Scholastic Book Fairs Podcast

Sara has always loved cats. She surrounds herself with pictures of cats, stuffed cats, even cat-headed slippers. But she’s never been allowed to have a real cat of her own. Her father has always told her no, for reasons he won’t explain. So when a fluffy snowball of a kitten darts through their front door and into her life, Sara believes her dream might finally come true. But convincing her father to break his strict No Cats policy seems impossible. She has less than a week to persuade him that this kitten is exactly what their lonely, broken family of two needs to heal. Told in lyrical, spare verse, this is a sparkling novel that elegantly handles the topic of loss for a middle grade audience.

See how the story of a growing milkweed fits into the Monarch butterfly’s life cycle. As you turn the pages, the verse grows along with the plant. Bouncing rhymes are accompanied by bright illustrations, which bring the story to life. Written and illustrated by 2nd grade students from East End Elementary in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Some race to win. Others race to survive. It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live - others die. At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen. As she did in her bestselling SHIVER trilogy, author Maggie Stiefvater takes us to the breaking point, where both love and life meet their greatest obstacles, and only the strong of heart can survive.

Readers will be able to follow a tornado chaser into the heart of a storm, track the path taken by a hurricane as it sweeps the ocean, or find out which natural disaster was the world's worst killer. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step illustrations show how natural disasters occur and the destruction they wreak. Timelines show events unfolding minute-by-minute or hour-by-hour. This exciting new book also features eyewitness accounts from people who have lived to tell the tale and mind-blowing, up-to-the-minute facts and figures. A free digital companion book is available online.

When Mom and Dad bring home a new puppy, everyone is so excited! All the kids love Ruby. But who gets to walk Ruby? Who gets to play with Ruby? Who gets to brush Ruby? In this sweet story, the Dungy children learn to stop saying, “Ruby is my dog,” and say instead, “Ruby is our dog!” Based on a true family story, this charming book, penned by former NFL coach Tony Dungy and his wife, Lauren, teaches the importance of sharing in a sweet and humorous way

The Oso family is going out for a stroll, and Rubia has her eye on their empty casita. A nice bowl of sopa, a comfortable chair, a perfecta little bed… Who wouldn’t want to open la puerta and come in? This is the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, retold in a musical combination of English and Spanish, illustrated with great humor and heart by a Caldecott Honor-winning artist, and featuring a surprise ending that’s downright fabuloso. Just right for bilingual families, new Spanish speakers, and anyone who likes a bueno twist on a classic.

When Flissy Bathburn's parents first dropped her off in Bottlebay, Maine, she hated everything about it. She hated the big gloomy house she was to live in. She hated meeting her long-lost and highly eccentric relatives. And most of all, she hated knowing that she was safe in America while her parents faced the guns of WWII in Europe. But a year has passed now, and Flissy has grown to love her life in Bottlebay and especially Derek, the boy the Bathburns have adopted. Then a man claiming to be Derek's true father arrives, and soon he's asking all sorts of strange questions. Flissy has a nose for trouble. Has Derek's new father come to take him away or is there something even more sinister happening in Bottlebay, Maine?

Rocket loves books and he wants to make his own, but he can't think of a story. Encouraged by a little yellow bird to look closely at the world around him for inspiration, Rocket sets out on a journey. Along the way he discovers small details that he has never noticed before, a timid baby owl who becomes his friend, and an idea for a story. This irresistible tale is sure to appeal to kids, parents, teachers, and librarians.

You thought you knew him. You were dead wrong. Carver Young dreams of becoming a detective, despite growing up in an orphanage with only crime novels to encourage him. But when he is adopted by Detective Hawking of the world famous Pinkerton Agency, Carver is given not only the chance to find his biological father, he finds himself smack in the middle of a real-life investigation: tracking down a vicious serial killer who has thrown New York City into utter panic. When the case begins to unfold, however, it's worse than he could have ever imagined, and his loyalty to Mr. Hawking and the Pinkertons comes into question. As the body count rises and the investigation becomes dire, Carver must decide where his true loyalty lies. Full of whip-smart dialogue, kid-friendly gadgets, and featuring a then New York City Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt, Ripper challenges everything you thought you knew about the world's most famous serial killer.

This value-priced collection features all 7 books in the Ricky Ricotta series! A perfect choice for kids who have already read all of the Captain Underpants books!

Princess Emily uncovers a plot to destroy all the beautiful deer in the nearby forest. Fortunately for the deer, the rescue princesses can do more than curtsy—they have ninja moves and aren't afraid to use them!

Here is a fun, colorful look at Ronald Reagan's fascinating life for readers 5-8, from his humble beginnings as the son of a shoe salesman to his years in Hollywood, his service in WWII, his life as a rancher, and the culmination of his political career in the Oval Office as 40th President of the United States

Long an advocate of frequent, voluminous reading in schools, the author draws on evidence gathered in twenty years of classroom teaching to make the case for reading workshop more powerful than ever. The book establishes the top ten conditions for making engaged classroom reading possible for students at all levels and provides the practical support and structures necessary for achieving them.

For more than two decades, millions of parents and educators have turned to Jim Trelease's beloved classic to help countless children become avid readers through awakening their imaginations and improving their language skills. Now this new edition of THE READ ALOUD HANDBOOK imparts the benefits, rewards, and importance of reading aloud to children of a new generation. Supported by delightful anecdotes as well as the latest research, THE READ ALOUD HANDBOOK offers proven techniques and strategies and the reasoning behind them for helping children discover the pleasures of reading and setting them on the road to becoming lifelong readers.

Readers will learn all of the biographical information they need to know (background, family, education, accomplishments, etc.) about: Ho Chi Minh (Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam), John F. Kennedy (US President 1961-1963), Lyndon B. Johnson (US President 1963-1969), Ngo Dinh Diem (President of South Vietnam), Henry Kissinger (US National Security Advisor), and William Westmoreland (US Army General). This book will help illuminate one of the most controversial wars in American history to a new generation.

Featuring men and women who have worked passionately to pioneer peaceful solutions to violent conflicts throughout history, this new addition to the PROFILES series includes Mahatma Gandhi, Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr., Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Dorothy Day, and Ellen Sirleaf Johnson. Readers wll find out about their childhoods, where they went to school, what their families were like, and what their major accomplishments were.

Many of our Presidents owned several pets that history books sometimes forget. Readers will meet all the dogs, cows, snakes, and cats, eagles, hyenas, bears, tigers, and rats, elephants, gators, raccoons, and turkeys, and even more pets that are equally quirky.

In this clever retelling of Cinderella, Ponyella longs to show Princess Penelope her fabulous leaps and jumps at the Tippington 25th Annual Grand Royal Pony Championship. But Plumpkin and Bun Bun, the mean ponies she shares a farm with, say that Ponyella's farm chores make her too dirty to be a champion. With a little help from Ponyella's fairy godmare, her coat becomes marshmallow white once again, and her mane silky and beautiful. It's love at first sight for Princess Penelope and Ponyella - but what will happen when the magic runs out at noon?

When Penny spots a marble in Mrs. Goodwin's front yard, she picks it up and puts it in her pocket to take home. It's a beautiful marble—it's big, shiny, blue, smooth, and fast, and Penny loves it. But does the marble really belong to Penny? What do you think will happen?

Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow is a secret world of squirrels and snowshoe hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals who live through the winter, safe and warm. Readers are taken on a cross country ski trip through the winter woods to discover the secret world of animals living under the snow.