Meredith Davis

Noah Minor is back for another action-packed adventure--this time in the Big Apple--where he's hoping to stop Gravitas' most wanted (and Noah's great uncle) once and for all Noah might be zooming through Gravitas training, but his friends Rodney and Haley still haven't recovered from their run-in with his great-uncle Saul three months ago. And Noah blames himself for letting Gravitas's Most Wanted get away. When twenty-six middle schoolers are kidnapped, Gravitas sends Noah to New York City to look for clues to Saul's location. Noah hopes to make things right and prove he isn't an epic failure. But is Noah actually looking to bring Saul to justice, or is he just seeking revenge?

Noah Minor is back for another action-packed adventure--this time in the Big Apple--where he's hoping to stop Gravitas' most wanted (and Noah's great uncle) once and for all Noah might be zooming through Gravitas training, but his friends Rodney and Haley still haven't recovered from their run-in with his great-uncle Saul three months ago. And Noah blames himself for letting Gravitas's Most Wanted get away. When twenty-six middle schoolers are kidnapped, Gravitas sends Noah to New York City to look for clues to Saul's location. Noah hopes to make things right and prove he isn't an epic failure. But is Noah actually looking to bring Saul to justice, or is he just seeking revenge?

What happens when a seemingly average seventh grader discovers he has superpowers . . . and then realizes his life just got super complicated? Find out in this action-packed adventure perfect for young readers. "A spectacular new superhero."--Kathi Appelt, Newbery honoree and National Book Award finalist As a baby, Noah Minor miraculously--and mysteriously--survived a fall from a sixteen-story balcony. But ever since then, Noah's life has been pretty boring. As he enters seventh grade, Noah is hoping to be less ordinary and more extraordinary, like his best friends, trumpet prodigy Rodney and the practically perfect Haley. So Noah's sure his star is on the rise when during a standard vision test, he learns he can manipulate gravity and is recruited to train with Gravitas, a top-secret government agency Noah thinks his life will now be awesome, but instead, he has a whole new set of problems. The biggest one: His great-uncle Saul is on Gravitas's most-wanted list . . . but might also be the only person who can help Noah reach his full potential.

What happens when a seemingly average seventh grader discovers he has superpowers . . . and then realizes his life just got super complicated? Find out in this action-packed adventure perfect for young readers. "A spectacular new superhero."--Kathi Appelt, Newbery honoree and National Book Award finalist As a baby, Noah Minor miraculously--and mysteriously--survived a fall from a sixteen-story balcony. But ever since then, Noah's life has been pretty boring. As he enters seventh grade, Noah is hoping to be less ordinary and more extraordinary, like his best friends, trumpet prodigy Rodney and the practically perfect Haley. So Noah's sure his star is on the rise when during a standard vision test, he learns he can manipulate gravity and is recruited to train with Gravitas, a top-secret government agency Noah thinks his life will now be awesome, but instead, he has a whole new set of problems. The biggest one: His great-uncle Saul is on Gravitas's most-wanted list . . . but might also be the only person who can help Noah reach his full potential.

Through her eyes, the moving story of a young Rwandan girl born with clubfeet and the risk she takes for the chance to walk on the bottoms of her feet for the first time. Rebeka Uwitonze was born in Rwanda with curled and twisted feet, which meant she had to crawl or be carried to get around. At nine years old, she gets an offer that could change her life. A doctor in the US might be able to turn her feet. But it means leaving her own family behind and going to America on her own. Her Own Two Feet tells Rebeka's inspiring story through her eyes, with the help of one of her hosts. She travels from Rwanda to Austin, Texas, to join the Davis family, despite knowing almost no English. In the face of dozens of hospital visits and painful surgeries, Rebeka's incredible bravery and joyful spirit carry her to the opportunity of a lifetime. A stunning debut about hope, perseverance, and what becomes possible when you take a risk.

Where do design principles come from? Are they abstract "rules" established by professionals or do they have roots in human experience? And if we encounter these visual phenomena in our everyday lives, how do designers use them to attract our attention, orient our behavior, and create compelling and memorable communication that stands out among the thousands of messages we confront each day? Today’s work in visual communication design shifts emphasis from simply designing objects to designing experiences; to crafting form that acknowledges cognitive and cultural influences on interpretation. In response, Meredith Davis and Jamer Hunt provide a new slant on design basics from the perspective of audiences and users. Chapters break down our interactions with communication as a sequence of meaningful episodes, each with related visual concepts that shape the interpretive experience. Explanatory illustrations and professional design examples support definitions of visual concepts and discussions of context. Work spans print, screen, and environmental applications from around the world. This introduction to visual communication design demystifies the foundational concepts that underpin professional design decisions and shape our experiences in a complex visual world.

An Expertly Written Guidebook to Teaching Design at All LevelsTeaching Design provides a practical foundation for teaching about and through design. The exploding interest in design and design thinking calls for qualified faculty members who are well prepared for a variety of institutional settings and content areas. While designers know their disciplines, they frequently lack experience in constructing responsive curricula and pedagogies for rapidly evolving professions. And while K-12 educators are trained for the classroom, their ability to transform teaching and learning through design is limited by a shortfall in professional literature. Davis's extensive experience in education offers a detailed path for the development of curricula. The book addresses writing objectives and learning outcomes that succeed in the counting-and-measuring culture of institutions but also meet the demands of a twenty-first-century education. An inventory of pedagogical strategies suggests approaches to learning that serve both college professors and K-12 teachers who want to actively engage students in critical and creative thinking. Sections on assessment make the case for performance-based activities that provide credible evidence of student learning. Davis also discusses the nature of contemporary problems and teaching strategies that are well matched to growing complexity, rapid technological change, and increased demand for interdisciplinary engagement. Examples in Teaching Design span the design disciplines and draw on Davis's experience in teaching seminars for college faculty, graduate courses for design students seeking academic careers, and workshops for K-12 teachers converting their classrooms into centers for innovation.

Focuses on the needs of contemporary students of graphic design. This title includes topics such as: communication models; visual representation as a system of signs; cognitive approaches to design; modernism and postmodernism; and the social, cultural, and material contexts of contemporary design.