Too often we pay attention to negative behavior and ignore the positive. We are rarely taught the benefit of positive reinforcement, and instead focus on the negative and expect automatic change.
This children’s book is based on a true story as experienced by Dr. Amen himself. One day while watching a penguin named Fat Freddy take part in a stunt show at a local amusement park, he is astonished to see the penguin perform so well. Frustrated by his own son’s behavior, Dr. Amen decides to talk with the trainer after the show to find out how she got the penguin to follow all of her directions. Through clever rhyme and storytelling, the trainer shares with Dr. Amen the power of positive reinforcement.
Though designed with elementary school students in mind, this story has taught people of all ages a valuable, life-changing lesson.
Will Margaret ever realize that there's more to life than being mean?
Margaret is a mean, cranky human toddler from a family of nine. She is such a pain that her beleaguered parents chuck her out, and she's on her own, grousing and grumping until two loving but dissimilar woodchucks, Phoebe and Fred, they take Margaret in as their own. But despite their love, Margaret continues to wreak havoc with her loud, descructive ways, ruining the burrow and shrieking nonstop. Soon the woodchucks are as beleaguered as Margaret's human parents were, but because love is inexplicable, they love their wretched Margaret none-the-less, and are determined to make it work. So they enlist help and with the guidance of a snake, bats, and a skunk, their feral little human might just be tamed.
A brilliant, funny, irreverent story about nontraditional families, adoption, love, and a little peace and quiet.
Pinkalicious loves the beach, especially when she finds a miniature mermaid named Aqua tucked inside a shell! Pinkalicious and her brother, Peter, promise to help Aqua the merminnie find her way home, after they show her all of the pinkamazing things to do at the seashore. From building sand castles to surfing in the ocean, the trio has a ton of fun, but at the end of the day they realize home is not always what you think it is.
This splashy addition to the bestselling Pinkalicious library makes a day in the sun absolutely Aqualicious!
The Tragic Age is a brilliant, debut coming-of-age novel about a misanthropic young man learning to love, trust, and truly be alive in an absurd world.
This is the story of Billy Kinsey, heir to a lottery fortune, part genius, part philosopher and social critic, full-time insomniac, and closeted rock drummer. Billy has decided that the best way to deal with an absurd world is to stay away from it. Do not volunteer. Do not join in. Billy will be the first to tell you it doesn’t always work—not when your twin sister, Dorie, has died, not when your unhappy parents are at war with one another, not when frazzled soccer moms in two-ton SUVs are more dangerous than atom bombs, and not when your guidance counselor keeps asking why you haven’t applied to college.
Billy’s life changes when two people enter it. Twom Twomey is a charismatic renegade who believes that truly living means going a little outlaw. Twom and Billy become each other’s benefactor and friend. At the same time, Billy is reintroduced to Gretchen Quinn, an old and adored friend of Dorie’s. It is Gretchen who suggests to Billy that the world can be transformed by creative acts of the soul.
With Twom, Billy visits the dark side. And with Gretchen, Billy experiences possibilities.
He knows that one path is leading him toward disaster and the other toward happiness. The problem is, Billy doesn’t trust happiness. It’s the age he’s at—the tragic age.
“Metcalfe snares readers’ attention with rich, fantastic characters…A wonderful read that is hard to put down, The Tragic Age will continue to haunt readers long after the last page.”—VOYA
Collection includes all five of Jamie Lee Curtis's books:
When I Was Little, A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth, the tale of a growing girl who can now do lots of things, such as braid her own hair, paint her toenails and go to nursery school.
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, "tell me again how you would adopt me and be my parents...", a heartwarming story of not only how one child is born but how a family is born.
Today I Feel Silly, And Other Moods That Make My Day, helps kids explore, identify and even have fun with their ever-changing moods.
Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, a gentle and humorous journey of the joys and perils of a balloon's adventure.
I'm Gonna Like Me, Letting Off a Little Self Esteem, whimsically demonstrating that it's important to like yourself every single day - no matter what.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell perfectly capture a little girl's simple, childlike celebration of herself, as she looks back on her childhood from the lofty height of four and a half years. This spirited view of growing up is perfect for the youngest readers.
Haven't you ever wondered ...Where do balloons go
when you let them go free?
It can happen by accident.
It happened to me. Do they tango with airplanes?
Or cha-cha with birds?
Can plain balloons read
balloons printed with words?
When one little boy accidentally lets go of his balloon, his imagination takes him on its journey. Jamie Lee Curtis's gentle and humorous exploration of the joys and perils of a balloon's life is whimsically brought to life by Laura Cornell's illustrations. From the best-selling author-illustrator team of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day comes another delightful mystery about letting go.Includes cool reusable stickers and two play areas!
Celebrate liking yourself! Through alternating points of view, a girl's and a boy's, Jamie Lee Curtis's triumphant text and Laura Cornell's lively artwork show kids that the key to feeling good is liking yourself because you are you. Like the duo's first New York Times best-seller, Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day, this is an inspired book to rejoice in and share. I'm Gonna Like Me will have kids letting off some self-esteem in no time!
See what can happen when you follow your dreams!
Maggie Steele is a gritty farm girl from tiny Grain Valley, Kansas, who pours her broken heart into the daring, dangerous sport of pole-vaulting. Driven by a secret she cannot share with anyone, Maggie finds herself on a quest to soar far higher than critics think a girl should ever go. Unflinching in its exploration of teenage grief and filled with brilliant descriptions of a breathtaking, beautiful sport, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is a powerful and rewarding story for middle-grade readers and adults.
“Comes along at the perfect time. Girls who play sports and the coaches and families who support them will thoroughly enjoy this warm, uplifting story.”—USA Today
Gee Whiz is a striking horse, and only part of that is because of his size. He is tall, but also graceful, yet his strides big but precise. At the same time, he keeps his eye on things, not as if he's suspicious, but as if he's curious.
When Abby is confronted with an onslaught of reminders of just how little of the world she has seen, she finds herself connecting with Gee Whiz's calm and curious nature, and his desire to know more. Her brother receives a draft notice to Vietnam, her friends return for the holidays with stories from their boarding school in Southern California, and the wise, lovable Brother Abner opens her eyes with tales of his many years spent traveling. At the same time, her beloved Jack and True Blue are both faced with opportunities to broaden their horizons away from the ranch.
Will she let them go, with hopes that she might one day do the same?
Randi Rhodes and her fellow ninja detectives, DC and Pudge, were flying high after solving the Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit. But life in sleepy Deer Creek has begun to feel a bit boring. There are no crimes to investigate!, On a, trip to New York City to visit Randi's aunt changes that! While the ninja detective trio explores Randi's old neighborhood in Brooklyn, they uncover an art heist. Except no one will believe them. They will just have to catch the criminals in the act! Full of humor, adventure, and heart, this second book in the Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective series is sure to be a kid-favorite.
