Through a series of letters a boy, his parents, and others discuss Camp Wannaleavee, the camp bully, and Plantzilla, who has been forbidden to come but misses his caretaker and arrives in time to become the camp hero.

In a series of letters a boy, his science teacher, and his parents discuss the progress of a very unusual, sometimes frightening, plant that becomes more human as the summer progresses.

In this hilarious modern spoof of a favorite holiday song, the trip to Grandfather's house is no peaceful sleigh ride!

Froggy's off to camp! He packs a lot into one week: archery lessons, food fights, and scary stories around the campfire. But only Froggy could also manage to lose his trunks during swim class and overturn his kayak with the camp director in it. Froggy will keep his fans laughing with his latest antics.

"Israel offers an organized resource for teaching vocabulary and provides word lists, literature connections and extensions, journal prompts, and additional resources for teachers. The book′s organization allows a teacher to pick and choose where to start and what to include." —Anita Barnes, Literacy and Math Specialist Second Street School, Frankfort, KY "A valuable resource for teachers who want to increase their students′ vocabulary." —Gustava Cooper-Baker, Principal Sanford B. Ladd Elementary School, Kansas City, MO Engage young children with this creative and strategic approach for building early literacy skills! Helping PreK and primary-grade educators improve young students′ oral language and build strong reading and writing skills, this practical resource is the ideal tool for planning literacy instruction based on the National Reading Panel′s recommendations for vocabulary development. Unique in its thematic approach to developing students′ vocabulary, this book provides word lists, literature selections, and teaching strategies for building young learners′ vocabulary and comprehension skills. Based on original research conducted by Susan E. Israel and Edward B. Fry, the lists are comprised of words used frequently by children in their writing, as well as additional words to enhance learning. Each thematic chapter offers: Literacy integrations for reading and writing in the classroom Writing prompts to integrate with journal activities Read-aloud suggestions from children′s literature Think-alouds to enhance vocabulary Vocabulary Lists and Activities for the PreK–2 Classroom not only fills a gap in the field of reading and writing instruction but also provides a wealth of activities and vocabulary words organized around topics appropriate for primary students.

In this National Book Award finalist, Joey Pigza tries hard to be a good kid trapped in a wired body.

Chipper the Clown tells the story of a man who remembers his childhood dreams of only wanting to make people laugh. So he packs up his things and goes off to join the circus as a clown. Then he is embarrassed when he finds out he isn't good at it. Nobody thinks he's funny. Who ever heard of a clown in a pinstriped suit? So what will Chipper do? He turns to the older, more experienced clowns for some good advice. This story is about the benefits of asking the right people for help and not giving up when following a dream.