Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Elise and the Gold Gloop by S.B. Davies S.B. Davies. At the age of six, my daughter was a good reader for her age, but refused to start reading “proper books” with chapters and no pictures. She was bored with “Horrid Henry” and fairies saving a rainbow yet once more and insisted that she was old enough to read proper books, but every one she tried was “too difficult”. It wasn’t she couldn’t read them, it was the concepts and storylines; they were all designed for nine and ten year olds. There was another problem too. She wanted to read about girls, yet all the books about girls we could find were twee and dull. My daughter is happy to read about a princess, along as she is a Ninja Princess; happy to save rainbows, as long as it involves a good sword fight or perhaps a well-planned heist. After a few months of this, my lovely daughter stopped reading. We tried most of the “first chapter books” that people recommend; all met with disinterest. So I asked her exactly what she wanted in a “proper book”. After much though, she wrote down: “Dragons, princess, zombies, vampires, ghosts, but not spiders and it should be funny and scary and have fighting in it.” We couldn’t find such a book with concepts and vocabulary suitable for a six year old – so I wrote one. I had written novels before, but not a children’s book, so I had help from my daughter to find the right level. There were other issues too; my daughter was terrified of the idea of ghosts and very frightened of spiders. So I added in the concept of happy ghosts and theatrical spiders that love to perform. I POD published a copy and gave it to her. It was a success. After critical review by my daughter and re-writes, my daughter considered it just right. To quote “I can’t believe you wrote this Daddy, it’s just like a real book”. She started going upstairs on her own without fear of ghosts and asking politely if I would remove the spider from the bathroom, rather than run away screaming. She started reading again and now, two years later, is a firm fan of Holly Short (from the Artemis Fowl books) and Hermione Granger. This is how I ended up writing and epublishing a children’s book. I was amazed by the joy of my daughter at having a book written for her and how much I enjoyed the whole process. I recommend parents who write do this for their children. The 50 Greatest Hits. For those familiar only with the King of Rock & Roll's name and reputation, the prospect of buying a best-of can be quite a nauseating proposition. The huge range of compilations available varies in quality, and depth, but as yet there exists no definitive choice for first-time Presleyers. RCA's latest attempt to correct this is perhaps the finest best-of Elvis Presley ever. Spanning two CDs and, as its title suggests, 50 songs, all the classic tracks are here, from "Heartbreak Hotel" through "Suspicious Minds." The sound quality is as near-perfect as one will get for a best-of from this artist, and the packaging is quite superb. While it may not be as in-depth as other compilations, The 50 Greatest Hits is adequate for those wanting the major hits, and provides a taster for each of his styles. As a starting point to Elvis Presley's work, this is unmatched by any other best-of and is an almost perfect compilation in that all of his most noted tracks are here, as are all the finest moment from each of his eras. For the more hardcore Elvis fan, also, The 50 Greatest Hits is an essential purchase, offering almost all of the finest tracks on a mere two discs. 2018 SAG Awards predictions: Experts & Editors jump ship to Sam Rockwell, but top users still say Willem Dafoe will win. Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) is the SAG Awards frontrunner to win for his role as a violent, racist cop after winning at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards, but not everyone thinks so. There still a strong chance Willem Dafoe (“The Florida Project”) will emerge victorious for playing an empathetic motel manager. As of this writing Rockwell gets leading odds of 4/5 based on the combined predictions of nearly 2,000 users who have entered their picks at Gold Derby thus far. That includes 15 Expert film journalists we’ve polled, 12 of whom are backing Rockwell: Thelma Adams (Gold Derby), Erik Davis (Fandango), Edward Douglas , Grae Drake (Rotten Tomaroes), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Tariq Khan (Fox News), Jack Mathews (Gold Derby), Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby), Sasha Stone (Awards Daily), Anne Thompson (IndieWire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), and Susan Wloszczyna (RogerEbert.com). Five out of eight Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby also think Rockwell has the advantage: Chris Beachum , Eng, Marcus James Dixon , O’Neil, and myself. But that’s not the whole story. Dafoe ranks a close second in our predictions with 13/8 odds. Three Experts think he’s still ahead: Bonnie Fuller (Hollywood Life), Brian Truitt (USA Today), and Adnan Virk (ESPN). And so do three of our Editors: Rob Licuria , Matt Noble , and Paul Sheehan . Perhaps even more significantly, a lot of our top users are still on Dafoe’s side. Twelve of our Top 24 Users, who got the highest scores predicting last year’s SAG Awards, think the veteran actor will prevail, compared to 11 who are forecasting Rockwell. And our All-Star Top 24, who got the highest scores when you combine the last two years predictions, are split right down the middle with 11 picking Rockwell and 11 picking Dafoe. Dafoe has been a favorite of critics all season, but “The Florida Project” hasn’t been widely embraced apart from Dafoe’s performance. Sometimes an overdue actor doesn’t need broader support for their film to win; consider Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”) and Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”), who swept their awards seasons despite being the only nomination for their respective films at most events. But Rockwell nevertheless has the benefit of the film with the most SAG Award nominations (four) and which is a likelier contender for the Best Picture Oscar. Will that be enough to overcome sentiment for Dafoe playing a more sympathetic role? Be sure to make your SAG predictions so that Hollywood insiders can see how their films and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on January 21. And join in the fierce debate over the 2018 SAG Awards taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our movie forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news. Kay Mellor’s Band Of Gold at The Grand Theatre Leeds Review. Based on the controversial tv series that aired in the mid 1990’s Kay Mellor’s adaptation of Band of Gold for the stage is still as hard hitting and gritty as fans of the show would expect. We watched the show at The Grand Theatre & Opera House in Leeds. The Grand is based in Leeds City Centre so easily accessible by car or public transport. There is plenty of payable car parking nearby. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. Centred around four main female characters Carol, Rose, Anita and Gina. They all have their own stories that have led them to become working girls on ‘The Lane’ in Bradford. Anita (EastEnders Laurie Brett) the mummy figure of the group who is in denial about what she really is. She has convinced herself that her married lover is her boyfriend when he is just using her. She allows the girls to use her flat (for a charge) and waits around to make sure they are safe. Rose (Emmerdale’s Gaynor Faye) a heroin addict with a quick temper who runs ‘The Lane’ and who works there. Haunted about the daughter she had taken away as a baby by ‘the social’. Carol (Emma Osman) the hard-hitting single mum who has been a working girl since 14. She is doing this to take care of her daughter and give her a better life. Gina (Sacha Parkinson) the recently separated single mum after throwing out her abusive husband. She has taken out a loan from a loan shark and is struggling to make the ever-changing repayments. Whilst trying to make a living as an Avon girl a chance encounter with Carol and her mounting debts lead to her reluctantly becoming a working girl. Although the storyline was set up as a lot of mini scenes allowing the storylines of each character to run alongside the main story you were kept gripped as the drama was fast moving. The set was simple and dark as you would expect but cleverly allowed the scenes to change quickly. Most of the drama was hard hitting and sometimes sinister but some humour was slotted in there as well. There were some brilliant one liners and Curly the punter, with a fetish for stockings and stilettos, was hilarious and horrifying at the same time. The characters were believable and as their stories came alive on stage you really felt for them and their struggles. All the actresses playing the four main characters gave outstanding performances. Right from the beginning when a pre-recorded message from Kay Mellor apologised for the bad language and warned that this was set at a time still overshadowed by the Yorkshire Rippers murder spree you were given an insight into what to expect.