Dominic Palmer-Brown Knihy

An Easter story for young readers. This is the tale of a little church mouse named Cheerful who lives in the city with his parents; his brother, Solemnity; and his sisters, Faith and Hope. Cheerful and his brother and sisters spend their time frolicking in the rainbow shadows cast by the church’s stained-glass windows and dining on the crumbs of wedding cakes. But while Solemnity, Faith, and Hope are happy to live in the bustling city, Cheerful’s favorite spot has always been the greenest patches of light under the windows. His dream is to settle in the country, and one day he bids his family farewell and sets off on an adventure. Palmer Brown’s intricate filigreed drawings turn this sweet, simple story into an instrument of enchantment as glorious as a rose window and as intimate as the spun-sugar Easter egg that will finally carry Cheerful to his pastoral home.

“What are you doing, dear?” “It’s a secret.” “Secrets are better if you share them a little. So tell Mother why you look so sad on Christmas Eve.” “I am wondering what to give—someone—for Christmas.” So begins the story of a little mouse’s search for a very special gift for a very special person. Nothing seems just right until the little mouse realizes that the best present of all is already at hand. Palmer Brown has given us something special for Christmas—or any day—an entrancingly lovely story, filled with the true spirit of the holiday season.

Set against a whimsical backdrop, Anna Lavinia embarks on an enchanting adventure with her cat, Strawberry, beyond her garden. As she explores a fantastical realm where gravity bends and vibrant flowers bloom, she grapples with her parents' conflicting philosophies about belief and perception. Armed with a mysterious silver key left by her father, Anna seeks to uncover the truths hidden within this magical world, testing the boundaries of reality and imagination on a day when anything is possible.

A grandfather clock makes a lovely home for a family of mice—if you don’t mind the occasional clang. And here Hickory lives with his parents, his brother, Dickory, and his sister, Dock. But Hickory is a restless, fearless mouse, and he longs to be on the move, to breathe the sweet air and nibble on the wild strawberries of the fields. So one day in early spring, with the smells of honeysuckle and clover guiding him, he strikes out on his own. Soon he discovers that a meadow can be a lonely place, even with all its beetles and caterpillars. It’s not until Hop the grasshopper comes around that Hickory finds a true companion. Hop warns him, though, that when the days get shorter and the goldenrod begins to fade, the “song she sings will soon be done.” How Hickory and Hop confront and eventually accept the end of summer forms the core of Palmer Brown’s poignant story. Hickory is a story of friendship and love on par with Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree or E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. It is also a field guide to the common plants and flowers of spring, summer, and autumn, all beautifully rendered in Palmer Brown’s most colorful and joyous drawings.

A peephole in the garden wall opens a gateway for Anna Lavinia to an enchanting upside-down mirror land, where she encounters Toby, who introduces her to the peculiar concept of "the tingle" that replaces gravity. This magical realm is filled with whimsical characters, including a fortune-teller and a turtle with a jungle, as well as Aunt Cornelia, who is haunted by the past. As Anna Lavinia explores this fantastical world, she experiences floating and extraordinary adventures, all while navigating the peculiarities of her new surroundings.

Es ist die Frage, die uns alle jedes Jahr aufs Neue umtreibt: Was ist das perfekte Geschenk? Die kleine Maus in Palmer Browns Geschichte ist auf der Suche nach etwas Besonderem für ihre Mutter. Doch was könnte sie, die nur so wenig zur Verfügung hat, verschenken, um ihrer großen Liebe Ausdruck zu verleihen? Ihr fehlt der Samt für ein Nadelkissen, die Rosinen für den Früchtekuchen. Doch schließlich bemerkt sie, dass man für das perfekte Geschenk gar nicht so viel braucht. Mit seiner bezaubernden Geschichte von 1958, die kürzlich in der renommierten New York Review Children’s Collection wieder veröffentlicht wurde, schenkt Palmer Brown uns etwas ganz Besonderes – für Weihnachten oder jeden Tag.

A glance at the table of contents of EANN 2009 reveals a wide range of neural network applications. Examples include urban concentration reduction, entropy topography in epileptic electroencephalography, phytoplanktonic species recognition, childhood abdominal pain data analysis, robot control, emotion recognition in facial expressions, flood forecasting, and creditworthiness assessment. This diversity highlights the vitality of neural computing and soft computing approaches in addressing contemporary technological challenges. The event fosters collaboration among delegates worldwide, promoting the exchange of related methods. The proceedings showcase various methods, including support vector machines, fuzzy reasoning, Bayesian methods, snap-drift, and spiking neurons. This year, EANN accepted around 40% of submitted papers for full-length presentation, with high submission standards noted by the reviewers. The Program and Organizing Committees express gratitude to the reviewers for their efforts. Approximately 20% of the best submissions will be selected for extended review and potential inclusion in a special issue of the journal Neural Computing and Applications. It is hoped that these proceedings will stimulate further research and development in neural computing applications.