Non-fiction

In this irresistible memoir, the "New York Times "bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Anna Quindlen writes about looking back and ahead--and celebrating it all--as she considers marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, faith, loss, all the stuff in our closets, and more.
As she did in her beloved "New York Times" columns, and in "A Short Guide to a Happy Life, " Quindlen says for us here what we may wish we could have said ourselves. Using her past, present, and future to explore what matters most to women at different ages, Quindlen talks about
Marriage: "A safety net of small white lies can be the bedrock of a successful marriage. You wouldn't believe how cheaply I can do a kitchen renovation."
Girlfriends: "Ask any woman how she makes it through the day, and she may mention her calendar, her to-do lists, her babysitter. But if you push her on how she really makes it through her day, she will mention her girlfriends. Sometimes I will see a photo of an actress in an unflattering dress or a blouse too young for her or with a heavy-handed makeup job, and I mutter, 'She must not have any girlfriends.' "
Stuff: "Here's what it comes down to, really: there is now so much stuff in my head, so many years, so many memories, that it's taken the place of primacy away from the things in the bedrooms, on the porch. My doctor says that, contrary to conventional wisdom, she doesn't believe our memories flag because of a drop in estrogen but because of how crowded it is in the drawers of our minds. Between the stuff at work and the stuff at home, the appointments and the news and the gossip and the rest, the past and the present and the plans for the future, the filing cabinets in our heads are not only full, they're overflowing."
Our bodies: "I've finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and in the years to come. It's like a car, and while I like a red convertible or even a Bentley as well as the next person, what I really need are four tires and an engine."
Parenting: "Being a parent is not transactional. We do not get what we give. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward endeavor: We are good parents not so they will be loving enough to stay with us but so they will be strong enough to leave us."
From childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age, Quindlen uses the events of her own life to illuminate our own. Along with the downsides of age, she says, can come wisdom, a perspective on life that makes it satisfying and even joyful. Candid, funny, moving, "Lots""of Candles, Plenty of Cake" is filled with the sharp insights and revealing observations that have long confirmed Quindlen's status as America's laureate of real life.

Teachers have always used the school calendar to plan instruction. Using a standard word-processing program, they can now collect real-time information about what is actually taught to create curriculum maps. These maps provide a clear picture of what is happening in their classes at specific points during the school year.

The benefits of this kind of mapping are obvious for integrating curriculum: When curriculum maps are developed for every grade level, educators see not only the details of each map but also the "big picture" for that school or district. They can see where subjects already come together--and where they don't, but probably should.In Mapping the Big Picture, Heidi Hayes Jacobs describes a seven-step process for creating and working with curriculum maps, from data collection to ongoing curriculum review. She discusses the importance of asking essential questions and of designing assessments that reflect what teachers know about the students in their care. She also offers a viable alternative to the curriculum committees that are part of almost every U.S. school district. The book concludes with more than 20 sample curriculum maps from real schools, all of which were developed using the process described in this book.