Emmy was a good girl. At least she tried very hard to be good. She did her homework without being told. She ate all her vegetables, even the slimy ones. And she never talked back to her nanny, Miss Barmy, although it was almost impossible to keep quiet, some days. She really was a little too good. Which is why she liked to sit by the Rat. The Rat was not good at all . . . Hilarious, inventive, and irresistably rodent-friendly, Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat is a fantastic first novel from acclaimed picture book author Lynne Jonell.

Based on her own childhood experience, Kimberly Willis Holt's Piper Reed, Navy Brat portrays the life of a Navy family with warmth and humor. It's not easy being the middle child, especially when your dad is a Navy Chief. Meet Piper Reed, a spunky nine-year-old who has moved more times than she can count on one hand. From Texas to Guam, wherever Piper goes, adventure follows, inspired by her active imagination, free-wheeling spirit, and a bit of sister magic. Unlike her older sister, Piper loves being part of a Navy family, and unlike her little sister, Piper is no prodigy genius. Piper is Piper—fearless and full of life.

Cookie is plain and shy, not the confident, popular girl her father wanted when he named her Beauty Cookson. Her mother helps her cook up a clever scheme to change her image--but, as usual, Dad doesn't approve, and this time his anger reaches frightening new heights. Will Cookie find the strength to stand up for herself? Honest and emotionally resonant, COOKIE faces tough issues with the unflinching directness and unflagging tenderness that make Jacqueline Wilson one of today's most admired-and popular-authors for young people.

In this timesaving resource, Reid makes reading aloud to children and teens easy by selecting titles in high-interest topics and providing context to spotlight great passages.

A lonely girl, a cantankerous talking rat, and a nanny who is doing very, very bad things . . .

Judy Freeman has developed a comprehensive handbook with thoroughly annotated lists of the 2008's best children's books, lesson plans, teacher's guides, stories, songs, and Internet resources. Grades K-6. The WINNERS! Handbook starts with an extensive booklist of Judy's 100 best books of 2008, including many of the big award winners. (If you own Judy's Books Kids Will Sit Still For 3, it follows the same format. Indeed, you can consider the new The WINNERS! Handbook the first update to that book.) Each entry includes a meaty and thoughtful annotation, a germ (a series of practical, do-able, useful, pithy ideas for reading, writing, and illustrating prompts and other activities across the curriculum); a useful list of exemplary related titles; and subject designations for each title to ascertain where the book might fit thematically into your curricular plan or program. There's also a title, author, and subject index for easy access. You find scores of useful and fun ideas, activities, lessons, and ways you can incorporate literature into every aspect of your day and your life. From story hour to school curriculum tie-ins, the many connections include strategies for comprehension, critical thinking skills, research, and problem-solving; games, crafts, songs, plenty of great across-the-curriculum poetry, creative drama and Reader's Theater, storytelling, booktalking, and book discussion. Most of the books included are fabulous read-alouds, read-alones, and natural choices for Guided Reading, Literature Circles, or Book Clubs. Grades K-6.