Printz Honor winner and National Book Award Finalist Elana K. Arnold is back with Starla Jean Takes The Cake, an irresistible story of a girl, her chicken, and a few new friends, superbly illustrated by A. N. Kang. It's Willa's first birthday -- a day that doesn't come along...every day. In fact, it only comes once and Starla Jean is going to make the best out of it for her baby sister. How? A party! All she has to do is: -decorate -keep Opal Egg entertained -get ingredients for a cake -try to get Opal Egg to lay an egg -invite guests -come on, Opal Egg! How hard is it to lay an egg? You're a chicken! -bake the cake -Give Willa the best first birthday party ever! But, in typical Starla Jean fashion, a few surprises are waiting to derail the determined girl... but could they be...good surprises?

Printz Honor winner and National Book Award Finalist Elana K. Arnold makes her chapter book debut with this charming story of a girl and her chicken, irresistibly illustrated by A. N. Kang. Introducing Starla Jean! She's full of moxie, clever as a fox, and obsessed with catching a chicken she finds at the park. When Starla first sees the scrawny bird wandering around, she just knows they're destined for one another. Her dad says, "If you can catch it, you can keep it," and Starla Jean is not one to back down from a challenge.

Starla Jean and her pet chicken, Opal Egg, return in this side-splitting third chapter book, just in time to solve a puzzling mystery that takes them on a chase through the neighborhood! Have you ever walked a chicken on a leash? Well, chicken expert Starla Jean will let you know first hand, it's not easy. But that doesn't stop Starla from taking her pet chicken, Opal Egg, and her baby sister, Willa, out on a stroll through the neighborhood. On their walk, they stumble upon a mysterious bead. And then another! Before they know it, there's a conundrum on their hands, and it's up to Starla and her friends to figure out just who exactly is losing these beads! Printz Honor winner and National Book Award Finalist Elana K. Arnold is back once more with this irresistible story of a girl, her chicken, and an unfolding mystery, superbly illustrated by A. N. Kang.

In this propulsive memoir from Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, inspired by a harrowing New York Times article, Don't Look Back tells a powerful story showing both the ugliness and the beauty of humanity, and the power of not giving up. I want life. After a deadly attack in South Sudan left six-year-old Achut Deng without a family, she lived in refugee camps for ten years, until a refugee relocation program gave her the opportunity to move to the United States. When asked why she should be given a chance to leave the camp, Achut simply told the interviewer: I want life. But the chance at starting a new life in a new country came with a different set of challenges. Some of them equally deadly. Taught by the strong women in her life not to look back, Achut kept moving forward, overcoming one obstacle after another, facing each day with hope and faith in her future. Yet, just as Achut began to think of the US as her home, a tie to her old life resurfaced, and for the first time, she had no choice but to remember her past.

Let your child's imagination run wild in this wonderfully busy, search-and-find board book - follow fun characters, spot and count things, and have an entertaining, I-spy adventure! From an exciting town to a sunny beach, a beautiful park to a colorful toyshop, little ones visit their best-loved places, search through the busy scenes, then point to and name all sorts of delightful things, building their vocabulary. They follow entertaining characters like the little girl and her mum buying things for a birthday party, the young boy out and about with his grandparents, and playful Patch, the mischievous pup. They count scampering squirrels, fluttery butterflies, flying birds, and more. Plus there are favorite toys and fabulous treats to find, and a cool cat is hiding somewhere in each scene! A perfect interactive book to share with pre-reading toddlers or older children just beginning to read, every scene has "Can you spot?" questions, things to find that are certain colors or patterns, and open-ended prompts to encourage observation, exploration, and conversation. And at the end of the book, little ones can play a fun "Look back and find..." game. With so many favorite things to talk about, and characters to follow from page to page, children can use their imaginations to tell their own story. Perhaps they will continue the story even after they have finished the book!

Happiness is a day in the park for a pack of joyful pups, in this Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning Level D early reader. See me run. A happy, fuzzy gold mutt is running through the park when he finds some friends. So he joins the crowd, and together they run, chase, and play in the mud. Then they begin to dig-- and find the mother lode, a huge pile of bones. But when the bones magically arrange themselves into a dinosaur-- who isn't very happy to be woken up-- the dogs have to run again! Energetic, cartoon-style illustrations of this pack of mischievous dogs accompany the simple text, adding plenty of visual humor and detail to delighjt young readers. Filled with personality and fun, this pack of pups is bound for adventure! The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors--create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own! Suitable for late kindergarten readers, Level D books use a wider vocabulary and more complex plots with multiple scenes. They feature longer sentences and greater variety in sentence structure than the prior levels. Move onto Level E books next!

The first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum. For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet. "This sweet and thoughtful novel chronicles Bat’s experiences and challenges at school with friends and teachers and at home with his sister and divorced parents. Approachable for younger or reluctant readers while still delivering a powerful and thoughtful story" (from the review by Brightly, which named A Boy Called Bat a best book of the year). Elana K. Arnold's Bat trilogy is a proven winner in the home and classroom—kids love these short illustrated young middle grade books. The trilogy is A Boy Called Bat, Bat and the Waiting Game, and Bat and the End of Everything.