Sharon Mather

Paul Posti was a war hero. During WWII, he was the only person in history to shoot down a German Focke-Wolfe fighter plane with his father's Smith and Wesson, 38 cal. Service Revolver. He later became a executive chef, and a close friend to celebrities including, Clark Gable, Elvis Presley, Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra and the world renown Rat Pack. Frank Sinatra was introduced to Paul's cooking when Paul would give him free meals to help him out. Posti's thoughtfulness and help was appreciated by Frank Sinatra, so what began as a kind gesture turned into a life-long friendship. Posti became Sinatra's personal chef for over 24 years. Along with his employer and owner of The Brown Derby, Bob Cobb, Paul created the now famous Cobb Salad, which he literally concocted on the spot to please a demanding Cecil B. DeMille. He even had occasion to kick a hungry young kid named Elvis Presley out of his kitchen at the Knickerbocker Hotel. Later, Posti and The King became good friends. His dearest friend was probably the legendary Mel Blanc, the man who brought Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and a host of other voices to life. Most of the stars every American knew from the 40's 50's 60's and 70's knew Paul Posti. From the Brown Derby to the Villa Capri, he was the chef to Hollywood's royalty. Posti made his mark as a chef during a time when fine dining was highly esteemed. For him, cooking was not just a job, but rather an art form, He would sometimes say with a smirk, "Cooking is the soul of partying, at all times and all ages."

Paul Posti was a war hero. During WWII, he was the only person in history to shoot down a German Focke-Wolfe fighter plane with his father's Smith and Wesson, 38 cal. Service Revolver. He later became a executive chef, and a close friend to celebrities including, Clark Gable, Elvis Presley, Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra and the world renown Rat Pack. Frank Sinatra was introduced to Paul's cooking when Paul would give him free meals to help him out. Posti's thoughtfulness and help was appreciated by Frank Sinatra, so what began as a kind gesture turned into a life-long friendship. Posti became Sinatra's personal chef for over 24 years. Along with his employer and owner of The Brown Derby, Bob Cobb, Paul created the now famous Cobb Salad, which he literally concocted on the spot to please a demanding Cecil B. DeMille. He even had occasion to kick a hungry young kid named Elvis Presley out of his kitchen at the Knickerbocker Hotel. Later, Posti and The King became good friends. His dearest friend was probably the legendary Mel Blanc, the man who brought Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and a host of other voices to life. Most of the stars every American knew from the 40's 50's 60's and 70's knew Paul Posti. From the Brown Derby to the Villa Capri, he was the chef to Hollywood's royalty. Posti made his mark as a chef during a time when fine dining was highly esteemed. For him, cooking was not just a job, but rather an art form, He would sometimes say with a smirk, "Cooking is the soul of partying, at all times and all ages."

Sir Edward ‘Eddie’ Marsh was an ornament of early twentieth-century society; a respected civil servant, polymath and scholar who led a remarkable life. Always at the heart of the establishment, he was Winston Churchill’s longest serving Private Secretary and close friend. Marsh harboured a passion for young men - poets, painters and actors - to whom he devoted his money, time and connections. His numerous protégés included luminaries such as Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, Mark Gertler, Stanley Spencer, and Ivor Novello to name but a few. Preferring to work behind the scenes, Marsh also edited the work of several acclaimed writers; Winston Churchill, Somerset Maugham, Siegfried Sassoon and many others owe a debt to Marsh whose hand burnished their work. Sharon Mather's biography of Edward Marsh is set against the backdrop of the extraordinary events of the first half of the twentieth century, and is seen through the prism of his illustrious friendships.

Ten reproducible reading booklets pertaining to famous figures that played an important role in Canada's history and development. There are four different styles of booklets. This resource gives your students a chance to create their own books of various styles while learning about some of the most interesting Canadians ever.Students benefit from this approach in several ways. Their involvement in developing the reading material provides added motivation to enjoy and appreciate the content. In addition, the manipulation of the booklets provides added interaction with the text. Interaction is further enhanced in two ways. Each page of every booklet has a statement that tells the story of the historical character. Some statements are illustrated and some are not, allowing students the opportunity to visually interpret text and assist in the creation of the story. Some of the booklets have illustrated pages for which students must select from a bank of statements and cut and paste the most appropriate words to accompany the images.The bulk of the book is organized by historical figure. Each section includes one to two pages of information on the figure. These information pages can be used as teacher information, read together as a whole group exercise, or assigned to individuals. Note that the reading level for these information pages is between grades three and six, so care must be taken to match reading level with student ability. The mini booklets themselves are designed for grades two to four.Booklets for these Famous Canadians: Lief ErikssonJacques CartierSamuel de ChamplainJames WolfeLouis-Joseph de MontcalmJoseph BrantLaura SecordSir John A. MacdonaldHarriet TubmanNellie McClungIllustrated information sheets accompany each booklet. Grade appropriate sentences on each page tell the story of these famous people and professional line drawings bring the subjects to life.Students are given plenty of opportunities to interact with the historical characters as they create their own illustrations, or cut and paste information into their books to match the drawings.The final pages of the book contain a series of activities designed for further use with the mini books to encourage interaction with the finished product, to draw out specific reading comprehension and social studies skills, and to serve as assessment opportunities.