Primary For Children

E. D. Hirsch, author of The Knowledge Deficit, draws on recent findings in neuroscience and data from France to provide new evidence for the argument that a carefully planned, knowledge-based elementary curriculum is essential to providing the foundations for children's life success and ensuring equal opportunity for students of all backgrounds. In the absence of a clear, common curriculum, Hirsch contends that tests are reduced to measuring skills rather than content, and that students from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot develop the knowledge base to support high achievement.

World War II has invaded Davy Bowman's home-front boyhood. There's an air raid drill in the classroom, and being a kid is an endless scrap drive. His brother, Bill, has joined up, breaking their dad's heart. It's an intense, confusing time, and one that will invite Davy to grow up in a hurry.

Jack and Annie are whisked down under to the land of Australia, where they save a baby kangaroo, a koala, and other animals from a raging wildfire.

The blue jays and cardinals of Stone-Run Forest have always lived harmoniously, side by side. But the fate of the forest and all its inhabitants is in jeopardy when the sinister hawk Turnatt turns the two bird tribes against each other.

Bobby Phillips is an average 15-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and can't see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreaming, Bobby is just plain invisible. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby's new condition; even his dad the physicist can't figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He's a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. She's blind, and Bobby can't resist talking to her, trusting her.

In this fascinating work, winner of the Wolfson Prize for History Mark Mazower uncovers the history of the Balkans with detail and clarity. He explores the reasons for current conflicts and examines the Balkans as a religious, cultural, and economic melting pot for Europe and Asia. Through Robert O'Keefe's articulate narration, listeners will be absorbed by this rich world.

Charlie doesn't want to believe it when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking. But his horrible aunts are delighted: it means that he is one of the chosen and must attend Bloor's Academy for gifted children. Once there, Charlie realizes that some of his classmates have equally mysterious powers, and soon Charlie is involved in uncovering the mysterious past of one of them.

It seems Ken can't do anything right. He loses saddle blankets and breaks reins...but then comes the worst news yet: a report card so bad that he has to repeat a grade. How can you tame the dreamy mind of a boy who stares out of the window instead of taking an exam? Enter Flicka, the chestnut filly with a wild spirit. Over the course of one magical summer, both will learn the meaning of responsibility, courage, and, ultimately, friendship.

It's icicle city when the Magic Tree House carries Jack and Annie to the frozen Arctic. Luckily, a seal hunter on a dogsled lends them warm clothes. Unluckily, they get stuck on cracking ice. Will the giant polar bear save them? Or will Jack and Annie become frozen dinners?

Berlitz Kids' The Five Crayons is the introduction to the Adventures with Nicholas series. Featuring easy French vocabulary and simple sentences, this story teaches colors, numbers from one to ten, rooms and furniture, animals, weather expressions, means of transportation, location words, and more. The 60-minute program offers a catchy, thematically related song for each chapter. It's a fun learning experience for students, parents, or teachers.

A tattered scarecrow stands in the middle of a muddy field, taking no notice of the violent thunderstorm around him. But when a bolt of lightning strikes him, fizzing its way through his turnip head and down his broomstick, the Scarecrow blinks with surprise, and comes to life.

It's science-project time, which is bad news for Hank. He loves doing science experiments, but writing a whole report is another story. Finally, Hank comes up with a science project: he'll take apart the cable box and figure out how it works. But Hank wasn't counting on his sister Emily's iguana laying 18 eggs inside the cable box! How will Hank finish his project now and will he ever be able to watch TV again?

Jack and Annie are off on another adventure! This time they are sent to ancient Greece, where a very important event is taking place. Join them as they race against time and witness the very first Olympic Games!

The Magic Tree House carries Jack and Annie back to the Old West, where they roam the Great Plains with a Lakota boy.

New York Times best-selling novelist Brian Jacques, creator of the beloved Redwall books and one of the most popular children's authors in the world, delivers the second rousing escapade from his Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. This time around, the immortal Ben and Ned are high in the Pyrenees Mountains, where they make new allies and fight to save a man from a legendary tribe strong in the black arts.

George's parents, who have always been wary of technology, warn him about their new neighbors: Eric is a scientist and his daughter, Annie, seems to be following in his footsteps. But when George befriends them and Cosmos, their super-computer, he finds himself on a wildly fun adventure, while learning about physics, time, and the universe. With Cosmos' help, he can travel to other planets and a black hole. But what would happen if the wrong people got their hands on Cosmos?

Jack and Annie are whisked 40 years forward in time and land at an international space station on the moon. There they don space suits and go exploring the lunar surface in search of the fourth object needed to free the enchantress Morgan le Fay from a powerful spell.

Love That Dog shows how one boy named Jack finds his voice with the help of a teacher, a pencil, some yellow paper, and, of course, a dog. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack's point of view, and with classic poetry included in the back matter, this novel is perfect for kids and teachers, too. Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments - and Jack can't avoid them.

The year is 1904, and Russell is 15. Though he dreams of leaving small-town Indiana to become part of a large farm crew in the Dakotas, he's forced to stay in school, where his sister Tansy has just become the new teacher.

"Where are the lions?" Jack wonders when the Magic Tree House whisks him and his sister to the vast plains of Africa. Before he can find out, Annie starts to help hundreds of wildebeests cross a rushing river. Next they follow a honey of a bird and meet an awesome Masai warrior. Jack hopes any lions will just stay away. Jack is about to be very disappointed.