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.
In this book, children will learn how to write an autobiography, a biography of a family member who has influenced their lives, a memoir of an event or special occasion, or even a creative journal on their possible future lives. Children will learn how to interview people and write and recite narratives. They will learn more about themselves through their wonderful stories.
This book teaches children about mountains, volcanoes, coasts, valleys, islands, caves, and canyons. For their own books, suggestions for research will begin with the landforms around the children's homes and schools or ones they have visited. Writing their own landform book will offer kids some fascinating creative opportunities to take their own photographs, paint various landforms themselves, and learn how to research and write instructions for activities to add to their books.
This fascinating book shows children what to include in a book about history. Children are shown how to create a book about an event in history or about social history, such as life in a colonial city or a pioneer village. Suggestions for research include a visit to a nearby historic site, reading stories or watching television shows about children who lived during that time in history, and reading non-fiction books about the subject.
With the help of this book, children can write a book about different countries or concentrate on one country. Children will learn how to draw maps showing the continent on which the country is located, its capital city or cities, important regions, and proximity to oceans, polar regions, or the equator. Creating a book about a country's land, people, and culture will inspire kids to learn about other places and ignite a love for travel.
This fun book teaches children concepts, or big ideas, about butterflies, including metamorphosis, migration, symmetry, and pollination. Children are encouraged to draw their own butterflies, take photographs, or find butterfly photos on the Internet. The text styles taught in this book include informational text, using headings and different fonts, boxed info, and creative writing.
Today, children in many communities come from different countries, speak more than one language, and practice different customs, celebrations, religions, and traditions. This colorful book helps children write a book about their own familys culture or about the cultures of their friends, highlighting foods, celebrations, dance, or traditional clothing.
A collection of authentic stories from the years around 1492. These tales have been carefully crafted to sound as exciting and mysterious as they were when first told five hundred years ago by sailors around a lantern on a ship, shared by explorers reclining around a campfire, enjoyed by Native Americans in a grass hut, whispered inside a stone palace in the Totonac city of Zempoala, or fondly remembered by an adventurer back home in Europe.
When a story shares a universal message, it finds its way into that pantheon of tales that is shared with many diverse cultures. These classic 33 tales, collected from Brazil, China, Korea, Russia, Tibet, Africa, from America's native peoples, and other lands, are chosen for their timeless shared values.
This collection of fifty folktales and parables was selected from diverse story traditions such as Sufi, Zen, Taoist, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, African, and Native American. Comprised of ancient plots both poignant and comical, this anthology contains simple truths, common sense, and the promise that we can benefit from past generations' experience. Wisdom tales offer useful insights into life's joys and sorrows that all of us experience.
Throughout history, Eastern Europe has been a battlefield, a crossroads, a place of conflict, and a place of resolution. The folk stories in this collection tell about challenges and obstacles as well as the strength, wit, hope, and courage necessary to overcome them.
Although the 46 tales in this collection are as varied as their origins, nearly all of these stories have been passed on by immigrants to America. As a result, this collection is a world tour between two covers, but not at the expense of the unifying element common to these stories: their uniquely Jewish flavor of doing the right thing, on surviving by cleverness and kindness and on the need for keeping a good sense of humor." Sherman's collection includes magical tales; stories about clever folks; tales of ghosts, gilguls, and other strange things; fables that deal with doing the right thing; and stories about the delightfully silly Wise Men of Chelm. Entertaining and illuminating story notes give additional information on the origins and different versions of the tales.
This collection of original folktales and stories created the foundation for the most popular films in recent memory including: Star Wars, Star Trek, Superman, and Lord of the Rings.
Maybe it's the king who spills honey, and then says it is not his problem - until it causes a war. Or maybe it's some sandpipers and whales who get into a foolish fight that almost destroys their homes. Perhaps it's the man who thinks that a gun makes him strong or the monkeys who follow their leader into water that's too deep. Peace Tales contains more than three dozen folktales and proverbs that illustrate these choices. Always fun to read these stories also prompt us to think about the seemingly minor events that lead to war and the little events that can also lead to peace. Stories from across the globe are accompanied by generous story notes, source information, and suggestions for further reading on the topic of peace.
Italian-Americans compose one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States.Unfortunately, they have often been portrayed negatively in fiction and film based on stereotypes that are not borne out among the immigrant population. These entertaining stories highlight a rich cultural heritage that has often been neglected.
Mexican-American traditions are richly nourished by the folkways of three cultures: Indian, Spanish, and Mexican. This comprehensive look at the Mexican-American world includes a range of traditional proverbs, riddles, stories and folksongs.
This collection of traditional Jewish-American stories includes lunar holidays and everyday observances; wonder tales from the Sorcerer's Apprentice; a Jewish version of Cinderella; tales of dybbuks, golems and other supernatural beings; and superstitions and traditions surrounding birth, marriage, and death.
When she was a young girl, Barbara McBride-Smith was introduced to the ancient Greek myths but she didn't quite hear right. When her teacher told her they lived in the cradle of western civilization, young Barbara thought she said Western civilization - as in central Texas, around about Waco, where they seemed to fit right in. Ol' Man Zeus, after all, was a gun-totin' Big Daddy, sort of the J.R. Ewing of Mount Olympus. You know Aphrodite, the school basketball queen or Pandora the debutante, the best guitar picker around was Orpheus - Tom T. and wasn't Medusa the one who started the fashion trend known as Big Hair? With her incurable Texas drawl, feminist sympathies, and cheerleader's do-right attitude, master storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith spins the Greek myths as you've never heard them before.
This collection of 30 stories about wise judges, clever lawyers, and deceitful tricksters, were collected from places as diverse as ancient Greece, Morocco, Germany, China, and Ireland. Some date back to pre-biblical days while others come from the American colonies.
Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux has compiled highly engaging animal stories, fairy tales, ghost stories, and humorous tales from her native Cajun culture.
This collection of Hindu folktales for middle readers features stories about the Hindu god, Ganesha, who is easily recognized because of his elephant head. Krishnaswami introduces the stories by recalling her own introduction to Ganesha and goes on to offer a mythological context for the tales. Included among these classic stories are "Ganesha's Head", "The Broken Tusk", and "Why Ganesha Never Married". Most of the stories come from Hindu legend; one comes from Mongolia, where Ganesha made his way into the Buddhist tradition. The simple pen-and-ink illustrations support the themes and a helpful pronunciation guide and glossary are also included.
