Jasper refuses to go to school… every day! He hides, has outbursts, and comes up with new reasons for why he absolutely has to stay home. The more days he misses, however, the more anxious he gets about going back. Now his homework is piling up, and his parents are increasingly concerned and frustrated. Can they, along with an understanding teacher, find a solution that will ease Jasper’s anxieties and get him back to class?
Jasper is jittery, queasy, and panicky. Must be time for school! For weeks, he has fussed, moaned, and sometimes even refused to go to class. He has outbursts each morning, tells Mom and Dad he’s sick, and hides in his room. He uses any and every reason he can muster to stay at home, but then spends hours playing video games and watching his favorite reptile shows. The longer Jasper stays out of school, the more anxious he gets about going back. His homework is piling up, and his parents are increasingly concerned and frustrated. They insist he go to school, and Jasper promises he will tomorrow. It’s always tomorrow. But when morning comes, he sobs and says he has to stay home for just one more day. Missing school also means missing football practice, so Jasper isn’t allowed to play in the big game. When the team loses, he wonders if he is to blame? Everyone wants an answer for why Jasper keeps skipping out on school. Is there a bully on the bus? Is school scary? Is homework too hard? Is he really sick? Is it a cry for attention? With playful rhymes and colorful characters, author Ashley Bartley explores why sometimes young kids refuse to go to school and what can give them the confidence to try school again. A special page written specifically for parents and teachers offers insightful and practical tips on helping children who suffer from separation anxiety and school-related stress
Holly is having a miserable, rotten day! She forgot her “show” for Show and Tell. She dropped her sandwich on the floor. She had to wait and wait and wait because Mom was the very last car in the pickup line, and she’s soaked to the bone from the rain. Nothing good has happened to her all day! When Holly climbs into the backseat of the family car, she gives her mom an earful. She doesn’t even bother to acknowledge the cupcake and juice Mom has waiting for her. Holly is completely focused on all the things that are terrible or awful or boring. Mom really doesn’t want to spend the car ride home listening to a litany of her daughter’s complaints and grievances. To lighten the mood, she convinces Holly to play a game of Count the Red Cars. But when they arrive home, Mom doesn’t ask Holly how many red cars she saw. Instead, she asks Holly how many yellow cars she spotted. The game was never really about cars and colors. It was actually a lesson about what you choose to see, and now Holly will never look at life the same way again! Author Gina Prosch explores how easy it can be for kids to become so fixated on problems and disappointments that they ignore or simply miss all the good, funny, and joyful things that are happening around them. A special page written specifically for parents and educators offers insights and practical tips on helping children find more joy each and every day.
When their friend Rex goes missing, Dac and Steg set out to find him. They search his favorite hideouts, from a dark cave to a steep canyon. But he’s nowhere to be found. They ask everyone they meet if they know where Rex might be. Someone saw him at the waterfall. Someone else saw him at the bridge. But where is he now? Rex is seriously stuck in a pit of mud and muck. Can his friends come together and figure out a way to free him, or will they end up stuck in the muck, too?
Her well-earned nickname is Sorry Sophie because she’s always saying sorry. And that’s the problem. Sophie thinks saying the word sorry will solve or smooth over whatever mess, mishap, or misery she creates. But when she accidentally destroys her friend’s much-loved birthday gift, Sophie discovers that sometimes simply saying sorry isn’t enough. As Sophie seeks her friend’s forgiveness, she learns a valuable lesson: everyone makes mistakes, but how you respond afterward matters and that means acknowledging the wrongdoing, expressing remorse, sincerely apologizing, and working to repair the harm.
Holly learns the hard way that crossing her fingers and hoping for the best is no strategy for success. The night before an important English test, Holly socializes more than she studies. On the day of the exam, Holly hopes the test won’t be too hard and she really hopes to score big. But when her grade is posted online, she sees a big fat D with a plus sign. Staring at her grade and feeling a mix of disappointment and disbelief, Holly tells her mom that she had hoped really, really hard but it looks like that wasn’t enough. Mom must gently remind her daughter that wishful thinking rarely works by itself. If Holly wants to make her dreams come true, she has to do more than hope. She has to be an active participant by staying motivated, putting in the effort, and being resilient. What Holly needs is a different kind of hope. A HOPE that is built on Hard work, Optimism, and Perseverance, so Eventually her dreams can become reality. Author Gina Prosch helps young children see and understand how to be the leaders of their own lives by maintaining a sense of hopefulness and emotional resilience. A special page written specifically for parents and educators offers insights and practical tips on helping children lean into hope to find the motivation they need to achieve their goals. Hope! More Than Wishful Thinking is the second title in the author’s Holly’s Choice series, which also includes the award-winning Joy! You Find What You Look For.
Life has gotten more confusing for Gabe because stuff keeps happening to him for no reason! Like when his basketball teammate kept refusing to pass the ball to him, even when he was wide open. Or the time his math teacher didn’t give him full credit, even though he had the right answers. Or when his classmate, out of the blue, leaned over and knocked all his pencils to the floor. Did these things really happen to him for no reason, or are their hidden explanations that Gabe is simply not seeing?
Go on a job adventure with siblings Bridget and Fidget Widget. They are in search of an answer to an age-old question: What should I be when I grow up? New York Times best-selling author and illustrator Michael Garland takes young readers on an eye-opening journey, highlighting careers in the skilled trades and reminding kids there are no limitations to what they can be or do!
She's proud to be the school's biggest tattler, always slithering up to the teacher to rat out anyone who makes a mistake or acts a little mischievous. One minute she's outing Opal the Octopus for doodling, and the next minute she's calling out Casey the Cow for blowing bubbles. Is Diamond just a snake in the grass who can't be trusted? The class busybody who likes getting her classmates into trouble? Or does she tattle because she thinks it's the only right thing to do? Diamond Rattle Loves to Tattle is a cutely illustrated tale about figuring out when the right thing to do means telling an adult and when the best thing to do is figuring it out on your own. A great lesson on developing problem-solving skills for young readers in grades K through 5. Tips for parents and educators are included at the end of the story to help children learn other options besides tattling and getting to know the difference between trying to HELP someone in trouble and trying to GET someone in trouble.
