Esther - if yer have yer head screw on right - No matter where yer go - One night - some time - Yer reach up - yer touch that moon.

For the teeming populace of Old Mack's cacophonous yard in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, it's a cheek by jowl existence lived out on a sweltering public stage. Snatches of calypso compete with hymn tunes, drums and street cries as neighbours drink, brawl, pass judgment, make love, look out for each other and crave a better life. But Ephraim is no dreamer and nothing, not even the seductive Rosa, is going to stop him escaping his dead-end job for a fresh start in England.

Set as returning troops from the Second World War fill the town with their raucous celebrations, Erroll John's Moon on a Rainbow Shawl depicts a vibrant, cosmopolitan world that is as harsh as it is filled with colour and warmth.

'A brawling, laughing, bitter sense of life courses through Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. Errol John fills the stage with people of flesh and blood; he communicates the harshness and tension in this steaming, crowded corner of Port-of-Spain. He writes with such warmth and understanding that the problems and characters of a mean backyard in Trinidad assume a validity for a multitude of teeming, troubled places on this planet.' New York Times

An established and popular three-book history course for lower forms in Caribbean schools.

- Test knowledge and stimulate further enquiry and thought with a wide range of questions and activities.

Alma Norman

M.A. (McGill), H.S. Teaching Dip, (Province of Quebec). One-time History Lecturer, Shortwood Training College for Teachers and Senior History Mistress, Calabar High School, Jamaica.

Series Editor: Edward Brathwaite

B.A. (Cantab), Cert.Ed. (Cantab), D. Phil (Sussex) formerly Professor of Social & Cultural History and Director of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona;

Professor of Comparative Literature with special emphasis on the Caribbean and Third World, New York University.

Provide a strong foundation in Spanish at Caribbean lower secondary level in preparation for the CSEC (R) examination.

- Progress forward to provide an accessible, thematic approach to learning Spanish to match the demands of the CSEC (R) syllabus, with Book 4.

All four authors of the VIVA course are experienced teachers of Spanish in various Caribbean countries:

Sydney Bartley has taught at Glenmuir High School and is now Acting Director of Culture at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Jamaica.

Bedoor Marharaj teaches at Hillview College, Trinidad.

Sylvia Moodie is Senior Lecturer & Director of the Centre for Language Learning, U.W.I Trinidad.

Derrunay Russian De Rondon, who is Venezuelan has also taught at U.W.I and now teaches in her home country.

• Objectives and summaries at the beginning and end of each chapter help to focus learning and facilitate students understanding of the key concepts
• Case studies provide examples for reference and help students to develop critical thinking skills
• Multiple choice and extended essay-type questions help to assess progress through the syllabus and prepare students for their exams
• Definitions, examples from various Caribbean territories and a range of exercises enable students to engage actively and relate to the content
• A variety of illustrations, photographs, diagrams, tables and worked examples support challenging areas of the text
• Keywords are highlighted to develop students vocabulary
• The School-Based Assessment section gives in-depth tips to maximise CAPE coursework success