Everybody’s Home

Another Lola Jones escapade with our book-loving third grader! Lola and her twenty-nine classmates don’t understand the words to a traditional song they’re meant to sing at the upcoming Winter Concert, so they make up their own, very silly (and very funny) words. Lola’s mother and her Grampa get involved too, and we all learn not only the words to the song, but something about global warming, by the time of the concert.

Delphine Denise and the Mardi Gras Prize

Every year, Delphine Denise Debreaux and her friends ride their bikes together in the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. But this year, there’s a shiny prize for best float—and Delphine Denise just has to win it. How can her friends remind Delphine Denise what the parade is really all about?

This joyful picture book, inspired by the author’s own experience celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans as a child, explores the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the holiday. Full of vibrant and festive illustrations, this story reminds readers that winning isn’t everything, and the best way to let the good times roll is in the company of friends.

Dear Mr. Dickens

In Eliza Davis’s day, Charles Dickens was the most celebrated living writer in England. But some of his books reflected a prejudice that was all too common at the time: prejudice against Jewish people. Eliza was Jewish, and her heart hurt to see a Jewish character in Oliver Twist portrayed as ugly and selfish. She wanted to speak out about how unfair that was, even if it meant speaking out against the great man himself. So she wrote a letter to Charles Dickens. What happened next is history.

Chicken Frank, Dinosaur!

Chicken Frank wants to prove he’s related to a T.rex—because of evolution!—but none of the other farm animals believes him, until he gets his DNA test results. This comic-book style picture book combines information with humor to explore the concept of evolution and the connection between birds and dinosaurs.

Billy the Borrowing Blue-Footed Booby

Billy the Blue-Footed Booby, who lived on the Galápagos, wanted to buy an umbrella, so he went to Selling Seal. But Billy didn’t listen to Seal’s explanation of what that umbrella would end up costing him. And then Billy wanted a fan like Arlene the tortoise’s, a purple-striped wig like Ig the iguana’s, neon-green shoes like Niels the lizard’s, and Seal’s anchovy grill. All his friends and his twin sister Bess tried to help, but Billy lost everything.

Being Mindful Like Grandpa

Every fall a boy hikes up the mountain with his grandpa and parents. Except this year he and his parents moved to a new place, and Grandpa’s back home. As the boy sets out on a new mountain trail with his parents, he begins to worry about everything that’s different. But he remembers that when Grandpa needs to calm his worries, he uses mindfulness. So the boy does too.

Beautiful Jim

Told in the first person as if written by Beautiful Jim himself, this is the story of the sensation in the late 1800s and early 1900s: a horse whose owner, Doc Key, a formerly enslaved man who loved animals, taught to read, write, and do math. Reading Jim’s diary and the story, we learn how, together with Doc Key, Jim performed all over the United States, even for two presidents, while promoting kindness to animals.

Bat and Sloth Set #1 (Bat and Sloth: Time to Read, Level 2)

Discover how Bat and Sloth become friends, join in the fun as they throw a party, and follow the clues as they solve a mystery with this four book set. The set includes all four paperback books in the Bat and Sloth series: Bat and Sloth Hang Around; Bat and Sloth Lost and Found; Bat and Sloth Throw a Party; Bat and Sloth Solve a Mystery.

Alicia Alonso Dances On

As a young girl in Cuba, Alicia Alonso practiced ballet in tennis shoes. Within a few years, she was in New York City, with a promising ballet career. But her eyesight began to fail. When Alicia needed surgeries to save her vision, dancing was impossible, but she wouldn’t give up her dream. She found the strength and determination to return to the stage and become a prima ballerina. This is the true story of a woman who overcame her challenges, mastered her art, and inspired others to dance and dream.

A Vote for Susanna

In 1887 the state of Kansas gave women the right to vote in municipal elections. But some men in the city of Argonia, Kansas didn’t think women should have a say in choosing their next mayor, so they put a woman on the ballot—as a joke. That woman was Susanna Salter—and soon the men would find the joke was on them! Narrated by a grandmother who remembered what happened on that election day, this is the true story of a woman who stood up for her right to vote and accomplished so much more.