The night the wind started to bump and to bash was the night the rain started to thump and to thrash. Oliver was small, he didn't like it at all. He wished he was tall and mighty. Oliver is having a bath during a thunderstorm and as the thunder gets louder and the storm gets more scary he uses his imagination to face his fears and overcome them.

From America’s favorite government teacher, a heartfelt, inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country. In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn’t make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history’s unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time. You’ll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more. This is a book about what really made America – and Americans – great. McMahon’s cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free.

In teaching, the details matter. When educators make small changes to their practice, they can reap big rewards … and produce big results. Teaching can be a daunting profession. There's so much material to cover and so many demands to meet, issues to resolve, new programs to implement, and relationships to deal with. And there's never enough time! Teachers have always found ways to cope, but what they really need is a new and sustainable way to approach everyday challenges—one that will lead to better outcomes and a healthier environment for their students and themselves. In Small but Mighty: How Everyday Habits Add Up to More Manageable and Confident Teaching, Miriam Plotinsky explores the benefits of "habit stacking"—making a series of small, gradual shifts in practice before, during, and after instruction, and in the broader context of teacher and student wellness. Noting that motivation is an unreliable factor in success, and that large-scale change is often more disruptive than meaningful, Plotinsky offers practical, classroom-based tools and strategies teachers can use to make incremental adjustments to planning, collaboration, classroom management, assessment, feedback, and other elements of practice. Each chapter includes scenarios that readers will recognize as the kinds of anxiety-inducing situations they regularly face along with examples of the transformative changes they can kick off by adopting a few new habits. Like a knowledgeable and trusted mentor, Plotinsky offers advice, support, and reassurance to educators who may be questioning their ability to withstand the pressures of today's school environment and clarifies how a "small but mighty" approach to change leads to a more satisfying and fulfilling experience in the classroom and beyond.

A third fantastic Oliver story from the award-winning author / illustrator team.

Oliver Donnington Rimington-Sneep avoids falling asleep by flying his rocket ship to Mars.

A young reader introduces a boy to the many imaginative worlds that books bring to life.