Sammy Keyes
Sammy Keyes is a series of mystery novels written by Wendelin Van Draanen for children aged 10–16. The series focuses on Sammy's adventures as an amateur sleuth. The books, which are narrated in the first-person perspective by Sammy, involve detective fiction as well as comedy. Sammy begins her adventures in the first book as a seventh-grader, and the series ends when she completes the eighth grade. The series ran for eighteen books. Setting The Sammy Keyes novels are based in the fictional town of Santa Martina, which is located in California. Santa Martina is closely based on the real city of Santa Maria, California, down to names of streets used throughout the series, and well known landmarks. Other fictional cities frequently mentioned are Santa Luisa (San Luis Obispo), and Sisquane ( Sisquoc). The city of Pomloc is also mentioned once, a reference to the city of Lompoc. All of these places are located near to the real city of Santa Maria. Sammy is an unofficial teenage dete ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wendelin Van Draanen
Wendelin Van Draanen Dutch name, see (born January 6, 1965) is an American writer of children's and young-adult fiction. Biography Van Draanen was born in Chicago, Illinois. One of her very early influences was ''Dandelion Wine'' by Ray Bradbury. According to the author, the book was "about the magic of growing up and treminded me of all the wonderful mischief my brothers and I got into when we were young". Bradbury's work inspired Van Draanen to write ''How I Survived Being a Girl'', which was published by HarperCollins in 1997.Newman, Patricia (May 2002)"Who Wrote That? Featuring Wendelin Van Draanen" ''California Kids!''. Valley Community Newspapers (Sacramento, CA). Reissued by the writer (patricianewman.com). Retrieved 2011-05-11. Other early influences include Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and ''Encyclopedia Brown''. In college, the Van Draanen family business was burned down, leading to financial hardship. Wendelin turned to writing to alleviate stress and she published h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock. There are two rule sets for softball generally: ''slow pitch softball'' and ''fastpitch''. Slow pitch softball is commonly played recreationally, while women's fastpitch softball is a Summer Olympic sport and is played professionally. Depending on the variety being played and the age and gender of the players, the particulars of field and equipment vary. While distances between bases of 60 feet are standard across varieties, the pitcher's plate ranges from 35 to 43 feet away from home plate, and the home run fence can be 220 to 300 feet away from home plate. The ball itself is typically 11 or 12 inches (28 or 30 cm) in circumference, also depending on specifics of the competition. Softball rules vary somewhat from those of baseba ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Novels By Wendelin Van Draanen
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the historica ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Series Of Children's Books
Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in serialism including tone rows * Harmonic series (music) * Serialism, including the twelve-tone technique Types of series in arts, entertainment, and media * Anime series * Book series * Comic book series * Film series * Manga series * Podcast series * Radio series * Television series * "Television series", the Australian, British, and a number of others countries' equivalent term for the North American "television season", a set of episodes produced by a television serial * Video game series * Web series Mathematics and science * Series (botany), a taxonomic rank between genus and species * Series (mathematics), the sum of a sequence of terms * Series (stratigraphy), a stratigraphic unit deposited during a certain interval of geolog ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fictional Amateur Detectives
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly marketed and so the audience expects the work to deviate in some ways from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood to not fully adhere to the real world, the themes and context of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theater published or produced in the previous year. Active author categories Robert L. Fish Memorial Award The Robert L. Fish Memorial Award was established in 1984 to honor the best first mystery short story by an American author. The winners are listed below. Lilian Jackson Braun Award The Lilian Jackson Braun Award was established to honor Lilian Jackson Braun and is presented in the "best full-length, contemporary cozy mystery as submitted to and selected by a special MWA committee." Sue Grafton Memorial Award The Sue Grafton Memorial Award was established in 2019 to honor Sue Grafton and is presented to "the best novel in a series featuring a female protagonist." ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Archenemy
In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero's, most prominent and most-known enemy. Etymology The word ''archenemy'' sometimes spelled as ''arch-enemy'' originated around the mid-16th century, from the words ''arch-'' (from Greek ἄρχω ''archo'' meaning 'to lead') and ''enemy''. An archenemy may also be referred to as an archrival, archfoe, archvillain, or archnemesis. However, an archenemy may also be distinguished from a nemesis, with the latter being an enemy whom the hero cannot defeat (or who defeats the hero), even while not being a longstanding or consistent enemy to the hero.Sage Michael, ''How to Become a Superhero: the Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate You!'' (2011), p. 228. See also * Antagonist * Supervillain * Villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jaywalking
Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway that has traffic, other than at a designated crossing point, or otherwise, in disregard of traffic rules. The term originated in the United States as a derivation of the phrase ''jay-drivers'' (the word ''jay'' meaning 'a greenhorn, or rube'), people who drove horse-drawn carriages and automobiles on the wrong side of the road, before taking its current meaning. Jaywalking was coined as the automobile arrived in the street in the context of the conflict between pedestrian and automobiles (also then known as horseless carriages), more specifically the nascent automobile industry. Jaywalking laws vary widely by jurisdiction. In many countries such as the United Kingdom, the word is not generally used and, with the exception of certain high-speed roads, there are no laws limiting how pedestrians can use public highways. This has caused confusion among British people visiting countries with such laws, with the BBC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Divorced
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries, divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of property, child custody, alimony (spousal support), child visitation / access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person. Divorce is different from annulment, which declares the marriage null and void, with legal separation or ''de jure'' separation (a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a ''de facto'' se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Foster Home
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of the child is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member. In some states, relative or "Kinship" caregivers of children who are wards of the state are provided with a financial stipend. The state, via the family court and child protective services agency, stand ''in loco parentis'' to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Scholars and activists are concerned about the efficacy of the foster care services provided by NGOs. Specifically, this pertains to poor retention rates of social workers. Po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beauty Mark
A beauty mark or beauty spot is a euphemism for a type of dark facial mark so named because such birthmarks are sometimes considered an attractive feature.Ariel, Irving M. (1981). A Historical Introduction: Is the beauty mark a mark of beauty or a potentially dangerous cancer? ''Malignant Melanoma,'' Appleton-Century-Crofts, Medically, such "beauty marks" are generally melanocytic nevus, more specifically the compound variant. Moles of this type may also be located elsewhere on the body, and may also be considered beauty marks if located on the face, shoulder, neck or breast. Artificial beauty marks have been fashionable in some periods. Artificial beauty mark Artificial beauty marks, or mouches (''Fr.'' flies), became fashionable in sixteenth-century France, and the fashion persisted into the eighteenth century. When the fashion spread to Spain and the Spanish Empire they were called a chiqueador. A mouche was generally made of silk or velvet and was applied to the face a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who works compulsively. A workaholic experiences an inability to limit the amount of time they spend on work despite negative consequences such as damage to their relationships or health. There is no generally accepted medical definition of this condition, although some forms of stress, impulse control disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder can be work-related; ergomania is defined as "excessive devotion to work especially as a symptom of mental illness". The phenomenon of hustle culture, while disregarding healthy work–life balance, may exacerbate workaholism. Etymology The word itself is a portmanteau word composed of ''work'' and ''alcoholic''. Its first known appearance, according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', came in Canada in the ''Toronto Daily Star'' of April 5, 1947, page 6, with a punning allusion to Alcoholics Anonymous: Details The term ''workaholic'' refers to various types of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |