One early spring afternoon, I was happily lying on a hammock in my backyard, reading. I looked up. About forty to fifty feet in front of me was a red fox sitting, relaxed, observing me. Hmm. She took a few steps towards me, sat down, and continued staring. What was she thinking? I got up, headed into my house, leaving her sitting. I watched her circle my house several times, glancing into windows. Eventually, she relaxed on my driveway, then disappeared. I kept looking for her. I have a long, narrow forest area with many trees at the edge of the property behind my house. About six weeks later, the beginning of May, this red fox reappeared in this wooded area...followed by four kits and a second adult red fox! I loved the scene. Where had they been? They must live nearby? Thus began my story, The Fox Family. This is the author’s first children’s book.
Fox Family is part of a collection highlighting all that little children need to know about themes like family, friendship, food, fun, joy, animals, the four seasons, the days of the week, and many more.
Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Students will love learning about the way of life of foxes and the challenges they face as babies and adults. There are gray foxes, arctic foxes, fennec foxes, cape foxes, swift foxes, kit foxes, and red foxes. An exciting narrative format supported by fun facts, questions, and activities, tells the story of a red fox family. Found all over the planet, red fox families start with the birth of four to six kits. Born in a den, the baby foxes leave the den with their mothers after two to three weeks and start to play, pounce, and hunt. What adventures will they have? Will they meet some other animals along the way? Readers will love these adorable animals and learn to write their own stories about them.
This book features insider information on a wide range of family matters, from sibling rivalry to divorce and other difficult transitions. Readers will find tips on building trust with adults at home and making relationships stronger. There's also expert advice on common middle school issues—like dealing with strong moods and making good decisions in heated situations.
A 2021 Oregon Book Award Winner An NPR Best Book of 2020 A Finalist for the 2021-22 Maine Student Book Award A 2021 Mythopoeic Awards Finalist Andre Norton Award finalist Jenn Reese explores the often thin line between magic and reality, light and darkness in her enchanting middle grade standalone. "Brings to life, viscerally, what it is like to live in fear of abuse—even after the abuse itself is over. But there is magic here too, and the promise of a better future that comes with learning to let people who care about you into your world." —Alan Gratz, New York Times-bestselling author of Refugee “A captivating and touching story... both whimsical and emotionally—sometimes frighteningly—compelling.” —Ingrid Law, Newbery Honor-winning author of Savvy "Magically creative and deeply honest, A Game of Fox & Squirrels merges games and grimness in a fantasy tale that tells the truth." —Elana K. Arnold, Printz Honor-winning author of Damsel and A Boy Called Bat After an incident shatters their family, eleven-year old Samantha and her older sister Caitlin are sent to live in rural Oregon with an aunt they've never met. Sam wants nothing more than to go back to the way things were... before she spoke up about their father's anger. When Aunt Vicky gives Sam a mysterious card game called "A Game of Fox & Squirrels," Sam falls in love with the animal characters, especially the charming trickster fox, Ashander. Then one day Ashander shows up in Sam’s room and offers her an adventure and a promise: find the Golden Acorn, and Sam can have anything she desires. But the fox is hiding rules that Sam isn't prepared for, and her new home feels more tempting than she'd ever expected. As Sam is swept up in the dangerous quest, the line between magic and reality grows thin. If she makes the wrong move, she'll lose far more than just a game. Perfect for fans of Barbara O'Connor, Lauren Wolk, and Ali Benjamin, A Game of Fox & Squirrels is a stunning, heartbreaking novel about a girl who finds the light in the darkness... and ultimately discovers the true meaning of home.
Just what IS a "survivalist family"? instead of "survivalist family" we could say "prepared family" or talk about "family preparedness" but that is just so politically correct it makes one sick. Just because the media don't like survivalists and therefore vilify them does not mean we have to change our language. For our purposes, the Survivalist Family is defined as, "A multi-generational group of people living in one house (usually consisting of a father, mother and their offspring) who take positive steps as a cohesive group to prepare for possible future negative situations and circumstances beyond their control." This book will guide you through all that is necessary to be prepared for future uncertainty.
A story of hope and friendship, in which resilience trumps tragedy in the wake of a forest fire. After moving from the city, one boy discovers his new home in the woods isn't so bad—there is friendship in the midst of the forest. But when he spots a fire on the horizon that soon engulfs everything he's come to know—the bugs, the plants, the fox who keeps him company—he is forced to flee. When his newfound comfort goes up in smoke, how can he ever feel at home again? In a forest fire, so much can change in an instant. But both fox and boy learn that there are some things fire cannot burn. With time, the forest will regrow, the animals will return to their home, and so will the boy and his mom. As we all search for tools for understanding the destruction of forest fires, this touching story shows that hope, friendship, and resilience shine the brightest. TIMELY: As fires rage over a wider swath of the United States and internationally, and as fire season lengthens year after year, and sets new records year after year, these are themes communities are engaging with daily during fire season. WRITTEN BY A FIREFIGHTER: The author-illustrator was a volunteer firefighter, giving him a unique perspective on the topic of forest fires. EMOTIONALLY RESONANT: This moving story ends with rebuilding—both for humans and for nature—and with a truly uplifting message of resilience. COMMUNITY-BUILDING: A wonderful resource for families and communities experiencing the aftermath of a fire or other natural disasters, as well as anyone looking to empathize with, and better understand, those communities in need. CLASSROOM RESOURCE: Not only is this the perfect resource for talking about topics like the environment, natural disasters, forest management, and emergency preparedness, this book will also spark important conversations about coping with personal and community tragedies. The author-illustrator reflects on his own experiences with forest fires in the autho's note, and backmatter provides additional context. Perfect for: Parents, Educators, Nature lovers
This book tells of a voyage of discovery by the author, a retired Bechtel chief process engineer and chemical engineering society director, whose previous writings concerned Methane Valorization and Fischer-Tropsch Reactor Design. Trying to explain why a thirteen year old boy would join a Quaker expedition to Philadelphia in 1686 he devises a fictionalized account that is eventually supported by genetic testing. Along the way he discovers, among his ancestors, a master carpenter turned politician, Americas first golf club owner and a doctor of whom it was written, There was a popular notion that he cured his patients. He finds a Young Squire who taunts the British with school pamphlets during the Revolutionary War and several Quakers who were sent off to Virginia during that war - much as we locked up the Japanese during World War II. While written as a family history, the reader will find tie-ins to Benjamin Franklins papers, to Shakespeares The Tempest, to a British diarist who wrote about William Wordsworth and to an anti-slavery tract by Fanny Kemble. The book sheds light on familys papers kept under wraps at historical libraries but leaves the final answers up to future generations. In the authors own words, "I became interested in Fox family genealogy as a result of a business trip to Bechtels London Office in 1974. While there as the process design manager for an Algerian Liquified Natural Gas project, I took the opportunity to visit the Friends Library on Euston Road. There I found a family tree called Descendants of Francis Fox of St. Germans, by Joseph Foster and also Anne Cressons biography of my own ancestor, Joseph Fox, who had been Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly during the Stamp Act uproar. I also located several books that seemed of immediate interest: The Journals of Caroline Fox 1835-1871, edited by Wendy Monk, and a biography, Caroline Fox, by Wilson Harris. These gave the approximate locations of several family estates out in Cornwall near Falmouth. There had been many famous visitors to these estates; men such as Wordsworth, Tennyson, Mill and Carlyle, and Caroline Fox had described their conversations in her Journals. "I then convinced a fellow process design engineer, Bob Chu, to drive with me out to Falmouth over a weekend. There we found the closed offices of G. C. Fox & Company, shipbrokers, and the Fox Rosehill Gardens but no other sign of Fox activity. I was a little discouraged. Bob was intrigued, however, and insisted we investigate further. So on Sunday morning we drove further west and found the Glendurgan estate, with foxes on the gateposts and Mrs. Philip Hamilton (Rona) Fox about to start up a lawnmower in the garage. She immediately dropped what she was doing and led us into her house where notes were compared on family connections. One of Francis Foxs sons had sailed to Philadelphia in 1686 on the same ship as Justinian Fox, my own ancestor. "Bob and I then had a chance to tour the fabulous Glendurgan Gardens, just recently added to the National Trust. We also stopped off at Catchfrench, an estate in St. Germans, near Plymouth, where I sat in the ruins of the house where Francis Fox had lived in the mid-1600s. This was enough to send a chill up my spine and got me to thinking about recording all of this history. Back in London, Ronas second son, Charles Lloyd Fox, introduced me to more relatives. As is described in this book, our families have maintained this relationship ever since then. "Work on this book actually started in 1992 after I retired from Bechtel and my wife, Betty, died of Lupus, both in rapid succession. I joined a Creative Writing Extension Class run by U. C. Berkeley and, for my project, started the fictionalized account recorded in the first two chapters of this book. I had learned that Justinian had only been 13 years old when he joined t
