From Birth to Five Years, based on the pioneering work of Mary Sheridan, has become a classic guide to the developmental progress of pre-school children. It is widely recognised as an invaluable reference for professionals training or working in health, education and social care.

Features of this completely revised edition include:

• Charts describing key stages in the development of motor, perception, communication, play, independence and social skills, updated in the light of recent research and supported by over 120 illustrations
• Information on what we know about how children develop.
• A new section on the development of attention and self-regulation
• Guidelines for the assessment of children through observation and interaction
• Advice on when to refer to specialist services

Guidance is offered on ages at which children typically achieve key stages, whilst recognising individual variation in the rate of development and the influence of the child's environment. Based on an ethos of health promotion and the need for a common assessment framework, the book will be welcomed by all those who work with infants and young children.

Dr Ajay Sharma is a Consultant Community Paediatrician in Southwark, London

Helen Cockerill is a Consultant Speech and Language Therapist, working at the Evelina Children's Hospital in London.

Set in turn-of-the-century New York, E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime seamlessly blends fictional characters and realistic depictions of historical figures to bring to life the events that defined American history in the years before the First World War. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Al Alvarez.

Welcome to America at the turn of the twentieth century, where the rhythms of ragtime set the beat. Harry Houdini astonishes audiences with magical feats of escape, the mighty J. P. Morgan dominates the financial world and Henry Ford manufactures cars by making men into machines. Emma Goldman preaches free love and feminism, while ex-chorus girl Evelyn Nesbitt inspires a mad millionaire to murder the architect Stanford White. In this stunningly original chronicle of an age, such real-life characters intermingle with three remarkable families, one black, one Jewish and one prosperous WASP, to create a dazzling literary mosaic that brings to life an era of dire poverty, fabulous wealth, and incredible change - in short, the era of ragtime.

E.L. Doctorow (b.1931) is one of America's most accomplished and acclaimed living writers. Winner of the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award (twice), the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the National Humanities Medal, he is the author of nine novels that have explored the drama of American life from the late 19th century to the 21st, including Ragtime, The Book of Daniel and Billy Bathgate.

If you enjoyed Ragtime, you might like John Dos Passos' U.S.A., also available in Penguin Classics.

'In its perfection it stuns and holds from beginning to end'
Daily Mail

'Witty, lyrical, put together with admirable craft ... dazzling economy and insight ... Mr Doctorow knows what he is doing and has done it beautifully'
Guardian

'One of the best American novels for years'
Economist

British Television Policy: A Reader provides a forum for the significant policy debates which have informed and shaped television broadcasting since the publication in 1986 of the Peacock Committee Report on the financing of the BBC. The Reader presents key documents and critically analyses their impact on the organisation, financial resources, programme content, editorial philosophy and the regulatory environment of television broadcasting.
Recognising that policy making is not wholly a prerogative of government, British Television Policy provides readers with access to a wide range of statutory and non-governmental documents which have affected British broadcasting legislation: Acts of Parliament; Private Members' Bills; Select Committee Reports; Official statements by Ministers; Parliamentary inquiries such as the Davies Report; Policy documents prepared by interest groups such as the Campaign for Quality Television and the Voice of the Listener and Viewer; Strategic announcements from the ITC; Statements from the BBC and ITV; Public lectures by media owners and executives such as Rupert Murdoch and Richard Eyre; Commentaries from media academics and media analysts.
Beginning with a comprehensive editorial introduction which details television policy since 1945, the Reader is arranged in thematic sections which explore the purpose of television broadcasting, the financing of television, broadcasting policy and quality, regulation, and the relationship of broadcasting and politics. Each section is accompanied by an editor's introduction and commentary and the Reader is supported by a glossary and a guide to further reading.

Master the skills necessary for fluent and intelligent reading at Infant level, with systematic development of language, and contribute to the foundation of good spelling.

- Interpret words more easily with helpful illustrations.
- Practice skills learned with graded exercises in the accompanying Practice Book.
- Support exercises with teaching notes at the beginning of the Practice book and instructions at the bottom of each page.

E E Mejias and O Stanford have both been teachers for many years and have had the benefit of special training and research work in the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA as well as in the West Indies.