**WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL 2013-2014 MORNING CALM MEDAL** This multicultural children's book presents a heartwarming Korean fairy tale about a little girl and a fortunate encounter. Poverty is all Maya has ever known, but she doesn't allow it to stop her from caring for her father, and others, as best she can. Kind and gentle, she is a lovely young girl who always puts others first. One day, she finds a little turtle and takes him home, raising and loving him, never knowing that he will play an instrumental part in her destiny. Similar to The Korean Cinderella, Maya and the Turtle, is an original Korean fairy tale by authors John Stickler and Soma Han that teaches children that the road to greatness lies in selflessness and that the loving kindness of a pure heart can awaken great love and power in another. Beautifully illustrated by Han, this book contains fascinating bits of information about Korean culture and is a poignant tale about the rewards of kindness, patience and courage.

Discusses the food, dress, schooling, games, housing, and culture of children in the ancient Mayan civilization.

Mighty Miss Maya is a about a fierce little girl who doesn't let anything stand in her way. Maya and her dog, Abby, go on fantastic adventures, seeing new sights, and learning new skills. Sometimes, Maya faces big challenges and feels very stuck. Luckily, she knows just how might she is. "See it, then be it," she reminds herself, and she soon finds that there's almost nothing she can't do!

An award-winning journalist and literacy advocate provides a clear, step-by-step guide to helping your child thrive as a reader and a learner. When her child went off to school, Maya Smart was shocked to discover that a good education in America is a long shot, in ways that few parents fully appreciate. Our current approach to literacy offers too little, too late, and attempting to play catch-up when our kids get to kindergarten can no longer be our default strategy. We have to start at the top. The brain architecture for reading develops rapidly during infancy, and early language experiences are critical to building it. That means parents’ work as children’s first teachers begins from day one too—and we need deeper knowledge to play our positions. Reading for Our Lives challenges the bath-book-bed mantra and the idea that reading aloud to our kids is enough to ensure school readiness. Instead, it gives parents easy, immediate, and accessible ways to nurture language and literacy development from the start. Through personal stories, historical accounts, scholarly research, and practical tips, this book presents the life-and-death urgency of literacy, investigates inequity in reading achievement, and illuminates a path to a true, transformative education for all.

While artist Luz-Maria Lopez was growing up in Honduras, her grandmother would share stories about her Mayan ancestors, such as the legend of the finger people. The tale begins with the lonely gods in heaven. Though they created flowers and beasts to roam the forest, they lacked companionship. They created a man out of clay, but he melted. A man made of wood caught fire, and a man made of gold lacked an appreciation for nature's beauty. They decided that man must be composed from the gods. The gods cut their fingers from their hand, which fell to earth and transformed into the energetic finger people. The compassionate little people felt bad for the cold, gold man and offered him love and warmth. For this, the gods decreed that no rich man can enter the gates of heaven unless he treats others with love and kindness, just as the finger people showed kindness to the gold man. Told in both English and Spanish, this unique story is full of vibrant illustrations by Luz-Maria Lopez, which reflect traditional Mayan art.

Destiny and Development is an engaging narrative of one remarkable person's life and the life of her community that blends psychology, anthropology, and history to reveal the integral role that culture plays in human development.

A personal exploration of the conjunction between ancient Mesoamerican prophesy and New Age higher consciousness. • Selected by the Independent Publisher's Book Awards as one of the top two New Age books of the year. • Explores ancient prophesies and their relevance in the contemporary world. The Incan and Mayan cultures saw themselves as “children of light”--descended from celestial realms--and their prophecies foretell a time of great spiritual awakening. They prophesied a time when the gateways to higher consciousness would open once again. That time is now. Award-winning author Judith Bluestone Polich draws on her extensive research in quantum physics, archeoastronomy, holography, cosmology, and pioneering studies of human consciousness to show how science and contemporary thought are consistent with this ancient knowledge. As the ancients predicted, the human god-seed is beginning to awaken, and modern civilization is finally beginning to perceive human potential in ways that the ancient cultures accepted as truth. Polich introduces techniques for awakening our own human potential through dreaming, meditations, and the power of sacred sites.