Books with author Michael Ball

A blue crayon mistakenly labeled as "red" suffers an identity crisis in this picture book by the New York Times–bestselling creator of My Heart Is Like a Zoo and It's an Orange Aardvark! Funny, insightful, and colorful, Red: A Crayon's Story, by Michael Hall, is about being true to your inner self and following your own path despite obstacles that may come your way. Red will appeal to fans of Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, and The Day the Crayons Quit, and makes a great gift for readers of any age!Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let's draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can't be red, no matter how hard he tries! Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He's blue! This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone.

Completely rewritten 7th edition contains over 550 pages and 30 chapters! It is time to look at OSINT in a different way. For many years, and within the previous six editions of this book, we have relied on external resources to supply our search tools, virtual environments, and investigation techniques. We have seen this protocol fail us when services shut down, websites disappear, and custom resources are dismantled due to outside pressures. This book aims to correct our dilemma. We will take control of our investigative resources and become self-reliant. There will be no more need for online search tools; we will make and host our own locally. We will no longer seek pre-built virtual machines; we will create and configure our own. This book puts the power back in your hands. The new OSINT professional must be self-sustaining and possess their own tools and resources. You will become a more proficient subject matter expert who will be armed with the knowledge and readiness to articulate the sources of your findings. Aside from eleven brand new chapters, hundreds of pages have been updated to keep your OSINT investigative methods fresh. Furthermore, an entire new section featuring Methodology, Workflow, Documentation, and Ethics provides a clear game plan for your next active investigation. All-new custom search tools, report templates, and detailed documents are included via download. Today, we start over.

A blue crayon mistakenly labeled as "red" suffers an identity crisis in this picture book by the New York Times–bestselling creator of My Heart Is Like a Zoo and It's an Orange Aardvark! Funny, insightful, and colorful, Red: A Crayon's Story, by Michael Hall, is about being true to your inner self and following your own path despite obstacles that may come your way. Red will appeal to fans of Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, and The Day the Crayons Quit, and makes a great gift for readers of any age!Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let's draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can't be red, no matter how hard he tries! Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He's blue! This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone.

“A book that begs for reams of colored paper, rooms full of imaginative hands, and a whole lot of clapping and giggling.”—Washington PostMichael Hall, the New York Times bestselling author of My Heart Is Like a Zoo and Red: A Crayon’s Story, inspires creativity and resilience in this strikingly illustrated picture book starring a brightly colored square. Perfect Square is the perfect choice for teaching kids to think outside the box! This imaginative picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling. Young readers will learn days of the week and colors of the rainbow, as well as emotional resilience. In brilliant, innovative collage artwork, Michael Hall illustrates how a happy square transforms itself after facing one challenge after another. Cut into pieces and poked full of holes? Time to become a burbling fountain! Torn into scraps? Grow into a garden! Day after day, the square reinvents itself, from simple and perfect to complex and perfect . . . and always happy. “A near perfect concept book . . . a book to revisit often, and with delight.”—The Horn Book “Pages are lusciously intense as we watch versatility trump geometry”—The Chicago Tribune

Reid Clark is a pro golfer at the top of the leader board during the PGA tour; he is also a hothead with a reputation for trouble. Reid receives a death threat right before teeing off on the final day of the Master's Tournament, and hires a P.I. to track down the perpetrator. Suspense builds throughout as Reid tries to compete in one of golf s most prestigious contests...and woo the woman he loves...while dodging death at every turn. Sudden Death will score big for all mystery lovers."You like golf, you like murder mysteries - - then Sudden Death is your book!" James Patterson "Pure fun, pure intrigue. The action never stops till a fascinating climax." Clive Cussler Be sure to read Dead Ball, the highly endorsed sequel to Sudden Death.

This colorful 32-page book offers a collection of fun, easy-to-use detective cases for Grades 4 - 12+. Some cases may be more challenging for younger students, but teachers and parents can always provide hints when needed. The cases develop critical thinking skills by requiring students to read carefully and analyze and synthesize information to guide their decision-making. The cases also develop observation skills, reading comprehension, deductive and inductive thinking skills. The ability to identify and evaluate evidence is the very heart of critical thinking.

"A simple heart shape and bright primary colors become lions, herons, and other zoo animals. Entertaining short sentences about each animal are fun to read, and as kids learn their numbers they can count the hearts that make up each animal, giving this title a little extra longevity." - Seira Wilson, Amazon EditorThe New York Times bestseller My Heart Is Like a Zoo features bright colors, simple sentences, playful animals, and more than 300 hearts for children to count and enjoy. Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick says, "Starting with one simple shape, Michael Hall shows us a nearly infinite number of ways to make a menagerie of love."This board book edition of the award-winning picture book is perfect for little hands and the very youngest readers, who will learn that a heart can be hopeful, silly, happy, rugged, snappy, or lonely. A heart holds every different feeling, and author-artist Michael Hall captures each one with his bold, graphic artwork. An ideal springboard for conversations about emotions, and for introducing concepts, math, and art projects in the classroom and at home. School Library Journal called it an "outstanding choice for one-on-one sharing."

Recess. A swing set. An argument. A resolution! Michael Hall’s transformative Swing is a celebration of friendship, joy, and kindness. Readers of all ages will look forward to seeing how four unlikely friends navigate their differences. A surprising and standout picture book from the acclaimed and bestselling creator of Red: A Crayon’s Story and Perfect Square. It’s recess! Four letters (O, V, E, and L) race to the playground to claim the swings. In several pages of recess banter and bullying, one letter is told it’s too round, one is from the wrong end of the alphabet, and one is a vowel and therefore not welcome.What does it take to save the day? Kindness . . . and a heavenly and joyful swing. And what do the letters—friends now because of their shared experience—spell when they finally come back to Earth? LOVE. A story about sharing, acceptance, and kindness, this transcendent and colorful picture book will keep readers guessing while also introducing the letters of the alphabet. Swing is for anyone who loves to hop on a swing and fly to the sky.

Ingenuity and surprise rule in this funny and colorful companion to Red: A Crayon’s Story written and illustrated by Michael Hall, the New York Times–bestselling creator of My Heart Is Like a Zoo.The crayons are ready to tell the thrilling tale of Frankencrayon. The costumes are made, the roles are cast, the pages are all set—but then disaster strikes. Someone has scribbled on the page! Hideous! Horrifying! The story can’t go on! Try as they might, the crayons can’t erase the scribble, and this picture book must be canceled. Until the crayons playing the title role of Frankencrayon think of a solution, that is. Michael Hall breaks borders and invites readers behind the scenes with his irresistible, clever style and bold artwork. A book about seeing beauty in unexpected places and the magic of storytelling.

★Buy the Paperback and Receive the Kindle eBooks for FREE★Mia Takes an Educational Journey into the World of Food A magical journey filled with fun and intrigue. "Mommy, What do Unicorns eat?" tells the story of Mia, a unicorn who is curious by nature and eager to learn just what her ideal diet looks like. She is a friendly unicorn, and throughout the story, she meets many other animals who are just as friendly as she is, including an elephant, a squirrel, a dolphin, a cow, a parrot, a rabbit, and a caterpillar. Each of the animals she meets has some wisdom and advice to share, each recommending their favorite food as the best food there is. They also explain the benefits of each food, from strength to speed to tail fluffiness. As a parent, you know you need to explain to your child how important each food type is, but this topic is a big one, and you want to make it easy on yourself – or at least easier than it seems on the surface. "Mommy, What do Unicorns eat?" is a fun and simple way to introduce your child to a healthy, wholesome, rounded diet, the animals explaining in detail why they like each food and what each food does for them.  Join Mia as she gallivants, makes friends, and learns about food! 

This colorful 32-page book offers a collection of fun, easy-to-use detective cases for Grades 3 - 12+. This book-unlike the later books in the series-includes some crime cases that involve simple maps. Some cases may be more challenging for younger students, but teachers and parents can always provide hints when needed. These crime cases develop critical thinking skills by requiring students to carefully read to determine what information is legitimate evidence, and what is just opinion or irrelevant information. All of the cases require students to synthesize information from different sources to determine which suspects are innocent or guilty. They also develop observation skills, reading comprehension, and deductive and inductive thinking skills. The focus of these activities is to teach students to identify and evaluate evidence--the very heart of critical thinking.