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A Caribou Alphabet
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Pre-k to Kindergarten, Children's Books, Baby to 2, Ages 3 to 5, Ages 6 to 8, Science, Nature and EnvironmentOnce common in the northern United States, caribou are more closely identified with the Canadian arctic - and with Lapland, where their domesticated relatives, reindeer, are essential to the lives of the indigenous people. Through art and rhyme, this book celebrates the strength and beauty of one of nature's great survivors. -
A Gift for Gita
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Global EmpathyIn A GIFT FOR GITA, by Rachna Gilmore, Gita has made friends in her adopted home, but is now faced with the possibility of returning to India where most of her relatives still live. A Gift for Gita is a touching story about the importance of friendship and stability and the meaning of 'home'. This is the final book in the critically acclaimed series. -
Astronaut Annie
Award Winners, New Releases, Children's Books, Ages 3 to 5, Ages 6 to 8, Modern Family, Multicultural, Science, Nature and EnvironmentAnnie's joyful exuberance and her family's wholehearted support leave no doubt that her dream is within her grasp. This delightful story?with backmatter about women astronauts?encourages young readers to pursue their dreams and reach for the stars. -
Bear-ly There
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Science, Nature and EnvironmentIn BEAR-LY THERE, by author/illustrator Rebekah Raye, we learn what do you do when there's a bear in your backyard. A big black bear shows up one moonlit night and creates a real ruckus, first breaking into the shed where the grain is kept for the geese (who aren't too happy about it), then raiding the bird feeders. The bear is also causing problems at other homes in the neighborhood, getting into the trash and compost and eating dog food that was left out overnight. One neighbor offers to shoot it. Another one suggests calling the game warden to have the bear tranquilized and relocated. But the child among them knows what is best. A bear belongs in the woods, he says, and together with the adults clears the yards in the neighborhood of any food that would tempt the bear. His dad comes up with a good idea for warning the bear away--and it works! -
Before We Eat
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Pre-k to Kindergarten, Children's Books, Baby to 2, Ages 3 to 5, Ages 6 to 8, Science, Nature and EnvironmentBefore we eat, many people must work very hard planting grain, catching fish, tending animals, and filling crates. In this book, vibrantly illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian, readers find out what must happen before food can get to our table to nourish our bodies and spirits. -
Boat of Dreams
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, High School & YA, Middle Grade, New Releases, Pre-k to Kindergarten, Ages 3 to 5, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Global Empathy, Modern FamilyHow does a fastidious old man with bowler, umbrella, suspenders, and a Salvador Dali mustache come to live on a deserted island? -
Catching Air: Taking the Leap with Gliding Animals
Award Winners, Teaching by Subject, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Science, Nature and EnvironmentOnly a few dozen vertebrate animals have evolved true gliding abilities, but they include an astonishing variety of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. -
City Fish, Country Fish
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 9 to 12, Science, Nature and EnvironmentIn CITY FISH, COUNTRY FISH, by Mary Cerullo, we discover that how like some people live in the country, close to the land, where they enjoy peace and quiet, others live in high-rise apartments in the city and love the hustle and bustle of crowds and nonstop activity, both day and night. In many ways fish are very similar. In the ocean there are places that have some of the characteristics of the country or of the city. Like the classic tale of The City Mouse and the Country Mouse, there are advantages and disadvantages to each habitat. We'll compare how the fishes that live in tropical seas (the city) and those that swim through cold oceans (the country) meet the challenges and opportunities of their own ecosystems. -
E.B. White on Dogs
Award Winners, Maine People, Fiction & Essays, Maine and New EnglandIn E. B. WHITE ON DOGS, his granddaughter and manager of his literary estate, Martha White, has compiled the best and funniest of his essays, poems, letters, and sketches depicting over a dozen of White's various canine companions. Featured here are favorite essays such as 'Two Letters, Both Open,' where White takes on the Internal Revenue Service, and also 'Bedfellows,' with its 'fraudulent reports'; from White's ignoble old dachshund, Fred. ('I just saw an eagle go by. It was carrying a baby.') From The New Yorker's 'The Talk of the Town' are some little-known Notes and Comment pieces covering dog shows, sled dog races, and the trials and tribulations of city canines. Some previously unpublished photographs from the E. B. White Estate show the family dogs, from the first collie, to various labs, Scotties, dachshunds, half-breeds, and mutts, all well-loved. -
Give a Goat
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Tolerance & Resolving ConflictWhen Mrs. Rowell's class is inspired by a rainy-day book to reach out with helping hands, wonderful things happen. Not the least of these wonderful things is a combined, enthusiastic effort by the entire class to reach a common goal. In this true story readers will discover even the smallest good-will efforts are rewarded with positive results. Humorous illustrations show the philanthropic process from inspiration through brainstorming to getting down to work, collecting funds and celebrating success. Give a Goat is a template for adults and children who want to work together to experience the satisfaction of giving to others and making a difference in the world. -
Keep Your Ear on the Ball
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Tolerance & Resolving ConflictIn KEEP YOUR EAR ON THE BALL, by Genevieve Petrillo and illustrated by Lea Lyon, everybody wants to help Davey. "Let me open that." "Do you want to hold my hand?" Davey has one answer for all, "Thanks, but no thanks." Davey is blind--and he is perfectly capable of doing everything on his own. His well-meaning classmates stop offering help when they see how able Davey is. They respect his self-reliance--until he tries to play kickball. After several missed kicks and a trampled base keeper, no one wants Davey on his team. Working together, the children figure out a way to offer help that respects Davey's unique abilities and his desire for freedom. In this seamless tale, based on a true story, the children realize that interdependence can be just as important and rewarding as independence. -
Kunu’s Basket
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Global Empathy, Native AmericanIn KUNU'S BASKET, by Lee DeCora Francis, young Kunu wants to make a pack basket on his own. He's watched his dad and his grandfather make baskets on Indian Island, but now that he's trying to make one for himself, it's not as easy as he thought it would be. Kunu isn't a quitter, but he gets so frustrated that he has to go outside to cool off. When his grandfather asks Kunu to help him with some basket-making tasks, Kunu comes to understand that it is the tradition in his family for one generation to help the next. He also learns that it might take several tries before he gets it right. Can he be patient enough to try again and again? His grandfather shows him the way, and at last Kunu's first basket is something to celebrate. -
Life In Prison
Award Winners, Maine People, Maine and New England, NonfictionLIFE IN PRISON: Eight Hours at a Time, by Robert Reilly, is a riveting account of the author's seven year odyssey as a prison guard. -
Life Under Ice
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 9 to 12, Science, Nature and EnvironmentIn LIFE UNDER ICE, Marine photographer Bill Curtsinger has returned to Antarctica a number of times to photograph the animals and plants that survive in the icy, ice-capped waters at the end of the earth. Mary Cerullo shares his story with us, telling what’s it like to start a diving trip by cutting a hole in ice eight to ten feet thick, then diving into the chilly depths with the light shining through your entry hole the only beacon to your escape route. Bill’s amazing photographs and his curiosity about the world combine to show us a strange and wonderful part of our earth. -
Lucy’s Family Tree
Award Winners, Education & Teaching, Middle Grade, Children's Books, Ages 6 to 8, Ages 9 to 12, Modern Family, Tolerance & Resolving ConflictIn LUCY'S FAMILY TREE, by Karen Halvorsen Schreck, when Lucy comes home from school with a family tree assignment, she asks her parents to write her a note to excuse her from the task. Lucy's adoption from Mexico makes her feel as though her family is too 'different', but her parents gently and wisely challenge Lucy to think some more about it and to find three families that are the 'same'. As Lucy ponders her list of school and family friends who are 'normal', she comes to realize that there are many different kinds of families.