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Unraveling Reading (Unraveling Series)
Ginnefine Jalloh, Pamela Clark, Marina Klimi, Jenni Schreiber, Rivan Stinson, Nibu Jacob, Mrs Pamela Clark, Sheila Wright, Aditi Chopra, Mrs Daniela Silva, Jon Aitken
Synopsis: Daniela Silva is Brazilian, and a college graduate with a degree in Pedagogy (with skills in School Management and Business Education), an MBA in People Management, and a postgraduate degree in Neuroeducation. Daniela has been active in social projects since 2009, with a focus in the areas of learning and human development. Daniela has great motivation to transform lives through knowledge. In 2012 she became a volunteer with New Heights Educational Group, an American Award Winning 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit. In collaboration with NHEG and working with its founder/director, Pamela Clark, Daniela has developed this book, which is the first in the “Unraveling Series.” There will be a book for each core subject taught in schools. These books will share information on educating those that need extra help mastering a subject and can be used for any age student. Unraveling Reading is a response to the needs and difficulties faced by parents, students and teachers with respect to literacy and education. It presents strategies and alternatives for developing reading and writing in children, youth and adults in a practical and dynamic way. Through diverse educational lessons, activities address three different learning styles, with consideration for how the brain learns and processes information visually, auditorily and kinesthetically. Unraveling Reading also includes examples of activities to improve reading and writing skills through movement, using the Brain Gym technique.
Publication Date: 11/17/16
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Educational
Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science
Synopsis: A gorgeously written novel in verse about three girls in three different time periods who grew up to become groundbreaking scientists.

Maria Merian was sure that caterpillars were not wicked things born from mud, as most people of her time believed. Through careful observation she discovered the truth about metamorphosis and documented her findings in gorgeous paintings of the life cycles of insects.

More than a century later, Mary Anning helped her father collect stone sea creatures from the cliffs in southwest England. To him they were merely a source of income, but to Mary they held a stronger fascination. Intrepid and patient, she eventually discovered fossils that would change people’s vision of the past.

Across the ocean, Maria Mitchell helped her mapmaker father in the whaling village of Nantucket. At night they explored the starry sky through his telescope. Maria longed to discover a new comet—and after years of studying the night sky, she finally did.

Told in vibrant, evocative poems, this stunning novel celebrates the joy of discovery and finding wonder in the world around us.
Publication Date: 09/20/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Educational
They All Saw A Cat
Brendan Wenzel
Synopsis: They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel - New York Times bestseller and 2017 Caldecott Medal and Honor Book

The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws . . . In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see?

If you and your child liked Ricky the Rock That Couldn't Roll, The Wonderful Things You Will Be, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Finding Winnie, or Radiant Child - you'll love They All Saw A Cat

"An ingenious idea, gorgeously realized." -Shelf Awareness, starred review"Both simple and ingenious in concept, Wenzel's book feels like a game changer." -The Huffington Post
Publication Date: 08/30/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Educational
Picture This: How Pictures Work 25th Anniversary Edition
Synopsis: Molly Bang's brilliant, insightful, and accessible treatise is now revised and expanded for its 25th anniversary. Bang's powerful ideas—about how the visual composition of images works to engage the emotions, and how the elements of an artwork can give it the power to tell a story—remain unparalleled in their simplicity and genius. Why are diagonals dramatic? Why are curves calming? Why does red feel hot and blue feel cold? First published in 1991, Picture This has changed the way artists, illustrators, reviewers, critics, and readers look at and understand art.
Publication Date: 08/16/16
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Educational
Hasta la vista, cocodrilo: El diario de Alexa
Susan Detwiler, Jennifer Keats Curtis, Dr. Brady Barr
Synopsis: Alexa y otros niños de su escuela en Costa Rica tienen un proyecto especial: ellos están criando cocodrilos americanos. Ella nombra a su cocodrilo Jefe porque parece que él está a cargo de los otros. Alexa le trae pollo y ranas para comer y escribe acerca de su progreso en su diario. Muy pronto, su pequeño crío está tan grande como una barra grande de pan. Se ha convertido en un cocodrilo joven y es tiempo de que Alexia le diga adiós y que Jefe regrese a la vida salvaje.

This nonfiction picture book with a cuddle factor includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 20-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. After A While Crocodile is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The enhanced ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Outstanding Trade Science Book

Keywords: basic needs, Central America, character, conservation, Costa Rica, environmental education, food, human interaction, life science, water (river, wetlands)
Publication Date: 08/10/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Educational
Grateful Bob: Tommy Defeats the Dragon
Marlene MacEchearn, Mr Bob Briggs Jr
Synopsis: Childhood anxiety is becoming a more and more common situation that we have to deal with today. In book 1 of the Grateful Bob series, Bobby was learning fast to become Grateful for almost everything that happens in his life. In book 2 Grateful Bob: Tommy defeats the Dragon, Bobby is able to show how grateful he is for his friend Tommy by helping him cope with anxiety and panic attacks. Bobby hopes that by reading his story, he can also help you as well. Anxiety is very hard to understand if you have not experienced this yourself. Grateful Bob is written through the eyes of a child and Bobby's actual experience of childhood anxiety. The first step to a better life, is understanding. Every child needs to know they are normal and always going to be okay. Grateful Bob will show you the way.
Publication Date: 06/12/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Educational
Lily and Dunkin
Donna Gephart
Synopsis: "Gephart has written a story that will speak not just to one specific community, but to humanity as a whole."  --VOYA

For readers who enjoyed Wonder and Counting by 7's, award-winning author Donna Gephart crafts a compelling dual narrative about two remarkable young people: Lily, a transgender girl, and Dunkin, a boy dealing with bipolar disorder. Their powerful story will shred your heart, then stitch it back together with kindness, humor, bravery, and love.

Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you’re in the eighth grade.
 
Dunkin Dorfman, birth name Norbert Dorfman, is dealing with bipolar disorder and has just moved from the New Jersey town he’s called home for the past thirteen years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse. 
 
One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change.  

*  2017 Southern Book Award Winner—Juvenile Category
*  Voice Award from the Palm Beach County Action Alliance for Mental Health
*  NPR's Best Kids' Books of 2016
*  Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers 2016 
*  New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2016
*  Amazon's Top 20 Children's Books of 2016 
*  Top 10 Audiobooks of 2016, School Library Journal
* YALSA 2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults
* YALSA 2017 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
*  ALA 2017 Rainbow Book List -- GLBTQ Books for Children & Teens
*  Georgia Book Award, 2017-2018 Nominee
*  Rhode Island Middle School Book Award Nominee, 2018
*  Wisconsin State Reading Association's Just One More Page Selection, 2017
* Indie Next Pick Summer 2016 
* Junior Library Guild Selection 
* Goodreads Choice Awards 2016 -- Best Middle Grade & Children's
* 2016 Nerdy Book Club Award  
* 2016 Rainbow Awards -- Best Transgender Book 
* 2016 Spring Okra Pick -- the Best in Southern Literature

"Gephart clearly has a lot of heart, and she tells their stories with compassion."--Kirkus 

"A thoughtfully and sensitively written work of character-driven fiction that dramatically addresses two important subjects that deserve more widespread attention."--Booklist, starred 

“Gephart sympathetically contrasts the physical awkwardness, uncertainty, and longings of these two outsiders during a few tightly-plotted months, building to a crescendo of revelation…[A] valuable portrait of two teenagers whose journeys are just beginning.”--PW 
 
"This would be a fantastic addition to any middle grade library collection, and is highly recommended for all ages."--VOYA
 
"Lily and Dunkin is a delight. Here’s a book for anyone who’s ever struggled with being different--or anyone who’s ever loved someone who bears the burden of difference. . . . Crucial, heart-breaking, and inspiring.” —Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of She’s Not There and Stuck in the Middle with You
Publication Date: 05/03/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Educational
Animal Rescues: Dive Into Danger
Phil Parks, Kelly Halls
Synopsis: Pudge's dad might love being on the ocean and taking care of wildlife, but Pudge would rather be playing World of Warcraft. When he meets an intriguing girl through the game and gets caught playing WoW during school, Pudge is suspended. Now he's forced to join his dad at work surveying whales. When they spot a mother whale tangled in a fishing net, Pudge has to put his real-world survival skills to the test.
Publication Date: 04/01/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Educational
Chloe in India
Kate Darnton
Synopsis: A poignant and delightful story involving class, race, social customs, and a unique friendship that questions them all.
 
Though they’re divided by class, language, appearance—you name it—Chloe and Lakshmi have a lot in common. Both girls are new to Class Five at Premium Academy in New Delhi, India, and neither seems to fit in. But they soon discover how extraordinary an ordinary friendship can be and how celebrating our individuality can change the world.


"Whether describing the heat of a Delhi summer or the emotions of a homesick preteen in a strange land, Darnton gets the details right, bringing characters and story to life and also educating readers about the economic discrepancies rampant in India. Blonde American Chloe's perspective gives Western readers a way into this tale of inequality in a foreign culture."--Kirkus 

"A solid multicultural offering for middle grade collections."--SLJ 


"The heart of the story—standing up for others, despite social or economic class—can offer a good discussion for readers and hopefully get them thinking about those around them."--Booklist 

"An informed and informative work of fiction that incorporates eye- opening facts about poverty and social systems outside of the United States while never losing the protagonist’s authentic and relatable voice. Evocative in setting, sympathetic in character, and noble in intent, this story is for armchair travelers and seekers of fairness and friendship."--The Bulletin 
Publication Date: 01/12/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Educational
Europe: Chained by History
Synopsis: A Plea for Europe to form a United States of EuropeEurope: Chained by History is a groundbreaking book that uses history to make a compelling case for Europe to form a United States of Europe--or risk seeing the European Union come apart individually.Using the history of Vienna from its inception to 1938, readers are invited to observe Western Europe from within this ancient city.Where did historic rivalries among European nations begin?How did the Enlightenment affect Europe and the United States?What persistent darkness allowed Hitler to lead the word in to a second devastating world war?What will it take for today's European Union to survive?Author Larry J. Hilton explores these questions, and more, by using fascinating details about what it was really like to live in Vienna from the the first century through the days of hyper-inflation after World War 1.Thought provoking and well researched, Europe: Chained by History radiates hope even as it details the formidable & political obstacles to European unity. In the end, a banking or ISIS crisis will force the issue.
Publication Date: 12/17/15
Age Level: Adult
Genre: Educational
¡HOLA! Let's Learn Spanish
Synopsis: Easy and Fun Introduction to Spanish for your child.
Fasten your seatbelts! Your child 6-10 is about to take a trip of adventure, fun and learning.Your child-and you-will be speaking Spanish in no time!Easy to use, whether or not you know Spanish.Free downloadable audio version at polyglotkidz.com. Download before using book.Your child's guide is Pete the Pilot. Kids take a pretend flight to Mexico. There, they meet Panchito, Mexico's #1 Jumping Bean, meet his friends, follow his adventure, and learn Spanish effortlessly.Also featuring:fun activities to use SpanishSkitCulture CornerCatchy songDirections for making a traditional Mexican mask
Publication Date: 11/30/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Educational
This Side of Wild
Tim Jessell, Gary Paulsen
Synopsis: Longlisted for the National Book Award

The Newbery Honor–winning author of Hatchet and Dogsong shares surprising true stories about his relationship with animals, highlighting their compassion, intellect, intuition, and sense of adventure.

Gary Paulsen is an adventurer who competed in two Iditarods, survived the Minnesota wilderness, and climbed the Bighorns. None of this would have been possible without his truest companion: his animals. Sled dogs rescued him in Alaska, a sickened poodle guarded his well-being, and a horse led him across a desert. Through his interactions with dogs, horses, birds, and more, Gary has been struck with the belief that animals know more than we may fathom.

His understanding and admiration of animals is well known, and in This Side of Wild, which has taken a lifetime to write, he proves the ways in which they have taught him to be a better person.
Publication Date: 09/29/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Educational
Remarkable Minds: 16 More Pioneering Women in Science and Medicine
Synopsis: Winner:
2015 Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year, Juvenile Nonfiction (Children's)

Full of the inspirational stories girls need for exploring a future in science  


For centuries, women have risen above their traditional roles to pursue a new understanding of the natural world. This book, which grows out of an exhibit at the Grolier Club in New York, introduces the lives, sayings, and dreams of 16 women over four centuries and chronicles their contributions to mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and medicine. Some of the notable women portrayed in the book include French mathematician Marie-Sophie Germain, known for her work in Elasticity theory, differential geometry, and number theory; Scottish chemist Elizabeth Fulhame, best known for her 1794 work An Essay on Combustion; and Rita Levi-Montalcini, who, with colleague Stanley Cohen, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of nerve growth factor. A companion volume to Magnificent Minds by the same author, this book offers inspiration to all girls and young women considering a life in the sciences. 
Publication Date: 09/01/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Educational
A 52-Hertz Whale
Bill Sommer, Natalie Haney Tilghman
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old James is worried that the young humpback whale he tracks online has separated from its pod, so he emails Darren, the twentysomething would-be filmmaker who once volunteered in James's special education program. Of course, Darren is useless on the subject of whales, but he's got nothing but time, given that the only girl he could ever love dumped him.

Predictably, this thread of emails leads to a lot of bizarre stuff, including a yeti suit, drug smuggling, a graveyard, damaged echolocation, choke holds, emergency dentistry...and maybe ends with something like understanding. See, the thing that binds people together most is their fear that nothing binds them together at all.
Publication Date: 09/01/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Educational
Dinosaur Eggs and Blue Ribbons: Science Fairs Inside and Out
Synopsis:

A personal look at science fairs from the varied perspectives of a successful participant, judge, policymaker, and science fair organization leader

 

Dinosaur Eggs and Blue Ribbons takes young readers on a journey into adventure science as experienced by a young aspiring scientist who turned scientific inspiration into scientific success. The book is full of anecdotes and advice from the world of STEM education and contains practical advice about judging, display boards, and other preparations for the big science fair day. Throughout the text and appendix are examples of original, winning science fair materials as well as links to a wide variety of proprietary online resources which complement the text. In the end, the hardships are all worthwhile when you work alongside some of the top scientists in the field, make groundbreaking discoveries, and win big in the science fair and beyond!

Publication Date: 03/27/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Educational
Nature's Confession
Synopsis: The epic tale of two teens in a fight to save a warming planet...the universe...and their love. A cli-fi quest to outsmart polluters, full of romance, honour and adventure.1st Place Winner, Dante Rossetti Awards 2017First Place Chanticleer Dante Rossetti Award WinnerReaders' Favorite Award WinnerBook Excellence FinalistA Top 10  Best Science Fiction bookBest Climate and Environmental Fiction bookLitPick Award winnerIncluded in "12 Works of Climate Fiction Everyone Should Read"
'Top Fiction Read' of the YearNew York Book Festival Honorable Mention
An excerpt received an Eco-Fiction Story Contest Honorable Mention
"Honestly, it's not my fault.  Humans were polluting the planet to desolation.  What else could I do?  I had to save her. " 
When a smart-mouthed, mixed-race teen wonders why the work that needs to be done pays nothing compared to the busywork glorified on holovision news, the search for answers takes him on the wildest journey of anyone's lifetime. With the girl of his dreams, he inadvertently invents living computers. Just as the human race allows corporations to pollute Earth into total desolation, institute martial law and enslave humanity, the two teens set out to save civilization. Can they thwart polluters of Earth and other fertile planets? The heroes come into their own in different kinds of relationships in this diverse, multi-cultural romance. Along the way, they enlist the help of female droid Any Gynoid, who uncovers cutting-edge scientific mysteries. Their quest takes them through the Big Bang and back. Will Starliament tear them from the project and unleash 'intelligent' life's habitual pollution, or will youth lead the way to a new way of coexisting with Nature?
Nature's Confession couldn't be more timely, just as the IMF reveals that governments spend $5.3 trillion on fossil fuel subsidies every year, after COP 21 climate decisions in Paris, and the largest climate change march in world history when world leaders converged for an emergency UN Climate Summit in New York City. With illustrations and topics for discussion at the back of the book, JL Morin entertains questions about busywork; economic incentives to pollute; sustainable energy; exploitation; cyborgs; the sanctity of Nature; and many kinds of relationships in this diverse, multi-cultural romance.
Publication Date: 01/08/15
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Educational

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