Bøger af J D Newman

This novella for younger readers features a first grade boy and girl growing up in Utah in 1972 who share a common birthday and a love of puppetry and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Glenn is the fastest runner and the fastest reader in the first grade, until the new girl, Janet, bests him at both. When the only person who could be your twin is the new girl in school, that's difficult for Glenn -- because the guys will never let her play on their team! When Janet's family survives a house fire, Glenn discovers that, in times of need, a rival can become an ally. Glenn and Janet watch Mr. Rogers, make puppets together, and create their own Neighborhood of Make-Believe. But when they argue about their religions, can these "make-believe twins" remain friends if they each insist they're right? Set during the Space Race of the early 1970s, Make Believe Twins tells a story of how friendly competitors can sometimes become real friends, growing up through friendship, and finding loyalty. This can be a real message of hope for children in today's society, as they see little but division from the adults all around them, as they discover, in true child like fashion, that we are much closer together than we are far apart.

FIVE plays -- from the Greek Gods [Olympus On The Moon] and Pygmalion, [Awakening Galatea]; through the Elizabethan Age [Crowns and Commoners]; to World War 2 [Liberation]; and a modern day child dealing with death [Puzzles]; these plays allow us to experience the gamut of the Human Condition in one volume. J.D. Newman has taught High School, University and is at the present time the Chairman of the Theatre Department at Utah Valley University where his students (and Faculty) have brought home awards through ACTF and other organizations. Dr. Newman's distinct blend and mastery of modern language and the classical rhymed and free verse, also make these plays challenging and educational for reader and performer alike.

Growing up, making choices, being responsible for yourself and the choices we all make might seem everyday to some, but for 12-year-old Sandy, it is a new and liberating experience. Sandy has grown up under the influence of her widower, rugby-coach father and her athletic older sister Roxie. When her father and sister go to England for a rugby tournament, they leave Sandy in the care of her three great aunts, referred to in family lore as the "weird sisters." The mysterious Weird Sisters have not been seen in years; or so Dad says. Each of the aunts espouses a different faith -- Catholicism, Mormonism, and Unitarianism -- and yet they respect and support each others' practice, while Sandy views them as the outside seeker of truth she truly is. Sandy enrolls in a literature course, dance classes, and winds up in a community musical production, abandoning the girls' soccer team with which she is supposed to be playing. During her three weeks with her aunts, and never having attended any religious services before, she takes part in services and activities at each of her aunts' churches, finding things that she admires as well as things that confuse her. Her identity of self is to be forged during these three weeks -- striking while the metal is hot, so to speak -- an identity that she will take the remainder of her life to fashion and finish.Reading level of 10+ to adult. (5th Grade and older)Grades: 5+Age Group: 10+