Children

True or false: Sloths are lazy. Answer: False! True or false: Sloths are mysterious. Answer: True! Scientists are only beginning to discover how sloths live in the wild.

Sloths spend most of their lives in trees, and until recently scientists didn't know very much about them. But Dr. Rebecca Cliffe was determined to discover their secrets. To find out more, she fitted sloths with special backpacks containing a device to track their activity. She learned how to climb trees in the Costa Rican jungle so she could take sloth hair samples and test their DNA. And she's helped create sloth crossings and plant trees to ensure the sloths aren't trapped in shrinking territories. Along the way, she earned the nickname Dr. Sloth.

Discover the story of how an animal-loving kid in England grew up to become one of the world's leading sloth scientists, and learn how Dr. Sloth is using her discoveries to help keep sloths safe. Author and professional wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas brings readers up close to the action with engaging text and fantastic photos. Scan QR codes throughout the book to see her videos of sloths in the wild!

(Added by Jenna)

When thousands of people die in China's earthquakes, Emperor Shun Di does not know what to do as it takes days for a city to communicate the news to the Emperor. He assigns his wisest advisor, Zhang Heng, to create a device that will tell the Emperor and his court where an earthquake took place. Can Zhang Heng accomplish this impossible task?

Award-winning puppeteer Randel McGee who has studied the ancient art of shadow puppetry and performed all around the world brings his artistic prowess to the dying art of Chinese shadow puppetry. This beautiful picture book preserves both a remarkable true story and an incredible art form for generations to come.

(Added by Jenna)

The Sesame Street friends go to the library and invites readers along to discover how libraries play an important role in communities. Readers learn how to sign up for their own library cards too!

(Added by Jenna)

Welcome to the wonderful world of weather! From the warm, balmy days of summer to the cold, crisp nights of winter, kids will learn all about the four seasons, as well as how clouds form, why it rains, what causes a rainbow, and so much more. Read along and wow your child with the meteorological magic that's happening around them every day.

Go beyond other weather books for kids with:

• A whirlwind of info―Help toddlers and preschoolers understand how weather works through simple explanations.
• Sunny illustrations―Colorful and adorable images help kids better understand and engage with what they're learning.
• A rain of fun facts―Keep older readers interested with neat info, like the fact that wind can be used to create electricity.

If you're looking for weather books for kids, this illustrated guide provides your tot with an extraordinary weather adventure!

(Added by Jenna)

Join author Sarafina Nance, a real-life astrophysicist and one of Forbes magazine "30 inspirational women," as she guides you through 22 fascinating pages of fun facts all about the universe. Get lost in captivating illustrations and text about that big wide-open space above us. Did you know that everything you can see, touch, taste, and smell is actually just a teeny tiny part of the Universe? Or that even though Earth has only 1 moon, Jupiter has 79 and Saturn has 82? Or did you know that there is a planet that’s made of diamond? Little Leonardo’s Fascinating World of Astronomy joins the Little Leonardo Fascinating World of series, illustrated by Greg Paprocki.

(Added by Jenna)

Jada Jones is back for the sixth book of this popular, celebrated series perfect for STEM fans!

Readers who love Ivy and Bean or Katie Woo will want to meet Jada Jones. --School Library Journal

Jada is thrilled when she gets to go on an outdoor class field trip with her Pop Pop, a nature lover, as a chaperone. She can't wait to show him off to her friends--and show him what she knows. But the trip has some twists along the way, including a soaring zip line she's not sure she wants to try. What happens when Jada's shining moment starts to lose its luster?

Praise for Jada Jones: Rock Star
Fast-paced, with supersimple vocabulary and a smattering of earth science to spark interest in young rock collectors everywhere. --Kirkus Reviews

(Added by Amy)

"Highly recommended... Perfect for readers of Wonder and Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello, Universe."— Booklist magazine, starred review

Etan has stopped speaking since his mother left. His father and grandfather don’t know how to help him. His friends have given up on him.

When Etan is asked to deliver a grocery order to the outskirts of town, he realizes he’s at the home of Malia Agbayani, also known as the Creature. Malia stopped going to school when her acute eczema spread to her face, and the bullying became too much.

As the two become friends, other kids tease Etan for knowing the Creature. But he believes he might have a cure for Malia’s condition, if only he can convince his family and hers to believe it too. Even if it works, will these two outcasts find where they fit in?

(Added by Amy)

Ernesto Cisneros, Pura Belpré Award-winning author of Efrén Divided, is back with a hilarious and heartfelt novel about two best friends who must rely on each other in unexpected ways. A great next pick for readers who loved Ghost by Jason Reynolds or The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez.

Isaac and Marco already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won't change things at home--not without each other's help.

This year, star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac's parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father's approval by earning a spot on the school's basketball team.

But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?

(Added by Amy)

A bullied 12-year-old boy must find a new normal after his mother has a stroke and his life is turned upside down.

William Wyatt Orser, a socially awkward middle schooler, is a wordsmith who, much to his annoyance, acquired the ironically ungrammatical nickname of “Worser" so long ago that few people at school know to call him anything else.

Worser grew up with his mom, a professor of rhetoric and an introvert just like him, in a comfortable routine that involved reading aloud in the evenings, criticizing the grammar of others, ignoring the shabby mess of their house, and suffering the bare minimum of social interactions with others. But recently all that has changed. His mom had a stroke that left her nonverbal, and his Aunt Iris has moved in with her cats, art projects, loud music, and even louder clothes. Home for Worser is no longer a refuge from the unsympathetic world at school that it has been all his life.

Feeling lost, lonely, and overwhelmed, Worser searches for a new sanctuary and ends up finding the Literary Club--a group of kids from school who share his love of words and meet in a used bookstore– something he never dreamed existed outside of his home. Even more surprising to Worser is that the key to making friends is sharing the thing he holds dearest: his Masterwork, the epic word notebook that he has been adding entries to for years.

But relationships can be precarious, and it is up to Worser to turn the page in his own story to make something that endures so that he is no longer seen as Worser and earns a new nickname, Worder.

(Added by Amy)

From master of suspense author Margaret Peterson Haddix comes another page-turning stand-alone adventure perfect for fans of Cog and Bad Magic.

No matter what anyone tells you, I'm real.

That's what the note says that Max finds under his keyboard.

He knows that his best friend, Josie, wrote it. He'd know her handwriting anywhere. But why she wrote it--and what it means--remains a mystery.

Ever since they met in kindergarten, Max and Josie has been inseparable. Until the summer after fifth grade, when Josie disappears, leaving only a note, and whispering something about "whatnot rules."

But why would Max ever think that Josie wasn't real? And what are whatnots?

As Max sets to uncover what happened to Josie--and what she is or isn't--little does he know that she's fighting to find him again, too. But there are forces trying to keep Max and Josie from every seeing each other again. Because Josie wasn't supposed to be real.

This middle grade thriller from Margaret Peterson Haddix delves into the power of privilege, the importance of true friendship, and the question of humanity and identity. Because when anyone could be a whatnot, what makes a person a real friend--or real at all?

(Added by Amy)

"Readers will discover that trees have their own social network, and helping one another thrive is trending. The fascinating mycorrhizal fungi network runs underground through the forest via the roots of trees, allowing for connection and communication. Listen to the Language of the Trees captures the magic of talking trees that take care of their neighbors (not to mention the mysterious fungi that help them do it). A lyrical read aloud, Listen to the Language of the Trees is the story of a seedling, newly sprouted at the base of a giant tree. As it stretches its roots into an underground web of fungi, it learns that its fellow trees use the fungi to pass messages and share resources! It will take great luck for this tiny seedling to survive, but it will have help from its friends in the forest. The Douglas fir forest also harbors creatures like a zany Yellow Pine chipmunk gathering and forgetting seed cones, an owl nested in the giant tree, and chattering Steller's jays. And, as we must never forget, no part of the forest is entirely free from danger!"--

(Added by Jenna)

Discover 15 plants and fungi with life-changing powers and learn how to grow them at home.

Meet their surprising relatives (the tasty tomato is a cousin of deadly nightshade!) and unearth their interesting stories (lettuce was the first plant to be grown in space!). Then follow step-by-step instructions to grow and care for each one, whether you have a big backyard garden or a sunny windowsill.

Written by horticulturalist Riz Reyes and fully illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, this is the perfect introduction to growing plants for families everywhere.

(Added by Jenna)

The creators of the award-winning science podcast for kids, Brains On!, take readers on a humorous, highly illustrated, fact- and fun-filled journey through Earth--from the core, to the outer atmosphere, and everywhere in between. Perfect for STEM enthusiasts!

Did you ever wonder why volcanoes erupt? Or why the ocean is salty? How about why no two snowflakes are the same?

Embark on an epic road trip to find the answers to these burning questions and more! The Brains On! team is traveling from deep inside the earth, through the oceans, the land, the clouds, and even into the outer atmosphere in their high-tech ride--to uncover the coolest facts, strangest mysteries, and most incredible marvels of our planet.

Packed with scientific research, mind-boggling trivia, and laugh-out-loud jokes, this highly illustrated fact-filled exploration of the earth promises a brain-bending, jaw-dropping, belly-laughing good time that curious kids and budding scientists won't be able to resist.

(Added by Jenna)

From New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning author Shannon Hale and award-winning illustrator Tracy Subisak, comes a zany picture book that pokes fun at overly gendered notions of "boy books" and "girl books" and celebrates the pleasure of a good book.

Stanley's thrilled for bookmobile day--until the old man at the window refuses to lend him the story he wants, all because it features a girl. "Girl books" are only for girls, the book man insists, just like cat books are only for cats and robot books are only for robots. But when a dinosaur arrives at the bookmobile and successfully demands a book about ponies, Stanley musters the courage to ask for the tale he really wants--about a girl adventurer fighting pirates on the open seas. By speaking up, Stanley inspires the people, cats, robots, and goats around him to read more stories outside their experiences and enjoy the pleasure of a good book of their choosing.

(Added by Jenna)

This sweet story teaches us to embrace our messy imperfections in this book perfect for fans of The Most Magnificent Thing and The Book of Mistakes.

Mira wants to be perfect at everything she tries. Everyone around her is good at something, but Mira's not sure if she'll ever find a thing of her own.

One day, Mira decides to try . . . and because of that one simple act, everything changes. With a stumble, a wobble, and a humongous flop or two, will Mira learn to find the beauty in her imperfections?

Faith Pray's inspiring words and whimsical illustrations will encourage all of us to never be afraid of the second, third, or fiftieth try.
 

(Added by Jenna)