Family is about love no matter how different parents and children may be, adopted or not. Choco wishes he had a mother, but who could she be? He sets off to find her, asking all kinds of animals, but he doesn't meet anyone who looks just like him. He doesn't even think of asking Mrs. Bear if she's his mother-but then she starts to do just the things a mommy might do. And when she brings him home, he meets her other children-a piglet, a hippo, and an alligator-and learns that families can come in all shapes and sizes and still fit together. Keiko Kasza's twist on the "Are you my mother?" theme has become one of the most highly recommended stories about adoption for children.

When an infamous thief comes to Paris, genius middle-schooler Simone LaFray must track him down and prevent him from stealing a famous painting-on top of taking care of her younger sister, working in the family pastry shop, and helping her father prepare for the world-renowned Chocolatiers' Ball!

The bulk of this volume consists of listings for 1,000-plus books for reading levels from emergent to the second grade. Each entry provides the title, author(s), publisher, year of publication, a brief plot synopsis, and brief description of dominant themes. In addition three introductory chapters d