When Osbert the penguin shows up on his doorstep with several friends along with an invitation to Aurora Australis' party at the South Pole, the boy decides to transport them there in the helicopter he received this year for Christmas.

When a boy finally gets exactly what he wants from Santa, he learns that owning a real penguin may not have been a good idea after all.

Fabulously illustrated by H. B. Lewis, Elizabeth Cody Kimmel's hilarious romp through the land of be-careful-what-you-wish-for offers a whole year's worth of holiday fun magic. It's just what you wanted — it's just what you asked for! But this irresistible penguin won't ever have to go back to the zoo. Complete with his very own nametag, this charming plush Osbert will delight children just as last fall's popular picture book, MY PENGUIN OSBERT, did. - stands 8 inches high - made of a soft, infant-safe, machine-washable fabric - completely safe for babies - individually polybagged, with a hang tag gift card.

Whether used for thematic story times, program and curriculum planning, readers' advisory, or collection development, this updated edition of the well-known companion makes finding the right picture books for your library a breeze. Generations of savvy librarians and educators have relied on this detailed subject guide to children's picture books for all aspects of children's services, and this new edition does not disappoint. Covering more than 18,000 books published through 2017, it empowers users to identify current and classic titles on topics ranging from apples to zebras. Organized simply, with a subject guide that categorizes subjects by theme and topic and subject headings arranged alphabetically, this reference applies more than 1,200 intuitive (as opposed to formal catalog) subject terms to children's picture books, making it both a comprehensive and user-friendly resource that is accessible to parents and teachers as well as librarians. It can be used to identify titles to fill in gaps in library collections, to find books on particular topics for young readers, to help teachers locate titles to support lessons, or to design thematic programs and story times. Title and illustrator indexes, in addition to a bibliographic guide arranged alphabetically by author name, further extend access to titles.

In this second edition of Becoming a Literacy Leader: Supporting Learning and Change, author Jennifer Allen reflects on her work as a literacy specialist and how the role has evolved in the decade since she wrote the first edition. Her experiences can apply to all school leaders including principals, coaches, teachers, support staff, and office administrators. Allen focuses on three ideas to describe her work: Layered Leadership, the multitude of supports in place for teachers to encourage learning and change within schools; Shared experiences that develop community and develop common understanding of practices, curriculum, and assessment; Importance of 'rowing in the same direction' in that literacy coaches and leaders stay interconnected and aligned to the goals of the school. Allen knows the challenges of teachers face and advocates literacy coaches implement these layers of support within a school, including in-class support, curriculum support and assessment, study group facilitation, and the cultivation of teacher leadership. In Becoming a Literacy Leader, she provides an explicit framework for implementing these layers of coaching and explains how administrators can use the literacy leader position to build and sustain change within their schools. This book will be the road map for how literacy leaders and coaches approach their work with purpose and intention. Online videos that accompany the book bring the text alive by showing readers what coaching looks and sounds like.

Reading stories is an invaluable experience for young children, helping them to develop a wide range of important skills. As well as developing listening skills, children who have regular access to stories develop an awareness of story structure, character and setting. They also begin to understand the concept of letter sounds and words printed on the page and increase their vocabulary. Offering opportunities for active, involved, cross-curricular learning, story bags help bring stories to life and offer practical ideas that serve the differing interests and learning styles of young children.