Books

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

In A Different Beautiful, Courtney explores what her family has discovered in raising a child with physical differences and what she has learned about true beauty. Through her personal insights and experiences, Courtney shares how you, too, can learn to find and celebrate God’s version of beautiful in your life, especially within our differences and struggles.

**Description from Amazon: A little boy brings his older brother, born with one hand, for show-and-tell. The students ask him all sorts of questions about how he does things with one hand and realize that he can do anything they can do, he just does it differently. Along the way, they notice that we're all different in one...

**Description from Amazon: “A cheeky meditation on the everyday miraculousness of skin. . . . It’s freewheeling fun.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)Is there anything more splendid than a baby’s skin? Cocoa-brown, cinnamon, peaches and cream. As children grow, their clever skin does, too, enjoying hugs and ti...

**Description from Amazon: In his characteristically wise and gentle way, the host of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood challenges the stereotypes that often plague children with special needs and celebrates six children who are extraordinary friends.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
This delightful picture book explores questions and concerns about physical disabilities in a simple and reassuring way. Younger children can find out about individual disabilities, special equipment that is available to help the disabled, and how people of all ages can deal with disabilities and live happy and full lives.

**Description from Amazon: Not So Different offers a humorous, relatable, and refreshingly honest glimpse into Shane Burcaw’s life. Shane tackles many of the mundane and quirky questions that he’s often asked about living with a disability, and shows readers that he’s just as approachable, friendly, and funny as anyone ...

**Description from Amazon: Two sisters look longingly through their window at the snowy sky. One goes out and sculpts a little rabbit, but when she brings it back inside to her wheelchair-bound sister, it begins to melt. So they take it outside and into the forest where enchanted things begin to happen. A follow up to her hau...

**Description from Amazon: The unforgettable bestseller Wonder, now a major motion picture, has inspired a nationwide movement to Choose Kind. Now parents and educators can introduce the importance of choosing kind to younger readers with this gorgeous picture book, featuring Auggie and Daisy on an original adventure, writt...

**Description from Amazon: "Fans of R.J. Palacio’s Wonder will appreciate this feel-good story of friendship and unconventional smarts.” —Kirkus ReviewsAlly has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disrup...

**Description from Amazon: Newbery Honor winner Joan Bauer hits a home run with her newest protagonist, who always sees the positive side of any situation.     Jeremiah is not one to let anything keep him down. Starting with his adoption by computer genius Walt, Jeremiah has looked on his life as a series of lucky breaks...

**Description from Amazon: A New York Times bestseller!A touching story about a girl and her dog, perfect for young animal lovers.Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end ...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A mestiza Peruvian American of European, Jewish, and Amerindian heritage, renowned author Monica Brown wrote this lively story to bring her own experience of being mismatched to life. Her buoyant prose is perfectly matched by Sara Palacios’ engaging acrylic illustrations

**Description from Amazon: Everybody knows your typical dragon breathes fire.But when Crispin tries to breathe fire on his seventh birthday, fire doesn't come out—only whipped cream! Each time Crispin tries to breathe fire, he ends up withBand-Aidsmarshmallowsteddy bears?Crispin wonders if he’ll ever find his inner fire. ...

**Description from Amazon: Leave it to Molly to transform all her 'faults' into marvelous talents.. . . [Catrow's] pictures fill the pages with wild perspectives, goofy-looking kids, and hilarious details. . . . Leaves readers with the feeling that anything can be accomplished if you are the best person you can be and make th...

**Description from Amazon: Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same language. Their lives may be quite different. But inside, they are all alike. Stirring words and bold paintings weave their way around ou...

**Description from Amazon: Zero is a big round number. When she looks at herself, she just sees a hole right in her center. Every day she watches the other numbers line up to count: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 . . . !" "Those numbers have value. That's why they count," she thinks. But how could a number worth nothing become somethin...

**Description from Amazon: Blue is a quiet color. Red’s a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don’t like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand — until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count. As budd...

**Description from Amazon: Melissa wants to accomplish something speical, but what could it be? "Spectacular!" "Gorgeous!" "Fabulous!" Those are some of the words people use to describe Melissa Parkington's hair, which is long, thick, and so shiny that it seems to sparkle. But Melissa would like to be known for more than her ...

**Description from Amazon: Some kids like to dance and laugh out loud, and some sit quietly and make up stories in their heads—but we're all different, and that's okay because the maker of everything made us this way!In their first picture book, bestselling author Sally Clarkson and her son Nathan encourage children on the ...

**Description from Amazon: Living with the use of one's eyes can make imagining blindness difficult, but this innovative title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colors based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a f...

**Description from Amazon: Christy's mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee, a neighborhood child with Down's Syndrome. But Christy wants to run and play -- and not worry about Eddie Lee tagging along. One hot summer day, though, Eddie Lee takes Christy to a secret place in the woods and teaches her that beautiful th...

**Description from Amazon: Every girl is unique, talented, and lovable. . . .Every girl is BEAUTIFUL.Much more than how one looks on the outside, true beauty is found in conquering challenges, showing kindness, and spreading contagious laughter. Beautiful girls are empowered and smart and strong!BEAUTIFUL breaks barriers by s...

**Description from Amazon: Early one morning, a young boy wakes to the light of his alarm clock. He puts on his hearing aids and clothes, then goes to wake his father. Together they brave the cold as they walk down the dirt road that leads to the beach. Lakin’s understated story reminds readers that sometimes the best way t...

Trisha wants to be an artist, so she's thrilled when she gets into Miss Chew's special art class at the high school. But when a substitute teacher tells Trisha she should be spending her time more studiously, Trisha has to stand up for the artist inside her. Based on a true story. Your kids can meet author/illustrator Patricia Polacco at her Author Access video replay in RAR Premium.

**Description from Amazon: As six-year-old Emma anticipates the birth of her new baby brother or sister, she vividly imagines all of the things they can do together. Emma feels ready to be a big sister! Then when the baby is born, her dad tells her that it's a boy and he has something called Down syndrome. Finally she asks, "...

**Description from Amazon: When Charley goes to the playground and sees Emma, a girl with limb differences who gets around in a wheelchair, he doesn't know how to react at first. But after he and Emma start talking, he learns that different isn't bad, sad, or strange--different is just different, and different is great! This ...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Ten-year-old McKenna has always been a good student-and great at gymnastics. So when her grades suddenly begin to fall, her teacher suggests a little extra help from a tutor. McKenna is horrified until she meets her tutor, Josie, a super-confident girl who also happens to be in a wheelchair. Josie encourages McKenna to focus on her strengths and work toward her goals one day at a time. But just as McKenna begins to shine in school, she's sidelined with a gymnastics injury--and her confidence unravels. Now she's worried about her grades and earning a spot on the competitive gymnastics team. Can she find a way to believe in herself again?

**Description from Amazon: A 2019 Schneider Family Book Award WinnerBased on a real-life partnership, the heartening story of the love and teamwork between a girl and her service dog will illuminate and inspire.Rescue thought he’d grow up to be a Seeing Eye dog — it’s the family business, after all. When he gets the new...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery on a Maryland plantation in 1820. A rebellious child, she did not always do as she was told. She hated being a slave and escaped to the north on the Underground Railroad in 1849. During the next ten years, she used the money she earned at odd jobs to return to the south and lead about 300 slaves to freedom.

**Description from Amazon: The Next Step in TJEd. Often cited by the DeMilles as their favorite work to date, this inspirational manual picks up where the primer/overview work, A Thomas Jefferson Education leaves off. It develops in depth not only the philosophy but also the nuts-and-bolts application of each individual Phase...

**Description from Amazon: An international bestseller with over five million copies in print, The Power of Positive Thinking has helped men and women around the world to achieve fulfillment in their lives through Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s powerful message of faith and inspiration.In this phenomenal bestseller, “written ...

**Description from Amazon: Laura Ingalls Wilder is beginning life with her new husband, Almanzo, in their own little house. Laura is a young pioneer wife now and must work hard with Almanzo, farming the land around their home on the South Dakota prairie. Soon their baby daughter, Rose, is born, and the young family must face ...

**Description from Amazon: It's the summer of AD 79 and Flavia Gemina and her friends, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus, set sail for the Bay of Naples where they are going to stay with Flavia's uncle near Pompeii. Once they arrive, they are soon absorbed in a quest to solve a riddle that may lead to treasure. But then tragedy strik...

**Description from Amazon: Jonathan goes on a secret quest to Rome, and Flavia, Nubia and Lupus set out to find him. Their dangerous mission takes them to the Golden House of Nero where a deadly assassin is rumoured to be at work - and they learn what happened to Jonathan's family during the terrible destruction of Jerusalem ...

**Description from Amazon: It is AD 79 and Mount Vesuvius has erupted, destroying Pompeii. Among the thousands of people huddled in refugee camps along the bay of Naples are Flavia Gemina and her friends, Jonathan the Jewish boy, Nubia the African slave-girl, and Lupus the mute beggar boy. When the friends discover that child...

**Description from Amazon: The first in Caroline Lawrence's internationally bestselling Roman Mysteries series, re-issued with a fantastic new cover look. Flavia Gemina is a natural at solving mysteries. The daughter of a ship's captain living in Ostia, the port of Rome, in AD79, she and her three friends, Jonathan, a Jewish ...

Most of us have at least a few insecurities hidden inside about whether or not we can actually do this homeschooling thing. Often we are our own biggest obstacle. It makes sense that we would feel this way--after all, we’ve been taught that education is complicated. Taught that even when governmen...

How would you like to find yourself thinking and feeling differentlyabout your family, your self, and your future in just 30 days? We create our own paradise or prison by the thoughts we nurture and cultivateeach and every moment. Using the simple techniques in Mindset for Moms,you can discover how ...

Freedom within a country is vital to the health and well-being of its residents—so is freedom as a mother. It allows you to shake off the mental and emotional limitations that hold you back. Freedom enables you to come into your own, to rise to your best self. It helps you become a better mother, ...

**Description from Amazon: A collection of amusing verses by a variety of poets, including Emily Dickinson, Spike Milligan, Shakespeare, and others. "The illustrations contain caricatures, puns, ridiculous juxtapositions, and frequent references to other artists . . . Just identifying the various characters can furnish hours ...

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

Edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes, and conceived of as a collection of their own favourite poems, The Rattle Bag has established itself as the classic anthology of our time.

**Description from Amazon: Great Expectations is Charles Dickens's thirteenth novel and his penultimate (completed) novel; a bildungsroman which depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens's second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. The ...

** Description from Amazon: Ten-year-old Comfort Snowberger has attended 247 funerals. But that's not surprising, considering that her family runs the town funeral home. And even though Great-uncle Edisto keeled over with a heart attack and Great-great-aunt Florentine dropped dead--just like that--six months later, Comfort kno...

** Description from Amazon: National Book Award WinnerThe red words painted on the trailer caused quite a buzz around town and before an hour was up, half of Antler was standing in line with two dollars clutched in hand to see the fattest boy in the world.Toby Wilson is having the toughest summer of his life. It's the summer h...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A collection of poems about innocence, animals, famous people, and holidays by such authors as William Blake, Robert Frost, William Wordsworth, and David McCord.

FROM SARAH:

A book of poetry illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa that you'll want to keep on your shelf for decades. Lovely.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

William Blake, Kate Greenaway, Emily Dickinson: the writers in this charming anthology of 200 poems—first published in 1969—are among literature’s most beloved. And Gyo Fujikawa’s appealing illustrations depict children of all races sweetly interacting, as well as an engagingly rendered menagerie of animals and the natural world in all its wonderment.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

This collection, edited by acclaimed children's author and poet Donald Hall, returns the forgotten treasures of American children's poetry.

FROM SARAH:
You’ve never experienced the wild like this! Curated with young readers in mind but enchanting for adults too, this anthology blends science, imagination, and artistry into a joyful read-aloud that’s sure to inspire poetry of your own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Lovingly selected by U.S. Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis and paired with vibrant animal photography, this collection of poems is an exuberant celebration of the animal kingdom and a beautiful introduction to this genre of literature.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The illustrations of a Caldecott Medalist are combined with a seasonal selection of poems by twenty-five celebrated writers including William Shakespeare, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Richard Wright, and Edgar Allen Poe.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Langston Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribue to his people has been cherished for generations. Now, acclaimed photographer Charles R. Smith Jr. interprets this beloved poem in vivid sepia photographs that capture the glory, the beauty, and the soul of being a black American today.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A girl writes a poem to a tree, but then is surprised when the tree writes back in this wondrous and warm picture book about friendship, nature, and the power of poetry.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Jane Yolen's lilting verses and Lisel Jane Ashlock's sensitive portraits convey the cyclical nature of the seasons in this poetic tribute to the characteristics of the four periods of the year.

FROM THE PIUBLISHER

Langston Hughes has long been acknowledged as the voice, and his poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, the song, of the Harlem Renaissance.  Although he was only seventeen when he composed it, Hughes already had the insight to capture in words the strength and courage of black people in America.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

“Dream Variation,” one of Langston Hughes's most celebrated poems, about the dream of a world free of discrimination and racial prejudice, is now a picture book stunningly illustrated by Daniel Miyares, the acclaimed creator of Float.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Whitman's wise words are beautifully recast by New York Times #1 best-selling illustrator Loren Long to tell the story of a boy's fascination with the heavens.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Christopher Bing's magnificent version of this immortal ballad of the flailing 19th-century baseball star is rendered as though it had been newly discovered in a hundred-year-old scrapbook.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Showing the strong bond of love between mother and child, within nature and throughout life, Cummings’ heartfelt words expressed through McDonough’s lovely illustrations combine to create a fresh, yet classic, portrayal of love.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Haiku meet riddles in this wonderful collection from Laura Purdie Salas. The poems celebrate the seasons and describe everything from an earthworm to a baseball to an apple to snow angels, alongside full-color illustrations.

A new book of unique reversible poems based on Greek myths from the creator of Mirror Mirror     What happens when you hold up a mirror to poems about Greek myths? You get a brand-new perspective on the classics! And that is just what happens in Echo Echo, the newest collection of reverso poems fr...