The season has begun. Debutantes and chaperones are planning their luncheons, teas, dinners, and balls, and the blackmailer is planning his strategies and stalking his next victim. Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn senses that something was up. He plants his friend Lord Robert Gospell at the scene, but when he arrives it becomes clear that someone else got their first.

Language items: It is the opposite of good.
Topics and vocabulary: Words and their opposites.

Language items: Have you got a blue coat? Yes, I have. No, I haven't.
Topics and vocabulary: Talking about clothes and their colours.

Winner of The 2003 ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book AwardIncluded on VOYA’s ninth annual Nonfiction Honor ListSince the first hungry wolf bravely approached an ancient cooking fire and was rewarded with a scrap of meat, our lives and the lives of dogs have been interwoven. Dogs have worked for us as warriors with ammunition strapped to their bodies. Dogs have gone through snow, icy seas, and into the dangerous rubble of collapsed buildings to rescue us. Dogs, with their spectacular ability to detect odors, keep us safe by finding drugs and explosives.

In a Word: 750 Words and Their Fascinating Stories and Origins

This fun book contains 750 word origins written in a witty short-story style.
Many of the words are accompanied by "P.S.'s," that provide details about a word's history and usage. Witty illustrations by Tom Lopes showcase many of the words' visual connections. The book comes with a language chart, an index, and an introduction by a linguistics scholar.