Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they…

Synopsis: Engaging 16-page books on must-know, inspiring Americans. Features lively text, captions, realistic illustrations, glossaries, diagrams, and more. Correlate with Guided Reading Levels I and J. For use with Grades K–2.

Synopsis: In this clever tale, Pa gives his three children a challenge. He declares with a chuckle, "If one of you can fill the barn for a penny, I'll give you the farm and go sleep in the chicken coop!" Clearly, Pa doubts any of his children will succeed. Of course, that just makes Bill, Bob, and Penny even more determined to win. Each of the children thinks long and hard and comes up with an idea-but only Penny's plan is ingenious enough to restore…

Synopsis: Fourth-grader Bakari Katari Johnson is having a really bad day--class bullies Tariq and Keisha are mad at him, his best friend Wardell has nominated him for hall monitor, a pack of ice zombies from a frozen world are demanding he return the magic ring that Keisha has, and somehow he has to find a way to save the school.

Synopsis: Poor Kuai Kang! The youngest in his family, he never gets enough to eat. Then one day he comes up with a brilliant plan: He will use sticks to grab the food when it's still too hot to touch. Before long, his brother and entire family are eating with sticks. Soon comes a big wedding the whole family will attend. Along with many gifts, the boys each bring a pair of sticks. Will the chopsticks be a hit? Or will Kuai get in the biggest trouble of…

Synopsis: From the first brilliant rush of horses to the triumphant sight of beautiful bays, chestnuts, shiny blacks, whites, grays, and paints galloping across the pages, Paul Goble's very special book will delight all who love horses and all who love stories that tell of the spiritual connection between people and animals.His magnificent, detailed paintings evoke an almost forgotten world as he recounts a stirring legend based on the oral tradition of…

Synopsis: This warm and lovely little picture book tells the story of Amelia Earhart as a young girl, growing up with an unconventional dream of flying a plane. The illustrations perfectly capture the spirit of the times, while the biographical details and lyrical text make the story of Amelia Earhart accessible to today's youngest high-flyers.

Synopsis: An Amazon Best Book of the MonthA beautiful picture book for sharing, inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison.A great classroom and bedtime read-aloud, Mae Among the Stars is the perfect book for young readers who have big dreams and even bigger hearts!When Little Mae was a child, she dreamed of dancing in space. She imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding, and…

Synopsis: A young girl's courage is tested in this haunting, wordless story. When a farm girl discovers a runaway slave hiding in the barn, she is at once startled and frightened. But the stranger's fearful eyes weigh upon her conscience, and she must make a difficult choice. Will she have the courage to help him? Unspoken gifts of humanity unite the girl and the runaway as they each face a journey: one following the North Star, the other following her…

Synopsis: The Newbery Honor Book and New York Times Bestseller that is historical fiction with a hint of mystery about living at Alcatraz not as a prisoner, but as a kid meeting some of the most famous criminals in our history. Al Capone Does My Shirts has become an instant classic for all kids to read! Today I moved to Alcatraz, a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who lives here.…

Synopsis: Mark Twain's beloved classic gets a charming easy-to-read version. Simply told and beautifully illustrated, it transports kids to the banks of the Mississippi and introduces them to Twain's irrepressible, irresistible hero. Whether clever Tom is fooling his friends into painting a fence for him or making mischief in school or at a birthday party, his antics will delight young readers. Previously published as individual chapter books and now…

Synopsis: The bestselling novel based on the true story of a boy in Brooklyn who became neighbors and friends with his hero, Jackie Robinson.Stephen Satlow is an eight-year-old boy living in Brooklyn, New York, which means he only cares about one thing-the Dodgers. Steve and his father spend hours reading the sports pages and listening to games on the radio. Aside from an occasional run-in with his teacher, life is pretty simple for Steve.But then Steve…

Synopsis: From an award-winning Native American storyteller comes this captivating re-telling of a Cherokee legend, which explains how strawberries came to be. Long ago, the first man and woman quarrelled. The woman left in anger, but the Sun sent tempting berries to Earth to slow the wife's retreat. Luminous paintings perfectly complement this simple, lyrical text. "Complete harmony of text and pictures: altogether lovely."-- Kirkus Reviews, pointer…

Synopsis: A cumulative rhyme relating how Ki-pat brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain. Verna Aardema has brought the original story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of “The House That Jack Built.”

Synopsis: When disaster strikes, the only thing you can count on is yourself!Noah and Emma Burton have traded the sand and surf of their Hawaiian home for a chilly stay in Alaska, and Noah isn't happy about it. His father may be a volcano expert, but why did they have to travel to the coldest, grayest place on earth when there are millions of volcanoes near Honolulu? Noah thinks he's in for the most boring vacation of his life.He couldn't have been more…

Synopsis: Famous for helping maintain peace between the English colonists and Native Americans, this brave Indian woman befriended the settlers of Jamestown, saving the life of their leader, Captain John Smith, whom she later married. Full-color illustrations.

Synopsis: "A stunning combination of fluent prose and exquisitely wrought illustrations" (School Library Journal). "An inventive twist on the classic tale" (Publishers Weekly).This Egyptian spin on the classic Cinderella tale was initially recorded in the first century by a Roman historian and is retold here by folklorist Shirley Climo.Poor Rhodopis! She has nothing—no mother or father, and no friends. She is a slave, from the far-off country of Greece.…