On the Internet: Our First Talk About Online Safety introduces children to the basics of online safety in a story-based, conversational style. Using real-world examples set within the context of a child who is using the Internet for the first time and watching an older sibling interact with social media, Dr. Roberts takes readers through several common scenarios around parental supervision, online bullying and anonymity. She also includes examples of people who use the Internet to make the world a better place. On the Internet addresses common safety concerns in a child-centered way and offers easy-to-understand rationales as to why it's important to maintain boundaries online just as in real life.
The World Around Us series introduces children to complex cultural, social and environmental issues that they may encounter outside their homes, in an accessible way. Sidebars offer further reading for older children or care providers who have bigger questions. For younger children just starting to make these observations, the simple question-and-answer format of the main text will provide a foundation of knowledge on the subject matter.
On the Playground: Our First Talk About Prejudice focuses on introducing children to the complex topic of prejudice. Crafted around a narrative between a grade-school-aged child and an adult, this inquiry-focused book will help children shape their understanding of diversity so they are better prepared to understand, and question, prejudice witnessed around them in their day-to-day lives and in the media. Dr. Jillian Roberts discusses types of discrimination children notice, what prejudice means, why it's not okay, how to stand up against it and how kids can spread a message of inclusion and acceptance in the world around them.
The World Around Us series introduces children to complex cultural, social and environmental issues that they may encounter outside their homes, in an accessible way. Sidebars offer further reading for older children or care providers who have bigger questions. For younger children just starting to make these observations, the simple question-and-answer format of the main text will provide a foundation of knowledge on the subject matter.
The story begins with the family of five living in an urban neighborhood in Riverside, California. Lindsay, the oldest of three children takes riding lessons from a loud, strict trainer. The Wright's struggle financially to support Lindsay's passion for riding-until a bad accident involving her brother forces her to quit. When Lindsay reveals her wish to have a horse of her very own, she soon realizes that it would take a miracle for their family to ever live somewhere where they could have a horse. The Wright's had always hoped and dreamed of having land, but it would take the prayers of a little girl to make them come true.
Introducing an extraordinary new voice who shows us how powerful an act of kindness, a hint of magic, and a little hope can be.
"This story has renewed my faith in humanity."
-- Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hattie Big Sky
A well. A wish. And a little drop of hope.
Times are tough. Jobs are scarce and miracles are in short supply. But something strange is happening in If Only, Ohio. An old well has suddenly, impossibly, begun to grant wishes. And three sixth graders are the only ones who know why.
Ernest Wilmette believes a good deed makes magic happen. Ryan Hardy thinks they should just mind their own business. Lizzy MacComber believes in facts, not fairy tales. Of course, you don't have to believe in wishes to make one.
As more wishes are made, the well's true secret gets harder and harder to keep. Ernest, Ryan, and Lizzy know they can't fix the world. But in their own little corner of it, they can give everyone a little hope... one wish at a time.
Turk needs cash, but he's allergic to his own sweat so getting a job is out of the question. Then he makes a discovery: Girls love dogs. Turk's friends will do anything to meet girls. Turk starts a dog walking business. His friends walk the dogs and Turk collects half the money. In an attempt to impress dog-loving Carly, Turk brags about his business in front of the school tough guy, Chuck. When Chuck learns the true nature of Turk's business and wants in on the action, Turk worries that he will lose his business and Carly's respect.
When Shawn and Daniel witness a gang beating behind the local mall they flee the scene, terrified that they've been seen. They recognize one of the attackers as a locally infamous gang member. When they learn that the kid who was attacked is in critical condition, Shawn wants to go to the police, but Daniel convinces him that they are in more danger if they speak up. The threats they receive from other members of the gang reinforce the boys' fears. When the gang attacks Daniel, Shawn has to put his own safety at risk to help his friend.
It's hard enough for Eve to adjust to a new high school without the extra weight she's gained over the summer. Her best friend is ashamed to hang out with her, and she's become the focus of a schoolmate's cruelty. Determined not to be "that pathetic fat girl" at school, Eve struggles with a diet and forces herself to join a mentoring program. The diet only makes her food obsessed, and she feels she is failing as a mentor. How can a lonely fat girl gain the confidence she needs to succeed?
Bunny doesn't understand why his late grandfather wants him to get a tattoo. Actually, Bunny doesn't understand a lot of things, so it's good that his older brother, Spencer, is happy to explain things to him. But this is a task Bunny is supposed to do on his own, and nobody is more surprised than Bunny when, after he gets tattooed, he is befriended by a kid named Jaden and adopted into Jaden's gang.
Steve Is off to Spain, armed with only a letter from his grandfather that sends him to Barcelona. There he meets a girl named Laia and finds a trunk containing some of his grandfather's possessions, including a journal he kept during the time he fought in the Spanish Civil War. Steve traces his grandfather's footsteps through Spain, and with Laia's help, he visits the battlefields and ruined towns, and begins to understand the power of history and the transformative nature of passion for a righteous cause.
Jim Webb's pursuit of the truth about his grandfather's role in the Vietnam War puts him squarely in the sights of someone high up in the US military who wants certain events from that war left in the past. Webb goes on the run in the American Deep South with Lee, a Vietnam vet, trying to smoke out the man they call the Bogeyman. The Bogeyman may be powerful and smart, but Webb and Lee, with the help of a few of Lee's old army buddies (and one motorcycle-riding girl), are ready to take him down.
Bunny's been kidnapped and now he's locked in a cold basement room in his parka and skates. Where is he? And why do his kidnappers keep asking questions about his dead grandpa and some weird national anthem? Bunny may not always know what's going on, but he has an innocent's ability to get to the heart of things. When he manages to escape, he skates across hockey rinks and down frozen highways, always a few strides ahead of his kidnappers.
Laurel discovers her passion for investigative journalism when she writes an article for her school paper about the homeless man who's been living at the school. Eager to write more articles with impact, she launches an investigation of a cheating scam at her high school. Laurel's efforts elicit hostility from her classmates. Nobody is interested in seeing her article go to print, not even her own brother. It is evident that the cheating is widespread, and Laurel, caught up in the thrill of the investigation, is willing to commit social suicide to get the story, but her ultimate discovery changes everything
