Nature lovers will be fascinated by how animals solve the problem of locating safe places in which to live and raise families.

Edutopia's "25 Essential Middle School Reads from the Last Decade," NPR Best Book of 2018, Bank Street List for Best Children's Books of 2019, Named to the Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher List, Maine's Student Book Award List, Louisiana Young Reader's Choice Award List, Rhode Island Middle School Book Award 2020 List, 2020 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominee, 2021 South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee, 2020-2021 Truman Award​ (Missouri) Nominee, Middle School Virginia Readers’ Choice Titles for 2020–2021​, Charlie May Simon Award 2020–2021 List, South Carolina Book Awards Nominee, 2020–2021, and 2023 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominee​. Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they've got to do. Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there's Lenny, her mom's boyfriend—they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer. At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they're in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it's best if no one notices them. Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus: eight arms to do eight things at once. Incredible camouflage ability and steady, unblinking vision. Powerful protective defenses. Unfortunately, she's not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate club. Even though Zoey resists participating, debate ultimately leads her to see things in a new way: her mom’s relationship with Lenny, Fuchsia's situation, and her own place in this town of people who think they're better than her. Can Zoey find the courage to speak up, even if it means risking the most stable home she's ever had? This moving debut novel explores the cultural divides around class and the gun debate through the eyes of one girl, living on the edges of society, trying to find her way forward.

Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year “Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK “One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (The Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans. In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food. Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

Octopus loves living on the busy reef under the sea. From her cozy cave, she can see clown fish, and sea turtles, and little butterflies swimming by. She especially loves watching the seahorses having fun, wiggling and twirling. Sometimes she will play with them, but occasionally Octopus just wants to be alone, somewhere quiet, and not so busy. So one day, she swims far, far beyond the reef and finds another cozy cave, only here she is perfectly, wonderfully alone. It is exactly what she wanted . . . until she’s ready to go back home to be with her friends. As she did in Little Owl's Night, Divya Srinivasan shows children a wonderful part of the natural world in a very warm-hearted way.

One small act of kindness ripples out to connect four kids in this stirring novel by the author of the beloved The Benefits of Being an Octopus. Libby comes from a long line of bullies. She wants to be different, but sometimes that doesn’t work out. To bolster herself, she makes a card with the message You are amazing. That card sets off a chain reaction that ends up making a difference in the lives of some kids who could also use a boost—be it from dealing with bullies, unaccepting families, or the hole that grief leaves. Receiving an encouraging message helps each kid summon up the thing they need most, whether it’s bravery, empathy, or understanding. Because it helps them realize they matter—and that they're not flying solo anymore.

Your resource for best texts and best practices! Kathy Barclay and Laura Stewart have written the book that teachers like you have been pleading for—a resource that delivers the “what I need to know ” to engage kids in a significant amount of informational text reading experiences. No filler, no lofty ideals about college and career readiness, but instead, the information on how to find lesson-worthy texts and create developmentally appropriate instructional plans that truly help young readers comprehend grade-level texts. What you’ll love most: The how-to’s on selecting informational texts High-impact comprehension strategies Model text lessons and lesson plan templates An annotated list of 449 informational texts

An octopus is a soft bodied sea animal. Various species of the octopus are known to inhabit different parts of the ocean such as the pelagic water and coral reefs. It should be noted that more than 300 species of octopus have been identified. They have many qualities that make them endearing as pets. Many years ago, people hesitated to domesticate these beautiful animals. The main reason for this was that not much information was available. Octopuses are slowly becoming more popular as pets. They are very attractive and people love to keep them at home. They look unlike any other pet animal. They can be great pets if you learn to domesticate them well. It is important that a prospective buyer educates himself about the animal. If you wish to buy and domesticate an octopus, then you should make an attempt to understand the unique mannerisms and antics of the animal. This will enable you to understand the pet better. The main aim of this book is to acquaint you with all the information that you need to domesticate an octopus. This book will help you to clear all the questions that you might have regarding the octopuses and their domestication. You have to take on the responsibility of taking care of the health and well-being of your octopus. You don't want to get an animal home and later regret your decision. By following the tips and tricks discussed in the book, you will be able to give your pet a loving and caring home. Covered in this book: - Costs - Diet - Environment - General care - Habitat - Health - Heating requirements - Legalities - Life span - Lighting - Precautions - Pros and cons - Reproduction - Safety - Signs of stress - Species - Tank - Taxonomy - Transportation - Understanding body functions - Which octopus to avoid as a pet .... and much more

If you're a librarian charged with collecting curriculum materials and children's literature to support the Common Core State Standards, then this book—the only one that offers explicit advice on collection development in curriculum collections—is for you. While there are many publications on the Common Core for school librarians and K–12 educators, no such literature exists for curriculum librarians at the post-secondary level. This book fills that gap, standing alone as a guide to collection development for curriculum librarians independent of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The book provides instruction and guidance to curriculum librarians who acquire and manage collections so you can develop a collection based on best practices. The book begins with a primer on the CCSS and how curriculum librarians can support them. Discussion of the Standards is then woven through chapters, arranged by content area, that share research-based practices in curriculum development and instruction to guide you in curriculum selection. Material types covered include games, textbooks, children's literature, primary sources, counseling, and nonfiction. Additional chapters cover the management of curriculum collections, testing collections, and instruction and reference, as well as how to support and collect for special needs learners. Current practices in collection development for curriculum materials librarians are also reviewed. The book closes with a discussion of the future of curriculum materials.

Revised edition of: Informational text in K-3 classrooms, 2004.

Story about Emma whose baby brother has Down Syndrome. Suitable for ages 3-6.