Material appropriate for primary age groups
A mama duck with a dozen eggs has to do a lot of counting! Mama counts her ducklings one by one as they hatch, but soon she finds clever new ways to count to twelve–by twos, threes, fours, and sixes! But how many ducklings will it take to trick the hungry wolf who is counting on them for lunch?
Paul, who lives in a trailer, and Sebastian, who lives in an apartment, are discouraged from playing with each other, until they get lost together during a class outing.
When Knut was born, the first polar bear cub at the Berlin Zoo in more than thirty years, he was no bigger than a snowball and unable to care for himself. His mother, a rescued East German circus bear, didn’t know how to take care of Knut and rejected him. Knut would have died if it weren’t for Thomas Dorflein, a zookeeper who nurtured Knut, feeding him, sleeping with him, and giving him the love and attention Knut needed to thrive. But Thomas wasn’t the only one who adopted Knut. The adorable little polar bear captured the world’s attention, and now Knut is loved around the globe.
Martha is tired of being in the middle — until a frog points out its benefits — in a funny story sure to have middle siblings feeling on top of the world.Being in the middle is no fun for Martha. She gets squashed between her siblings when they argue. She never gets called “big and sensible” or “cutesy-wootsy.” Sometimes she even feels invisible. One day she gets so fed up, she decides to run away. Luckily, Martha meets a wise frog who points out that the middle is the best bit — the tasty seeds in the sunflower, the sweet peas in the pod, the juiciest part of a watermelon. With beguiling warmth and humor, Jan Fearnley reassures children that being in the middle of things is a choice spot after all.
The Mendez family are Mayan Indians who made a dangerous escape to flee the civil war in their native Guatemala.
Lourie’s smooth, first-person narrative mixes history, adventure, and personal insights, while glorious photographs of the remarkable land at the southernmost point of the world enhance his travelogue. Readers accompany the Lourie as he rides his mountain bike and uncovers wonder and tragedy in this land. Additional archival photos tell the sad tale of the native Y mana, a people who “did not survive long after continued contact with- outsiders.” Maps, both modern and historical, are well integrated. Highly informative for reports, this fascinating account will also appeal to young readers with wanderlust.
This collection of six bilingual children’s stories takes a regional and historical emphases. “Sixteen” provides the background of September 16, Mexico’s day of independence from Spain. “The Little General” teaches children about Cinco de Mayo through a young boy who helps save his village from the French army. The remaining four stories are fables that impart important moral themes to young readers. In “Sweetie, the Lion that Thought He Was a Sheep,” children learn to respect different backgrounds and abilities. “A Parrot for Christmas” demonstrates the friendship children can share with animals and “Orlando, the Circus Bear” emphasizes the importance of compassion toward animals. “A Horse Called ‘Miracle’” teaches the value of helping others in need. Each story is followed with discussion questions to help children recall the story’s key details and suggestions for classroom activities designed to stimulate curiosity and expand knowledge of historical events.
Ricki is looking forward to Divali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. He’s also waiting for two special rosebuds to bloom. The buds are on the bush that his grandfather had planted in the front yard. His grandfather promises that the roses will be the color of Divali. One morning, on his way to school, Ricki bends one of the rosebuds to get a closer look and accidentally snaps it off. When his grandfather believes the new neighbors have stolen his rosebud, Ricki must summon the courage to confess what he has done.
Once Jacob Gutgeld lived with his family in a beautiful house in Warsaw, Poland. He went to school and played hide-and-seek in the woods with his friends. But everything changed the day the Nazi soldiers invaded in 1939. Suddenly it wasn’t safe to be Jewish anymore.One afternoon, eight-year-old Jacob slipped through a hole in the ghetto wall to meet Alex Roslan, a kind Christian man who agreed to be his new “uncle.” The Roslan family, at the risk of their own lives, kept Jacob’s identity as a Jew hidden.Every day of hiding meant a new danger and a threat of discovery. Jacob worried about his real family and longed to go to school and play outside like the Roslan children. Yet the fear, the hardships, and the hunger brought Jacob closer and closer to all the Roslans–until at last the time of hate and war came to an end and a new chapter began in all their lives.
These are the gifts brought across the ocean to Korea: Leather gloves. An apron with pockets like flowers. A book with pictures and simple words. What is given in return? Simple gifts like these–and so much more.