Research & Learn
ABCmouse
ABCmouse.com includes hundreds of highly entertaining animated activities, each teaching a specific learning topic, for children ages 2-8.
Beanstack
Participate in reading challenges, track reading, and keep your family motivated to read.
Book Connections
Bring reading to life. Book Connections strives to joyfully enrich everyone's experience reading children's and young adult books.
Elementary (Gale In Context)
Introduce elementary students to database searching with resources featuring age-appropriate, curriculum-related content.
Explora for Elementary Schools
Fact Monster
Factmonster.com combines essential reference materials, fun facts and features, and homework help for kids. From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Factmonster.com has it.
Reading Recommendations for Children
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Bubbly Beautiful Kitty-Corn
From award-winning duo and Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn creators Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham comes the New York Times bestseller Bubbly Beautiful Kitty-Corn—another heartwarming and hilarious Kitty and Unicorn picture book about big dreams, self-esteem, the enduring magic of true friendship . . . and mermaids!
Unicorn has a dream. A beautiful, bewitching, bubbly dream:
Unicorn longs to be a mermaid!
(Sometimes. Not all the time.)
With the help of her trusty craft kit, Kitty is determined to make her best friend Unicorn’s dream come true. But one elaborate DIY mermaid tail later, plus a beach trip that doesn’t go as planned, Unicorn doesn’t feel very beautiful or bewitching. When Unicorn starts to feel insecure, can Kitty help make him feel enchanting again?
The magical, bestselling team of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham reunite for another heart-bursting story featuring their utterly adorable kitty-corn pair! -
No Bad Feelings
What are emotions? Why are they important? Emotions are not good or bad, they just are. Emotions are feelings we have everyday. They help us in many ways. They help keep us safe; they guide us; they help us make decisions. Being mad is not bad.
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Peg Gets Crackin'
Time to get crackin'!
Peg is perfectly content within the safe, contained shell of her egg. While her siblings hatch around her, she imagines all the scary things waiting in the outside world--things that make her happy to stay an egg.
But even Peg must hatch. She grows, and grows, and one day . . . CRACK! Peg takes her first hesitant steps into the big, frightening world and discovers . . . the world isn't so bad after all. In fact, it's actually pretty wonderful!
Bursting with spirit and humor, Peg Gets Crackin' is packed with entertaining illustrations and perfect for read-aloud storytime. Young readers will giggle at Peg's antics and resonate with her journey to conquer her fears. You never know what exciting adventures are waiting just outside of your shell!
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Buffalo Fluffalo
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Introducing a sweet and silly buffalo who tries to bluff and fluff his way into being bigger than he really is. This laugh-out-loud story by an Emmy-nominated comedy writer shows it’s okay to be yourself.
I’m the Buffalo Fluffalo
I heave and I huffalo
Leave me alone because
I’ve had enuffalo.
Buffalo Fluffalo arrives on the scene puffed up with self-importance. Stomping around and raising billows of dust, Buffalo Fluffalo proclaims his superiority to the other creatures—the ram, the prairie dog, and the crow—who just want to be his friend. So Buffalo Fluffalo, who has had enuffalo, heads off to grumble to himself. Suddenly, a rain shower pours down from the clouds and—what’s this? All of his fluffalo is a soggy mess! There Fluffalo stands, a drenched pip-squeak without his disguise. The other animals, who could see through Fluffalo’s bravado from the start, circle around to comfort him. As prairie dog says with a smile in his eyes, You’re great how you are, no matter your size.
Readers will find Buffalo Fluffalo’s insecurity endearing and will be moved to reassure him. This humorous and delightful book encourages self-acceptance with a lighthearted touch. -
Sleepy Sheepy and the Sheepover
From critically acclaimed author Lucy Ruth Cummins and Pete Oswald, New York Times bestselling illustrator of The Sour Grape and The Big Cheese, comes a story featuring Sleepy Sheepy and his very first sleepover!
It's time for Sleepy Sheepy's very first sheepover! But when it's time for bed, Sleepy Sheepy CANNOT SLEEPY! You see, his blankets scratch, and his pj's don't match! Sleepy Sheepy...misses his home! Will Grammy and Grampy ever get their favorite little sheep to sleep?
From acclaimed author Lucy Ruth Cummins and brought to life by New York Times bestselling illustrator Pete Oswald (The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, The Smart Cookie, The Sour Grape), Sleepy Sheepy and the Sheepover is a fun and funny bedtime read-aloud that will appeal to any child who has felt a bit unsure at their first sleepover.
Praise for Sleepy Sheepy and the Sheepover:
"Young readers needn’t feel sheepish about appreciating this sweet, entertaining story." --Kirkus reviews
"Amusing and endearing. As a classroom read-aloud choice, this picture book is sure to elicit sleepover memories from young listeners." --Booklist
"With humor that can only be dubbed fluffy and terrific bouncy rhymes, this warm bedtime story of a “sheep-over” will be a comfort for young children." -- School Library Journal
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More than Words
A CBC Kids Reads Competition Finalist
In the tradition of All Are Welcome and The Day You Begin comes a touching picture book about the many unique ways we communicate, and how we can better listen to and respect these different modes of expression.
Nathan doesn't say much.
He sure has a lot on his mind, though.
At school, Nathan quietly observes the ways his peers communicate. Even when they’re not talking, they’re expressing themselves in all sorts of ways!
By witnessing the beauty of communication diversity, Nathan learns and shows his classmates the essential lesson: Not only does everyone have something to say, but seeking to understand one another can be the greatest bridge to friendship and belonging.
This tender, stunningly illustrated picture book explores and celebrates the many forms of expression―signing, speaking, singing, smiling, among others―and culminates in a poignant story about connection and understanding.
Includes additional material at the end of the book with vocabulary, an introduction to various forms of communication, and information about communication access, perfect for back-to-school and classroom discussions. -
Catside Up, Catside Down
Filled with whimsical knitted cats, Anna Hrachovec's debut picture book Catside Up, Catside Down blends the silliness of cats with an early introduction to prepositions.
Catside up, catside down.
Cat on a turntable, spinning around!
Under a piano, over the moon,
swept high and away by a cat-shaped balloon.
A collection of cozy, knitted cats find themselves in all sorts of funny positions in this rhyming picture book that introduces prepositions like over, under, between, beside, and many more! -
The Crayons Go Back to School
The hilarious crayons from the #1 New York Times bestselling The Day The Crayons Quit are ready to go back to school!
The crayons are getting ready to go back to school, and each crayon has a subject they're looking forward to the most. They're also ready to meet new friends. . . and let loose during their very favorite time of day: art class. A humorous, small hardcover back-to-school story from everyone's favorite school supplies. -
How to Make a Peanut Butter Sandwich in 17 Easy Steps
A slightly overcomplicated and highly hilarious guide to making a peanut butter sandwich with all your critter friends
It’s lunchtime, and all the animals are hungry. In fact, you’re feeling hungry too, and you know exactly what to make―delicious peanut butter sandwiches for everyone! The recipe is surprisingly complicated, but you’re not worried. You gather the critters and a few necessary items (the peanuts and bread, of course, and don’t forget the accordion and wooden clogs!), and then you get started!
All the characters in this hilarious how-to have an important role in the making of this lunchtime staple. The raccoon earns the money to pay for the groceries, the crows and the mice gather the ingredients, the donkey and the beaver work hard on the hands-on (or hoofs- and paws-on) preparation, and the skunk … well, the skunk has an essential role to play too!
Bold, charming artwork leaves something to discover on every page, and kids will laugh out loud as they puzzle through the many steps necessary to the making of this favorite sandwich.
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Pete the Cat for Class President!
Vote for Pete the Cat for class president in this storybook by New York Times bestselling author-illustrator team Kimberly and James Dean. Includes over thirty stickers!
Pete the Cat is running for class president! And so is Callie. Her posters are super cool and so are her ideas. Pete has lots of groovy ideas too, and he loves baking cookies and playing guitar onstage for his campaign. Which cat will be the next class president?
Find out in this Pete-tastic story full of kindness and friendship! Includes a glossary of election-day vocabulary.