This clever celebration of words and their meanings features a strong cowgirl who wrangles words alongside cattle. Lexie is the best wrangler west of the Mississippi—word wrangler, that is. She watches over baby letters while they grow into words and ties shorter words together into longer ones; she herds words into sentences, hitches sentences together, and pens them all in to tell a story. But lately, something seems off at the ranch. First the d goes missing from her bandana, leaving her with a banana to tie around her neck, and soon afterward every S-T-A-R in the sky turns into R-A-T-S. There’s no doubt about it—there’s a word rustler causing this ruckus, and Lexie plans to track him down . . . even if it means riding her horse through the sticky icing of a desert that’s suddenly become a giant dessert. This fantastic spin on “cowboy” stories populates Lexie’s ranch with lively letters and words, alongside the typical cattle and horses, and stars a smart, confident, charismatic heroine. Rebecca Van Slyke’s creative, silly wordplay pairs perfectly with Jessie Hartland’s lively illustrations, and there’s even a glossary of helpful terms for up-and-coming word wranglers.

Where did Dad learn how to be the best father ever? At Dad School, of course! In this adorable kid’s-eye view of what would happen if Dad went to school, a little boy imagines a place where all dads learn their amazing skills, like giving piggyback rides and making giant sandwiches for lunch. With warm, silly illustrations and a fun role-reversal story in which dads act like kids, young readers will love imagining what would happen if their own dads went to Dad School.

Love is everywhere, even in the fartherst reaches of the Solar System. On NASA's first-ever mission to Pluto, the New Horizons satellite discovers that even when you're far from home, you are loved. New Horizons was the first NASA satellite to visit and take close-up images of Pluto. And though the journey was long and challenging, New Horizons discovered a message of love in the heart-shaped nitrogren ice lake on Pluto's surface.

Imagine what would happen if moms went to Mom School! In this adorable kid’s-eye view of what would happen if Mom went to school, a little girl imagines Mom School, where all moms learn their amazing skills, like fixing a bike tire and baking cupcakes. With warm, funny illustrations and a fun role-reversal story in which moms act like kids, young readers will love imagining what would happen if their own moms went to Mom School.

The dictionary as narrator? YES! Calvin's dictionary is proud to be carried everywhere Calvin goes--the breakfast table, school, baseball practice, and home again--because Calvin is determined to find the perfect word to attach to his annoying older brother. The word isn’t exactly revenge, mayhem, bewilderment, subterfuge, pulverize, or even retaliation, though all those words are so close and very tempting. When Calvin finally finds the right word for his rascally brother, his dictionary is surprised and delighted, and readers will enjoy celebrating the triumphant discovery of Calvin's perfect word along with his dictionary.

Ralph warns Flora not to pick that thirteenth bean. Everyone knows it’s unlucky! Now that they’re stuck with it, how can they make it disappear? If they each eat half the beans, there’s still one left over. And if they invite a friend over, they each eat four beans, but there’s still one left over! And four friends could each eat three beans, but there’s still one left over! HOW WILL THEY ESCAPE THE CURSE OF BEAN THIRTEEN?! A funny story about beans, that may secretly be about . . . math! Sometimes you can divide, but you just can’t conquer (the bean thirteen, that is).

An elevator ride to a birthday party turns into a shared experience bursting with joy in this multicultural story about community, togetherness and the special feeling of belonging. Today is Olive’s birthday party, and Sophie and her dad have baked cookies. Sophie’s dad holds the platter so Sophie can push the elevator button for the tenth floor. But on the way up, the elevator stops for the Santucci brothers. Then, for Vicky, Babs, and their dog, Norman. And, as the elevator ascends, more neighbors squeeze in: the Habibs, the Flores family, Mr. Kwan. Everyone’s going to the party! Such a wonderful, close-knit building — kids will want to move right in!