Recommended Reads

Guaranteed to be a major hit at storytime, this hilarious interactive picture book is perfect for anyone who likes to laugh!

Six kids are ready to play: three speak English. Y tres hablan español [and three speak Spanish]. But all of them laugh alike and together! This clever playground adventure weaves together bilingual Spanish and English conversations, so two groups of children can express similar thoughts in their own languages.

What’s the best way to say good night? With a silly bedtime lullaby story! Giggle along with the rhymes in this book.

Jamie Grimm is back and better than ever. After scoring big on national TV in the semifinals contest, everyone back home is jumping on the Jamie Grimm bandwagon, and all the attention might be going to his head. Not only are his friendships starting to suffer, but the pressure of coming up with his best material ever for the ultimate standup act to snag the final win in Hollywood is pushing Jamie to the brink. Suddenly, life isn't looking very funny anymore. Can Jamie take the grand prize without pushing away his fans, friends and family?

Since she was seven years old, Yvonne has had her trusted violin to keep her company, especially in those lonely days after her mother walked out on their family. But with graduation just around the corner, she is forced to face the hard truth that she just might not be good enough to attend a conservatory after high school.
Full of doubt about her future, and increasingly frustrated by her strained relationship with her successful but emotionally closed-off father, Yvonne meets a street musician and fellow violinist who understands her struggle. He's mysterious, charming, and different from Warren, the familiar and reliable boy who has her heart. But when Yvonne becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she has to make the most difficult decision yet about her future.
 

Teach the importance of goodwill with this impactful picture book with a solid pay-it-forward message to encourage kindness in young children.

Share love with yourself, your people, and the world (alongside fun sloths) in this big-hearted bedtime meditation for children.

As the day comes to a close, Goodnight Love helps children connect to the warmth of their hearts through the power of loving kindness. We foster self-compassion by sending care to ourselves. We share kindness by wishing good things for our families and friends. And we cultivate unconditional love by radiating the wish for happiness and peace on Earth.

In a brutal world far in the future where only the savage survive, a life-size toy suddenly activates. Fred was built to be a best buddy, and his relentless kindness never fades, even when everyone else is rude. Determined to make the world a better place, he has the bright idea to talk the two most powerful and battle-hungry warlords, Lord Bonkers and Papa Mayhem, into being friends. It's a mission doomed to fail, unless Fred can find a way to inspire everyone to play nice!

Discover the early years of Eleanor Roosevelt and how her childhood inspired a life devoted to compassionate public service.

What have you done that is kind, little one?
This colorful picture book teaches children what kindness is, how it feels and how to show it to other people. Cheerful and beautifully illustrated, the story follows a bright, kind flower who learns how to spread kindness.  
 

This poetic board book full of metaphor is a how-to on treating others with kindness.

From sunrise to sunset, a young child has opportunities to demonstrate kindness--to their parent, their pet and themself--and to receive kindness as well. 

Meet all your L.O.L. Surprise Fierce friends and see how they are all about being part of the Kindness Club!

The special mooncake seems like the only excitement on an otherwise boring day in the market where nothing changes... until an exhausted stranger falls to his knees right in the street! He ran through forests, swam through rivers, and even stowed away on a ship, all to get to Hong Kong. Now at the end of his journey, all he needs is a bite to eat, but no one seems willing to help—not even the girl, if it means giving up her prized treat.

The girl’s ultimate decision has surprising, far-reaching consequences in this mostly true story that reminds us that even the smallest acts of kindness hold the power to change lives, for the giver as much as the receiver.

Someone is writing mean messages about Emelyn and other kids in her grade on pieces of paper and sticking them to lockers and bathroom walls. When Emelyn discovers a classmate hiding in the bathroom crying about the mean words written about her, Emelyn brings this problem to The Invincible Girls. Together, they decide to fight the negativity with positivity!

Read about being a positive force in the world with this encouraging picture book that teaches kids that no matter how small an action may be, there is always something they can do to make the world a better place.

Mermaid and Pirate cannot understand each other. They speak different languages and come from different worlds. But they’re quick to lend a hand, or a tail, when the sky grows stormy and waters get rough, and a friendship is born. Sometimes kindness and generosity speak louder than words.

Follow the adventures of a young boy as he practices kindness throughout his day, from rescuing a puppy to standing up to bullies to helping his young sister tie her shoe. I Am a Kindness Hero celebrates gentleness and vulnerability in boys, and shows that true strength and leadership come from treating those around you with love and respect.

There are many ways to be kind. Follow one girl as she expresses gratitude through kind deeds all her own—a smile or encouraging word or even shared snacks—and discovers one act of kindness inspires another. In this heartwarming lyrical text, twelve acts of everyday kindness are set to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Along with vibrant and warm illustrations, this joyous read-aloud celebrates how small acts of kindness can be practiced at any age.

Laugh out loud as dinosaurs learn to be kind despite their sometimes mischievous antics.

A charming, heartfelt picture book that celebrates one of the many ways we show love, by sharing food.

Inspired by a Korean greeting, this heartwarming story offers a fresh take on friendship and kindness.

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill.

But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.  

Every Friday after school, seventeen-year-old Alice Choy and her little sister, Olivia, head to Myeongdong to sing karaoke. Back in San Francisco, when she still had friends and earthly possessions, Alice took regular singing lessons. But since their diplomat mom moved them to Seoul, her only musical outlet is vamping it up in a private karaoke booth to an audience of one: her loyal sister. Then a scout for Top10 Entertainment, one of the biggest K-pop companies, hears her and offers her a spot at their Star Academy. Can Alice navigate the culture clashes, egos, and extreme training practices of K-pop to lead her group onstage before a stadium of 50,000 chanting fans—and just maybe strike K-pop gold? Not if a certain influential blogger and the anti-fans get their way . . .
 

Hunter never expected to be a boy band star, but, well, here he is. He and his band Kiss & Tell are on their first major tour of North America, playing arenas all over the United States and Canada (and getting covered by the gossipy press all over North America as well). Hunter is the only gay member of the band, and he just had a very painful breakup with his first boyfriend--leaked sexts, public heartbreak, and all--and now everyone expects him to play the perfect queer role model for teens.

But Hunter isn't really sure what being the perfect queer kid even means. Does it mean dressing up in whatever The Label tells him to wear for photo shoots and pretending never to have sex? (Unfortunately, yes.) Does it mean finding community among the queer kids at the meet-and-greets after K&T's shows? (Fortunately, yes.) Does it include a new relationship with Kaivan, the drummer for the band opening for K&T on tour? (He hopes so.) But when The Label finds out about Hunter and Kaivan, it spells trouble—for their relationship, for the perfect gay boy Hunter plays for the cameras, and, most importantly, for Hunter himself.

When America is not so beautiful, or right, or just, it can be hard to know what to do. Best friends Walt and Noah decide to use their voices to grow more good in the world, but first they've got to find cool.

Walt is convinced junior year is their year, and he has a plan to help them woo the girls of their dreams and become amazing athletes. Never mind that he and Noah failed to make the high school baseball team yet again, and Noah's love interest since third grade, Sam, has him firmly in the friend zone. Noah soon finds himself navigating the worlds of jazz, batting cages, the strange advice of Walt's Dairy Queen-employed cousin, as well as Walt's "Hug Life" mentality. Status quo seems inevitable until Noah stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Each page contains the words he's always wanted to say to Sam, and he begins secretly creating artwork using the lines that speak his heart. But when his private artwork becomes public, Noah has a decision to make: continue his life in the dugout and possibly lose the girl forever, or take a swing and finally speak out?

At the same time, numerous American flags are being left around town. While some think it's a harmless prank and others see it as a form of peaceful protest, Noah can't shake the feeling something bigger is happening to his community. Especially after he witnesses events that hint divides and prejudices run deeper than he realized.

As the personal and social tensions increase around them, Noah and Walt must decide what is really true when it comes to love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.

History is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now. 

Will Chen plans to steal them back.

A senior at Harvard, Will fits comfortably in his carefully curated roles: a perfect student, an art history major and sometimes artist, the eldest son who has always been his parents' American Dream. But when a mysterious Chinese benefactor reaches out with an impossible—and illegal—job offer, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago. 

His crew is every heist archetype one can imag­ine—or at least, the closest he can get. A con artist: Irene Chen, a public policy major at Duke who can talk her way out of anything. A thief: Daniel Liang, a premed student with steady hands just as capable of lockpicking as suturing. A getaway driver: Lily Wu, an engineering major who races cars in her free time. A hacker: Alex Huang, an MIT dropout turned Silicon Valley software engineer. Each member of his crew has their own complicated relationship with China and the identity they've cultivated as Chinese Americans, but when Will asks, none of them can turn him down. 

Because if they succeed? They earn fifty million dollars—and a chance to make history. But if they fail, it will mean not just the loss of everything they've dreamed for themselves but yet another thwarted at­tempt to take back what colonialism has stolen.

Equal parts beautiful, thoughtful, and thrilling, Portrait of a Thief is a cultural heist and an examination of Chinese American identity, as well as a necessary cri­tique of the lingering effects of colonialism.

Hurtling past the downtrodden communities of Depression-era America, painter Val Welch travels westward to the rural town of Dawes, Wyoming. Through a stroke of luck, he's landed a New Deal assignment to create a mural representing the region for their new Post Office.

A wealthy art lover named John Long and his wife Eve have agreed to host Val at their sprawling ranch. Rumors and intrigue surround the couple: Eve left behind an itinerant life riding the rails and singing in a western swing band. Long holds shady political aspirations, but was once a WWI sniper--and his right hand is a mysterious elder cowboy, a vestige of the violent old west. Val quickly finds himself entranced by their lives.

One day, Eve flees home with a valuable painting in tow, and Long recruits Val to hit the road with a mission of tracking her down. Journeying from ramshackle Hoovervilles to San Francisco nightclubs to the swamps of Florida, Val's search for Eve narrows, and he soon turns up secrets that could spark formidable changes for all of them.

In The Trackers, singular American writer Charles Frazier conjures up the lives of everyday people during an extraordinary period of history that bears uncanny resemblance to our own. With the keen perceptions of humanity and transcendent storytelling that have made him beloved for decades, Frazier has created a powerful and timeless new classic.

Five hundred and thirty years ago, a young woman sat before a Grecian-nosed artist known as Leonardo da Vinci. Her name was Cecilia Gallerani, and she was the young mistress of Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan. Sforza was a brutal and clever man who was mindful that Leonardo’s genius would not only capture Cecilia’s beguiling beauty but also reflect the grandeur of his title. But when the portrait was finished, Leonardo’s brush strokes had conveyed something deeper by revealing the essence of Cecilia’s soul. Even today, The Woman with an Ermine manages to astonish.

Despite the work's importance in its own time, no records of it have been found for the two hundred and fifty years that followed Gallerani’s death. Readers of The Hare with the Amber Eyes will marvel at Eden Collinsworth’s dexterous story of illuminates the eventual history of this unique masterpiece, as it journeyed from one owner to the next–from the portrait’s next recorded owner, a Polish noblewoman, who counted Benjamin Franklin as an admirer, to its exile in Paris during the Polish Soviet War, to its return to WWII-era Poland where—in advance of Germany’s invasion—it remained hidden behind a bricked-up wall by a housekeeper who defied Hitler’s edict that it be confiscated as one of the Reich’s treasures. Fans of Anne-Marie O’Connor’s The Lady in Gold will treasure the story of this criss-crossing journey and the enigmatic woman at its heart.

 

A great American artist, John Singer Sargent is also an abiding enigma. While dressing like a businessman and crafting a highly respectable persona, he scandalized viewers on both sides of the Atlantic with the frankness and sensuality of his work. He charmed the nouveaux riches as well as the old money, but he reserved his greatest sympathies for Bedouins, Spanish dancers, and the gondoliers of Venice. At the height of his renown in Britain and America, he quit his lucrative portrait-painting career to concentrate on allegorical murals with religious themes—and on nude drawings of male models that he kept to himself.

In The Grand Affair, the historian Paul Fisher offers a vivid life of the buttoned-up artist and his unbuttoned work. Sargent’s nervy, edgy portraits exposed illicit or dark feelings in himself and his sitters—feelings that high society on both sides of the Atlantic found fascinating and off-putting. Fisher traces Singer’s life from his wandering trans-European childhood to the salons of Paris, and the scandals and enthusiasms he caused, and on to London. There he mixed with eccentrics and aristocrats, and the likes of Henry James and Oscar Wilde, while at the same time forming a close relationship with a lightweight boxer who became his model, valet, and traveling partner. In later years, Sargent met up with his friend and patron Isabella Stewart Gardner around the world and devoted himself to a new model, the African American elevator operator and part-time contortionist Thomas McKeller, who would become the subject of some of Sargent’s most daring and powerful work.
 

Nick Morris is your classic struggling artist. He paints pet portraits to pay the bills but is always just one big commission away from a more comfortable life. Which is why he agrees to paint the reluctant, hot-tempered hotelier, Jason Robart. But Nick gets more than he bargained for when he finds Jason dead from a shotgun blast to the head in an apparent suicide.

No one seems upset about his death except for his girlfriend Elizabeth, and Nick, who has lost the income from the commission. It turns out Jason owed money to everyone - including some unsavoury Russians.

When Elizabeth goes missing, Nick is concerned, but so is Jason's unpleasant business partner and those persuasive Russians who threaten Nick to reveal everything he knows . . . or else. Nick is knee deep in trouble and to escape he must find Elizabeth, uncover the truth of Jason's death, and stay alive! If only he had stuck to painting cats . . .

In January 1939, Pablo Picasso was renowned in Europe but disdained by many in the United States. One year later, Americans across the country were clamoring to see his art. How did the controversial leader of the Paris avant-garde break through to the heart of American culture?

The answer begins a generation earlier, when a renegade Irish American lawyer named John Quinn set out to build the greatest collection of Picassos in existence. His dream of a museum to house them died with him, until it was rediscovered by Alfred H. Barr, Jr., a cultural visionary who, at the age of twenty-seven, became the director of New York’s new Museum of Modern Art.

Barr and Quinn’s shared goal would be thwarted in the years to come—by popular hostility, by the Depression, by Parisian intrigues, and by Picasso himself. It would take Hitler’s campaign against Jews and modern art, and Barr’s fraught alliance with Paul Rosenberg, Picasso’s persecuted dealer, to get Picasso’s most important paintings out of Europe. Mounted in the shadow of war, the groundbreaking exhibition Picasso: Forty Years of His Art would launch Picasso in America, define MoMA as we know it, and shift the focus of the art world from Paris to New York.

P

Antonio Moro lost everything to the Leviathan League. Now he's alone in a city on an Arctic island fighting the ruthless, global pirates with the chance to be the artist he always wanted to be. Unfortunately, he thinks it’s a cover story for his real purpose—spying on sympathizers.

When things look bleak, he discovers an unusual ally. His new personal assistant program, Par Augustus. It’s insolent, extroverted, moody, and a not-quite-legal nascent A. I.

Together they create a secret rebellion from unlikely recruits to defend the island from ideological pirates with entitlement and guns, and capitalist pirates with entitlement and money.

 

Winfred Rembert grew up in a family of Georgia field laborers and joined the Civil Rights Movement as a teenager. He was arrested after fleeing a demonstration, survived a near-lynching at the hands of law enforcement, and spent seven years on chain gangs. During that time he met the undaunted Patsy, who would become his wife. Years later, at the age of fifty-one and with Patsy’s encouragement, he started drawing and painting scenes from his youth using leather tooling skills he learned in prison.

Chasing Me to My Grave presents Rembert’s breathtaking body of work alongside his story, as told to Tufts Philosopher Erin I. Kelly. Rembert calls forth vibrant scenes of Black life on Cuthbert, Georgia’s Hamilton Avenue, where he first glimpsed the possibility of a life outside the cotton field. As he pays tribute, exuberant and heartfelt, to Cuthbert’s Black community and the people, including Patsy, who helped him to find the courage to revisit a traumatic past, Rembert brings to life the promise and the danger of Civil Rights protest, the brutalities of incarceration, his search for his mother’s love, and the epic bond he found with Patsy.

 

In a crowded London pub, two young people meet. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists--he a photographer, she a dancer--and both are trying to make their mark in a world that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence, and over the course of a year they find their relationship tested by forces beyond their control.

Narrated with deep intimacy, Open Water is at once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity that asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body; to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength; to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, and blistering emotional intelligence, Caleb Azumah Nelson gives a profoundly sensitive portrait of romantic love in all its feverish waves and comforting beauty.

When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

Johanna inherited Vincent van Gogh's paintings. They were all she had, and they weren't worth anything. She was a 28 year old widow with a baby in the 1800s, without any means of supporting herself, living in Paris where she barely spoke the language. Yet she managed to introduce Vincent's legacy to the world.

The inspiration couldn't come at a better time for Emsley. With her business failing, an unexpected love turning up in her life, and family secrets unraveling, can she find answers in the past?

It's 1899, and Manhattan is abuzz. Louis Comfort Tiffany, famous for his stained-glass windows, is planning a unique installation at the Paris World's Fair, the largest in history. At their fifth-floor studio on Fourth Avenue, the artists of the Women's Division of the Tiffany Glass Company are already working longer shifts to finish the pieces that Tiffany hopes will prove that he is the world's finest artist in glass. Known as the "Tiffany Girls," these women are responsible for much of the design and construction of Tiffany's extraordinary glassworks, but none receive credit.

Emilie Pascal, daughter of an art forger, has been shunned in Paris art circles after the unmasking of her abusive father. Wanting nothing more than a chance to start a new life, she forges a letter of recommendation in hopes of fulfilling her destiny as an artist in the one place where she will finally be free to live her own life.

Grace Griffith is the best copyist in the studio, spending her days cutting glass into floral borders for Tiffany's religious stained-glass windows. But none of her coworkers know her secret: she is living a double life as a political cartoonist under the pseudonym of G.L. Griffith--hiding her identity as a woman.

As manager of the women's division, Clara Driscoll is responsible for keeping everything on schedule and within budget. But in the lead-up to the most important exhibition of her career, not only are her girls becoming increasingly difficult to wrangle, she finds herself obsessed with a new design: a dragonfly lamp that she has no idea will one day become Tiffany's signature piece.

Brought together by chance, driven by their desire to be artists in one of the only ways acceptable for women in their time, these "Tiffany Girls" will break the glass ceiling of their era and for working women to come.

From the author of Sing Me Forgotten comes a lush new fantasy novel with art-based magic, romance, and murder...

Myra has a gift many would kidnap, blackmail, and worse to control: she's a portrait artist whose paintings alter people's bodies. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone. But one frigid night, the governor's wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that would resurrect the governor's dead son.

Once she arrives at the legendary stone mansion, however, it becomes clear the boy's death was no accident. A killer stalks these halls--one disturbingly obsessed with portrait magic. Desperate to get out of the manor as quickly as possible, Myra turns to the governor's older son for help completing the painting before the secret she spent her life concealing makes her the killer's next victim.

 

Here's a secret: God has deposited a gift inside of you. Acclaimed angel artist Anne Neilson wants to help you find yours as she shares her personal story of passion and purpose and how faith radiates from every canvas of her life. The Brushstrokes of Life will help you see there are no coincidences with God.

Anne Neilson believes that each of us begins our life as a blank canvas: clean and fresh and ready to find texture in our experiences. Each trial, each joy, each heartache, and each hope leaves an explosion of color and sweeping brushstrokes that shape us. When we allow God to take over as the Master artist, we will find that He carefully adds dimension and highlights to create a beautiful masterpiece in us. Often, though, it's hard to find the beauty when we are wading through mess.

In this beautiful memoir, Anne shares personal stories about why her faith is so important to her and resonates in all her work. In The Brushstrokes of Life, you will learn how to:

• Open your hands to God's possibilities
• Connect your trials from today into hope for tomorrow
• Trust God's role in your story

Clarke is new to town and ready to explore. Miguel loves meeting new people and going on adventures. With their walkie-talkies and compass in hand, these new friends map out their neighborhood and search for hidden treasure!

When her cherished Ma Millie falls ill, a timid housecat ventures into the wild to seek help in this adventure about love, loss, and finding the truest version of ourselves.

A warm, cozy lap. The toasty smell of baking bread. Tasty food served in a bright-blue bowl. These make Haven’s life as an indoor pet heaven. All thanks to her beloved human and rescuer, Ma Millie. But when Ma Millie becomes too sick to care for her, the cat’s cozy life is turned upside down, and Haven decides she must seek out another human for help. Anything for Ma Millie! Her vow pulls her out of her safe nest into the shadowy forest and down unfamiliar and dangerous roads. When her first plan fails, Haven meets a wilderness-savvy fox who volunteers as an ally, and their perilous journey together brings some victories. But Haven finds herself pitted against creatures far wilder than she ever could be, testing her strength and spirit to their limits. Will her loyalty to Ma Millie—and her newfound confidence in herself—be enough to help Haven see the quest through to its conclusion? Can she stand up against the fierce predator that is tracking her every move?

Meet the Secret Explorers--a band of brainiac kids from all around the world. Everyone in this diverse group of young experts has a specialty, from outer space to dinosaurs, and each story follows a character who gets chosen for a "secret exploration."

In this fun, fact-filled children's book, Tamiko the dinosaur fanatic and Ollie the rainforest expert travel back in time to the ice age to lead a group of woolly mammoths away from a dangerous avalanche!

Let's explore!


 

Finally, I was about to leave for a relaxing vacation all by myself. I was ready to kick back and connect with nature. But somehow, my peaceful trip turned into a crazy treasure hunt in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota with the entire Stilton clan in tow! Our journey even included a hot-air balloon ride to Mount Rushmore. Holey cheese! This was one adventure I'd truly remember.

Dodge missiles, map undersea caves, outrun secret agents, and uncover the ultimate treasure? That's a day in the life of the Kidds!

The Kidd family is on an exciting new mission: use the augmented reality gear their parents created to uncover long-lost treasure. But then their ship, The Lost, explodes in a ball of fire! Now Bick, Beck, Tommy, and Storm are stranded on a raft in the Mediterranean Sea, and their parents have been kidnapped by maniacal treasure hunters. It's up to the Kidd siblings to follow clues around the globe to uncover an ancient treasure and save their parents . . . before they lose everything!

A young treasure hunter must decipher clues, solve puzzles, and search his school for a long-lost chest filled with decades of confiscated toys.

Ordinary Elementary is anything but ordinary. Below the classrooms are winding, abandoned, underground passages filled with lost treasures. Fifth-grader Graysen Foxx, aka The Gray Fox--finder of secrets, solver of mysteries, and explorer of the unknown--is hot on the trail of the legendary treasure of long-since-retired Principal Redbeard, which includes a decades' worth of confiscated gadgets, rare comic books, first-edition Pokemon trading cards, an original Rubik's Cube, and a retro football handheld video game.

It's a battle between courage and cunning, smarts and shrewdness, charity and cheating. With the treasure on the line, can Graysen trust his rival--or is it just another one of her traps? May the best treasure hunter win!
 

The competition to crown the chicken of the year is in jeopardy!

A few days before the famous Golden Feather competition, the hens of Chickentown begin to mysteriously vanish. With each disappearance, a new clue... But who is behind all this? Be on the alert; sometimes facts can be deceiving! In this fantastically illustrated book, your child will learn to use his/her imagination to bring to life all the talents these chickens have to present in order to win this prestigious award.

Roxie the pug lives a life of luxury. She loves fizzy drinks and fluffy pillows. She keeps her treats and chew toys close and never has to lift a paw.

One night, Roxie's humans are fast asleep when she has to GO! She scurries out of her doggy door to do her business, only to find . . . the door has locked behind her. Will Roxie be stuck outside forever? Without toys, treats, and tummy rubs?! Soon enough, Roxie finds her grit and finds her way back inside. A changed pup, she dreams sweet dreams of the adventures tomorrow might hold.

The ever-oblivious Sophie Johnson returns to solve a terrible crime using her keen skills of observation…or so she thinks!

Meet Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert and Detective Genius, ready to solve any and all crimes. Sophie Johnson studied hard to become a detective, and it’s a good thing she did as there has been an awful crime! Someone has stolen Lion’s tail. Unfortunately, Sophie doesn’t have time to train her new (and not very good) assistant puppy, Bella. But while Sophie’s busy rounding up and interrogating suspects, is it possible she misses that Bella may be a better crimefighter than she thinks?

A friendly competition to grow the best organic garden is underway. The prize is tempting . . . a ribbon, a photo and article in the newspaper, AND some all-you-can eat favorites from Ned’s Diner!

Esmeralda, Annie, Oliver, and Rosamond are among the competitors. Just a few days before contest judging, some of Rosamond’s tomatoes go missing and Nate and Sludge are called to investigate.

Who is eager for tomatoes, and why? Nate and Sludge are on the case and what they find surprises all but makes perfect sense!

When the Kudo Kids travel to New York City for the first time, they're ready to hit the ground running and see the sights. But the siblings quickly realize that they're excited for very different reasons--Mika wants to take photos of iconic landmarks and visit a famous camera store, while Andy can't wait to try out an escape room that one of his friends told him about.

Both of their plans get shaken up when they learn that Aunt Kei is in desperate need of assistance as she prepares for an important fashion presentation. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to explore, Andy and Mika enthusiastically volunteer to help run errands with their cousin, Jenny.

When a very special dress, the centerpiece of Aunt Kei's collection, goes missing, they find themselves on a chase around the city to find it in another unforgettable mystery that will leave readers guessing until the very end.

Mac B. is back... and this time, a new enemy is after the Crown Jewels! Will Mac solve this locked-room mystery in time?

The Crown Jewels are in danger... again! When the jewels go missing from inside a locked room, Mac's spy skills are put to the test. How did the thief break in? Where did the jewels go? And will Mac be able to solve this locked room mystery before the thief escapes? This mystery isn't just a who-dunit... it's a how-dunit! 

A moving picture book for ages 3 to 8 about a daisy who is told she's "just a weed"--and embarks on a journey to find her place in the garden.

Spring is here and today a flower has sprung to life. But when Squirrel becomes too protective of it, Bird shows Squirrel the right way to let flowers blossom and grow.

The fairies at The Fairy School of Magic and Music are planting a class garden. All the fairies love tending to their pretty flowers, except Twinkle. Her plant isn’t growing any flowers, just boring leaves. With a little patience, Twinkle discovers a very special surprise.

Parker is growing her own backyard garden! She plants tulips with Nana and herbs and vegetables with Mom Mom. After patiently waiting all winter long, Parker sees her garden bloom! This story celebrates Parker’s relationships with her two grandmothers and the joy of nurturing plants in the garden, and the backmatter features Parker’s love of taking nature walks in her neighborhood.

Meet Bug, a small, wiggly caterpillar. Follow along as Bug transforms into a butterfly in this beautifully illustrated board book for the very young.
 

Meet Pip, a tiny apple seed. Follow along as it transforms from seed to sprout to tree in this beautifully illustrated board book for the very young.

Let's go outside and discover everything nature has to offer!

How many legs does a spider have? Can you help spot the nighttime animals? From ferny, forest floors to white, sandy beaches, babies and toddlers will love journeying through the different environments to discover the variety of wildlife that lives in our surroundings.


 

A portrait of some of the world’s most incredible trees, seen through the eyes of a landscaper who loves them—and his granddaughter who is beginning to understand why.

What do plants eat? Why do some plants have flowers and others don't? And what's the tallest plant out there? Find out with this book, perfect for early readers!

A book, packed with inexpensive upcycling projects, that provides kids with tips on how to attract a range of birds to their outdoor space.

Transform your backyard into a sanctuary for a variety of birds.

A beautifully illustrated children’s guide to growing plants, from vegetables to wildflower meadows.

This is a gardening book for kids who like to get their hands dirty, plant whatever they like, create indoor jungles, and go on sneaky wildflower missions.
 

Logan searches for carrots in his wheelchair-accessible greenhouse in this vibrant exploration of gardening and healthy eating, from the Where in the Garden? picture book series.

Logan is organizing a pet playdate at his greenhouse for all of his friends, and his treats won’t be the same without his carrots. He’s searched and searched, but his greenhouse is filled with plenty of plants and Logan needs our help to identify them. What do we know about carrots? They’re long, orange, and have bushy leaves at the top—and, wait a moment, is that a carrot? No, that’s a turnip. Where, oh, where could those carrots be? Can you help Logan find them in time for his playdate?

Visiting the city from her home in the suburbs, an African American girl sees how a few packets of seeds, some helping hands, and hard work transform an empty lot in a housing project into a magical place where vegetables grow and family gathers. It’s the magic of nature in the heart of the city!

 

Linh is having a picnic in her rooftop garden for all of her friends, and she needs help searching for blueberries to finish preparing her dishes. What do we know about blueberries? They’re small, blue, and grow on bushes—and, just a second, is that a blueberry? No, that’s a gooseberry. Where, oh, where could those blueberries be? Can you help Linh find them in time for her picnic?
 

A young girl observes the bugs and blooms and the rich smell of the soil of her grandfather’s garden. Her grandfather hums as he waters his treasured plants. And when he gives the girl a flower of her own, caring for it teaches her to feel her grandfather’s love.

Even as time passes and her grandfather’s garden grows smaller and the girl grows up, she never forgets what she learned or loses her closeness with her nurturing grandfather.
 

When street magician Carter runs away, he never expects to find friends and magic in a sleepy New England town. But like any good trick, things change instantly as greedy B.B. Bosso and his crew of crooked carnies arrive to steal anything and everything they can get their sticky fingers on.

After a fateful encounter with the local purveyor of illusion, Dante Vernon, Carter teams up with five other like-minded illusionists. Together, using both teamwork and magic, they'll set out to save the town of Mineral Wells from Bosso's villainous clutches. These six Magic Misfits will soon discover adventure, friendship, and their own self-worth in this delightful new series.
 

A pack of paints, a set of pens, and unlimited creativity throw two friends into an enchanted, fast-paced adventure.

ZuZu's first summer without her best friend is looking pretty grim, until she meets new kid Andrew at a visit to the historic Mapleton Mansion. Together they stumble upon some enchanted art supplies and discover that the shapes they draw and paint can come to life. Their creations are harmless--but ZuZu and Andrew aren't the only ones with access to magic.

Soon, nightmarish half-machine, half-living creatures begin appearing around town, controlled by a power-hungry "caster" with a sinister mission. It's up to ZuZu and Andrew to use their newfound abilities to protect their community.
 

When Amelia Bedelia’s neighbor and very best friend Jen moves away, Amelia Bedelia is sad.

One day, a new neighbor moves in. But she isn’t anything at all like Jen. Or is she?

Amelia Bedelia discovers that friends come in all shapes and sizes, in this easy-to-read book about friendship that is just right for beginning readers.

Nory, Elliott, Andres, and Bax are just four of the students in Dunwiddle Magic School's Upside-Down Magic class. In their classroom, lessons are unconventional, students are unpredictable, and magic has a tendency to turn wonky at the worst possible moments. Because it's always amazing, the trouble a little wonky magic can cause . . .

Meet Hilda: explorer, adventurer, avid sketchbook-keeper and friend to almost every creature in the valley! Join our beloved heroine as she encounters her very first troll, negotiates peace with some very persnickety elves, and reunites two lovelorn ancient giants. Fantastic creatures and daring adventures are all just part of another average day for Hilda, but what will she do if she is forced to move to Trolberg city, far away from her beloved valley home? Dive into the adventure with this illustrated chapter book, based on the first two episodes of the show.

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy until he is rescued by an owl, taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard.

As night time falls and the moon appears, magic is building in the air. The time has finally come, and Scarecrow is ready to play. Slowly, all his friends start to arrive and they all have a good time. But soon, playtime is over and the sun starts to rise. Back at his post, Scarecrow bids his friends good night as he thinks of the next time the moon will rise and the magic will return.



 

Where did the tree house come from?

Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark…or will they become a dinosaur’s dinner?
 

Sunny is the grandmaster's daughter. She sweeps the floors, waters the plants, and practices with her nunchucks--sometimes she even makes mistakes! And she teaches other young students how to kihap. When their kihaps grow loud and bold enough to shake the mountains, Sunny leads her friends in defending the dojang against magical creatures . . . or perhaps that's just in their imaginations. It's up to you to decide!

It's Maddy's turn to have a bayou summer. At first she misses life back home in the city, but soon she grows to love everything about her new surroundings -- the glimmering fireflies, the glorious landscape, and something else, deep within the water, that only Maddy sees. Could it be a mermaid? As her grandmother shares wisdom about sayings and signs, Maddy realizes she may be only the sibling to carry on her family's magical legacy. And when a disastrous oil leak threatens the bayou, she knows she may also be the only one who can help. Does she have what it takes to be a hero?
A coming-of-age tale rich with folk magic, set in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, Bayou Magic celebrates hope, friendship, and family, and captures the wonder of life in the Deep South.

From Fairy Bluebell to Mermaid Misty, this enchanting art book is filled with inspiring ideas and instruction. In simple steps, children can learn how to create magical creatures--drawing figures and faces, adding hair, and embellishing their characters with crowns, stars, wings, skirts, hats, and other accessories. It's easy, imaginative, and fun.

Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations--especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family's true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs...and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it's going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through.

Push, pull, spin, and slide your way through a magical castle--all while encountering dazzling friends along the way, including a dragon, unicorn, and mermaid! Readers spin a wheel to animate the front cover, and holographic foil creates a truly impressive effect. With gentle rhymes, bright colors, and a bit of sparkle and shine, this novelty board book is sure to delight.

With DJ and HILO's help, can Gina find the key to turn the world back to what it was? Find out in Hilo 8--a laugh-out-loud, action-packed adventure filled with epic battles! True friendship! Good jokes! Bad jokes! Giant (hilarious) monsters! Spoiled royals! Prophecies! Good! Evil! And much, much more!

To Manolo the world is a magical place--a place where he searches for the most magical creature of all: a unicorn. Manolo loves unicorns. When the Wild Animal Parade is announced at school, and Manolo declares that he will come as his favorite animal, his classmates say there is no such thing as unicorns, making the world feel ordinary. That is, until Manolo meets a real unicorn--wild and graceful--and discovers that the world is truly extraordinary.

A photo-illustrated book for elementary readers about Olympic figure skating. Includes descriptions of men's and women's singles program, ice dancing, pairs skating, and the team figure skating events. Readers will get a primer to some rules and athletes that may participate in the 2018 PeyongChang, South Korea Winter Olympic Games. 

A good photo can tell a story, express your creativity, and document moments from your life in a way that only you can capture. Learn how to create incredible images that are uniquely yours with this guide to photography for kids. All you need is the most basic digital camera or smartphone camera—no fancy equipment required. You’ll learn all about framing, composition, lighting, depth, dimension, and lines. Then, put your new knowledge into practice with engaging exercises that include step-by-step instructions.

The home team needs one more point to win the match! The ball is in play. Bump, set, spike! Young readers will learn the rules of the court in this low-level title about volleyball. Engaging text explains gameplay, while vivid photos provide visual reinforcement. Readers will dive even further into the sport through features including a champion profile, court diagram, and gear spotlight.

This book is perfect for anyone who teaches or leads hands-on art experiences: creative, DIY-inspired parents, families, friends, homeschoolers, scouting, community, and youth group leaders.

 

History has forgotten most Appalachian women, many of whom were poor or lacked formal education. Yet these women told powerful stories through the quilts they created from scraps of cloth collected over time. Piece by piece these patchwork quilts revealed the beauty of mountain life.

This collection is packed with tons of recipes for easy sweets and treats, designed with young cooks in mind and triple tested by the chefs in Food Network Kitchen. Kids will get all the info they need to make their favorite desserts: muffins and quick breads, brownies and bars, cookies, cupcakes, sheet cakes, and more. The recipes are simple to follow and totally foolproof, and each one comes with a color photo and pro tips to help junior chefs get started in the kitchen.

The Ballet Book is an inspirational motivator, an exceptional teaching aid, and an ideal companion for students. Now it has all-new photographs in color and a text more suited to contemporary young dancers.

The Ballet Book is a strong guide for both boys and girls.

Teach your children all the basics of knitting with this easy-to-follow guide.

In Knitting for Children, Claire Montgomerie shares the secrets of her successful knitting classes that show little ones how to create their own toys, accessories, and more. Packed with great projects suitable for children aged 7–12, and with projects that cover a range of skill levels, kids will eagerly progress through the 35 easy-to-follow patterns and variations. 

Join Waffles and Mochi for recipes and cooking adventures that take you around the world—from Delicioso Stew inspired by Peru to a Pani Puri Party in California to making Hands-on Onigiri in Japan. These best friends discover how chefs mix fresh ingredients to create delicious dishes that make our taste buds happy. 
 

My First Tackle Box has everything young anglers need for fishing fun. Catch fish with the fishing rod, organize your gear, measure your catch with a ruler, and more! This uniquely designed sturdy activity book will encourage creativity and hours of fun as kids learn about all of the tools in the tackle box.

The popular Lab for Kids series features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, math, and even how to create your own circus—all authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The labs can be used as singular projects or as part of a yearlong curriculum of experiential learning. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. 

The perfect next step for kids with a basic understanding of how to play the ukulele, Kids' Ukulele Song Book continues their musical practice with 30 new songs for kids to learn and play! With a quick refresher in the opening section that reviews the four basic ukulele chords learned in author Emily Arrow's first book, Kids' Guide to Learning the Ukulele, children will then learn and practice brand new chords and single notes to build on their existing skills. Kids can also create their own original songs using the songwriting template pages, use a practice chart for staying on track, cut out helpful and colorful chord cards, and even access online audio to play along with author Emily Arrow, making Kids' Ukulele Song Book the ultimate continuation to expand and grow their ukulele knowledge and skill set! 

Explore all the possibilities of Minecraft, from stunning underwater sculptures to impressive space panoramas, or travel through time to visit grand medieval towns and futuristic cityscapes. Each colossal creation is shown in beautifully rendered illustrations to highlight the painstaking details that make these builds masterful. The exclusive interviews with the builders shed light on the creative forces and processes behind each build.
 
Whether you're marveling at the wonders that Minecraft's greatest builders have to offer, or searching for inspiration to become one yourself, your tour begins here.

Team sport or solo activity? To compete, to have fun with your friends, to express your creativity, or to feel good in your own skin? Whatever you play, whatever your reason, whatever your level, this book is for you. You'll find: exercises to make you stronger and last longer - confidence-building tips and brainpower drills - how to keep your body healthy, and why - team- and spirit-building activities - advice for talking with coaches and parents - tips for playing with heart - tons of ideas from girls like you.

It's time to meet ten land and sea animals that live in Antarctica! From sailing leopard seals to haunting icefish, young readers will love discovering the many unique animals of our chilliest continent in this beautiful, rhyming counting book.

Carlitos lives in a happy home with his mother, his abuela, and Coco the cat. Life in his hometown is cozy as can be, but the call of the capital city pulls Carlitos across the bay in search of his father. Jolly piragüeros, mischievous cats, and costumed musicians color this tale of love, family, and the true meaning of home.

Jack and Annie are whisked back in time as they try to save the ill-fated Titanic, learn to hunt buffalo on the Great Plains, save a rare tiger from poachers in India, and help a baby kangaroo and a koala escape from a fire-filled forest in Australia.

From the vicious three-headed Chimera of ancient Greece to the peaceful Navagunjara of India-- a creature made from parts from nine different animals--to the awe-inspiring dragons of Europe and East Asia, this exciting introduction to mythological creatures celebrates the wondrous beings featured in stories from all over the world. Including a vast array of fierce monsters, powerful spirits, ancient gods, and helpful beasts, Legendary Creatures is the perfect primer to engage young readers interested in the fascinating world of mythology.

On a snowy Lunar New Year’s Eve in Northeastern China, it’s Dandan’s last night with Yueyue. Tomorrow, she moves to America. The two best friends have a favorite wintertime tradition: crafting paper-cut snowflakes, freezing them outside, and hanging them as ornaments.

As they say goodbye, Yueyue presses red paper and a spool of thread into Dandan’s hands so that she can carry on their tradition. But in her new home, Dandan has no one to enjoy the gift with—until a friend comes along.

Everyone says that the wild stories Nana tells are big fibs. But she always tells the truth, as ridiculous as it sounds to hear about the troupe of circus squirrels stealing her teacher’s toupee. When another outlandish explanation lands her in hot water again, her parents announce that Nana will be spending the summer with her grandmother in Ghana.

She isn’t happy to be missing the summer camp she’s looked forward to all year, or to be living with family that she barely knows, in a country where she can’t really speak the native language. But all her worries get a whole lot bigger—literally—when she comes face-to-face with Ananse, the trickster spider of legend.

Nana soon discovers that the forest around the village is a place of magic watched over by Ananse. But a group of greedy contractors are draining the magic from the land, intent on selling the wishes for their own gain. Nana must join forces with her cousin Tiwaa, new friend Akwesi, and Ananse himself to save the magic from those who are out to steal it before the magic—and the forest—are gone for good.

One Moment in Time is a lyrical celebration of diversity with a heartfelt message of unity. Featuring eleven different children, this book takes readers on a colourful, eye-opening journey around the globe in a single day, showing what children in different countries are each doing at the same point in time. 

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