A discussion guide inspired by Lindsay Currie’s Scritch Scratch!
For fans of Small Spaces comes a chilling ghost story about a malevolent spirit, an unlucky girl, and a haunting mystery that will tie the two together.
Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She’s a scientist, which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There’s something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone.
Claire tries to brush it off, she must be imagining things, letting her dad’s ghost stories get the best of her. But then the scratching starts. Voices whisper to her in the dark. The number 396 appears everywhere she turns. And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her.
Claire is being haunted. The boy from the bus wants something…and Claire needs to find out what before it’s too late.
A Common Core State Standards Aligned Activity Guide for All the Way to the Top by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali, and a foreword from Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins.
About the Book:
Jennifer Keelan was determined to make a change—even if she was just a kid. She never thought her wheelchair could slow her down, but the way the world around her was built made it hard to do even simple things like go to school or eat lunch in the cafeteria. With her family’s encouragement she goes to protests around the country and becomes part of the movement that helped get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed by Congress. This is the inspiring, true story of Jennifer Keelan, the activist whose participation in the Capitol Crawl at just eight years old encouraged Congress to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act.
An activity kit filled with recipes, games, and more inspired by Coop Knows the Scoop by Taryn Souders.
About the book:
The whole town is talking and only Coop can find the truth.
Windy Bottom, Georgia, is usually a peaceful place. Coop helps his mom at her café and bookstore, hangs out with his grandpa, and bikes around with his friends, Justice and Liberty. The town is full of all kinds of interesting people, but no one has ever caused a problem. Until now.
When the link to a cold case mystery is discovered beneath the playground, everyone is eager to solve it. But somehow, Gramps is taking all the blame. It seems like there are a lot of secrets that were buried in their small town after all…
Will Coop and his friends get to the bottom of the mystery and clear Gramps’s name before it’s too late?
Baby Medical School is a series of board books written by the experts. With whimsical artwork and humorous text, they are perfect for enlightening the next generation of geniuses and creating a love for science they will carry for a lifetime!
Baby Medical School:* My Doctor’s Visit*
Baby Medical School: Bacteria and Antibiotics
Baby Medical School: Vaccines
This discussion guide is the perfect pairing for the young readers’ edition of the acclaimed national bestseller, The Radium Girls! This inspiring and engaging historical nonfiction book tells the story of America’s glowing girls and their brave fight for justice.
This young readers’ edition includes all-new material, including a glossary, timeline, and dozens of bonus photos.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling authors of P is for Pterodacytyl comes another hilarious, fresh look at the English language!
This is an educator guide to go alongside No Reading Allowed, a fun and educational look at how language works.
More about the book:
Man, a tea sounds great.
Manatee sounds great!
Sir Francies Bacon
Sir, France is bakin’!
What is going on here?!
You can’t believe everything you hear! A single word can have many different meanings. And sometimes two words that sound alike can be spelled completely differently. Ptolemy the pterodactyl is back to show us all how absurd and fun language can be when homophones, homonyms, and tricky punctuation are at play!
From the creators of The Snatchabook comes Pirate Nell’s Tale To Tell, a book-filled adventure on the high seas! This activity kit is full of coloring, games, and even some storytime discussion questions perfect for pairing with the book!
More about the book:
Nell is finally a pirate!
And she has her trusty Pirate’s Almanac to help her sail the seas, even if Captain Gnash doesn’t like books on his ship. But when the journey gets rough and the captain is in trouble, it’s Nell and all her pirate knowledge that saves the day and leads them to the greatest buried treasure of all…
A Discussion Guide for ages 14+ (grades 8+) around The Castle School (for Troubled Girls).
From New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Sheinmel comes the emotional story of a grieving teenager sent to a boarding school that is nothing like she expected.
When Moira Dreyfuss’s parents announce that they’re sending her to an all-girls boarding school deep in the Maine woods, Moira isn’t fooled. She knows her parents are punishing her; she’s been too much trouble since her best friend, Nathan, died—and for a while before that. At the Castle School, isolated from the rest of the world, Moira will be expected to pour her heart out to the odd headmaster, Dr. Prince. But she isn’t interested in getting over Nathan’s death or befriending her fellow students.
On her first night there, Moira hears distant music. On her second, she discovers the lock on her window is broken. On her third, she and her roommate venture outside…and learn that they’re not so isolated after all. There’s another, very different, Castle School nearby—this one filled with boys whose parents sent them away, too.
Moira is convinced that the Castle Schools and the doctors who run them are hiding something. But exploring the schools will force Moira to confront her overwhelming grief—and the real reasons her parents sent her away.
Praise for The Castle School (for Troubled Girls):
“Achingly beautiful. Moira’s story gripped me from the first page and held me fast long after I finished reading.” —Gilly Segal, New York Times bestselling co-author of I’m Not Dying with You Tonight
"Hooked me from page one. I couldn’t stop reading until I had every single answer.”—Francesca Zappia, author of Eliza and Her Monsters*
“Beneath the trappings of a fast-paced mystery, this novel holds a heartrending exploration of adolescent grief… Memorable.”—Booklist
“Complex and layered… A heartfelt exploration of grief, guilt, and recovery.”—School Library Journal
“Mental health awareness wrapped in a captivating storyline.”—Kirkus
“An effective exploration of mental illness, and it will share a coveted place on reading lists with Laurie Halse Anderson and Patricia McCormick.”—BCCB
Also by Alyssa Sheinmel:
***A Danger to Herself and Others
*
What Kind of Girl
A Mom’s Choice Gold Award Winner!
Being global means…
Experiencing other traditions
Celebrating diversity in people
Opening your mind to new possibilities
Join children from around the world as they play, sing, and travel, trying all types of food and experiencing other traditions. Living respectfully and peacefully with one another, they celebrate diversity, see how their actions affect another person’s experience, and come to understand that being global means being a citizen of the world.
More Awards for What Does It Mean to Be Global?
• The USA Book News Best Books Award for Children’s Picture Book: Nonfiction
• The Next Generation Indie Book Award for Multicultural Nonfiction
• Learning Solutions Magazine Teachers’ Choice™ Award for Children’s Books
• IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Winner for Interior Design in Children’s/Young Adult
• The Nautilus Silver Award for Children’s Illustrated
From the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors of P IS FOR PTERODACTYL comes another hilarious, fresh look at the English language!
“Those who love wordplay are the natural constituency for No Reading Allowed: The Worst Read-Aloud Book Ever, a picture book that’s bright with comic scenes… [and] brilliant pairings of picture and word (and word with word).” - The Wall Street Journal
The hero had super vision.
The hero had supervision.
Man, a tea sounds great.
Manatee sounds great!
Sir Francis Bacon
Sir, France is bakin’!
What is going on here?!
You can’t believe everything you hear! A single word can have many different meanings. And sometimes two words that sound alike can be spelled completely differently. Ptolemy the pterodactyl is back to show us all how absurd and fun language can be when homophones, homonyms, and tricky punctuation are at play!
No Reading Allowed allows children and their parents to laugh together while also learning something new. Perfect for baby gifts, birthday gifts, teacher gifts, and anyone who finds humor in the absurdity of the English language.
**A New York Times Bestseller
A “page-turning thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end” (School Library Journal) about a road trip in a snowstorm that turns into bone-chilling disaster, from New York Times bestselling mystery author and “master of tension” (BCCB) Natalie D. Richards.
She thought being stranded was the worst thing that could happen. She was wrong.**
Mira needs to get home for the holidays. Badly. But when an incoming blizzard results in a canceled connecting flight, it looks like she might get stuck at the airport indefinitely.
And then Harper, Mira’s glamorous seatmate from her initial flight, offers her a ride. Harper and her three friends can drop Mira off on their way home. But as they set off, Mira realizes fellow travelers are all total strangers. And every one of them is hiding something.
Soon, roads go from slippery to terrifying. People’s belongings are mysteriously disappearing. Someone in the car is clearly lying, and may even be sabotaging the trip—but why? And can Mira make it home alive, or will this nightmare drive turn fatal?
Perfect for readers who love:
• YA horror books for teens
• Mystery books for teens
• Natasha Preston, Megan Miranda, Karen McManus and Ruth Ware
Praise for Five Total Strangers:
“A twisty thrill ride that will leave you breathless. I stayed up after midnight just to see how it all ended.”—April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen
“Richards is a master of tension. Suspense fans will get all the ups-and-downs of a well-paced narrative, but they may never want to drive on a snowy road again.”*—BCCB***
“A page-turning thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Just the kind of fun book one needs for a hot summer day or a cold winter’s night.”***—School Library Journal ***
“High thrill factor.”***—Booklist***
Also by Natalie D. Richards:
Six Months Later
Gone Too Far
My Secret to Tell
One Was Lost
We All Fall Down
What You Hide
**Featuring a rogue group of determined animals who love nothing more than a challenge and a flustered, helpless narrator, this hilarious picture book about animal habitats on every continent will have kids (and their adults!) laughing every time they pick it up.
**
Turtles are found on every continent EXCEPT Antarctica. But not for long!
When a David Attenborough-esque narrator explains that turtles are found everywhere except Antarctica, one determined turtle sets out to prove him wrong. After recruiting other non-Antarctic animals along the way—much to the narrator’s dismay—the turtle and his adventurous friends travel through fields, forests, and cross an entire ocean to reach their goal. But what exactly do they do once they get there?
Perfect for anyone who’s ever gone a little too far to prove a point, this nature-documentary-gone-wrong is a gleefully funny lesson in persistence—and the beauty of having a contingency plan
**For fans of Small Spaces and the Goosebumps series by R.L Stine comes a chilling ghost story about a girl living in the decrepit and creepy mansion, who discovers something in the woods is after her. **
All Ginny Anderson wants from her summer is to sleep in, attend a mystery writing workshop, and spend time with her best friend. But when Ginny’s father–a respected restoration expert in Chicago–surprises the family with a month-long trip to Michigan, everything changes. They aren’t staying in a hotel like most families would. No, they’re staying in a mansion. A twenty-six room, century-old building surrounded by dense forest. Woodmoor Manor.
But unfortunately, the mansion has more problems than a little peeling wallpaper. Locals claim the surrounding woods are inhabited by mutated creatures with glowing eyes. And some say campers routinely disappear in the woods, never to be seen again.
As terrifying as it sounds, Ginny can’t shake the feeling that there’s something darker . . . another story she hasn’t been told. When the creaky floors and shadowy corners of the mansion seem to take on a life of their own, Ginny uncovers the wildest mystery of all: There’s more than one legend roaming Saugatuck, Michigan, and they definitely aren’t after campers.
It’s after her.
“This is a teeth-chattering, eyes bulging, shuddering-and-shaking, chills-at-the-back-of-your-neck ghost story. I loved it!” —R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series on Scritch Scratch
From award-winning author Pat Zietlow Miller, a timeless story about creativity, exploration, and friendship
What can you do with a rock?
You can skip them.
You can sort them.
Best of all, you can share them.
Rocks are simple, but the things you can do with them are endless. Rocks can build, sparkle, and tell a story. They can be memories. They can even be a little bit magic. This ode to curiosity and creative play from* New York Times* bestselling author Pat Zietlow Miller and acclaimed illustrator Katie Kath is bound to inspire.
**Teach kids about cross-cultural communication and reaching out to others with this simple, heartwarming story
Perfect for those looking for:**
stories about connection
colorful, engaging art
books about communication and respecting others
classroom picture books
When a boy comes across a fish and says hello, the fish does not respond. The boy is shocked. What a rude fish! But soon he realizes that it isn’t up to the fish to speak Boy. Rather, if he wants to communicate, it’s up to the boy to take the time to learn how to speak Fish.
Celebrate the connections we have to those different from us with* Do You Speak Fish!*
The Umbrella Academy meets It with a dash of The Craft in this stinging, feminist LGBTQIA+ horror debut about girls claiming their power
Finch Chamberlin is the newest transfer student to the ultra-competitive Ulalume Academy… but she’s also not what she seems. Before school started, Finch and her parents got into an accident that should have left her dead. But something monstrous, and ancient, and terrifying, wouldn’t let her die. Finch doesn’t know why she woke up after her heart stopped, but ever since she’s felt a constant pull to the town of Rainwater, like something on the island is calling to her.
Selena St. Clair rules Ulalume Academy. She’s careful not to let anyone get too close to her…until she meets Finch. The two girls are instantly drawn to one another, even though Selena fears letting Finch in truly will change everything.
One night Finch, Selena, and her friends accidentally summon a creature of immense power in the depths of the school. It promises to grant every desire the girls have kept locked away in their insecure hearts?but for a terrible price. As the cost of their wanting becomes more deadly, Finch and Selena must learn to work together to stop the horror they unleashed, before it consumes the entire island.
From the instant New York Times-bestselling author of The Nature of Witches comes an enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance about a young witch attempting to undo a terrible curse.
Iris Gray knows witches aren’t welcome in most towns. When she was forced to leave her last home after an illegal display of magic, she left behind a father who was no longer willing to start over. And while the Witches’ Council was lenient in their punishment, Iris knows they’re keeping tabs on her. Now settled in Washington, Iris she vents her frustrations by writing curses she never intends to cast and spending her days at the wildlife refuge with a witch-hating intern, Pike Adler.
Iris concocts the perfect curse for Pike: one that will turn him into a witch. But just as she’s about to dispel it, a bird steals the curse before flying away. If the bird dies, the curse will be unleashed and turn not just Pike, but everyone in the region, into a witch.
Iris begs Pike to help her track the bird, and they set out on a trek through the Pacific Northwest…and find they may like each other’s company more than they want to admit.
Jingle all the way in this all new Christmas story for kids from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling How to Catch series!
It’s Christmas Eve and Santa’s team is off to deliver presents when one of the trusted reindeer Comet decides to explore on her own… the perfect opportunity for our Catch Club Kids to trap her and prove Santa exists! Come along on this fun Christmas adventure to see if you can catch Comet! Poised to become a new holiday tradition, this merry picture book is filled with silly rhymes and illustrations sure to delight young readers and educators alike with STEAM concepts and classic hilarity and chaos.
*Reindeer fly on Christmas Eve and bring us all good cheer.
To catch one takes a special trap—will YOU meet one this year?*
Learn how to welcome new neighbors into your community, particularly when they might be far from home, in this uplifting and diverse picture book that champions human connection and inclusivity. After all, the world is everyone’s home and we’re one big family!
*When we see someone new in our neighborhood, how can we help them feel safe and loved and important?
How can we tell them, you’re not alone?
There are so many ways!*
From the creators of Miry’s List, the nonprofit that has helped thousands of refugees, Our World is a Family is an all-ages picture book exploring the complicated topic of human migration in a gentle, loving, and affirming way. It lightly touches on the reason people might leave their homes, like climate change or lack of safety, and inspires children to welcome their new neighbors into their communities with love.
Hooray! Hooray! It’s Unicorn Night! Thelma the Unicorn meets Uni the Unicorn in this rainbow-packed book guaranteed for bedtime fun! This clever, colorful, and over-the-top picture book about unicorns and unique-corns is a MUST for all unicorn lovers!
Unicorns love to prance and dance the day away. But it’s exhausting! Now it’s time for unicorns to brush their manes, fluff their pillows, and sing the unicorn lullaby in this companion to the best-selling Unicorn Day.
“Fuzzy jammies, flower beds,
Sweet dreams swirling in our heads,
Neigh, neigh, neigh,
Played all day,
Time to sleep the night away!”