Read along! Readers will twist and shout for this headbanging companion to the #1 New York Times best-selling We Don't Eat Our Classmates.Penelope is a T. rex, and she's very good at it. She also likes to rock out on guitar! With the school talent show coming up, Penelope can't wait to perform for her classmates. But sharing who you are can be show-stoppingly scary, especially when it's not what people expect. Will Penelope get by with a little help from her friends?

Everybody needs a rock -- at least that's the way this particular rock hound feels about it in presenting her own highly individualistic rules for finding just the right rock for you.

Rocks may seem like boring, static objects—until you discover that a rock can spark a fire, glow in the dark, and provide shelters of all shapes and sizes. Laura Purdie Salas's lyrical rhyming text and Violeta Dabija's glowing illustrations show how rocks decorate and strengthen the world around them.

Amazing rocks, found on a stretch of beach near the author's home, comprise this unique alphabet book. A is for Addition, and there are rocks in the shape of real numbers, too. B is for Bird, and there is a bird rock on a nest with an egg. G is for Ghosts, and there is a host of rocks that look like ghosts! Children and adults alike will pore over these fascinating rocks, and will be inspired collect their own.

The author writes a wonderful story. The illustrator creates incredible images. But what can educators bring to their read-alouds? Do the read-alouds ROCK? The fact is, every read-aloud is a performance. And every aspect of a read-aloud performance informs a child's understanding and appreciation of the story. In this book educators of elementary grades learn dozens of innovative ways to ROCK the read-alouds regardless of experience or performance skills. Educators can apply all the techniques in this book or simply pick a specific performance area to improve upon. Regardless, methods and classroom-tested approaches are provided by some of the best read-aloud performers and storytellers in the business.

In this remarkable resource, Maria Walther shares two-page read-aloud experiences for 101 picture books that tune you into what to notice, say, and wonder in order to bolster students’ literacy exponentially. A first-grade teacher for decades, Maria is a master of “strategic savoring.” Her lesson design efficiently sparks instructional conversations around each book’s cover illustration, enriching vocabulary words, literary language, and the ideas and themes vital to young learners. Teachers, schools, and districts looking to energize your core reading and writing program, search no further: The Ramped-Up Read Aloud delivers a formula for literacy development and a springboard to joy in equal parts.