Winner of a Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor! A heartfelt novel about a neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, and expanding horizons for fans of Rain Reign and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World. Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz feels most comfortable when her life is well planned out and people fit neatly into her predefined categories. She attends temple with Abba and Mom every Friday and Saturday. Ellen only gets crushes on girls, never boys, and she knows she can always rely on her best-and-only friend, Laurel, to help navigate social situations at their private Georgia middle school. Laurel has always made Ellen feel like being autistic is no big deal. But lately, Laurel has started making more friends, and cancelling more weekend plans with Ellen than she keeps. A school trip to Barcelona seems like the perfect place for Ellen to get their friendship back on track. Except it doesn't. Toss in a new nonbinary classmate whose identity has Ellen questioning her very binary way of seeing the world, homesickness, a scavenger hunt-style team project that takes the students through Barcelona to learn about Spanish culture and this trip is anything but what Ellen planned. Making new friends and letting go of old ones is never easy, but Ellen might just find a comfortable new place for herself if she can learn to embrace the fact that life doesn't always stick to a planned itinerary.

So begins this controversial and enlightened book by Roger Schank, Ph.D., a world-renowned expert on teaming, who believes that every day of the school year our children are being failed by an academic system that does nothing to stir a lifelong passion for learning. In this lively, sometimes alarming book, Schank shatters the myths about how children learn and offers candid advice for parents who want to raise kids with gumption, ambition, creativity, inquisitiveness, and analytic and verbal proficiency.

Perfect for fans of George and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World: a heartfelt coming of age story about a nonbinary character navigating a binary world. Twelve-year-old Ana-Marie Jin, the reigning US Juvenile figure skating champion, is not a frilly dress kind of kid. So, when Ana learns that next season's program will be princess themed, doubt forms fast. Still, Ana tries to focus on training and putting together a stellar routine worthy of national success. Once Ana meets Hayden, a transgender boy new to the rink, thoughts about the princess program and gender identity begin to take center stage. And when Hayden mistakes Ana for a boy, Ana doesn't correct him and finds comfort in this boyish identity when he's around. As their friendship develops, Ana realizes that it's tricky juggling two different identities on one slippery sheet of ice. And with a major competition approaching, Ana must decide whether telling everyone the truth is worth risking years of hard work and sacrifice.

Count up to 10 and back down again in this picture book starring 10 traveling dogs and one very tenacious cat! One by one, each dog escapes its yard and joins the adventure in this hilarious counting story. Vehicle-obsessed readers will love seeing all the modes of transportation that the pups use—until the family cat decides to round them all up to go back home. Gabi Snyder’s charming text and Robin Rosenthal’s delightful illustrations are a surefire combination in this winning picture book.

When they meet on the first day of school, three girls realize they are different from each other - Molly is Christian, Savera is Muslim, and Hannah is Jewish. As the seasons pass, the girls' friendship blossoms through a planting project in Peace Park. Written by three women authors from the same faith traditions as the girls in the story, this book brings more kindness and understanding into the world. PEACE, SALAAM, SHALOM.

This artfully crafted book of short stories highlights characters living under unique circumstances. It will introduce you to many characters who encounter hardship, magic, and other distinct circumstances. From survival stories to magical fairy tales, author Helen Lapakko gives us a sense of how to inspire hope in others when all seems lost and how to achieve happiness during difficult circumstances. In The Choir, you’ll meet Kirby, who has a passion for music and bad boys. Then, you’ll see how to inspire hope in others through her eyes as she faces her ghosts and finds the courage to attempt to achieve happiness by entering a songwriting contest. Mr. Red introduces us to Maggie and her best friend, a little red squirrel that helps her deal with her parents’ mental illness. It's another one of those short survival stories that will show you what it means to live a resilient life. In Second Story Window, you’ll see how to find yourself in one of those incredible survival stories where Alex, age ten, finds herself in a wheelchair for the first time. If you’re searching for your sense of self-identity or wondering how to find yourself in a world where everyone but you appears normal, you’ll find yourself right at home with the characters in these stories. You’ll see how they achieve happiness while overcoming physical disabilities and other hardships. This book of short stories embraces the diversity and uniqueness that the author considers the spice of life while showing us how to be who we are.

"Outside the Lines explores the personal and historical forces that have shaped the work of a dozen gifted poets. The answers given to Hennessy's astute, perfectly tailored questions remind a reader how exciting poetry can be, and how writers create, through language, the world as we have never known it. These adventuresome interviews will stir anyone who cares about the making of art." ---Bernard Cooper, author of Maps to Anywhere Editor Christopher Hennessy gathers interviews with some of the most significant figures in contemporary American poetry. While each poet is gay, these encompassing, craft-centered interviews reflect the diversity of their respective arts and serve as a testament to the impact gay poets have had and will continue to have on contemporary poetics. The book includes twelve frank, intense interviews with some of America's best-known and loved poets, who have not only enjoyed wide critical acclaim but who have had lasting impact on both the gay tradition and the contemporary canon writ large, for example, Frank Bidart, the late Thom Gunn, and J. D. McClatchy. Some of the most honored and respected poets, still in the middle of their careers, are also included, for example, Mark Doty, Carl Phillips, and Reginald Shepherd. Each interview explores the poet's complete work to date, often illuminating the poet's technical evolution and emotional growth, probing shifts in theme, and even investigating links between verse and sexuality. In addition to a selected bibliography of works by established poets, the book also includes a list of works by newer and emerging poets who are well on their way to becoming important voices of the new millennium.