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The Rock in My Throat

At first, no one noticed when I stopped talking at school. In this moving true story, Kao Kalia Yang shares her experiences as a young Hmong refugee navigating life at home and at school. Having seen the poor treatment her parents received when making their best efforts at speaking English, she no longer speaks at school. Kalia feels as though a rock has become lodged in her throat, and it grows heavier each day. Although the narrative is somber, it is also infused with moments of beauty, love, and hope.

The Rule of Three

When the rules no longer apply, how do you keep your head in the game? Wyatt has a three-part Plan for Life, and it starts now, at the beginning of seventh grade, with tryouts for his local travel baseball team. A biracial kid in a mostly white town, heÎs always felt like a bit of an outsider. The baseball field is the only place where he feels like he truly belongs. If he can just make the team, everything else will fall into place: school, friends, even his relationship with his often-distant dad.

The Science Behind the Athlete (Crabtree Crown)  

The Science Behind the Athlete series introduces the reader to different sports and explains the innovations that help athletes succeed.

The Secret of Fall

Each season has its own qualities that set it apart. Winter, with its stark-white crust of snow, turns even a mundane scene into a sparkling fairyland. Spring, along with her many shades of green, brings a promise of new beginnings. Summer gifts us with long, lazy days of endless blue skies and the scent of freshly mown grass. But fall has a magic, a secret, all its own. It offers a kaleidoscope of textures, smells, and colors. But what's behind those glorious colors we see among the treetops and upon the leaf-covered ground? Are leaves more than what they seem? Through engaging text and charming artwork, young readers are invited to explore how and why leaves change color.

The Sole Man: Jan Matzeliger's Lasting Invention

In 1873, at the age of 21, Jan Ernst Matzeliger immigrated to America, having left all that was familiar behind in South America. He arrived with hopes and dreams of a bright future in this new country. Though Jan had no formal training, he was highly skillful with tools and machinery, having worked in his father's mechanic shops. But no one wanted to hire a Black immigrant who didn't speak English. Yet Jan didn't give up. He finally got a job at a shoe factory. As Jan learned the process and craft of shoemaking, he envisioned a new machine, a lasting machine, that would help produce more shoes more efficiently. People scoffed at Jan's idea, telling him it wasn't possible. But he wasn't deterred. Despite many obstacles, after years of planning, drawing, and experimenting, Jan is finally ready to demonstrate his lasting machine. And his invention will change the shoe industry forever.

The Songbird and the Rambutan Tree

Batavia, Dutch East Indies, 1942. Emmy has the voice of an angel but hasnÎt sung a note since a family tragedy. With war looming, her father plans to ship her off to a singing school in England for safety. But all Emmy wants to do is stay in Batavia with her best friend, Bakti, even if it means putting up with her snooty classmate, Violet. Then the Japanese army invadesÑand as war erupts in the Dutch East Indies, EmmyÎs world falls apart. When her own actions sabotage her chance to evacuate the island, Emmy is captured and confined in the Tjideng prisoner-of-war camp with other women and children. Separated from her family and friends, and silenced by her grief, Emmy will need all her strength to survive the war, find her voice, and reclaim her freedom.

The Storyteller Series

The Sun and the Mayfly

Sun, what's it like living beyond one day?"" asked Little Mayfly. The Sun thought for a moment before saying, ""The day passed into the night, and then the night passes into the day. That's it really."" When curious Little Mayfly meets the Sun, they form an unusual friendship. But can the Sun answer all Little Mayfly's intriguing questions? As Little Mayfly flaps her wings, dancing and flying around the beautiful world meeting all kinds of wildlife and nature, she keeps asking questions to everything around her. This is an uplifting story about the power of positivity and making the most of every day.

The Toot Fairy

When itÎs time for Jessa the fairy to proclaim what kind of fairy she wants to be, she accidentally says Ìtoot fairyÊ instead of Ìtooth fairy!Ê Now sheÎll be in charge of collecting all the toots from all the butts in the world. This is not exactly what she had in mind.

The Trouble with Earth

It's time for the planets' annual vacation. But when Earth tries to board their bus, they quickly pull away without her!Earth turns up on the vacation she wasn't invited to and finds all the other planets in the solar system in the hot tubÑeven Pluto! Then she discovers exactly why: it looks like she has FLEAS! Yuck. Earth asks everyone to take a look inside her atmosphere, and they're amazing by what they see . . . birds, fish, creatures galore, and yes, even fleas.The Trouble with Earth is the perfect story to teach us to be kind and less quick to judge others.