A child (plural: children) is a young human. Precise definitions vary; the American Heritage DictionaryHoughton Mifflin Company. Definition of child. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. defined a child as an individual who has not yet reached puberty, while the Convention on the Rights of the Child defines it as any person under the age of 18.Convention on the Rights of the Child, Part 1, Article 1. This article discusses prepubescent minors.
The term "child" is also a counterpart of parent: adults are the children of their parents despite their maturation beyond infancy; for example "Benjamin, aged 46, is the child of Tobias, aged 73". Similarly in a generalized sense, see child node.
Development
Child development is the study or examination of processes and mechanisms that operate during the physical and mental development of an infant into an adult.
More on [ Child ]
'The Second Plane' by Martin Amis Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 September 11: Terror and Boredom
IT would be too easy to read Martin Amis' slim book on Sept. 11 in a day and to dismiss it with a politically correct glare. The dozen essays, columns and reviews and two short stories in "The Second Plane: September 11, Terror and Boredom" are more illuminating than that, though deeply, sometimes self-indulgently flawed.
'The House of Widows' by Askold Melnyczuk Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Family secrets lie at the end of a dark and twisted path
FROM its puzzling opening line ("The most common grammatical error is the lie"), there's an ominous vibe to Askold Melnyczuk's third novel, "The House of Widows," and the sense of unease lingers until the final sentence. It's a mysterious, masterfully taut story in which dread plays a prominent role.
'Marco Polo' by Laurence Bergreen Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 An account of the adventures of the celebrated 13th century world traveler.
MARCO POLO was only 17 when he departed for China in 1271 with his father, Niccolò, and his uncle, Maffeo. Those two merchants of Venice were known to the boy primarily as storytellers of their fabulous exploits, writes award-winning biographer and historian Laurence Bergreen, for they had been absent more than 16 years, Marco's entire childhood. The pair had followed trade routes east, encountered exotic countries and customs and survived many perils; they had even lived for a time at the court of Kublai Khan, the leader of the Mongol Empire. Eventually they agreed to accompany his emissary west to the pope, vowing to return to Cambulac (Beijing) with several items the Great Khan had requested.
NYT > Books
Children’s Books: The Greatest’s Story, Told Twice Mon, 12 May 2008 15:42:56 -0000 Two handsome new books for different age groups take on the formidable challenge of telling the story of Muhammad Ali’s epic life.
Children’s Books: Earth to Young People: Help! Sat, 10 May 2008 01:28:12 -0000 A “family encyclopedia of ecology” and the first book by “the MySpace community” spell out environmental threats and suggest action to help.
Children’s Books: When We Last Saw Our Heroes ... Sat, 10 May 2008 12:57:15 -0000 Sequels to the popular children’s books “Not a Box,” “Zen Shorts” and “Little Pea” — plus the latest in Mo Willems’s “Pigeon” series.
Fiction & Poetry
Thirteen Hundred Rats T. Coraghessan Boyle Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 There was a man in our village who never in his life had a pet of any kind until his wife died. By my calculation, Gerard Loomis was in his mid-fifties when Marietta was taken from him, but at the ceremony in the chapel he looked so scorched and . . . Songs of a Season Maureen N. McLane Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 for here or to go--
a glass mug, a paper cup--
life is fast, art slow
only a few years
before all that I am blows
free, subatomic
not for me that life
the careless joy of the dog
not for me that leap
how to say
beautiful weekend
in . . . After Love Jack Gilbert Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 He is watching the music with his eyes closed.
Hearing the piano like a man moving
through the woods thinking by feeling.
The orchestra up in the trees, the heart below,
step by step. The music hurrying sometimes,
but always returning to quiet, like the man
remembering and hoping. It . . .
London Review of Books
Gazillions · Neal Ascherson: Organised Crime Karabas was gunned down in 1997. He and his mob had taken over the port city of Odessa as law and order disintegrated in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse. One might call his reign a comprehensive protection racket. But, looked at in another way, Karabas became the only reliable source of authority and social discipline. He arbitrated the city's commercial disputes (10 per cent of net profits was his price); he kept the drug peddlers to one area of Odessa, and prevented the horrific people-smuggling in the harbour district from infecting the rest of the town. Using a bare minimum of thuggery, he kept the peace. Karabas seldom carried a gun. Everyone looked up to him, and levels of violence stayed lower in Odessa than in other Russian and Ukrainian cities. His murderers were probably Chechens hired to break Odessa's grip on the local oil industry, a grip coveted by Ukraine's then president, Leonid Kuchma, who 'during his ten years in power . . . presided over the total criminalisation of the Ukrainian government and civil service'. An Element of Unfairness · Ross McKibbin on the Great Education Disaster The modern history of English secondary education begins with the 1944 Education Act, usually known as the Butler Act. It was, for better and worse, the most important piece of education legislation of the 20th century, but was expected to reform an educational system already deeply divisive and inequitable. In some ways it promoted the hopes of wartime democracy; in others it betrayed them. It raised the school-leaving age to 15 and made secondary education universal and free. It equalised the payment of teachers in all state secondary schools and devised procedures by which nearly all the religious elementary schools were incorporated into the state system. It didn't specify what kind of secondary education local authorities should establish, and as a result they fell back on what already existed and what conventional opinion thought appropriate: grammar schools for the academically inclined, junior technical schools for those with superior technical aptitudes and secondary moderns for those of a 'practical' turn of mind. Kick over the Scenery · Stephen Burt on Philip K. Dick When an art form or genre once dismissed as kids' stuff starts to get taken seriously by gatekeepers - by journals, for example, such as the one you are reading now - respect doesn't come smoothly, or all at once. Often one artist gets lifted above the rest, his principal works exalted for qualities that other works of the same kind seem not to possess. Later on, the quondam genius looks, if no less talented, less solitary: first among equals, or maybe just first past the post. That is what happened to rock music in the late 1960s, when sophisticated critics decided, as Richard Poirier put it, to start 'learning from the Beatles'. It is what happened to comics, too, in the early 1990s, when the Pulitzer Prize committee invented an award for Art Spiegelman's Maus. And it has happened to science fiction, where the anointed author is Philip K. Dick.
Roxy Music History 'Re-Makes' The Rock Bio Form Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400 Michael Bracewell's history of Roxy Music doesn't go for conventional thinking — not about the band, and certainly not about how to write a rock biography. Instead, his new book combines art history, music theory and a smashing sense of fashion. What Wildlife Lurks In Central Park By Night? Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:41:00 -0400 Bats and owls and moths, oh my! A new book by journalist Marie Winn explores New York's Central Park when the sun goes down. She discovers the animals that play in the shadows and the mysteries that make the park come alive in the twilight. Author Learns To Leave Well Enough Alone Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:57:00 -0400 Jennifer Traig knows a thing or two about hypochondria. The good news is she doesn't actually have heart disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis or any other condition she's diagnosed herself with.
Slashdot: Book Reviews
Head First C# samzenpus Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:24:00 -0000 Michael J. Ross writes "For computer programmers who do not have a solid understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP), learning the C# programming language can be rather challenging, even if they have experience with C or C++, which at least would give them a head start over non-C programmers. Any developer in this situation may well want to begin the learning process with a book that aims to teach both OOP and C# in as gentle a manner as possible, with plenty of patient explanations and illustrative diagrams — such as those found in the book Head First C# by Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene." Read below for the rest of Michael's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Dungeons and Desktops samzenpus Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:30:00 -0000 Aeonite writes "Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-playing Games chronicles the rise and fall of the Computer RPG industry, from Akalabeth to Zelda and everything in between. While the bulk of the book is devoted to the genre's 'Golden Age' in the late '80s and early '90s, author Matt Barton explores the entire history of CRPGs, from their origins in the mid '70s to the very recent past. While not entirely comprehensive, the book covers not only the major players and award-winners, but also dozens of obscure 'also-ran' as well as notable games in related genres." Keep reading for the rest of Michael's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Google Apps Hacks samzenpus Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:58:00 -0000 stoolpigeon writes "It seems that it wasn't long ago that Google was just a search company. The number of on-line products that fly under the Google moniker, today, is impressive. Google has moved well beyond its office-suite-like applications and excelled with everything from mapping to blogging to 3-D drawing. Google Apps Hacks is a new book from O'Reilly, published in conjunction with their Make magazine. This volume presents the reader with 141 hacks in an attempt to get the most out of a wide array of Google's on-line applications. The result is a quick ride that is rather fun — and while a bit shallow at times, it provides a great overview of just how much is available out there." Read below for the rest of JR's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
19th Century Girls Series - Features author biographies and bibliographies of 19th-century series books. Includes excerpts from early books and articles related to authors and their works.
A World of Imagination - Provides book reviews and links to author homepages. Also links to other child's literature .
African Children's Literature - Features an introduction to African children's literature, authors, bibliography, and links.
Meta Description: [ The Africana Collection at the University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries provides assistance to scholars at U.F. and elsewhere seeking library materials in support of research and teaching about Africa. ]
American Juvenile Collection - Research bibliography of children's books published 1910-1960.
Meta Description: [ A research collection of Fiction, Folklore in children's books 1910-1960. ]
Author Spotlight - Biographies of and interviews with children's writers whose work has been published by Houghton-Mifflin. Also includes book summaries and suggestions for studying works in the classroom.
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site - Includes reviews of great children's books, classroom activities, lesson plans, and professional topics.
Meta Description: [ A collection of reviews of great books for kids, and classroom activities and lesson plans for teachers about particular subjects, curriculum areas, themes and professional topics. ]
Children's Book Council of Australia - Offers support to authors and illustrators, annual awards, and events. Includes calendar of events, tips on getting published, and a quarterly journal.
Children's Book Links - Includes links to the best sites for children's literature from around the globe.
Meta Description: [ Writing and publishing books for kids ]
Children's Books Central - Collection of organized, annotated links to children's literature resources available on the web and by e-mail.
Meta Description: [ Internet resources related to books for children and young adults. A meta site for the writers, readers, collectors, illustrators, librarians, teachers, parents, publishers, storytellers and kids. ]
404Children's Fiction - Reviews on children's books written by consumers at Epinions.com.
Meta Description: [ Epinions has the best comparison shopping information on Epinions.com - This Page Cannot Be Found. Compare prices from across the web and read reviews from other consumers on Epinions.com - This Page Cannot Be Found before you decide to buy. ]
Children's Literature Connection - Encourages networking and collaboration among writers, illustrators, teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, and parents in upstate New York and Western New England. News, calendar of events, and membership information.
Children's Literature Council of Southern California - Promotes literature for children and encourages excellence in the production and selection of books. Newsletter, calendar of events, award information, and speakers list.
Children's Literature Network - Organization of those in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Upper Michigan, and Wisconsin who have a professional interest in children's books, reading, and publishing. Includes a directory of authors and illustrators, upcoming events, reading lists, volunteer opportunities, membership information, and a members' area.
Children's Literature Web Guide - Internet resources related to books for children and young adults.
Meta Description: [ Internet resources related to books for children and young adults. ]
Childrens Literature: A Guide to the Criticism - Features searchable annotated bibliography which draws together significant articles, books, and dissertations of children's literature criticism.
DLTK's Children's Book Breaks - Free printable instructions and templates for crafts, coloring pages, and other activities to accompany favorite children's books.
Meta Description: [ Free printable template for crafts, coloring and other activities to accompany some of your favorite children's books. ]
International Board on Books for Young People - International network of those who are committed to bringing books and children together. News and information about activities.
Meta Description: [ IBBY official homepage - International Board on Books for Young People - Internationales Kuratorium fuer das Jugendbuch - Union Internationale pour les Livres de Jeunesse - Organizacion Internacional para el Libro Juvenil ]
Junior Great Books - Develops children's critical-thinking skills, and encourages a life-long love of literature. Structured discussion for students.
Meta Description: [ Great Books Foundation for instruction and materials to discuss literature. ]
Nursery Rhymes of England - Compilations of nursery rhymes published in 1846, with some examples of even earlier collections.
Meta Description: [ One of the first original compilations of nursery rhymes, the 3rd edition, published with illustrations in 1846 as the 4th edition ]
Surfing the Net with Kids: Banned Books Week - The best sites for kids and teens in celebration of Banned Books Week, rated and reviewed by San Diego Union-Tribune columnist, Barbara J. Feldman. From 1998.
Meta Description: [ The best sites for kids and teens in celebration of Banned Books Week, rated and reviewed by United Feature Syndicate columnist, Barbara J. Feldman. ]
TeacherVision.com: Literature - Provides enrichment activities and Internet links related to popular children's books.
Meta Description: [ Bring books to life and help young readers appreciate literature for a lifetime with these activities and lessons. ]
The Foundation for Children's Books - Works to help teachers, librarians, and parents select and use quality children's literature. Calendar of events, information about programs, newsletter, and award information. Boston, Massachusetts.
The Horn Book Virtual History Exhibit - History of the Horn Book Magazine, from 1924 to present.
Meta Description: [ History of the Horn Book Magazine,
from 1924 to present ]
The Newbery Library - Interactive site created by school children lists Newbery books, provides summaries and quizzes, and offers short biographies of some authors.
The Word Pool - This UK children's book site provides book reviews, author profiles, ideas for reluctant readers and information for children's writers.
Meta Description: [ WORD POOL, The UK children's book site for parents, teachers and writers provides book reviews, ideas for reluctant readers, reviews of big books and information on writing for children ]
Toronto Children's Literature Roundtable - Teachers, librarians, parents gather together four times a year to share,promote and discuss children's books.
Meta Description: [ Children's Literature Roundtable invite teachers, librarians and parents to join us in celebrating children's books ]