Better Together explores how people gather in groups of all kinds to fulfill the basic human need for companionship. From the smallest units of parents, siblings and friends to global organizations that try to build on a foundation of common human experience to meet their goals, people working together are a powerful force for change. Too often, we look at someone and see all the ways we are different. People all around the world come together to build things, teach and entertain each other, and provide everything from better health care to good food to security and education. Better Together examines the many ways we are the same, no matter where we live.
Zoey’s dream of winning a national title with her dance team is crushed when her mom shares that they will be moving to another state. Once at her new school, Zoey feels like she doesn’t fit in. Will she be able to take a chance on herself and find a new dream?
Davit and Aram are having a rough time. They're both struggling with their dad's death, and then car trouble strands them near the woods. When a mysterious woman offers to help, the boys find themselves in a situation neither of them could have ever imagined.
Asher isn’t happy when his parents go out of town and leave his older brother, Clayton, in charge. After all, Clayton is no fun. To liven things up, Asher and his little sister play a prank. When their joke goes horribly wrong, they soon realize they’re not just in trouble... they’re in danger!
A family on vacation see a huge shark. They decide swimming in the ocean is not the best idea. They play games, build sand castles. Then Dad has an idea. Off they go on a rented boat. Time for fishing. Will they see the shark again before heading home?
Scott Schroeder dreams of a day when he and his father can have a home of their own. Following an accident that took his mother’s life eight years before, doctors discovered Scott was suddenly deaf. Blessed with being an accomplished gymnast, and even though he signs and reads lips, Scott’s biggest challenge is convincing others he is just as able in doing all things as those in the hearing world. Picking up on conversations he observes along the way, Scott figures out a big family secret concerning his father and uncle and makes his mind up to play a part in their reconciliation.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances.
As much as life has irrevocably changed since the death of his father, much has stayed the same for Cam. He's always had a great deal of responsibility around the house, but the burden is heavier now in combination with the load of grief he's been carrying. After the man who was driving the truck that killed his father turns up at the end of the driveway, Cam feels pressure to keep his family safe as well. He starts to see the man everywhere: at his work, in stores, at his sister's school. Cam needs to know what the man wants from his family, and he starts following his father's killer in search of answers.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! Written expressly for the middle grade struggling reader, the series does not contain strong language, edgy themes, or dysfunctional families. In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances. Written at the lowest reading levels, the 50-page story structure is straightforward and moves the reader through the text quickly and efficiently.
Nineteen-year-old Na has always lived in the shadow of her younger brother, Bao-bao, her parents' cherished son. Years ago, Na's parents left her in the countryside and went to work in the city, bringing Bao-bao along and committing everything to his education. But when Bao-bao dies suddenly, Na realizes how little she knew him. Did he really kill himself because of a low score on China's all-important college entrance exam? Na learns that Bao-bao had many secrets and that his death may not be what it seems. Na's parents expect her to quit her vocational school and go to work, forcing Na to confront traditional expectations for and pressures on young women.
Dad was always depressing Abel with his pyramid stories. He was always dooming Abel to a life at the bottom of the pyramid with all the other miserable losers. No matter how much Abel struggled and clawed, he'd never get to the pinnacle of the pyramid. And his mom was absolutely sure of Abel's incompetence at whatever he said.
Carmen Ibarra's larger-than-life father is running for city council against Monte Esposito, the corrupt incumbent- and Naomi's cousin. Ernesto is a little nervous. Deep in his heart he knows that Esposito is not good for the barrio. But he isn't about to upset Naomi's family. So he keeps his mouth shut.
Book 7 in the Anne of Green Gables series. Anne and Gilbert have been married for 15 years and have six children. The story centers around the Blythe family's next door neighbors, the unruly Meredith children and their widower father.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a delightful children's novel in the vein of Anne of Green Gables. Written by Kate Douglas Wiggin, it tells the story of a young girl (Rebecca) who goes to live with her two dour aunts. Rebecca injects joy into their lives and finds a way to keep her impoverished family afloat.
Heidi is a classic novel for reading aloud or for independent readers. This novel by Johanna Spyri is about a girl named Heidi and her life with her grandfather in the mountains. Celebrating the way a child's love can transform a life, Heidi is a classic novel that should be a part of every childhood.
The story is about a widow named Ms. Pepper and her loving five children. They are very poor but have a wonderful time together. The book shows that you don't have to have a lot of money to have love.
When Rose Campbell is orphaned, she is forced to live with her wealthy great-aunts. Her legal guardian returns from living abroad, and she goes to live with her Uncle Alec finding health and joy in a family of 7 boy cousins and numerous aunts and uncles.
Book 5 in the Anne of Green Gables series - Anne's House of Dreams begins with the wedding between Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe. In this book, they move to a small home and begin their life together with love, loss and many interesting escapades.
Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet? Anne of Green Gables is one of the world's most beloved young heroines. This coming of age novel is a must read for romantics of all ages. It tells the adventures of Anne Shirley, a young orphan girl, age 11 who is mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who had intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm on Prince Edward Island.
An environmental classic ready for a new generation of YA readers! A Girl of the Limberlost takes place in Indiana, in and around the famous Limberlost Swamp. Even in 1909, this impressive wetland region was being reduced by heavy logging, natural oil extraction and drainage for agriculture. The book features Elnora Comstock, a high school student whose mother blames her for her father's death. Even though they are poor, Elnora refuses to sell any of the family trees to loggers, and Elnora is left to find a way to pay for the things she needs without destroying the things she loves.
Thirteen-year-old Robbie leads a double life. It's just Robbie and his dad, but no one knows that his dad isn't like most parents. Sometimes he wakes Robbie up in the middle of the night to talk about dying. Sometimes he just leaves without telling Robbie where he’s going. Once when Robbie was younger, he was gone for more than a week. Robbie was terrified of being left alone but even more scared of telling anyone in case he was put into foster care. No one can know. Until one day when Robbie has to show the tough new girl, Harmony, around school. Their first meeting ends horribly and she punches Robbie in the face. But eventually they come to realize that they have a lot more in common than they thought. Can Robbie's new friend be trusted to keep his secret?
In the final volume of the Life on Earth trilogy, celebrated cartoonist MariNaomi concludes her tale of growing up, falling in and out of love, and possible alien interventions. Shy, self-deprecating Paula Navarro is coming into her own—and it's making her new girlfriend, Johanna, a little nervous. Paula's former friend Emily Baker is learning to look inward. Brett Hathaway, Emily and Paula's mutual ex-hook-up, is torn about reconnecting with his estranged dad. And Nigel Jones is smitten with his tutor, Claudia—whose disappearance and reappearance remains a mystery to everyone around her. As Claudia and her guardians put the final plan in motion, they'll reveal the truth that links everyone's fate. Book 3 in the series
Eighteen-year-old Cayenne barely remembers her mother, who died of breast cancer when Cayenne was four. The women in her family have a history of dying young. Cayenne figures she'll meet the same fate, so she might as well enjoy life now, engaging in death-defying risks like dodging trains and jumping off cliffs with her boyfriend. When Cayenne receives a series of video messages her mother made for her before dying, she isn't sure she wants them. Her aunt Tee has been her true mother figure. But then Aunt Tee tests positive for a BRCA gene mutation—the one that doomed Cayenne's mom—and decides to get a mastectomy to reduce her chances of developing cancer. As Cayenne helps her aunt prepare for the surgery, she finds herself drawn to her mother's messages, with their musings on life, love, and perseverance. For the first time, Cayenne starts to question what it truly means to live life to the fullest, even when death might be written into her DNA.
