When the Sergeant Rotten Teeth series disappears from the school library, school newspaper reporter Noni takes it upon herself to consider freedom of speech and how it should impact the decision to restore or permanently remove the series. Noni and the Book Ban invites students to consider the implications of free speech through a relatable and entertaining text. The book can also be used to pr…
Odysseus and the Bag of Winds tells about Odysseus's place in the stories of Greek mythology. He became known as one of the greatest Greek heroes after winning the Trojan War. However, his journey back home to Ithaca was doomed as he and his men were suddenly blown off course. This story shows how jealousy, greed, and distrust can lead even the most confident people astray. Illustrations and ma…
Sometimes, the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Picture languages have been around for thousands of years and continue to be used today. Say It with Pictures is a detailed look at the amazing picture languages of the ancient Mayan and Egyptian cultures. The book can also be used to teach students how to discern the author's point of view and to effectively summarize.
The School Versus James Holt tells the story of a fifth-grade classroom learning about the process of a jury trial. Students are assigned roles as they try a real case in which the main character must prove that her friend James is innocent so he doesn't receive a week's worth of detention for a crime he says he didn't commit. Illustrations support the text.
Ostriches: Giant Birds explores many of the things that make these birds so fascinating. Students will learn about their appearance, enemies, offspring, and more. Maps and exciting pictures support the text.
As a boy, Andre was intrigued with a map his grandfather shared with him that pointed to great treasures located in Lake Guatavita in Colombia. Years later, Andre's fascination remains as he embarks on an expedition to search the bottom of the lake. What treasures will he find during his journey? The Treasure of El Dorado is the action-filled story of Andre's discoveries and his deepened connec…
Rosalind Franklin's Beautiful Twist tells the story of a brilliant but relatively unknown scientist, Rosalind Franklin. The book chronicles Rosalind's life and her work to discover the makeup and purpose of DNA, a blueprint for the building blocks of all living things. Because she was a woman in a male-dominated institution, male scientists took credit for her research and findings. Read about …
Linguists predict that by 2100, half of all the languages in the world will be extinct. Through colonization and domination, indigenous languages have a history of being eradicated alongside their rich culture and tradition. Vanishing Languages details this history while looking at present-day efforts to revive endangered languages. Students will be asked to consider the importance of preservin…
Would you stand for a tyrant king who took your money and land as he pleased? Travel to medieval England and read about barons who organized for freedom. Read more about the Great Charter, a document that upholds the principle that no one is above the law. Vivid illustrations, timelines, and maps support the text as students learn about author's purpose and past-tense verbs.
The Great Hunger informs readers about the famine that swept across Ireland during the mid-1800s. Potato blight left poor tenant farmers with nothing to feed their families, but they were still forced to work the land and export grain to their landlords in Britain. Over the course of sixteen grueling years, Ireland's population dropped from over 8.5 million to 5 million. People died from starva…