Child Esteem

Sasquatch! That's who Judy looks like in her school picture. Antarctica! That's where Judy's been sent three times in a single sour-ball week to chill out. Can Judy's mood get any worse? Well, duh! Of course it can. Unless…it's Backward Day! That means it's time for Judy to turn that frown upside down, make lemonade out of lemons, and be nice to stinky little brothers. Can she stay in a good-not-bad mood for an entire day? How about seven whole days? Will her friends freak out when they see a tidy, on-time Judy who smells like cupcake lip gloss?

Marisol Rainey's mother was born in the Philippines. Marisol's father works and lives part-time on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. And Marisol, who has a big imagination and likes to name inanimate objects, has a tree in her backyard she calls Peppina . . . but she's way too scared to climb it. This all makes Marisol the only girl in her small Louisiana town with a mother who was born elsewhere and a father who lives elsewhere (most of the time)—the only girl who's fearful of adventure and fun.

Ever since Tyler started getting into art and hanging out with Emmie, his friends and teammates have been giving him a hard time. He wonders why can’t he nerd out on drawing and play ball? Emmie is psyched that she gets to work on a comics project with her crush, Tyler. But she gets the feeling that his friends don’t think she’s cool enough. Maybe it’s time for a total reinvention.

Faolan's made it back to his clan as a gnaw wolf, the lowest ranking pack member. And the hardships are just beginning. Framed for murder of a wolf pup, he must find the culprit and prove his worthiness in the clan.

An army is half way to Glacium. And not just any army - it belongs to my mother. Time is running out as I rush to prevent a war which will kill thousands; the Solati people, my brothers, and the many Bruma I've come to care for. Yet it appears preventing this interworld war is just one snowball in an avalanche of problems as the situation in Glacium becomes volatile and destructive. My various identities hover on the edge of discovery forcing me to consider drastic action, and questions I've had since the abrupt end of the peace delegation are answered.

Are you a father of a young daughter or teenage girl? Do you know if your words or actions encourage her or bring her down? If you're like most dads, you may think you need to be a mother to boost your daughter's confidence. But really, all you need to do is make a few simple tweaks to the way you communicate. If you do this, you'll build her self-esteem, improve her self-worth, and be the hero in her life. And you won't even have to change who you are to do it.

In this follow up to the #1 New York Times bestseller I Funny, middle schooler Jamie Grimm has big dreams of being the best stand-up comic in the world—and he won't let the fact that he's wheelchair-bound stand in his way. After winning the New York state finals in the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic Contest, Jamie's off to Boston to compete in the national semi-finals.

Mental health tops the list of concerns for today's kids (and their parents). Keeping up with social trends is exhausting, and real-life friendships can feel risky and hard. Kids also have to contend with constant input from the digital world, which is all too often detrimental to their wellbeing. In this edition, Jennie Allen draws on the insights, truth, and experiences from her New York Times bestsellers Get Out of Your Head and Find Your People to offer a practical guide to help kids form positive habits and connections that are crucial to their mental and spiritual health.

When Molly shows up on Castle Hangnail's doorstep to fill the vacancy for a wicked witch, the castle's minions are understandably dubious. After all, she is 12 years old, barely five feet tall, and quite polite. (The minions are used to tall, demanding evil sorceresses with razor-sharp cheekbones.) But the castle desperately needs a master, or else the Board of Magic will decommission it, leaving all the minions without the home they love.

The pressures faced by children and adolescents today are unprecedented and the corresponding statistics around poor mental health deeply alarming. Behind every mental health issue, from addiction to ADHD, lies a host of underlying problems that need addressing, but as a worried parent it's hard to know where to focus. What do you do if your child struggles with anxiety? Is self-harming? Has developed an unhealthy relationship with eating, exercise, technology or alcohol?

Mafatu's name means "Stout Heart," but his people call him a coward. Ever since the sea took his mother's life and spared his own, he has lived with deep fear. By the time he is twelve years old, Mafatu can bear it no longer. He must conquer his fear alone...even if it means certain death. This classic tale of a young boy's hidden strength has been a favorite of readers of all ages since 1940.

Herc Beal knows who he's named after—a mythical hero—but he's no superhero. He's the smallest kid in his class. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the mythical Hercules's amazing feats in real life, he's skeptical. After all, there are no Nemean Lions on Cape Cod—and not a single Hydra in sight.

Cash, who loves basketball but has a newly broken wrist, is in danger of failing seventh grade for the second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade on Main and wrestles with an explosive temper that he doesn’t understand. And Bird, his 12-year-old twin, dreams of being NASA’s first female shuttle commander, but feels like she’s disappearing.

No teacher has ever liked Carter Avery. So he doesn’t expect that Ms. Olivia Krane will be any different. In fact, he heard the rumor that the new teacher—nicknamed Owl-livia, or the Owl, for short—can twist her head all the way round to catch any kid who’s up to no good. And since Carter has a hard time sitting still and not blurting stuff out, he’s sure he’s in for rough times being sent to the principal’s office. Making things worse: annoying know-it-all Missy Gerber is in his class! But the Owl knows just how to handle Carter’s energy, showing his classmates another side of him.

Some people are better at singing than others. Why is that? A researcher explains why some people love doing karaoke, and others simply can't do it.

Wilson is a worrier. His sister, Katrina, never seems to worry about anything. That is, until they get to the park.

This book will introduce you to a group of girls who go through the same things you do every day. They are scared, worried, and sometimes, they don’t win right away. They work hard, learn from mistakes, and keep trying. These girls get discouraged, doubt their abilities, and sometimes they almost give up, but somewhere deep inside of them, their light shines through. They find their courage and self-confidence and push through their difficult moments to reach their ultimate goals.

Happiness does not come from revealing all your skin, going clubbing every weekend where you get so drunk you don't remember who you kissed, or maxing your credit cards just so you can buy the latest designer jeans. Happiness comes from living a life of character.

Once upon a time - long, long ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth - an egg rolled away from its mother and landed in the ocean, where it froze solid and stayed peacefully for thousands of years. Then one day, Santa and his elves discover the frozen egg, and Santa sits on it to see if it will hatch. But he can't guess what's inside: a dinosaur! Meanwhile, a young boy named William Trundle has only ever wished for one thing for Christmas: a dinosaur! So when Santa accidentally gives William the real Christmasaurus instead of a stuffed replica, it's the best Christmas ever!

The town of Wirrawee is emerging from war, slowly, like a flower after a cold snap. Businesses are starting to reopen, the school has re-commenced classes, and local farmers are gradually repossessing their land. But it's not the same Australia as before the war. A new nation exists just a few miles away, a new border that separates Australia from its invaders. Or does it?