A little girl grieves the loss of her mother, but she can’t grieve alone. When her friends and family arrive at her house to sit shiva, laden with cakes and stories, she refuses to come downstairs. But the laughter and memories gradually bring her into the fold, where she is comforted by her community. By the end of the book, she feels stronger and more nourished, and she understands the beautiful tradition. Then, when sees her father sitting alone, she is able to comfort him in his time of need. Sitting Shiva is a beautiful, heartfelt story about grief and loss, but also about comfort and community. It shows that no matter what religion you practice, we are all more similar than we are different. A note from the author explains the ritual of sitting shiva, a seven-day period of mourning for the death of a family member observed in Jewish homes.
Over the past 500 years, thousands of species of plants and animals have become extinct. The Late, Great Endlings pays homage to some of the more well-known endlings of the past century with rhyming stanzas that accompany watercolor illustrations and factual descriptions of each animal, along with the circumstances that led to their species' extinction. Together, these portraits of animals, like the passenger pigeon, the Pinta Island tortoise and the Tasmanian tiger, are a poignant symbol of a world irreversibly altered by human development, habitat loss and climate change. Readers are invited to reflect on the interconnectedness of all life forms on our planet with an additional look at animals that are at risk of becoming extinct in our lifetime. Concluding on a hopeful note, the final page offers suggestions for what kids can do to change the course of this mass species extinction crisis.
Jacky notices that the climate is changing and the summers are becoming hotter and drier... Little Jacky is a Jack pine cone who loves living in the woods with all of her animal friends. When a fire breaks out in her forest, all her friends run to safety and the firefighters battle the flames. The fire threatens to get too close to a neighboring village and Jacky watches as the people who live there, and the fire crew, take measures to make sure everyone is safe. While the village is protected from the fire, Little Jacky is scorched by the flames and finds out that the heat is important for her to continue her life cycle. Beautifully detailed illustrations integrate science with storytelling, and children will enjoy finding new bits of information with every read.
The summer is for sleuthing, and Lark and Connor have been served a double helping! It's time for the annual pet fair and the twins have been hard at work teaching their dog, Max, some new tricks. But on their way to the fairgrounds, they're offered not one, but two intriguing cases. Pets from the pet show have gone missing and their guardians are blaming each other for the disappearances. Meanwhile, Lark and Connor's frenemy, Sophie, thinks her house might be haunted and refuses to go inside. The twins split up to solve the mysteries, but can they find the vanished pets and the source of the spooky noises before the show has to start? Lark Has the Shivers is the fifth title in the Lark Ba Detective series, following Lark and the Desert Disaster, Lark Takes a Bow, Lark and the Diamond Caper and Lark Holds the Key.
It's a good thing young sleuths Lark and Connor Ba are always prepared because mysteries find them wherever they go. Lark and Connor are excited to visit the local art gallery where some of their classmates have been invited to exhibit their paintings. But when their friend Franklin is accused of stealing Kyle's masterpiece, the twins are sure Franklin is being framed—especially because Kyle has been nothing but mean to Franklin. Now the detectives are in a race to prove their friend's innocence as they collect clues and sort through red herrings. Will this be Lark and Connor's first unsolved case and is their friend doomed to be painted with a guilty brush? Includes bonus material as Lark shares the meanings behind her favorite words and idioms from the story. This is the sixth title in the Lark Ba Detective series, following Lark Has the Shivers, Lark and the Dessert Disaster, Lark Takes a Bow, Lark and the Diamond Caper and Lark Holds the Key.
It’s everyone’s favorite day of winter semester: the class field trip to the museum! Jordan is excited to see the mummies and Max can’t wait for his first trip to the big city without his big sisters watching over him. But when Jordan gets distracted by an extraordinary costume display and Max flies off to the depths of the Bat Cave, the group carries on to lunch without them. Before the two friends know it, their class has left the museum and they’re all alone downtown! Jordan knows they should find their classmates, but it’s hard to do the responsible thing when there is so much to do in the city. With Max at his side, the pair run wild: dancing alongside street musicians and tasting food from every single vendor they can find. Just when they think the day couldn’t get any more interesting, Jordan and Max find themselves in a strange neighborhood after dark where an even stranger ceremony is getting underway…a winter solstice celebration! This is the second book from Suzanne Sutherland featuring Jordan and Max, following Jordan and Max: Showtime!
Eleven-year-old Charlie Dembinski lives by the rules he writes down in his notebook. He knows that animals behave in predictable ways and it's easy for him to understand them. What Charlie doesn’t understand is why people aren’t the same way. Faced with a swarm of bees attached to a car, a cat with an unusual lump, a large dog who eats jewelry, a little dog who’s lost his confidence, and a best friend who’s upset for reasons he doesn’t understand, Charlie is put to the test. Can his rules help solve these problems? The third book in the Charlie's Rules series from bestselling author Sigmund Brouwer, Hush, Puppy is sure to delight young animal lovers. The straightforward plot, black-and-white illustrations and unique animal stories make this the perfect chapter book for early readers.
Lightning sparks a forest fire deep in the mountains near the town of Waterton. Days later, the sky is blue and the air is clear, so it doesn’t seem like an emergency, until crews of firefighters begin to arrive and townspeople start to prepare. Cricket and her friends watch deer and birds flee the forest and run right through town. But what about the slower animals? What about the porcupines and squirrels, the salamanders and snakes? Cricket searches for a way to help until the fire surprises everyone by quickly switching directions and racing towards the town. She hopes that the preparations and the firefighters' experience will be enough to save her home. But what about all the animals she loves? This is the fifth title in the Cricket McKay series, following Cougar Frenzy, Bats in Trouble, Ospreys in Danger and Salamander Rescue.
On returning to their home after a massive wildfire, nine-year-old Jasmin and her seven-year-old brother, Hunter, thought the biggest surprise would be whether their fire-resistant house had survived. Jasmin and Hunter did not expect to find an orphaned bear cub stuck in the neighbors’ well. Rescuing the tiny cub from the well was the easy part; now they need to care for it until the people from the bear-rescue sanctuary can make it safely through the fires to pick it up. The cub turns out to be exactly what one would expect of a wild animal—a huge handful!
Kenyan orphans, Kitoo and Nigosi, spend their days studying, playing soccer, helping their elders with chores around the orphanage and reading from the limited selection of books in their library. When the librarian gives Kitoo a copy of Sports Around the World he becomes fascinated by an image of the Canadian national men's ice hockey team. Then one day the fates align and Kitoo finds a pair of beat up old roller blades, he teaches himself to skate and dreams of one day playing hockey like the men in his book. But you can’t play ice hockey in Kenya, can you?
Voici une histoire tout en douceur, aux illustrations vaporeuses et au texte réconfortant, sur la façon de trouver le calme dans l’agitation qui nous entoure. Quand la fête est finie et que le bébé s'endort enfin, quand le chien a épuisé ses jappements et que les écrans sont éteints, le Silence s'avance à pas feutrés sur ses pattes poilues. Le Silence—une présence chaleureuse et réconfortante—se blottit douillettement comme un chat dans un rayon de soleil et nous aide à lire, à réfléchir et àtre calmes. Le Silence est un ami de l’Obscurité. Ensemble, ils adoucissent les contours déchiquetés laissés par le passage du Bruit et relâchent doucement dans la nuit les bateaux chargés de nos rêves. Quand la journée devient pénible ou que certaines émotions prennent trop de place, le Silence se glisse à côté de nous.
When the tsunami destroyed Makio's village, Makio lost his father . . . and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child's anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project—building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn't connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind. The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden is inspired by the true story of the wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan, which was created by artist Itaru Sasaki. He built the phone booth so he could speak to his cousin who had passed, saying, "My thoughts couldn't be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind." The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the town of Otsuchi, claiming 10 percent of the population. Residents of Otsuchi and pilgrims from other affected communities have been traveling to the wind phone since the tsunami.
Lou passe tous ses samedis avec Grand-Papa et Papi. Ils se rendent à la bibliothèque main dans la main, comme une guirlande de personnages en papier. Grand-Papa lit des livres sur la science et le design, Papi écoute des disques de rock and roll et Lou va de l’un à l’autre. Mais un jour, tout bascule. Papi fait une chute qui a des conséquences terribles: il sera confiné à un fauteuil roulant pour toujours, tout le temps. Incapable d’accepter son état, il se renferme et ne sort plus de sa chambre. En entendant Grand-Papa essayer d’égayer Papi, Lou a une idée. En utilisant des compétences qu’il a apprises de Grand-Papa et avec un peu d’aide des voisins, Lou élabore un plan pour Papi.
Lark and Connor are judges for the annual baking contest at the community center. When they arrive, they discover that someone has destroyed a contestant's entry. And not just any contestant’s entry—Sophie's! Sophie is Lark's best friend (she just doesn't know it yet). The twin sleuths can't simply roll with it. To save the contest they'll have to take a whisk risk and start investigating the other contestants. With the timer ticking, Lark and Connor have to find the culprit before someone actually takes the cake. Lark and the Dessert Disaster is the fourth title in the Lark Ba Detective series.
With soft illustrations and soothing text, this is a quiet story about learning to find calm in the busy world around you. When the party's over and the baby finally falls asleep, when the dog is all barked out and the screens are dark, the Silence pads in on soft, furry feet. A warm, comforting presence, the Silence curls up in a sun-beam like a cuddly cat and helps you read, think and be still. The Silence is friends with the Dark. Together they soothe the jagged edges left when the Noise has rolled on and gently launch the boats of your dreams into the night. When the day becomes overwhelming or other feelings become too big, the Silence slips in.
Just when Josh starts to think his break from school is going to be all chores and no cheer, his best friend, Mark, invites him to spend their break helping restore a historic home and mill in Oregon. With the help of their friends Angela and Mary Jane, and under the watchful eye of Aunt Sue and Uncle Doug, the kids spend weeks fixing up the grounds, basking in the freedom of country life and learning about the surrounding area. Not to mention eating bugs, domesticating feral cats and starring in a movie! But it's not all fun and filming. The mill is in financial trouble, and the kids have to figure out a way to help Aunt Sue and Uncle Doug keep it running, in spite of it being haunted. Ghost of the Mill House follows Bus to the Badlands, where we first met Josh and his classmates.
Mysteries seem to follow Lark and Connor Ba wherever they go, and today is no exception! The part-time detectives head to their local community theater to rehearse the play they are in, only to discover that someone is playing pranks on the theater company. The twin sleuths need to work quickly to catch the culprit before one more prank closes down the play for good. It's showtime, Lark and Connor! Lark Takes a Bow is the third title in the Lark Ba Detective series.
Rookie detectives Lark and Connor Ba are back on the case! When a pair of diamond earrings goes missing from the neighborhood general store, Lark and Connor just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Carefully mining the adults for clues, the twin sleuths work together to solve the mystery. Lark and the Diamond Caper is the second title in the Lark Ba Detective series.
Simon tries to be kind. But sometimes he loses his temper and acts without thinking, which almost always gets him into trouble. As Simon begins to understand his outbursts, he imagines himself in a boxing ring with his emotions. Can he come out on top and learn how to acknowledge his feelings?
What was supposed to be a relaxing ocean crossing for Billy Stuart and his friends after their adventures on the island of Crete quickly transforms into a veritable odyssey. A violent storm throws them off their maritime course and leads to a downpour of events with potentially tragic consequences: mutiny, vicious monster attacks, siren songs and more. The dire situation doesn't get any better when they finally make it to shore. A thousand dangers make the Zintrepids' every waking moment seem like a nightmare. And is Billy Stuart still on the trail of his grandfather, the explorer Virgil Stuart who has traveled through time? Or are the Zintrepids forever lost in an unknown age and strange place? Brightly illustrated and enhanced with games and puzzles throughout, Billy Stuart and the Sea of One Thousand Dangers is the third title in the Billy Stuart Adventures series, following Billy Stuart and the Zintrepids and Billy Stuart in the Minotaur's Lair.
Reece's new dog, Ruckus, tears through life like a Tyrannosaurus rex. He bites everything that moves and drives Reece's mom nuts. The puppy was Dad's idea, to make things easier for Reece after his parents' separation, but Ruckus is not easy at all and Mom is getting fed up. When her diamond earrings go missing, it sends the family into a tailspin. What happens when a dog swallows something precious? Reece is about to find out. But they can't give up on this little Jack Russell terror, can they? He's family, after all. We first met Reece and his family in the Orca Echoes title Where's Burgess? by Laurie Elmquist.
Both the shepherd and the wolf live on the mountain. They love their home and want to feel safe there. This book tells the same story, in identical words, from both the wolf’s perspective and that of the shepherd. Read the wolf’s story then flip it over and read the shepherd’s story and see the landscape that each of them sees. A good reminder of how humans should behave in the wild and on this earth that we share.
In Big Whales, Small World you will meet whales from around the world. This rhyming photographic picture book visits the oceans of places like New Zealand, Russia and South America. Writer, filmmaker and orca activist Mark Leiren-Young introduces young readers to blue whales bigger than dinosaurs and tiny vaquitas who swim close to shores.
Follow our little cloud on an adventure through the sky and learn the science behind how it transforms from a simple cumulus cloud to a full-blown hurricane. Beautifully detailed illustrations from award-winning artist Julie McLaughlin integrate science with storytelling. Children will enjoy finding new gems of information even after several reads, thanks to a whimsical and rich layout. And meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe weaves a comprehensive narrative about a powerful weather system that’s so compelling readers won’t even realize they are on their way to becoming budding meteorologists.
Every morning, a young girl walks her grandmother to the Aajibaichi Shala, the school that was built for the grandmothers in her village to have a place to learn to read and write. The narrator beams with pride as she drops her grandmother off with the other aajis to practice the alphabet and learn simple arithmetic. A moving story about family, women and the power of education—when Aaji learns to spell her name you’ll want to dance along with her. Women in countless countries continue to endure the limitations of illiteracy. Unjust laws have suppressed the rights of girls and women and kept many from getting an education and equal standing in society. Based on a true story from the village of Phangane, India, this brilliantly illustrated book tells the story of the grandmothers who got to go to school for the first time in their lives.
