Life Skills For Kids

When it comes to stirring up a little excitement in class, Otis Spofford knows just what to do. He can turn a folk dance fiesta into a three-ring circus, or an arithmetic lesson into a spitball marathon. Even his friends George and Stewy can't keep up when it comes to Otis's mischief.

Synclaire Fields is the Math Kid in Mrs. Z's class, getting perfect marks on every quiz and helping her classmates master tricky concepts. She especially loves demonstrating her skills at her parents' store after school. Then she gets TWO ANSWERS WRONG on a math test, and ... How can she be the Math Kid if she isn't good at math anymore? So Synclaire embarks on a quest to figure out what's next.

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.

The story inspires love of nature and begins with Joyful, a spirited hummingbird, who plants seeds of wisdom wherever she goes. She's happy to empower garden friends with creativity and insight to build courage and overcome dark hostile creatures. She teaches them that, as in nature where there is calm after the storm, we too can turn to inner stillness to find the clearest means to rise above it all.

In a world filled with kids who seem to have it all figured out, I often find myself feeling like a square peg in a round hole. But you know what? That’s what makes me unique! Each day is like a new episode of my own sitcom, filled with awkward moments and unexpected surprises.

Based on his popular Instagram comics, Nathan W. Pyle presents a delightful, heartfelt, and clever book that young and old beings alike will enjoy exploring together. When the nearest star rises, Lifegiver has an exciting quest planned for Offspring! Follow along as they observe a strange creature that sneaks, hides, and vibrates around their house. Hilarity ensues as the blue beings try to mimic this talented creature.

In their only collaboration for children, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu use their childhood stories to show young people how to find joy even in hard times and why sharing joy with others makes it grow. The two spiritual masters tell a simple story of how every child has joy inside them, even when it sometimes hides, and how we can find it, keep it close, and grow it by sharing it with the world.

Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee's case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it's time they returned the favor.

Max's parents are missing. They are actors, and thus unpredictable, but sailing away, leaving Max with only a cryptic note, is unusual even for them. Did they intend to leave him behind? Have they been kidnapped? Until he can figure it out, Max feels it's safer to keep a low profile. Hiding out is no problem for a child of the theater. Max has played many roles, he can be whoever he needs to be to blend in. But finding a job is tricky, no matter what costume he dons. Ironically, it turns out Max has a talent for finding things.

Amelia Bedelia and her friends are studying all about the Middle Ages in school. They’re building catapults, creating illuminated manuscripts, and visiting a medieval fair - in costume! Plus, there’s a class-wide competition to see who can be the most chivalrous student. Amelia Bedelia really wants to win! But when she discovers that one of her friends is the kindest and most helpful of them all, can she somehow help her friend win the competition?

Melvin Robinson wants a strong, smooth He-Man voice that lets him say what he wants, when he wants - especially to his crush Millie Takazawa, and Gary Ratliff, who constantly puts him down. But the thought of starting high school is only making his stutter worse. And Melvin's growing awareness that racism is everywhere - not just in the South where a boy his age has been brutally killed by two White men, but also in his own hometown of Spokane - is making him realize that he can't mutely stand by.

Hugo is not happy about being dragged halfway across the state of Colorado just because his dad had a midlife crisis and decided to become a ski instructor. It’d be different if Hugo weren’t so tiny and guys didn’t call him “leprechaun” and rub his head for luck. But here he is, the tiny new kid on his first day of middle school. When his fellow students discover his remarkable talent for garbology, the science of studying trash to tell you anything about a person, Hugo becomes the cool kid for the first time in his life. But what happens when it all goes to his head?

Words are powerful at any age: from the moment we start to talk, we’re told to "use our words." But using your words isn't just about asking for something; it's about communicating one's needs—emotionally, spiritually, and practically—and connecting to the world around us. Harold Green III's Words Are My Superpower offers practical advice for younger listeners on how the words they choose have the power to change not just their own lives but others'.

The Kids Under the Stairs: BenBee and the Teacher Griefer is a funny, clever novel-in-verse about Ben Bennet - who failed the language arts section of the Florida State test - and three classmates who get stuck in a summer-school class. But these kids aren't dumb - they're divergent thinkers, as Ms. J tells them: They simply approach things in a different way than traditional school demands.

Having a pet dragon is very fun. You can teach your dragon to sit, stand, roll over, and you can even potty train him. But what if your dragon feels lonely because he doesn’t have many friends? What if he’s sad because he nobody wants to play with him? What do you do? You teach him how to make friends.

Meet Hattie Harmony, Worry Detective. She’s always there to help her friends when they need her. And the first day of school can cause a lot of jitters—from speaking in front of the class to taking the bus. Hattie always finds the perfect tools to calm her friends’ bodies and minds. But when her own fears start to bubble up, can Hattie learn to overcome them herself? Actress Elizabeth Olsen and musician and writer Robbie Arnett have created an irresistible new character filled with warmth and humor to introduce the youngest listeners to the importance of self-care.

The White Tiger Temple is under threat. To help the Shaolin monks, Sensei Ki-Yaga and the whole gang of samurai kids embark on a perilous journey across the Sea of Japan to China. But they soon discover that getting there is only half the battle. An enemy awaits them: a former student of Sensei’s named Qing-Shen, China’s Warrior, who is now the most skilled soldier in the Middle Kingdom and who holds a grudge against his onetime teacher.

Isaiah is now the big man of the house. But it's a lot harder than his dad made it look. His little sister, Charlie, asks too many questions, and Mama's gone totally silent. Good thing Isaiah can count on his best friend, Sneaky, who always has a scheme for getting around the rules. Plus, his classmate Angel has a few good ideas of her own - once she stops hassling Isaiah. And when things get really tough, there's Daddy's journal, filled with stories about the amazing Isaiah Dunn, a superhero who gets his powers from beans and rice. Isaiah wishes his dad's tales were real.

Lila Greer is full of worries. Even the smallest things—from cabbages to cardboard—fill her with dread and What Ifs. So when her family makes a big change—moving to a new town—the worry and What Ifs only grow. What if things go wrong? What if no one likes her? At first, Lila feels right to be worried. In her new home, everything is strange. The new kids, the new smells. Lila feels alone and invisible. But there’s one person who sees her: Lila’s teacher, Ms. Kern.

From Vanessa Brantley-Newton, the author of Grandma's Purse, comes a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about girls of all kinds: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don't; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. This book invites listeners to find themselves and each other within.