Kirjahaku

The ways of war in the Middle Ages never cease to fascinate. There is a glamour associated with knights in shining armour, colourful tournaments and heroic deeds which appeals to the modern imagination. Because medieval warfare had its colourful side it is easy to overlook the face that war was a very serious business in an age when brute force was the recognised way of settling a quarrel, and conflict formed a normal way of life at every level of society. This book illustrates the art of war with dozens of medieval images from books and manuscripts, and reveals a wealth of social and military background on heraldry, armour, knights and chivalry, castles, sieges, and the arrival of gunpowder. This new edition is completely revised with a selection of new illustrations from the British Library's medieval manuscripts.

The glamour associated with knights in shining armour, colourful tournaments and heroic deeds appeal strongly to the modern imagination. However, few pieces of military dress and equipment have survived to provide direct insight into the way that war was waged in the Middle Ages. For a comprehensive view of the nature of medieval warfare we rely on written documentation and the information preserved in paintings, sculptures, carvings, and other pictorial sources. The most numerous by far of these are the miniatures and drawings found in manuscript books, partly because books tend to survive better that other artefacts and partly because many individual volumes contain multiple representations. Pamela Porter presents and describes a variety of evocative manuscript illuminations in an effort to reveal them as a source of information about military dress, equipment, and practices.

This moving book, written in the haunting voice of a young child, is based on true stories told to the author by her friend Georgia Salois, a Metis whose people lived with the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. Sky focuses not only on the events of the historic flood of 1964 and its effects on Georgia and her people, but also on the poverty and discrimination that they experienced and how they found the courage to survive.

Twelve-year-old Emmaline, a farmer's daughter in 1960s Saskatchewan, injures her leg after a run-in with a tractor and must deal with her disability and the grief of losing her father and beloved dog, getting help from unexpected places.

Finalist for the Governor General's Award for Children's Illustration In this delightful bedtime rhyme a young child bids good night to the moon, recalling all the familiar things surrounding her -- from her pillow, her book and her kitten to the swing outside, the robins in the trees and the starry night. Written by award-winning novelist and poet Pamela Porter, the book is complemented by the swirling, joyful and whimsical illustrations of Matt James, an acclaimed visual artist. The words and music for "At the Gate of Heaven" ("A la puerta del cielo"), a New Mexican lullaby, are included.

The world that Pamela Porter brings to life in "The Intelligence of Animals" is earthy, original and true. With an impeccable ear for the range of emotions in the human voice and for the music of language, she records this territory in a sensual and moving way. The remarkable accomplishment of this book is that it dwells so intimately on nature in all of its facets, even the making of art, that one emerges from it with the feeling of having been lifted into another realm--we see the miraculous and the supernatural right before our eyes.--John Skoyles

In a small prairie town like Argue, Saskatchewan, everyone knows everybody else’s business. Everyone knows that the Loney family has been barely hanging on ? the father, George, reduced to drink and despair since the loss of his farm and the death of his wife, Margaret. And that the four Loney children do not get along with George’s second wife, the pious, bitter Effie. When George dies in a drunken stupor and Effie takes off with a traveling Bible salesman, it looks as though the children are done for. Who’s to save them when everyone in town is coping with the lingering Depression and the loss of their young men to the war? But by drawing good people to them and by rising to the occasion themselves, sixteen-year-old Ran, fourteen-year-old Nora, twelve-year-old Jim and little Addie find a way to make ends meet under the watchful eye of their ghostly parents.

From the author of The Crazy ManIn a small prairie town like Argue, Saskatchewan, everyone knows everybody else’s business. It’s common knowledge that the Loney family has been barely hanging on, but when the Loney children’s father George dies in a drunken stupor and their stepmother takes off with a traveling Bible salesman, it looks as though the children are done for. Who’s to save them when everyone is coping with their own problems ? the lingering Depression and the loss of the town’s young men to the Second World War? Under the watchful eye of their ghostly parents and through the small kindnesses of a few neighbors, but mostly by dint of their own determination and ingenuity, the Loney children survive. I'll Be Watching is an extremely powerful story of children at risk because of adult hypocrisy, indifference, self-interest, and outright immorality, all cloaked in a self-righteous exterior.

Smile Through It All is a non-fictional, chronological autobiography about my life. It is a story about life, finding love, survival, and remaining resilient despite the challenges ascribable to an abusive marriage, single parenthood, loneliness, Alopecia, and the possibility of Alzheimer. I've written this book in hopes that it inspires and empowers others who are experiencing these trials themselves. It is also my hope that you too are able to overcome the remanences, the stigma, and the judgment that comes with domestic violence and alopecia. I am a woman who got away. I am a woman that beat the odds and for this reason, I Smile Through It All.

How does the rain sleep and where does the silence go? In her latest book of poetry, Between the Bell Struck and the Silence, Governor-General-Award-winning Pamela Porter contemplates the mysteries of existence. Porter skillfully reimagines familiar emotions: joy, loss, and healing are made new through descriptions of the flight of music, the spirits that dance between dusk and dawn, the blessings of coyotes and chickadees. Themes of Christian theology and the life and work of Van Gogh are woven throughout this rich tapestry of philosophical exploration and the healing powers of art. Between the Bell Struck and the Silence is a profound offering that delves into the essence of what it means to be an artist and to experience the striking state of being alive, with all of its joys and sorrows. With this introspective collection, Porter invites a generous appreciation for the world and life itself.