Cheetah is the small spotted frog Amelia brings home in a macaroni container. Amelia longs to keep Cheetah forever, but over the course of a week, she comes to understand that his place is back in the wild. Cheetah is based on a true story, and all the characters are real.
Jake loves to hunt for treasure, so when the famous pirate Captain Kidd asks him to be his cabin boy, he can't refuse. But Jake soon learns that bringing home an invisible pirate can be a real disaster, particularly when the pirate is mortally terrified of his teenage sister. There are many rules of the sea, and Captain Kidd's own cabin boy, Richard Barleycorn, teaches Jake how to face his biggest fear, Boris Baxter, the meanest boy in the whole school.
Nell makes two wishes on her birthday, but the next day they show little sign of coming true. Everyone in her household is busy and wants her out from underfoot and no one is willing to help her find her lost cat. In the end she finds more than a cat and she makes her own wishes come true with the help of a row of tall, bright, smiling sunflowers.
Reg and Keely are twins. Keely loves painting and bugs. Reg loves rocks. Keely sings crazy rhymes. Reg plays softball. Shawna and Burt are their friends. In this series of linked stories, the children's deep involvement with their daily activities never falters, from a bug walk, through incidents flying a kite and dividing labor at clean up time, to a chance to swim in the river on a hot summer's day.
Kate is determined to win her spelling club's spelling bee, but the competition is fierce. She can almost put up with Violet's relentless claims of superior spelling ability, but when Kate and Jake begin to fight with each other, Kate is miserable. She wants to win the contest, but she doesn't want to lose her best friend.
Tom loves running through cow fields with his best friend, Peggy, and his dog, Amos-especially when he's pretending to be his favorite radio hero, the Lone Ranger. But when Tom learns the nearby Fraser River is about to flood, he may have to become a real-life hero and help save his family's herd of dairy cows. This story is based on real events that happened in the farming community of Agassiz during the Fraser River flood of 1948.
Angus and his best buddy, Shahid, share a love of science and their robot, Gordon. But recently, the artistic Ella Eckles has had a peculiar effect on Angus. When a stink bomb at the school provides a chance for him to talk to her, he claims to share her interest in reading facial expressions and declares his ambition to become a crime-solving mentalist. He impresses Ella by identifying the stink bomber, but fails to mention he witnessed a scrawny kid setting off the bomb. When Ella's treasured sketchbook is stolen, she asks Angus to find the thief. Shahid thinks Angus should confess that he's not a mentalist, but Angus is certain he can learn to read people and recover Ella's sketchbook. He asks Shahid to help him investigate the suspects: Gaga Girl; the art teacher, Mr. Wilder; and finally, "scrawny kid." Equipped with rearview sunglasses and an informant who lurks in the washroom, the duo bungles their way through a series of encounters that alarm Shahid and provide Angus with some unfamiliar exercise.
SIT . . . STAY . . . FETCH! In this sequel to Aggie and Ben, the best friends are back for more boy-and-his-dog fun. Young readers will laugh out loud at Aggie's irrepressible antics and Ben's determined attempts to train her. Three short chapters, just right for beginning readers, follow Aggie and Ben on their adventures in doggie training, obedience, and friendship. This book is good for your brain because: Pets, Friendship, Early Readers
Two worms who are best friends have fun together as they tunnel their way through a garden. Includes facts on how worms help plants grow.
It can feel good to earn money. But sharing what we earn with others can help many more people enjoy the benefits of hard work. With this introduction to financial literacy, you will learn how sharing time, goods, and money can help those in need.
Grown-up people earn money in different ways. But kids can earn too. Learn about age-appropriate jobs kids can do and how money earned can add up to spend, save, and share wisely.
Zeke's parents have split up. His dad is hurt and angry when Zeke sides with his mother. But Zeke's emotions go on a crazy roller coaster ride when he's visited by a mysterious kid that only he can see ... until he finds out his grandpa can also see the ghost. Zeke's world is rocked in new ways when he finds out that he can see and talk to the dead.
Kemba feels like the lamest kid in school. If only he could be cool like the computer game superhero Underdog. But he can't even save himself from the biggest bully in the sixth grade, let alone protect the weakest of the weak like Underdog does. He has zero friends. Or so he thinks. Kemba hasn't even had the courage to try until one act of cruelty pushes him over the edge.
Chris always does the right thing. But when he knows who messed with Sam in the school yard, he can't speak up. His friends can't either. There's the silent Code that every kid follows. Chris decides he can't live with himself if he doesn't say something, so he makes a stand and is shocked at the outcome. Mean bully Phil is actually ... cool. But then Phil asks him to do something so wrong.
No way will Tiggs and Jess be able to raise $700 for soccer camp. Time is running out. Tiggs may be replaced as keeper on her team, something she does not want to happen. At the last minute, the girls are asked to clean an old and possibly haunted house. The job will pay exactly what they need. But what they find inside may keep them trapped there forever.
"Leo the Liar" is in big trouble now. He's promised the toughest kid in school a photo of a real zombie. And he has to deliver. Now Leo knows there are no such things as zombies. But he wants to prove a point. Plus, he doesn't like being called a liar. So he sneaks out late at night and finds more than he ever bargained for. Can he save himself and his family from a zombie swarm?
When Leyla draws, she's in another world, not in this war-ravaged country. Her school has been destroyed. There are occupying forces in her village. Americans. Each trip to the water pump must be taken with care. She won't even look at the soldiers. But then she sees a woman, a soldier. And she does something unexpected, then courageous.
Just like prose, a novel in verse tells a story. But verse is unique because readers access the text through short chapters, or poems. The varying lengths of the chapters are ideal for a struggling reader, giving them breaks to collect their thoughts, to imagine the characters in their mind's eye, and to set the scene - like a frame in a movie. Like watching a movie frame by frame, we watch Lexi is come unglued in this novel in verse. She's alienated from school and family. Her father is in the county jail. She cannot connect with her chain-smoking stepmom. Her brother, Blaine, is trapped in his own autistic world. And her infant sister's death has sent her into a spiral of grief and rebellion. Bright, witty, and irreverent, Lexi tries to navigate the rocky transition from adolescent to young woman. Winner of the 2014 Gold Moonbeam Award.
Capital Central High School, or Cap Central as the students like to call it, is in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. Any urban school faces broad challenges, and Cap Central is no different. But some tight-knit juniors meet the difficulties head-on with courage, friendship, determination, and hard work. Rainie's grades were slipping. Good grades were a lifetime ago. Back when her dad was around. Before her moms boyfriend started hanging out at their house. Commenting on her figure. Looking her up and down. Before she decided to stop eating. Become invisible. Her friends were alarmed, especially Joss. She knew times were tough for Rainie's family. But she felt like there was more going on. Something serious. And she was going to figure it out. Reading Level: 3.5. Interest Level: Young Adult
Capital Central High School, or Cap Central as the students like to call it, is in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. Any urban school faces broad challenges, and Cap Central is no different. But some tight-knit juniors meet the difficulties head-on with courage, friendship, determination, and hard work. Keshawn's life was about before and after. Before, Keshawn didn't have a computer. After, he helped his mom install software on their new computer. To monitor him. What a joke! It got him thinking. He could make money. So he offered his skills. Grades for cash. It was that simple. Only it wasn't. Then he realized Neecy was his way out. She needed good grades. But she wanted to earn them. Keshawn knew she would make it right. Fingers crossed.
Capital Central High School, or Cap Central as the students like to call it, is in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. Any urban school faces broad challenges, and Cap Central is no different. But some tight-knit juniors meet the difficulties head-on with courage, friendship, determination, and hard work. Jair hated being short. Back in middle school, he'd figured he hadn't hit his growth spurt. But now he was a junior at Cap Central. To compensate, he'd made sure everyone knew how tough he was. And every so often, he'd add to his reputation by punching someone. It had been a while since he had to school someone. But he knew that the new kid would get what was coming to him...
Energy is all around us. Food and sleep are the fuels our bodies use to create the energy we need to move, talk, and think. But scientists tell us some of the fuels that keep our homes and businesses running, power our transportation, and keep us safe are hurting Earth. Learn why energy companies are working to come up with cleaner ways to supply oil and gas, how fuels in the future will be safer for Earth, and what you can do now to use energy wisely. Book features: Table of Contents; Glossary; For More Information including books and web sites; Index; photos and captions; charts and graphs; source notes.
You know the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. But what does it really mean and why is it important to cut back on waste? Each year, businesses and homes in the United States throw away enough garbage to equal 251 million elephants. Where would we keep that many elephants? More to the point, where does all that garbage go? Discover why waste is creating problems for Earth and how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle now. Book features: Table of Contents; Glossary; For More Information including books and web sites; Index; photos and captions; charts and graphs; source notes.
Have you thought about where your food comes from? Do you know the difference between organic and nonorganic foods, and is organic always a more healthful choice? Some farmers have opened their farms to the local community to help grow and pick crops. In this book, you'll read why community-supported agriculture is growing fast and how the choices you make at the grocery store can make a big difference in Earth's health as well as your own. Book features: Table of Contents; Glossary; For More Information including books and web sites; Index; photos and captions; charts and graphs; source notes.
The quiet nature of trees hides the fact that trees are always working for us and for Earth. Trees give us goods to meet our basic needs. Trees are home to animals, insects, and birds. But their biggest and most important job is playing a role in making Earth and our environment healthy. Learn some of the ways trees help, why they are in danger, and what you can do to help protect them now. Book features: Table of Contents; Glossary; For More Information including books and web sites; Index; photos and captions; charts and graphs; source notes.
