it was published. Since it was published in 1969 he has illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world. In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Eric Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field.
Paddle-to-the-Sea is a 1941 children's book, written and illustrated by American author/artist Holling C. Holling. It was recognized as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942.
The Rainbow Fish is a children's book drawn and written by Marcus Pfister, Swiss author and illustrator, and translated into English by J. Alison James. The book is best known for its morals about the value of being an individual and for the distinctive shiny foil scales of Rainbow Fish. Decode Entertainment turned the story into an animated television series of the same name, which had aired on the HBO Family television channel in the United States and Teletoon in Canada from 1999 until 2001.
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is the fourteenth book in Goosebumps, the series of children's horror fiction novellas created and authored by R. L. Stine. The story follows Grady Tucker, who moves into a new house next to the Fever Swamp with his family. After a swamp deer is murdered, his father believes Grady's dog is responsible, but Grady is convinced a werewolf is the culprit. One reviewer felt the book built up suspense by hiding the identity of the werewolf until the end.
"The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 5. It is Aarne-Thompson type 123, but has a strong resemblance to The Three Little Pigs and other Aarne-Thompson type 124 folktales, and to the variant of Little Red Riding Hood that the Grimms collected, where she is rescued.
Betsy Cromer Byars is an American author of children's books. Her novel Summer of the Swans won the 1971 Newbery Medal. She has also received a National Book Award for Young People's Literature for The Night Swimmers (1980) and an Edgar Award for Wanted ... Mud Blossom (1991).
How to Train Your Dragon is a series of twelve children's books, written by British author Cressida Cowell. The books are set in a fictional Viking world and focus on the experiences of protagonist Hiccup as he overcomes great obstacles on his journey of Becoming a Hero, the Hard Way. The books were published by Hodder Children's Books in the UK and by Little, Brown and Company in the US. The first book was published in 2003 and the last one in 2015. As of 2015, the series has sold more than seven million copies around the world.
The Goat-faced Girl is an Italian fairy tale. Giambattista Basile included a version in his Pentamerone (1634-1636). Andrew Lang included a version, collected by Hermann Kletke, in The Grey Fairy Book (1900).
Koziołek Matołek is a fictional character created by Kornel Makuszyński (story) and Marian Walentynowicz (art) in one of the first and most famous Polish comics back in 1933. It became a cult classic, popular since its creation till today, and becoming an important part of the canon of Polish children's literature.
Your Five Gallants is a Jacobean comedy by Thomas Middleton. It falls into the subgenre of city comedy. Allusions in the play point to a date of authorship of 1607.
The Shack is a novel by Canadian author William P. Young that was published in 2007.
A Certain Scientific Railgun is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Motoi Fuyukawa, which began serialization in the April 2007 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine. The manga is a spin-off of Kamachi's A Certain Magical Index light novel series, taking place before and during the events of that series. The manga is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment, who began publishing the series from June 2011. An anime television series adaptation by J.C. Staff aired in Japan between October 2009 and March 2010, followed by an original video animation released in October 2010. A second season titled A Certain Scientific Railgun S aired between April and September 2013. A third season is set to premiere in 2019. The anime is licensed in North America by Funimation.
Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories is a 1966 book of short stories written by Polish-American author Isaac Bashevis Singer. The stories were translated from Yiddish, which was Singer's language of choice for writing, by Singer and Elizabeth Shub. Maurice Sendak provided illustrations for the book. Among other recognition the book received, it was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1967. It has been translated into many languages.
