8 people - 6 Months - 1 Country - 43 States - 20 Cities - 18 churches visited - 10 homes - 24 campsites - 5 host churches - 2 Bible Conferences - 20 National Parks - 20 Museums - 7 Capitol Buildings - 2 Military Bases - 2 Space Shuttles - 3 Great Bridges - 108 Fridge Magnets - 21, 139 Kilometers (or 13, 138 miles) When Singaporeans, Dan and Sue, decided to take their six homeschooled children on an epic 6-month road trip in the USA, they never did imagine just how tremendous their experience would turn out to be! Traveling with their faithful Pop-up Camper, 6 kids in tow (15- 3 years old), America has left them with a deeply enriching experience. A full colour, 300 page book with many stunning and inspiring photographs taken by their eldest son Asher (who was 15 at the time of the trip), this travelogue attempts to chronologically record the family's epic 43 state journey around the USA. The whole family contributes many candid thoughts and learning moments being on a daily shifting schedule and of their encounters in a vast country so different from their own. As exciting as any unscripted adventure could go- expect the unexpected. There were many ups and downs in the course of their journey. The Ongs give an insight into some of their Christian guiding principles on how their family of eight co-exist together in loving relationships, and how they overcame obstacles and difficulties they encountered. School was everywhere they camped, Education was lived out, America was their textbook, and God, their Master Teacher!

This illustrated guide features twenty-five projects to share with crafty kids who love to read—with simple techniques for book binding, pop-up books and more! In Making Books with Kids, master book artist Esther K.¬†Smith shares kid-friendly, easy-to-follow instructions for a variety of fun and creative bookmaking projects—all supported with step-by-step, full-color photographs and illustrations. Each sequence is accompanied by finished samples and variations as well as Smith's own inspiring work. Full of paper crafting techniques, including sewing, collage, pop-up assemblage and more, the lessons in this book are both practical and open-ended, offering plenty of room for exploration and variation. Colorful photos illustrate how different people using the same lesson will yield different results, exemplifying the way the lesson brings out each artist's personal style. Children of all ages and experience levels can be guided by adults and will enjoy these engaging exercises.

Beloved knitting instructor Susan B. Anderson presents her first book targeted at a young audience. This accessible introduction to knitting in the round includes easy-to-follow illustrated tutorials on techniques from casting on and binding off to joining colors to make stripes, and 17 progressively challenging knitting projects—beginning with simple infinity scarves and hats and building to supersweet toys and decor. Step-by-step text and photographs that kids can read and follow on their own mean they will be knitting independently in no time! Also included is a chapter on stocking your toolbox and sourcing yarn; plus advice on starting a knitting group, connecting with local knitting communities, charity knitting, and more.

In the past two decades, several U.S. states have explored ways to mainstream media literacy in school curriculum. However one of the best and most accessible places to learn this necessary skill has not been the traditional classroom but rather the library. In an increasing number of school, public, and academic libraries, shared media experiences such as film screening, learning to computer animate, and video editing promote community and a sense of civic engagement. The Library Screen Scene reveals five core practices used by librarians who work with film and media: viewing, creating, learning, collecting, and connecting. With examples from more than 170 libraries throughout the United States, the book shows how film and media literacy education programs, library services, and media collections teach patrons to critically analyze moving image media, uniting generations, cultures, and communities in the process.

What are the patterns of teaching and learning that make a classroom holistic? How do children invent oral and written language? How do they create the culture and curriculum of a classroom? How does the spirit of community and collaboration develop among children and teachers? What are the relationships between literacy, schooling, and socialization as they form among the children? These are a few of the broad questions that Kathy Whitmore and Caryl Crowell answer in this absorbing portrait of Caryl's third-grade classroom, "the Sunshine Room." Over the span of a school year, we watch the students in this bicultural classroom within a bilingual, working-class neighborhood work and develop together as a community of learners. It is the story of how the Sunshine Room, like many whole language classrooms, invents itself; and how in this process the children themselves are continually inventing oral and written language, culture, and curriculum. In two separate collaborative voices, the authors carry readers through several critical events in the life of the classroom: the process through which the children and the teachers negotiate the curriculum, the creation of a theme study about the Middle Ages, and a vicarious experience of the Middle East war through children's literature and discussions. On an individual level, the deep friendship between Seaaira, an English-speaking child from the volunteer community, and Lolita, a bilingual Latina from the barrio, is symbolic of the bicultural experience fostered in the Sunshine Room.

Storyton Hall, Virginia, is a top travel destination for book lovers and the perfect spot for literary events. But as a children’s book publisher hosts a gathering there, some folks aren’t going to live—happier ever after or otherwise . . . Jane Steward’s resort is hopping—not only is Peppermint Press’s conference in full swing, there are also lots of families staying on the premises, bringing their kids to events like a scavenger hunt through the Fairy Tale Forest. Then a woman dressed like Little Red Riding Hood is found dead from a plot device straight out of a fairy tale—with a rare and valuable copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales in her basket. Not long after, a second victim is killed, with yet another treasure—a volume by Hans Christian Andersen worth thousands of dollars—nearby. It looks like a big bad wolf may be lurking among the guests, and Jane can’t just wait for a handsome prince to come to the rescue . . . “Readers will find themselves wanting to live in Storyton, no matter how many people end up dead there.” —Suspense Magazine on Murder in the Locked Library Visit us at www.kensingtonbooks.com

Given a chance to observe at the Academy at Swift River, a school helping teenagers in crisis, the author sees the students' struggles and see their transformations from the inside.