Donna Jo Napoli – författare

An NAACP Image Award Nominee“In a word, stunning.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The inspiring true story of environmental activist Mama Miti comes to vivid life in this nonfiction picture book featuring illustrations by Kadir Nelson, winner of the Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement!Through artful prose and beautiful illustrations, Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson tell the true story of Wangari Muta Maathai, known as “Mama Miti,” who in 1977 founded the Green Belt Movement, an African grassroots organization that has empowered many people to mobilize and combat deforestation, soil erosion, and environmental degradation. Today, more than 30 million trees have been planted throughout Mama Miti’s native Kenya, and in 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari Muta Maathai has changed Kenya tree by tree—and with each page turned, children will realize their own ability to positively impact the future.

Discover the fascinating stories of Gods, Goddesses, heroes and monsters.From the mighty Zeus, King of the Gods, to the beautiful Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty, the timeless stories of Greek myths will fascinate and engage children's imaginations.Lyrical stories take you from the birth of the Olympian gods to the action-packed Trojan War, and each tells of the magical and mystical lives of charismatic character that have captivated audiences since ancient times.Inside you'll find: Stunning artwork that brings the stories and the characters to lifeA family tree of the gods and goddessesInformation about the historical and cultural contextFast facts about each of the charactersSure to dazzle all those intrigued with the fantastic tales of Greek mythology and enchant new readers, this beautiful hardback book will soon become a family keepsake.

Deaf around the World is a compendium of work by scholars and activists on the creation, context, and form of sign languages, and on the social issues and civil rights of Deaf communities. Renowned contributors such as James Woodward, Yerker Andersson, and Paddy Ladd offer new histories and overviews of major topics. Each chapter is followed by a response from a pre-eminent thinker in the field. The volume includes studies of sign languages and Deaf communities in Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Myanmar, Nicaragua, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States.

Deaf around the World is a compendium of work by scholars and activists on the creation, context, and form of sign languages, and on the social issues and civil rights of Deaf communities. Renowned contributors such as James Woodward, Yerker Andersson, and Paddy Ladd offer new histories and overviews of major topics. Each chapter is followed by a response from a pre-eminent thinker in the field. The volume includes studies of sign languages and Deaf communities in Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Myanmar, Nicaragua, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States.

Is Ebonics really a dialect or simply bad English? Do women and men speak differently? Will computers ever really learn human language? Does offensive language harm children? These are only a few of the issues surrounding language that crop up every day. Most of us have very definite opinions on these questions one way or another. Yet as linguists Donna Jo Napoli and Vera Lee-Schoenfeld point out in this short and thoroughly readable volume, many of our most deeply held ideas about the nature of language and its role in our lives are either misconceived or influenced by myths and stereotypes.Language Matters provides a highly informative tour of the world of language, examining these and other vexing and controversial language-related questions. Throughout, Napoli and Lee-Schoenfeld encourage and lead the reader to use common-sense and everyday experience rather than preconceived notions or technical linguistic expertise. Both their questions and their conclusions are surprising, sometimes provocative, and always entertaining.This thoroughly revised second edition updates the book with a new co-author, and includes new chapters on language and power, language extinction, and what it is linguists actually do. Language Matters is sure to engage both general readers and students of language and linguistics at any level.

In this study Donna Jo Napoli takes a common-sense approach to the notions of argument and predicate. Discussions of predication within Government and Binding theory have stressed the configurational properties of the phrases involved, and Napoli argues that this has led to proposals for more and more elaborate syntactic structures that nevertheless fail to provide genuinely explanatory accounts. She presents a convincing case for viewing the notion of predicate as a semantic primitive which cannot be defined by looking simply at the lexicon or simply at the syntactic structure, and offers a theory or predication where the key to the subject-predicate relationship is theta-role assignment. The book then goes on to offer principles for the coindexing of a predicate with its subject role player. These coindexing principles make use of Chomsky's 1986 notion of barriers, but instead of being sensitive to configurational notions like c-command and governing category, Napoli argues that they are sensitive to thematic structure. In the final chapter of the book Napoli extends the principles for predication coindexing to anaphor binding, by introducing the notion of argument ladders.

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. The Little Angel of Friendship is the most popular angel around. He's pretty sure it won't take much for him to earn a few more feathers and get his flying wings. But there's a tough task ahead of him. He has to help a girl named Patricia make new friends. There's nothing wrong with Patricia. It's just that she has a different way of talking than most children. Plus, she's just moved to a new town. The girl down the hall wants nothing to do with her -- she thinks Patricia is a baby. If Patricia doesn't speak up soon, there'll be one unhappy Little Angel of Friendship -- he needs those wings to fly! Have you made a friend today?

How many feathers will it take? The Little Angel of Freedom can't wait till her wings are full of feathers. Then she'll hear a bell ring, and be able to fly. But to prove she's ready, she has to help out Simone, a little girl with a big problem. Simone likes to capture animals -- especially bugs. Sometimes they get harmed while they're in her care. The Little Angel has to use her powers to show Simone the right thing to do. But Little Angel's worried -- how will she rescue the captured animals? And will she ever get enough feathers to earn her Angelwings at last? Be kind to animals!

Earning these feathers might be tough The Little Angel of Independence is used to working with a friend. But to earn enough feathers for his wings, he'll have to help a girl named Elena -- all by himself. Wherever Elena goes, her stuffed animal always comes along. But sometimes Elena's toy keeps her from making friends her own age. It's up to the Little Angel of Independence to show her that it's okay to grow up, even just a little bit at a time. You can do it!

A new angel has to be brave. The Little Angel of Courage is ready for her wings. At least, she thinks she is. But is she brave enough to help Paul with his problem and earn the rest of her feathers? Paul likes to watch his sister's ballet class. But when he joins a dance class of his own, his friends tell him ballet is for girls. If the Little Angel of Courage can teach Paul to stand up for himself, she might just get those wings after all! Believe in yourself.

The Little Angel of Generosity loves giving gifts to his friends, especially when he gets a gift in return. And he loves helping children, as long as he earns another feather for his wings. He's still learning what giving is all about when he meets a little girl named Dinah who needs his help. Dinah likes to give gifts, too. And she really likes to get nice things for herself. But her family doesn't have a lot of money, and she wants things they can't afford -- sometimes she even wants those things badly enough to take what doesn't belong to her. It's up to the Little Angel of Generosity to show her that it's not what you have, but what you give that counts.

Even angels have a hard time playing fair The Little Angel of Fairness wants to treat all of her friends the same way, but sometimes it isn't easy. She's trying hard to earn her wings, and she really wants to get the best Angel assignments. But is it fair if her friends are sometimes left behind? Jessica knows what it feels like to be left behind. She wants to hang out with her older brother, Hank. But sometimes Hank wants to do things that are for "boys only" -- like dressing up in a pirate costume for the big town parade. Jessica wants to dress up, too. And she knows she could come up with a great costume. Can the Little Angel of Fairness help her show Hank that girls are just as good as boys? Be fair.

The Little Angel of Understanding gets along with everyone -- except for the Little Angel of Learning. He uses big words, and the little angel doesn't always know what they mean. Will the Little Angel of Understanding be able to earn his wings if there are still some words he can't figure out? He'll have to help Maggie with her problem first. Maggie loves it when her grandmother comes for a visit. But this trip is different, because Gram isn't just visiting. She's going to move in with Maggie's family -- forever. Can the Little Angel of Understanding help Maggie make room for Gram?

Imagine being a little angel... The Little Angel of Imagination loves to do creative things, like paint pictures and make up stories. And he always comes up with creative ways to help other people. But it will take a lot more than just imagination to help Louie.... Louie's little brother always wants to make up silly games, like pretending the family dog is actually a racehorse. But Louie won't play along -- he thinks make-up games are for babies. Besides, he'd rather watch TV after school than play outside. Is there a cure for this couch potato? The Little Angel of Imagination has a plan that just might work. Use your imagination!

The Little Angel of Honesty would never tell a lie. But sometimes she does forget to explain the whole truth to her friends. Before she can earn her wings, this little angel has a lot to learn about what being honest really means. And she has to help a little girl who has the same problem. Celine is tired of being treated like a baby. But she's afraid to tell people how she really feels, so she starts telling little lies instead. One lie leads to another, and another and another. Pretty soon, even Celine can't tell the difference between the truth and the stories she's made up. Can the Little Angel of Honesty help her set the record straight?

A serious job for a little angel The Little Angel of Responsibility has a hard time finishing what she starts. She?s been working on the same knitting project for weeks. But something more interesting always seems to come up. This time, it?s helping a little girl with a big problem. Danielle is old enough to take care of herself. So when her mother starts working again, she leaves a lot of responsibility in Danielle?s hands -- like making sure to get her homework done on time. But when the choice is left up to Danielle, she?d rather practice running for the track team than do schoolwork. Is the Little Angel of Responsibility ready to lend a hand? Be responsible!

Nick thinks he can figure out everything on his own. Why should he have to read books when he can make things up himself? It will take an important lesson from the Little Angel of Learning to change his mind.

Can T.J. accept her own voice? T.J. has always had a problem with certain words, and rather than say them wrong, sometimes she'd rather not talk at all. Can the Little Angel of Acceptance get her the help that she needs? Accept yourself.

Other people's feelings mattter Molly is angry and embarassed that her big sister, Amanda, has a baby. Now some of Molly's friends won't play with her, and they talk about her behind her back. Molly doesn't want anything to do with them, either. She's left out, and it's all Amanda's fault! The Little Angel of Compassion wants to earn her wings, but she knows she has a tough task ahead of her. Molly is pushing her sister away, just when she needs all the friends she can get. Can the Little Angel of Compassion help Molly get over her anger before she ends up all alone? Have compassion

Why is everyone always so mean to Drew? Drew is miserable. He and his family have just moved to a new house in Florida and Drew has no one to play with. His sisters are mean and bossy, and his parents are too busy unpacking to pay attention to him. The only one who wants to be around him is the crazy old dog across the street -- and Drew wants nothing to do with him. Can the Little Angel of Empathy help Drew get along with others -- or will he stay lonely forever?