Books with author Elizabeth Wiley

This is a classic American tale of dreams and obsession--the suspenseful, brilliantly written account of one eccentric man’s hunger to open space travel to us all: to let us rocket into orbit, return to earth, and soar yet again--thus transforming space travel forever.They All Laughed at Christopher ColumbusGary Hudson was seven years old when Sputnik flew, nineteen when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, and all he ever wanted to do was to travel into space. Between 1970 and 1996 he founded and disbanded five separate rocket-building companies, none meeting with much success. Then, in 1997, at the age of forty-seven, he launched Rotary Rocket. His goal was to develop and build the Roton, the world’s first manned, single-stage-to-orbit, fully reusable spaceship, capable of shuttling ordinary people into orbit and back in a single day. Elizabeth Weil followed Gary for two years, and in this book she brings to vivid life a seductively--perhaps delusionally--optimistic world where science and science fiction meld and fuse, and where imagination and invention collide.In California’s bleak and windswept Mojave Desert, Gary assembled a fanatical, mismatched crew of engineers and technicians, and Weil bears witness to their Roton endeavor, from first conception to final test flight. The cast includes a pyromaniacal engineer, a world expert on composite airframes, two former Navy test pilots, Gary’s infinitely patient wife, a third-generation Mojave motel owner, and an enigmatic and resourceful financier. At their center shines Gary himself, a man eternally reflecting the glow of a better, lighter, higher world--a world that, despite his flaws and failures, he perpetually convinces us we’re all about to reach.

In this readable book by Elizabeth Ward is everything you need to know about the art of stage management, from pre-audition and rehearsals to performances and closing duties. The basics are presented with room to grow in confidence and proficiency. The author invites you to use this book as a guide while you work with your instructor and director. She presents the information in such a way that it will inspire you to look beyond the basics and discover ways to creatively adapt this information to your production. She defines the position of stage manager as demanding, frustrating and incredibly rewarding. The goal throughout the book is to alleviate some of the fears that you might have about the job and reinforce the idea that this is a learning experience. No one is flawless, especially when dealing with as many factors as a stage manager must. This text will be valuable to you in high school theatre, and it will prepare you for college productions and could even be of value to you in future community theatre experiences. There are also many sample forms and reports such as audition forms, rehearsal summaries, scene breakdowns and numerous checklists to help you develop a comfortable familiarity with the work of a stage manager as an important part of the production team.

"Fat girls have fewer choices in life. This is painful but true. You'll never be the center of attention; never the belle of the ball. No one gives fat girls the benefit of the doubt. Skinny, pretty girls get the best of everything. We get whatever's left."So warns the mother of Wilma "Sunnie" Sundstrom, a bright, precious, overweight 13-year-old whose lifelong dream is to meet her idol Johnny Carson, and appear as a guest on The Tonight Show. The year is 1978, and Sunnie a straight-A student and aspiring filmmaker deals with constant teasing from her eighth-great classmates by dreaming of Hollywood accolades and writing a screenplay, Girl on the Lam, which she is certain will star teen sensations Kristy McNichol and Robby Benson.Sunnie lives in suburban Milwaukee with her banker father, her stay-at-home mother, her sullen older sister, Ingrid, and her brilliant younger brother, Max. Sunnie's closest friend and confidante is Grannie Lassen who encourages Sunnie's show-biz dreams. Grannie's own tap-dancing ambitions were cut short by the untimely death of Grannie's younger sister, Wilma. A devastating loss plunges Sunnie into despair and her family packs her off to an all-girls summer "fat-camp" in Northern Minnesota, where her days revolve around skimpy meals, calisthenics, and humiliating daily public weigh-ins on the camp's livestock scale. Love enters Sunnie's life in the form of a dashing boy from the Pentecostal Bible camp across the lake. When his late night canoe visits suddenly and mysteriously cease, Sunnie and her friend Cherise take matters into their own hands, with nearly tragic results. Rather than return home in shame, Sunnie takes a desperate leap of faith and embarks on a cross-country journey. Challenged more deeply than she ever expected, she discovers the unorthodox ways that dreams really can come true.

Stella is ugly, flies a broomstick and can wield a magic wand. In these respects she is just like the other witch girls in Wartville. But, unlike the other witch girls, Stella does not enjoy turning toads into slime or setting the elves’ forest home on fire. She would rather help a bear cub escape from its cage than cook it in a stew. It’s only a matter of time before she finds herself in serious trouble.Stella’s fate is linked with the fate of two human children, Mitchell and Sarah, who don’t even believe in witches. That is, they didn’t believe in witches until they found themselves whisked out of their own world and into a completely different one, into the land of Wystovia.Mitchell and Sarah soon find themselves running from an evil wizard who thinks nothing of enslaving dwarves in the mountain mines, turning giants to stone, and terrorising innocent merchildren that his eagles catch frolicking in the sea. Mitchell and Sarah will need a lot of luck and the help of friends to survive.

[Read by Amy Landon] [Young Adult Nonfiction (Ages 12-17)] The gripping true story of the only women to fly in combat in World War II -- from Elizabeth Wein, award-winning author of Code Name Verity.In the early years of World War II, Josef Stalin issued an order that made the Soviet Union the first country in the world to allow female pilots to fly in combat. Led by Marina Raskova, these three regiments, including the 588th Night Bomber Regiment -- nicknamed the ''night witches'' -- faced intense pressure and obstacles both in the sky and on the ground. Some of these young women perished in flames. Many of them were in their teens when they went to war.This is the story of Raskova's three regiments, women who enlisted and were deployed on the front lines of battle as navigators, pilots, and mechanics. It is the story of a thousand young women who wanted to take flight to defend their country, and the woman who brought them together in the sky.Packed with fascinating sidebars and thoroughly researched details, A Thousand Sisters is the inspiring true story of a group of women who set out to change the world, and the sisterhood they formed even amid the destruction of war.

A fast-paced fantasy adventure that turns children onto the fun of Shakespeare. Twelve-year-old Lindsey is in for the adventure of her life when she jets off to visit a rich old aunt on the tropical Isle of Elsinore. Populated by exotic animals, quirky robots, and spry, poetry-loving oldsters, Elsinore seems like a topsy-turvy paradise until the mysterious Jedgar starts threatening the island. As Lindsey and her pals band together to unlock the mystery, all clues point to Shakespeare who turns out to be-or not to be-the key. Scientists predict that life expectancy will take a leap within the next thirty years. What will society be like? Elsinore provides a humorous peek by setting the story in a high-tech, multi-ethnic, golden age community. Thrust into this thriving, close-knit world is Lindsey, a sympathetic heroine. Both gutsy and insecure, she's a typical child that youngsters easily relate to, and her quest for inner balance reflects the universal childhood experience. As she confronts external and internal conflicts, she gains a level of introspection and maturity-and also learns a lot of Shakespeare. The magical whale-shaped island of Elsinore adds to the fun as the children travel-by blimp, helicopter, and hot-air balloon-in search of clues. Between earthquakes, floods and wild animals, travel on foot turns dangerous, and Lindsey and her friends are forced to explore from a bird's eye view. The chase to outwit a dreaded enemy leads them into Arden Forest, the forbidden Pink Zone, and beyond Elsinore to the Jedgar's Inferno, a volcanic island gone berserk. The book contains a map of Elisinore Island and other illustrations.

A New York Times BestsellerOctober 11‚ 1943: A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it’s barely begun. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory‚ “Verity” is living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. As she intricately weaves her confession‚ Verity uncovers her past.

In this sweet light-up bedtime book, the moon follows a little lion cub and his father home. Like a watchful friend or a guardian in the sky, the moon shines down on the cub night after night and always provides both light and companionship. Every child and adult who has gazed up at the dazzling nighttime sky will love this heartwarming story. Children will love the large light-up moon!