"Berebitsky reveals that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the rules governing adoption were much less rigid and adoptive parents and families were surprisingly diverse. In Like Our Very Own, she chronicles the experiences of adoptive parents and children during a century of great change, illuminating the prominent role adoption came to play in defining both motherhood and the family in America." "Drawing on case histories, letters from adoptive parents, congressional records, and popular fiction and magazines of the day, Berebitsky recovers the efforts of single women, African Americans, the elderly, and other marginalized citizens to adopt children of their own. She contends, however, that this diversity gradually diminished during the hundred years between the first adoption laws in 1851 and the postwar baby boom era." "A fascinating chapter in American social and cultural history, Like Our Very Own offers compelling evidence of the role that adoption has played in our evolving efforts to define the meaning and nature of both motherhood and family."

"The I Wonder Why series is a set of science books created specifically for young learners who are in their first years of school. The content for each book was chosen to be appropriate for youngsters who are beginning to construct knowledge of the world around them. These youngsters ask questions. They want to know about things. They are more curious than they will be when they are a decade older. Research shows that science is students' favorite subject when they enter school for the first time. Science is both what we know and how we come to know it. What we know is the content knowledge that accumulates over time as scientists continue to explore the universe in which we live. How we come to know science is the set of thinking and reasoning processes we use to get answers to the questions and inquiries in which we are engaged. Scientists learn by observing, comparing, and organizing the objects and ideas they are investigating. Children learn the same way. The thinking processes are among several inquiry behaviors that enable us to find out about our world and how it works. Observing, comparing, and organizing are fundamental to the more advanced thinking processes of relating, experimenting, and inferring. The science activities in the Parent/Teacher Handbook section enable learners to carry out their own investigations related to the content of the book. The materials needed for these activities are easily obtained, and the activities have been tested with youngsters to be sure they are age appropriate."--

With the help of her family, a resourceful Mexican American girl realizes her dream of having a space of her own to read and to think.

LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

Titanic new talent Ross Burach breathes fresh life into tried and true topics -- trucks and ducks! -- in this laugh-out-loud comedy of errors! "Children will delight in the extreme silliness of this story and will repeatedly pore over the detailed, colorful, and quirky illustrations." --School Library JournalDid you call for a truck full of ducks?Bernie is on the road to make a delivery when one of the ducks EATS the directions. Oh no! How will he find his customer?Join the flock on this wacky call-and-response ride to find out just WHO ordered a truck full of ducks -- and why!Ross Burach's screwball comedy is filled with surprise twists and crafty jokes that will quack you up!

"Shreya's Very Own Style" is a story about self-love and acceptance. Though Shreya is a champion on the soccer field, the coolest scientist at her school and dances like a star, she just can't seem to figure out how else to style her hair. After all, how would she explain the patches on her head with no hair at all?

Based on a horrifying true story of one of the Holocaust's worst Nazi war criminals, this novel combines a police procedural, a courtroom thriller, and a fast-paced war-time narrative. In wartime Berlin the brilliant, idealistic young detective Georg Heuser joins the Murder Squad in the midst of the biggest manhunt the city has ever seen. A killer is slaughtering women on S-Bahn trains and leaving their battered bodies by the tracks. Heuser must confront evil eye-to-eye to track down the murderer. Soon after the case is solved, with the winds of world war stirring, Heuser is promoted by the SS and ultimately sent off to oversee the systematic murder of tens of thousands of Jews in the conquered region to the east the Nazis call Ostland. Nearly twenty years after the end of the war Heuser thinks his diabolical past has been forgotten, but an enterprising young lawyer, Paula Siebert, searching through Soviet archives, discovers evidence of Heuser's wartime crimes. Tried in the early 1960s along with other ex-Nazi officers as a war criminal, the wily Heuser deploys his training as a lawyer and years as a police detective to try and distance himself from his co-conspirators and thereby escape justice.

A hilarious visual smorgasbord, this vibrant photo narrative offers a quiet, introspective look into life as a silent emoter. Replete with images of actor and mime artist Doug Jones shot against an array of artistic and real-world backdrops, this social commentary spoofs pop culture and fairy tale favorites. Witty photo parodies include Frank ‘n mime, Marilyn Mime-roe, Mime-hammad Ali, Mime a Llama ding-dong, and Mimeageddon, as well as the “Once Upon a Mime” tales in which the big bad wolf gets bested in a series of mime encounters based on Little Red Miming Hood and the Three Little Pigs—poking fun at legendary personalities, characters, and moments while showcasing photographer Eric Curtis's trademark vision.

Life is not just about the good emotions and beautiful memories. It's also about realizing the fact that even if a glass is half empty; you still have half a glass of water to drink. This is one such story where Asifa goes through a roller coaster ride of emotions only to realize at the end about what really matters.