Young Kids

Ella is excited for her first day at a new school. Glimmering pencil case? Check! Shimmering backpack? Check! Glittery ribbons in her hair? Check! She can't wait to meet the other kids and share her sparkly personality. But her first day doesn't go quite as planned: Her new classmates don't like her disco-ball shoes, her PB&J-with-sprinkles sandwich, or her rainbow-y unicorn painting.

For some reason, young children get into disagreements with their siblings. As a parent with young children, you need to keep reminding your little ones to help each other and be kind to one another. One of the most effective ways to impart this important lesson to young children is through stories.

The last thing Mason Starling remembers is the train crossing a bridge. An explosion...a blinding light...then darkness. Now she is alone, stranded in Asgard - the realm of Norse legend - and the only way for her to get home is to find the Spear of Odin, a powerful relic left behind by vanished gods. The Fennrys Wolf knows all about Asgard. He was once trapped there. And he'll do whatever it takes to find the girl who's stolen his heart and bring her back - even if it means a treacherous descent into the Underworld.

Fifteen-year-old Nikka is invited to attend Wildwood Academy, a prestigious but secret boarding school for talented youth, located deep in the Californian mountains. Once there, Nikka quickly falls in love with her bizarre classes, the jaw-dropping scenery, and two very different boys. However, Wildwood Academy has a dark and twisted secret, one that could cost Nikka the one thing she had never imagined she could lose, the one thing that money can’t buy. It is this very thing that Wildwood Academy was created to steal.

What if the last hope to save your family is the person who broke it up to begin with? Michelle and her little siblings Cass and Denny are African-American and living on the poverty line in urban Baltimore, struggling to keep it together with their mom in jail and only Michelle’s part-time job at the Taco Bell to sustain them. Leah and her stepbrother Tim are White and middle class from suburban Maryland, with few worries beyond winning lacrosse games and getting college applications in on time.

Jim (aka Kid Sensation) counts himself fortunate in that his friends have always been there for him, and he - in turn - tries to be there for them. That’s why it is with a great deal of enthusiasm that he looks forward to attending an event honoring his friend, the teen warlock Kane. However, his plans are immediately complicated by two factors. First, an emissary from the nigh-omnipotent group of beings known as Incarnates unexpectedly appears on his doorstep. It is an arrival that, while not unwelcome, introduces a certain amount of unpredictability and chaos in his life.

Normal. Who is to say what this word means? For Magda Newman, it was a goal. She wanted her son Nathaniel to be able to play on the playground, swim at the beach, enjoy the moments his friends took for granted. But Nathaniel’s severe Treacher Collins syndrome - a craniofacial condition - meant that other concerns came first. Could he eat without the aid of a gastrointestinal tube? Could he hear? Would he ever be able to breathe effortlessly? But Nathaniel looks at “normal” from a completely different perspective.

Who lived in Texas over a thousand years ago? In Porch Talk, John Erickson and his archaeologist friend Doug Boyd investigate this question while explaining the art and science of archaeology for middle listeners. On the Perryton ranch, John and his friends unearthed a ghost town that dated back to around 1300 CE. For more than twenty years, they worked together on this and other prehistoric sites, sharing a fascination for the ancient people who occupied the area. How did these people work, play, and survive?

As parents, we all go through a mini mutiny in the ranks once it’s time to get ready for bed. If you’re lucky, you could get your kids in bed by eight o’clock...but not without a fight! And definitely not without creating a stressful environment that negatively affects your child’s sleep quality. This is why bedtime meditation practices come in handy because they help create a warm, loving environment that lowers stress hormone levels.

Always the eager student, Arthur is ready for a day filled with learning. Slightly nervous about his next big challenge, this curious doggy can’t wait to come back to class and find out which subjects he’ll get to study. And after bouncing onto the yellow bus, he happily hangs his head out the window looking for his new school friends. Sitting pretty in class with his ears pricked, he laps up every subject, from reading and geography to science and math.

This dog’s about to blast off. Will his trip be out-of-this-world? Arthur can’t wait to make his first flight into outer space. Jumping for joy, he’s rocketing off on a mission to see the twinkling stars. And once he boards his ship, he’s eager to sniff out the most paw-some planets in our solar system. Flying to each of the heavenly bodies circling our sun, Arthur has to find out what makes each one so special. But from worlds with rings and moons to balls of gas and rock, he’s not sure how to choose his favorite place in space.

When Odilia and her four sisters find a dead body in the swimming hole, they embark on a hero's journey to return the dead man to his family in Mexico. But returning home to Texas turns into an odyssey that would rival Homer's original tale. With the supernatural aid of ghostly La Llorona via a magical earring, Odilia and her little sisters travel a road of tribulation to their long-lost grandmother's house.

Through funny stories, Scripture, and a Speak Love Revolution challenge that could help you change the lives of every person you see, tweet, or message for the better, Annie F. Downs explores the difference you can make when you speak love to others, to God, and to yourself.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the definitive children's classics and is rightfully listed as required reading for boys and girls. It is an exceptionally imaginative story of a little girl in a land of fantasy. The young heroine, Alice, stumbles into a string of adventures. From a swim in a lake of her own tears to afternoon tea with some very unusual companions, she meets a variety of original and extremely odd but charming personalities.

Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe, but in the Pacific, American soldiers face an enemy who will not surrender despite a massive and mounting death toll. Meanwhile, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists are preparing to test the deadliest weapon known to mankind. Newly inaugurated president Harry Truman faces the most important political decision in history: whether to use that weapon.

Growing up impoverished and shuttled between different households, it seemed life was bound to take a certain path for Eddie Chuculate. Despite the challenges he faced, his upbringing was rich with love and bountiful lessons from his Creek and Cherokee heritage, deep-rooted traditions he embraced even as he learned to live within the culture of white, small-town America that dominated his migratory childhood.

Alexandra Styron's stirring call for resistance and citizen activism will be clearly heard by young people who don't accept "it is what it is", who want to make sure everybody gets an equal piece of the American pie, and who know that the future of the planet is now. Styron's irreverent and informative primer on how to make a difference is organized into three sections: The Why, The What, and The How. The book opens with a personal essay and a historic look at civil disobedience and teenage activism in America followed by a deep dive into several key issues.

Will Hunter is used to being the New Kid; Harrisburg High School is his fifth new school in less than three years. By now, he knows not to be fooled by the bright pep rallies, the wholesome jocks, the innocent cheerleaders. He knows the evil lurking underneath. It's the same evil that took his dad eight years ago; the same evil he battles every day. Natalie Holand's life fell apart the night her sister, Emily, disappeared. No one believes her when she tells them what she saw: yellow and green eyes, glowing beneath the surface of the water in which Emily supposedly drowned.

Jack Cannon and his friends are stranded in the land of Pierrany. The looming threat of Kaylar’s evil has shadowed their time there, and the ominous signs of the malevolent sorcerer’s impending return all point to the same inevitable conclusion: Kaylar’s resurgence is certain, and he must be defeated if they are to save not only Pierrany but their own world as well. Their journey to victory continues to be thwarted by all manners of evil threatening to break them apart and weaken their defenses.

This crystal-ball look into the future of American politics shows how the brewing generational shift to the left is only the beginning of transformations to come.