Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits. Then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs. Only when Jess is able to come to grips with this tragedy does he finally understand the strength and courage Leslie has given him.

"Perfect for teachers and school administrators looking to bridge the reading gap between the school and community. Provides many useful and relevant suggestions." —Ken Schofield, Principal Chaparral Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ "I absolutely enjoyed the text. The amount of studies and research-based decision-making strategies make this resource invaluable for schools working on school improvement plans. This book could be used as a textbook for reading improvement!" —Lyndon Oswald, Principal Sandcreek Middle School, Idaho Falls, ID Create a community-supported culture of reading that fosters students′ lifelong cognitive development! Based on the premise that student growth in literacy is strengthened when all stakeholders are involved, Coming Together as Readers, Second Edition, helps educators forge community collaborations to build successful reading at all grade levels. Drawing on her experience as a teacher, professor, and former president of the International Reading Association, literacy expert Donna Ogle offers creative strategies for using university partnerships, teacher collaboration, and family involvement to help shape, inform, and support reading habits beyond the primary grades. The author also provides an easy-to-administer survey for diagnosing a school′s reading culture, and demonstrates how to identify priorities and create a vision, encourage shared discussion and study, and move toward positive change that promotes ideal conditions for developing literacy. Aligned with national reading initiatives and standards, this updated, research-based edition includes: A new chapter about gaining support from libraries Protocols for teacher groups reviewing student work Examples of teachers sharing their own personal reading with students Web sites and tips for working with government and professional organizations This reader-friendly guidebook is ideal for helping young students expand their reading strategies to establish the cognitive foundation for advanced learning.

"Beautifully written, brilliant, and necessary," (Matt de la Pena, Newbery Medalist), here is a body-positive book about how a boy deals with fat-shaming. Ari has body-image issues. After a move across the country, his parents work selling and promoting his mother's paintings and sculptures. Ari's bohemian mother needs space to create, and his father is gone for long stretches of time on "sales" trips. Meanwhile, Ari makes new friends: Pick, the gamer; the artsy Jorge, and the troubled Lisa. He is also relentlessly bullied because he's overweight, but he can't tell his parents—they're simply not around enough to listen. After an upsetting incident, Ari's mom suggests he go on a diet, and she gives him a book to help. But the book—and the diet—can’t fix everything. As Ari faces the demise of his parents' marriage, he also feels himself changing, both emotionally and physically. Here is a much-needed story about accepting the imperfect in oneself and in life.

Twelve-year-old Sophie is excited to have the opportunity to audition for a television commercial until she learns the company is Beatrice's Brownies, the biggest competitor to her best friend's family's cupcake shop. Includes recipes for chocolate treats.

"Will enchant your imagination." -Erin Entrada Kelly, Newbery Medal-Winning author In this moving and magical instant classic, Megan Frazer Blakemore shows how the truths we tell can change the world. When Alice was little, she found a gigantic spider web deep in the forest. Her dad called it the Story Web and told her that its strands are woven from the stories that connect us all. Years later, Alice's dad has gone away and Alice is sure that it's her fault. Now she won't even talk about him, and she definitely doesn't believe his farfetched stories anymore. But when animals in town start acting strangely, she can't ignore them. The Story Web is in danger--and the very fabric of our world is breaking. The only way to mend it is to tell honest tales from the heart, even if they are difficult to share. Pick up The Story Web if you are looking for: - Stories about storytelling - Heartfelt, magical tales - Fun animal characters - Honest conversations about mental health

The fictional worlds created by many contemporary American and Canadian Indigenous novelists for young people provide unique access to the lived experiences of Indigenous people, past, present, and future and the often inaccessible worlds they inhabit. Readers aged 10-16 will gain many insights about Indigenous people and themselves—Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers alike—through sustained immersion in fictional worlds where Indigenous people are foregrounded, active, autonomous, respected, and valued. Exploring Indigenous Novels in Grades 5-10: Literature Studies Focusing on Indigenized Worlds, a companion book for Indigenous Novels, Indigenized Worlds, offers teachers and students in grades 5-10 a unique framework and specialized sets of resources for collaborative classroom explorations of indigenized worlds created by the Indigenous writers. This unique book offers illuminating sets of questions and carefully selected print and digital resources for classroom explorations of 11 Indigenous novels spanning the genres of historical, contemporary realistic, and fantasy fiction. These questions and resources focus student learning on such indigenizing features as ancestral beings, sacred objects, cultural values, celebratory dances, traditional stories, material appropriation, cultural denigration, community leadership, restoration, and more.