Social Kids

It's the start of a new school year at Honeycutt Elementary and that means one thing: student council elections! Best friends, Ben and Janet are determined not to let mean girl Amy Lou Bonnerman win for the fourth year in a row, but when they both decide to run against her, they become rivals! At first, it's all funny posters, free candy, and pie-in-the-sky ideas for how to make the school a better place. But before long, the campaign turns sour—with mean rumors, dirty tricks, hurt feelings, and even sabotage! Ben and Janet’s legendary friendship is put to the test.

When Molly Bigelow discovered that zombies shared New York with humans, she didn't think life could get more shocking. Then she learned that her mother was once one of the greatest zombie killers ever - and she discovered that her dead mother is not technically dead after all (although she isn't alive, either). Molly's efforts to keep these secrets and to help her Omega team track down the identity of the original 13 zombies will take her from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade to New Year's Eve in Times Square.

Jack Gantos' rocket-paced follow-up to the Newbery Medal–winning novel Dead End in Norvelt opens in the 1960s, deep in the shadow of the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis. But instead of Russian warheads, other kinds of trouble are raining down on young Jack Gantos and his utopian town of Norvelt in western Pennsylvania. After an explosion, a new crime by an old murderer, and the sad passing of the town's founder, twelve-year-old Jack will soon find himself launched on a mission that takes him hundreds of miles away.

Charlotte Andrews is perfectly fine being quiet - in fact, she prefers it. When she doesn't speak, people can't make fun of her stutter. But when she witnesses bullying on the school bus and doesn't say anything, her silence comes between her and her best friend. As if that wasn't bad enough, her parents signed her up for musical theater. Charlotte doesn't want to speak onstage, but at least she doesn't stutter when she sings. Then, just as she starts to find her voice, the arts program is cut. Charlotte can't stay silent anymore.

10-year-old Ahmet has become the Most Famous Refugee Boy in the World. In fact, he's so famous even the queen wants to meet him - and his four best friends! So they're off to Buckingham Palace, with a list of questions for her and one special challenge: will she help more refugee children like Ahmet? But when their journey is unexpectedly interrupted by an old enemy, it will take some quick thinking and an ingenious plan to make it to the palace - and the queen - on time.

At age two, Helen Keller became deaf and blind. She lived in a world of silence and darkness and she spent the rest of her life struggling to break through it. But with the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Helen learned to read, write, and do many amazing things. This inspiring biography is perfect for young middle-grade listeners.

In this seventh Middle School episode, Rafe heads back to the place his misadventures began: the dreaded Hills Village Middle School, where he's now being forced to take "special" classes.... He also finds himself joining the school's football team - alongside his main tormenter, Miller the Killer! But Rafe has grand plans for a better year: First he decides to start a supersecret art project that's sure to rock the school.

From the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Notable and Charlotte Huck Honor Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time comes a moving own-voices story that shines a light on how one girl’s learning differences are neither right nor wrong...just perfectly individual.

Viral Parenting is a guide to raising responsible, safe, and communicative kids in the digital world. Mindy shares practical tools for having honest conversations with kids of all ages about privacy, bullying, respectfulness, and family time while emphasizing the importance of trust and open communication. These strategies are timeless - whether applied to texting, snapping, Facebooking, kiking, or whatever social media platforms await us in the future, this book is ultimately about teaching children about personal responsibility and safety.

What do we do when we can't fall asleep? The child in this story has racing thoughts—funny, silly, and scary—that are running on a cycle they can't stop. It's only when they begin to think to themselves: Do any of these thoughts have merit? Am I in any danger right here and now? that they are finally able to settle down. This lovely picture book is a simple but complex message about acknowledging anxiety without succumbing to it that will appeal to so many little ones (and adults) out there who find that nighttime is when their thoughts carry the most weight.

You won't find any stories of slaying dragons or saving princesses here. In Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different, author Ben Brooks - with the help of Quinton Wintor's striking full-color illustrations -offers a welcome alternative narrative: one that celebrates introverts and innovators, sensitivity and resilience, individuality, and expression. It's an accessible compilation of 75 famous and not-so-famous men from the past to the present day, every single one of them a rule-breaker and stereotype-smasher in his own way.

Pizza and Taco have the oh-so-relatable problem of not knowing what to do when boredom strikes. The answer? Throw a party! They have a location, a guest list, and decorations. Everything is perfect . . . until it isn't. In fact, it's kind of a DISASTER! Ice Cream has a meltdown, and who knew Hamburger was lactose intolerant? (Who invited Cheeseburger anyway?) Well, now they know how NOT to throw a party!!

It doesn't matter how many mistakes you have made in the past, you can gain the sets of skills to be successful in creating lasting mutually beneficial friendships in the present - with powerful contacts. You can use social skills to create satisfying romantic relationships with a beautiful individual of the opposite gender. It is healthy to be part of a supportive peer network or to be part of a group of people that share similar life goals as you do. After all, the human being is a social animal. You have a lot to offer to the world, as does the world to you!

When 12-year-old Lara Finkel starts her very own detective agency, FIASCCO (Finkel Investigation Agency Solving Consequential Crimes Only), she does not want her sister, Caroline, involved. She and Caroline don't have to do everything together! But Caroline won't give up, and when she brings Lara the firm's first mystery, Lara relents, and the mysteries start piling up. But Lara and Caroline’s truce doesn’t last for long. Caroline normally uses her tablet to talk, but now she's busily texting a new friend.

Twelve-year-old Trace Reynolds has always looked up to his brother, mostly because Will, who's five years older, has never looked down on him. It was Will who taught Trace to ride a bike, would watch sports on TV with him, and cheer him on at Little League. But when Will was knocked out cold during a football game, resulting in a brain injury - everything changed. Now, 17 months later, their family is still living under the weight of "the incident" that left Will with a facial tic, depression, and an anger he cannot always control, culminating in their parents' divorce.

Divorce is hard on kids. It can be really confusing when their parents stop living together. They may feel like they're the reason their family is breaking up, and that can lead to a lot of guilt and anxiety. They may also feel scared, alone, or angry.

All children and teens stress out at times, but if they also have ADHD, their anxiety can skyrocket. Anxiety Relief Tools for Kids and Teens with ADHD: A Practical Guide for Parents has smart strategies that equip parents to equip their children to deal with anxiety. In this book, parents gain insight into how ADHD affects their children and why it causes so much anxiety. This guide is filled with exercises and activities that teach children and teens how to recognize their own ADHD symptoms, counteract them, and start reducing the anxiety caused by ADHD.

The best part of Kat's day is getting to walk her neighbor's irresistible pug, Meatball. So when her parents insist she start an extracurricular this year, she makes her own, by turning her hobby into a business: a dog-walking business, that is. She and her best friends, Taz and Lucy - as well as the cute new boy, Declan - try to get Four Paws Dog Walking into shape. But wrangling puppies and pleasing customers turns out to be harder than they thought! Can Kat keep taking care of the dogs she loves without hurting her friendships?

This book is about the various places and ways that uncertainty shows up for parents who, having left or altered the faith they once knew, now must decide what to give their kids. It’s about church attendance, Bible memorization, school choices, and sex talks. It’s about forging new paths in racial justice and creation care while the intractable voices in your head call you a pagan Marxist for doing so.

With its practical advice and compassionate tone, The Myth of Laziness shows parents how to nurture their child's strengths and improve their classroom productivity. Most important, it shows how correcting these problems in childhood will help children live a fulfilling and productive adult life.