stories, plots, etc

Contains over 2,500 alphabetically arranged entries which provide information about opera characters, discussing their place in the plot, their relationships to other characters, and their influence on the outcome of the story; provides plot synopses of more than 270 operas; and includes essays by well-known personalities of the opera.

A practical guide to over 1,300 movie suggestions that are tailored to everyday situations and listed by categories including holidays, seasonal passages, life phases, and nostalgia.

Profiles one hundred critically acclaimed and popular young adult novels spanning thirty years, grouped by genre, providing character lists, plot summaries, background on the works and authors, brief information on themes and subjects, and lists of passages for booktalking.

A dollmaker cleverly schemes to pass his most beautiful doll off as a real girl, but he is outwitted by the townspeople he tries to deceive.

Defines the features and characteristics of popular reading genres and subgenres, including historical fiction, westerns, crime, adventure, romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror, Christian fiction, and emerging genres, each with a listing of representative titles, and includes essays on the social nature of reading, and readers' advisory.

Presents a modern, urban retelling in verse of the ballet in which brave Amiri falls in love with beautiful Odette and fights evil Big Red for her on the streets of the Swan Lake Projects.

In this volume, each entry includes an introduction to the novel and the novel's author; discussions on themes, plot, and characters; and critical commentary. Novels critiqued include "Betsey Brown," "Cane," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "A Room with a View," and eleven others.

In this volume, each entry includes an introduction to the novel and the novel's author; discussions on themes, plot, and characters; and critical commentary. Novels critiqued include "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Oliver Twist," "Ship of Fools," "The Three Musketeers," and eleven others.

Each entry contains author biography, plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.