Take the challenge! Stella Diaz takes the challenge on multiple levels. As a new fourth grader she must take on the challenge of more homework and social relationships – boy-girl dynamics and teamwork assignments. She also challenges herself in her two favorite areas – oceanography and art. But, oh my! Can she take the challenge of a new family dynamic? Can she fulfill her dreams?

June’s whole concept of home is shaken when her widowed mother and younger sister must move into a homeless shelter. The embarrassment and the struggles are real. The girls must rise early to get to their school. Mother is noncommunicative and June’s greatest joy, playing the viola, is out of the question. So everything is left to June to navigate the waters of the homeless shelter. She alone ...

An imaginative and fun, often hilarious, fantasy adventure! Explores concepts of identity, family, and character while engaging the reader with witty narrator commentary and great storytelling.

A beautiful reminder that we are all composites of the people who love us and the places they have known as home. Lyrical text and richly layered illustrations provide a moving reading experience. Great for bed times!

Little Britta's heart is kind and sees the best in everything, even in trees. She is sure Apple and Magnolia (Britta has named her favorite trees, of course) are good friends, so when Magnolia begins losing her luster, Britta remains hopeful. This spunky character warms our hearts with actions of hope and optimism, even when possible seems impossible. Muted, wildly expressive colors and loose illu ...

Two young girls, Lulu and Serena, find themselves alone parked in Dad’s SUV at a campground in Montana. Their mother has recently died of cancer, and their dad is now missing. Lulu is twelve with a strong sense of “stepping up” to problems, but the problem to care for herself and her sister is enormous. Money is limited to $67 and winter is coming. Being new to the area, they don’t have an ...

Poppy has not planned ahead, like Cornbread, and now Poppy has a problem that will require creative problem solving, courage, and friendship — the kind that sticks with you and sees a thing through with you, no matter what. Lively illustrations convey humor and warmth, complementing the text's charm and enduring lessons.

This delightful duo are best of friends, mostly. Sometimes they see things very differently, like ferris wheels (what fun!; too high!), cheese (so delicious!; a belly ache waiting to happen!), and an unexpected treasure (it belongs to the one who discovered it!; it belongs to the one who knows how to cook it!). Differences can cause problems, but they can also cause growth that look like patience, ...

Instead of losing hope and giving in to oppressive mindsets of Nazism, Christo ran from Bulgaria and pursued dreams of hope and creative expressions of freedom. Intensely imaginative, Christo allowed memories of demeaning governments to inform and fuel an expansive way of thinking and giving. He would create dramatic, larger-than-life art installations so the world could experience, even for brief ...

Silliness abounds as DJ, who is NOT a hip-hop artist, plays butler to an adorable baby shrub, who really needs a nanny. A nanny might say no, but DJ, who is a butler, always says yes. Hijinks, tv appearances, and a dramatic chase will carry giggling readers from beginning to end.

In this empowering deconstruction of the so-called American Dream, a twelve-year-old Japanese American girl grapples with, and ultimately rises above, the racism and trials of middle school she experiences while chasing her dreams.As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she's channeling that irrepr ...

After experiencing racist bullying on her school bus and racist vandalism in her middle school, Junie and her friends of color create a club and plan a school-wide assembly to address the racist issue. Junie’s part is creating a video for the program. She also decides to record her Korean grandparents about their experiences with oppression at the same age. Amid the beginnings of the Korean War ...

This is laugh-out-loud fun for beginning readers, who will be hoping for more stories featuring this little-in-common duo!

Through a fun question and answer format combined with clever illustrations, this informative book relates important details about force and motion. Young readers will enjoy the humor and appreciate the clear answers the book provides.

What do you know about the Civil War?What if you lived in a different time and place? What would you wear? What would you eat? How would your daily life be different?Scholastic's If You Lived... series answers all of kids' most important questions about events in American history. With a question and answer format, kid-friendly artwork, and engaging information, this series is the perfect partner ...

Two girls form an unlikely friendship during their shared time in the school nurse's office in this heartfelt middle grade novel for fans of Save Me a Seat and Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. Meg spends her days hoping no one thinks too hard about why she wears the same t-shirt and slippers to school every day. Luckily, the nurse's office provides a welcome escape from classmates who ...

Precious little Jillian suffers from extreme shyness and will talk to only a few, select friends and never in class. Her loving grandmother has always encouraged her to open up to others, but Grandmother died last year. Jillian’s shyness has only worsened. Enter a bold, but sensitive 5th grade teacher! Only she can see Jillian’s intelligence and sensitivity. Throughout the year she brilliantly ...

Angry words can ruin friendships, but a gesture as simple as a smile can cause kindness to bloom and friendships to mend. Die-cut pages feature a sapling that grows into a flowering tree with each turn of the page as kindness is spread. Harsh words, disagreements, and shouting can cause friendships to bend and sometime break. Friends are sad when they're left out, and once a mean word is spoken, i ...

Gorgeous illustrations and charming text equally tell this story of courage and bravery, large and confident traits for a little owl who is neither. But knight school arms Owl with skills that put him in good stead when an imposing character tests his mettle one night while Owl's on duty. An absolute delight.

This thoughtful presentation highlights both the perceptive approach her music teacher took to understand Glennie's passion and open avenues of unheard-of possibility, and Glennie's same creative spirit that shaped her formative years. Her resilience led her to figure out ways to convincingly show what had not yet been done, could be done. An inspiring for young readers and teachers as well.