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Magical Max and Magical Mickey’s Big Surprise Like their magical older brother and sister, Matt and Mea, nine year old twins Max and Mickey knew they’d soon lose their magic. But they are determined to build an amazing graduation gift before their magic runs out. Will they make it in time and what is their Big Surprise?

Magical Max and Magical Mickey

Matt is going off to college and Mea is entering middle school. At their family emergency meeting, Matt and Mea are surprised to learn Mom is having twin baby boys. Matt, Mea, and Grandma Nonie watch and wonder if twins Max and Mickey will be magical, too? For readers: Ages 5 -8

Magical Mea (The Magical Series) (Volume 2)Matthew’s little sister Mea is a trickster. Mea got her magic when Matthew lost his. Matthew tries to guide Mea to use her magic for good. But the more Matthew tries to mentor Mea, the more she wants to “do it her way.” Matthew worries Mea might get into trouble.

The post Books by Penelope Anne Cole appeared first on The National Writing for Children Center.

About The Time Seekers

Alexandra St. Germaine is dreading going back to school.
The Pine School is not a typical school and her sixth-year teacher, Miss Blueberry, is not typical either. And things get off to a rather disastrous start, leading to some shocking changes in Classroom #6.

At home, the elegant Chadwick Manor, Alexandra’s constant companion is a blue and gold macaw parrot named Taco. He is a kind-hearted and intelligent bird, with an impressive vocabulary and very definite opinions. All is well until one dark and stormy night, when Taco and Alexandra find their world quite upended. Two wet and windswept figures are standing in the Chadwick foyer–with their pets–and the winds of change begin to blow.

Mystery and magic sweep into Dark Harbor, along with the chilly fall weather . . . a teacher whose face is hauntingly familiar, the bewitching night of All Hallows’ Eve, time travel to a Salem Witch Trial, strange Miss Ima from the Book Nook, and a magical key which unlocks a tragic past.

The Time Seekers is a children’s novel for elementary (grade four and above) through middle school age children. In the tradition of Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, and The Wind in the Willows, The Time Seekers takes flight with two anthropomorphized birds: a macaw parrot and a common raven (who only speaks French), yet remains grounded in authentic human emotions and experiences . . . friendship, love, redemption and forgiveness, and never giving up.

With more than 500 pages (64 chapters, Prologue and Epilogue), some French language, The Time Seekers’ Map, and over 30 pen and ink illustrations, as The Time Seekers is opened, so, too, is a portal to a classic adventure story. An alchemy of magic and human emotion, woven into a tapestry of New England locales (Maine and Cape Cod), The Time Seekers truly belongs on the family bookshelf to be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

“You have no idea where childhood ends and maturity begins . . . it is all endless and all one.”

P. L. Travers
Author of the Mary Poppins books

A Caterpillar, a Bee and a VERY Big Tree is the story of a little green caterpillar named Gus. While out on a stroll, Gus meets Shoo Bee, a bee who suffers from pollen allergies! Gus and Shoo Bee become fast friends, and when a storm threatens to send all the other caterpillars tumbling from the great tree, they team up to save the day. With help from wise Councilor Cricket, an Army of Ants and several fire flies – the friends are able to not only work together, but also teach a great lesson on what it means to be different and the way that we are all unique.

When they got the idea for Gus, they decided that this was their chance to teach share with readers how to:
• Develop courage to overcome obstacles;
• See the value in true friendship;
• Understand that everyone is different and differently abled;
• Value teamwork;
• Be aware of the value of communication;
• and Cherish diversity.

A Caterpillar, a Bee, and a VERY Big Tree is available at amazon.com.

The National Writing for Children Center is pleased to showcase this new book by Liane Brouillette – Help Your Child to Thrive.

About the Book
Contemporary public schools focus intensely on academic success. Social-emotional development is given only incidental attention. Families must be prepared to take up the slack. Otherwise students’ emotional growth may be impeded, resulting in diminished social skills, motivation, and ability to cope with stress. This book describes how public schools have changed and provides strategies for helping your child to thrive.

Melissa Abramovitz has a charming new picture book from Guardian Angel Publishing. It’s called Helping Herbie Hedgehog.

About the Book
Herbie has places to go and things to do. But he needs some help ’cause he hasn’t a clue! If you’ll help Herbie decide what’s right and wrong He’ll be busy and happy the whole day long! Herbie the clueless hedgehog needs help figuring out how to get places and go about his day. Amusing delightful rhymes invite kids to give helpful advice while learning about everyday things.
 Suggested age range for readers: 2-7

Paperback: 16 pages
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc (February 15, 2015)
ISBN-10: 1616336129
ISBN-13: 978-1616336127

Galena, an eleven-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant, lives in New York City with her family and works at
the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory with her older sister Anya. The factory pays low wages and has
terrible working conditions, making Anya yearn to join a union. Soon a horrible fire guts the factory leaving Galena with painful, horrific memories. Follow author Suzanne Lieurance in this dramatic historical fiction novel, as she describes how Galena uses the support of friends, family, and Jewish traditions to inspire her to fight for workers’ rights.

Age Range: 10 and up
Series: Historical Fiction Adventures
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Enslow Publishers (July 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1598453858
ISBN-13: 978-1598453850

Jacqueline Woodson, one of today’s finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse.

Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world.

Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

Age Range: 10 and up
Grade Level: 5 and up
Series: Newbery Honor Book
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books; First Edition edition (August 28, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399252517
ISBN-13: 978-0399252518

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (April 8, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 014242417X
ISBN-13: 978-0142424179

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (October 8, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316322407
ISBN-13: 978-0316322409

A MEMOIR BY THE YOUNGEST RECIPIENT OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

“I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.”

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala’s miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls’ education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person’s voice to inspire change in the world.

You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except . . . here’s how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say . . .

BLORK. Or BLUURF.

Even if the words are a preposterous song about eating ants for breakfast, or just a list of astonishingly goofy sounds like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY and GLIBBITY GLOBBITY.

Cleverly irreverent and irresistibly silly, The Book with No Pictures is one that kids will beg to hear again and again. (And parents will be happy to oblige.)

Age Range: 5 – 8 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten – 3
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Dial; 1St Edition edition (September 30, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0803741715
ISBN-13: 978-0803741713

Boys don’t keep diaries—or do they?

An exciting and innovatively illustrated series narrated by an unforgettable kid every family can relate to.

It’s a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you’re ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.

In book one of this debut series, Greg is happy to have Rowley, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley’s star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend’s newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion.

Author/illustrator Jeff Kinney recalls the growing pains of school life and introduces a new kind of hero who epitomizes the challenges of being a kid. As Greg says in his diary, “Just don’t expect me to be all ‘Dear Diary’ this and ‘Dear Diary’ that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things.

Age Range: 8 – 12 years
Grade Level: 3 – 7
Series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Hardcover: 217 pages
Publisher: Amulet Books; 1st edition
Language: English
ISBN-10: 141971189X
ISBN-13: 978-1419711893

Kiley loves spending time with her Granpa Gus. But these days he seems more interested in the strange machine he’s built to send messages into outer space. One day, while Grandpa Gus is dozing, Kiley beams out her own message. To her surprise, it is answered by the Friendeshans–the most pozzi-powered beings in the galaxy. And they’re on their way to earth!

There’s only one problem: the nasty Oily Spoilies seem to have gotten here first and they’re making everybody grouchy and mean. Their mission is do to this throughout the galaxy!

In Book 2 of this inspiring series, we discover the power of friendship and the gold mine of positive energy that’s hiding inside all of us. There have been many characters created to help children understand why these two forces exist. The Friendeshans and Oily Spoilies are the new beings from outer space visiting Earth. We hope you enjoy their on-going stories.

Hardcover: 47 pages
Publisher: Friendesha Media, Inc.; 1st edition (January 27, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0989497410
ISBN-13: 978-0989497411

Backyard nature is one of the first science experiences young children have. Getting them outside to play and interact with nature is an important step in nurturing a lifetime of enjoyment in the outdoors. Little Beth romps through her personal playground showing how she learns the proper names and characteristics of her bird friends. Her antics come alive in the delightful illustrations. In the future series she will introduce readers to her backyard mammals, face her fears of the dark, learn about habitat and discover the best place for her to live.

In his powerful and poignant new book Silent Voice, Rudner highlights the pandemic occurrence of autism, how it can afflict any child, and, like any malady, how it robs children of their youth, impacting families and communities everywhere.

The carefully crafted verses in Rudner’s compellingly illustrated picture book vividly reveal the horror of a disease that afflicts one in eighty-eight children:

Without favor it strikes
at the playground of youth.
It lays dormant in children
when joy should take root.

The book addresses the symptoms of autism, including “stimming” (repetitive motor behavior), withdrawal, and delayed oratory development, as well as autism’s devastating impact on families and the geological need to uncover its causes.

Rudner emphasizes that this can only be accomplished through increased awareness. He writes towards the book’s conclusion:

The bridge that will span
autism’s defiance,
are those who will meld
awareness and science.

“In short,” he notes, “we must never retreat from hoping children afflicted with autism will recover their youth, which means we must not ever retreat from trying to determine autism’s causes.”

Harry Yakamoto lives with his father and grandparents above the restaurant they operate in Seven Cedars, CA. His prized possession is a signed baseball from Joe DiMaggio. As Japanese-Americans in the early 1940s, Harry and his family often face discrimination, but things get worse after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Yakamotos are forced to relocate to the Manzanar Internment Camp, where they live in close quarters, eat meals in a mess hall, and share a communal bathroom. Determined to make the best of the situation, Harry organizes a baseball team and improves his pitching, thanks to a kindly guard who gives him some pointers. The setting is brought to life with vivid descriptions of life in 1940s America and in the internment camp. Baseball is woven seamlessly throughout the story and will appeal to sports fans.
Kristen Oravec, Flint Hill Middle School, Oakton, VA

Age Range: 10 and up
Grade Level: 5 and up
Series: Historical Fiction Adventures
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Enslow Publishers
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0766036553
ISBN-13: 978-0766036550

In this second fabulous release in the Diary of a Real Payne series you’ll find yourself ROTFL as EJ is more than ready to be done with Ms. “Picky” Pickerington, CoraLee McCallister, and fourth grade in general. Hello sunshine, hello 11th birthday party, hello. . .CAMP! It’s EJ’s first summer to spend an entire week at Camp Christian: friends, swimming, bunk beds, games, campfires, s’mores, hiking, and even a gigantic zip line. In classic EJ form, she dreams up even more fantastic adventures for herself—promising colossal fun as you become part of her daydreams in Church Camp Chaos!

Age Range: 8 – 12 years
Series: Diary of a Real Payne (Book 2)
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Barbour Books (March 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1624168264
ISBN-13: 978-1624168260

In this book, Ms. Roth argues that there are four seasons of empowerment for adolescent girls. Sadly no adolescent girl can simply wake up one day, snap her fingers, and be empowered to tackle the world and all the forces that exist inside and outside. Becoming empowered to be who we are can be truly difficult. This book consists of a step-by-step guide to help adolescent girls achieve self-empowerment.