Author: Amy Wilde
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615904719
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 370
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Book Description
They stare at her. Point at her face. Shout laughter encased in cruel jokes toward her. Yet, despite it all, Amy shines beautiful. In this heartfelt memoir Amy endures multiple surgeries for her bilateral cleft lip and palate-including a grueling cranial facial surgery at age sixteen just as her older sister Jeannie, a model, competes in a national pageant. When she reaches her private breaking point as the girls around her start to date, she prays just one boy will see past her face of scars and into her heart-and chose her. What happens next shocks the entire student body, and has all of the girls wishing they could trade her places. A sample of Chapter 1: My mother has loved me from the very start. I must have felt her faith as she took me in her arms the day I was born and looked upon my tangled face and into my new blue eyes with courage and complete understanding, knowing the road ahead would be laced with trials and mixed with grace. High school wasn't supposed to start this way. The same way all of my other school years had started-wearing my same face that brought the painful responses I pretended not to see. Above my basement bedroom, I heard Mom opening and shutting cupboard doors, the weight of her feet flexing the creaky floor in the rhythm of a new morning. I turned my head and inhaled the honest scent of my pillowcase, the fibers holding traces of salt water from nights I carried my burden alone. Not everyone stared at me with critical eyes. Mom stared right into my heart, my being, my soul. She didn't ask if I was being teased or if I wished I were perfect. I'm not even sure the idea crossed her mind. Instead, she told me I was confident and beautiful, with way more friends than she'd ever had. She said I amazed her. And I believed her. I pulled my right leg to my chest and hugged my knee, then dropped my hand to trace the inch-long scar on the inside of my ankle from an IV I'd had as a new baby. Mom couldn't remember which surgery caused the scar. But she'd said it had started as a small pierce from a needle and, once healed, had stretched as I'd grown. For some reason moving my finger back and forth over the raised scar brought me peace. My younger sister stirred in her twin bed four feet from mine. She lobbed one arm up and out from under the covers and onto the nightstand where her thick glasses rested. With the other hand, she cleared the tangled hair away from her face. She situated the glasses on her nose and asked, "Is it already time to get up?" I leaned up on one elbow, looking past her silhouette to our bedroom window. "Yup, it's morning, Toots, even though it's still dark outside. Jeannie is already up. I call the shower next." "What's that sound?" "That squeaky sound?" "Mmm hmm." "Just Mr. Sorensen. You know, letting his dog, Max, out to pee. His gate squeaks." "Oh. How'd you know that?" "I've been paying attention all summer. Listen. In a minute you'll hear it again when he goes back inside. I've memorized the whole process." Jeannie, older than me by eighteen months, threw open the door connecting our two rooms. "Hey, I lost the back to one of my pink triangle earrings. Do either of you have a pencil eraser I can use?" "I do," Toots said. "But don't use my favorite pencil. Just use one of the regular orange ones over there on my desk." "I only need half. Thanks, Toots. You're a lifesaver." I released my hand from my ankle, stretched both legs down to the end of my bed, then pointed my toes until my feet arched and my calf muscles burned. I'd waited fifteen years to be transformed into beautiful. The "big" surgery, the cranial facial surgery I'd been waiting for, was supposed to have happened before I started high school. Instead, it hung on the horizon teasing me with time until the bone in my face matured. The surgery was partly for me, but mostly for the people who had to look at me.
Author: Donald Grant
Publisher: Roberts Rinehart Pub
ISBN: 9780911797862
Category : Farm life
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
Author: Trace Mayer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780989062121
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Introduction to Trace Mayer's Museum Bees: Including an overview of his work, the history, methodology, and variety of pieces created as well as interior design installations in clients homes.
Author: Bryan N. Danforth
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691189323
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 486
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Book Description
The most up-to-date and authoritative resource on the biology and evolution of solitary bees While social bees such as honey bees and bumble bees are familiar to most people, they comprise less than 10 percent of all bee species in the world. The vast majority of bees lead solitary lives, surviving without the help of a hive and using their own resources to fend off danger and protect their offspring. This book draws on new research to provide a comprehensive and authoritative overview of solitary bee biology, offering an unparalleled look at these remarkable insects. The Solitary Bees uses a modern phylogenetic framework to shed new light on the life histories and evolution of solitary bees. It explains the foraging behavior of solitary bees, their development, and competitive mating tactics. The book describes how they construct complex nests using an amazing variety of substrates and materials, and how solitary bees have co-opted beneficial mites, nematodes, and fungi to provide safe environments for their brood. It looks at how they have evolved intimate partnerships with flowering plants and examines their associations with predators, parasites, microbes, and other bees. This up-to-date synthesis of solitary bee biology is an essential resource for students and researchers, one that paves the way for future scholarship on the subject. Beautifully illustrated throughout, The Solitary Bees also documents the critical role solitary bees play as crop pollinators, and raises awareness of the dire threats they face, from habitat loss and climate change to pesticides, pathogens, parasites, and invasive species.
Author: Cristina Banfi
Publisher: White Star Kids
ISBN: 9788854412767
Category : Bees
Languages : en
Pages : 64
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Book Description
Bees have always been friends to man, even way back in prehistoric times. They feed on nectar and pollen and transform them into honey, a delicious substance that besides being a tasty food, it's a key ingredient for many beauty products, and a synonym for pleasant and nourishing pampering. But the importance of bees goes far beyond this. These special insects play a role of primary importance in the pollination of flowers and plants, which are at the base of the food chain of a great many animals. This book gives you the chance to get to know them from up close, and to explore their fascinatingly complex society, showing you how everything is perfectly organized, from the cleanliness of the hive to its defence, from gathering nectar to caring for the larvae. The book pays special attention to the dangers these hard-working insects currently face due to pollution and harmful human behaviour that risk interfering heavily with the life of a species that ought to be defended at all costs! AGES: 6 plus AUTHOR: Cristina Banfi Graduate in Natural Sciences at the Universita degli Studi di Milano, she has taught in a number of scholastic institutes. She is a founding member of the Museum Didactic Association (ADM) and ADMaiora, working in the field of education in museums and exhibitions. For over 20 years she has worked in scientific communication and learning through play and boasts a vast editorial experience in both education and popularisation, in particular for children and young adults.
Author: Olivia Messinger Carril
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691249431
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 417
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Book Description
A portable, full-color photographic guide to the most commonly seen bees in the western United States and Canada Bees play a vitally important role in the pollination of native plants and agricultural crops around the globe. These stunningly beautiful insects come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colors. There are more than 3,000 species in western North America, and identifying them is a challenging task even for taxonomists. Common Bees of Western North America is the first species-level photographic field guide to the most commonly seen bees in the western United States and Canada, focusing on those that are found in urban environments, specialize on unique plants, or are especially distinctive in appearance. This book walks you through the process of bee identification using breathtaking high-resolution color photos that highlight the key characteristics of each species, making identification easier. Full of essential facts about the natural history of these magnificent creatures, this is a must-have field guide for naturalists and backyard gardeners alike. Covers more than 200 species Features more than 1,100 stunning close-up color photos Shows multiple images of each species, with arrows indicating key features Includes a range map for every species Provides silhouette images depicting the actual size of each species Describes key identification features, size, phenology, floral preference, nesting, and related species Contains a taxonomic key to the bee genera of the region
Author: Noah Wilson-Rich
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691182477
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
An incomparable illustrated look at the critical role bees play in the life of our planet Bees pollinate more than 130 fruit, vegetable, and seed crops that we rely on to survive. Bees are also crucial to the reproduction and diversity of flowering plants, and the economic contributions of these irreplaceable insects measure in the tens of billions of dollars each year. Yet bees are dying at an alarming rate, threatening food supplies and ecosystems around the world. In this richly illustrated natural history of the bee, which includes more than 250 color photographs and illustrations, Noah Wilson-Rich and his team of bee experts provide a window into the vitally important role that bees play in the life of our planet. Earth is home to more than 20,000 bee species, from fluorescent-colored orchid bees and sweat bees to flower-nesting squash bees and leaf-cutter bees. This book provides an unmatched account of this astounding diversity, blending an engaging narrative with practical, hands-on discussions of such topics as beekeeping and bee health. It explores our relationship with the bee over evolutionary time, examining how it originated and where it stands today—and what the future holds for humanity and bees alike. Provides an accessible, richly illustrated look at the human–bee relationship over time Features a section on beekeeping and handy guides to identifying, treating, and preventing honey bee diseases Covers bee evolution, ecology, genetics, and physiology Includes a directory of notable bee s Presents a holistic approach to bee health, including organic and integrated pest management techniques Shows how you can help bee populations
Author: Joseph S. Wilson
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691160775
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
An introduction to the roughly 4000 different bee species found in the United States and Canada, dispelling common myths about bees while offering essential tips for telling them apart in the field
Author: Suzanne Slade
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 1404860193
Category : Agricultural ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 14
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Book Description
Talks about each habitat and shows what would happen if the food chain was broken.
Author: Heather Holm
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780991356300
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
"This comprehensive, essential book profiles over 65 perennial native plant species of the Midwest, Great Lakes region, Northeast and southern Canada plus the pollinators, beneficial insects and flower visitors the plants attract ... Readers learn to attract and identify pollinators and beneficial insects as well as customize their landscape planting for a particular type of pollinator with native plants. The book includes information on pollination, types of pollinators, pollinator conservation as well as pollinator landscape plans."--
