"There is a great need for this book!" -Mary Allan, 2004 California Teacher of the Year Sometimes tests prove very little and somebody gets left behind even when they're thinking. Since standardized testing became a priority for schools, nine-year-old Jeffery Taylor's academic life has become pure torture. He suffers from a condition called test anxiety: when he takes a test, his stomach aches, his eyes hurt, he feels like his head is going to blow up, and, at times, he visibly trembles. Jeff's active imagination hasn't helped his success at school either-especially if he's drawing when he's supposed to be working on other subjects. But schoolwork is not his only problem. His classmate, Matt Huggins, is a real pest, and Jeff and his best friend, Terry, are growing apart. But Jeff is delighted when he meets a new friend who helps him to face his academic challenges. Testing is a tremendous issue in schools today. It can have a lasting effect on funding as schools balance the need to meet accountability standards with the desire to provide learning to students. But most importantly, it can result in test anxiety which has a lasting effect on children. In Nobody Left Behind, author Deanna Enos uses storytelling as an example of how to begin a dialogue between children, teachers, and parents concerning this important subject. Inside: Discussion Questions Activities for Art and Writing Test Taker Tips

When Jesus walked this earth, he spent time with the messes. A lonely thief. An unwelcome dinner guest. A death-row criminal facing his final hours on earth. What do all of these people have in common? They all faced the messiness of life. Some made the mess themselves. Some were thrown headfirst into a mess through no fault of their own. Then something changed. It wasn't that they suddenly became unmessy. But they each came face to face with Jesus, and he invited them to be part of God's story. He didn't leave them out. This 40-day devotional looks at eight encounters Jesus had with messy, broken people. In short, daily readings, you'll explore each story and see how Jesus met each person in their mess. The eight stories we'll be walking through together are: Jesus Meets The Lonely Thief Jesus Meets The Know-It-All Jesus Meets The Unwelcome Dinner Guest Jesus Meets The Woman Who Was Exploited Jesus Meets The Sick Woman & The Dead Girl Jesus Meets The Blind Man With Perfect Vision Jesus Sees The Invisible Widow Jesus Meets The Honest Criminal Whether you've been following Jesus your whole life or have never cracked open a Bible, Nobody Left Out: Jesus Meets the Messes will remind you that God's love is big enough for everyone.... He doesn't want anyone left out!

The renowned political satirist asks the burning question: Is there a Left left? The author, known for his savage political cartoons, interviews some of the leading artists, architects, observers and participants of the late twentieth century's counterculture and New Left movements ― Mort Sahl, Joan Baez, Tariq Ali, Lily Tomlin, Calvin Trillin, Dennis Kucinich, Christopher Hitchens, and others ― in search of answers. The conversations, which are generously illustrated, will blow your mind.

No Buddy Left Behind unveils the life-altering relationships American troops serving in the Middle East have shared with the stray dogs and cats they've rescued from the brutalities of war. Overcoming monumental obstacles, Operation Baghdad Pups' program manager Terri Crisp makes it her mission to save these wartime “buddies,” get them out of danger, and bring them home to the soldiers who love them. How exactly does someone get animals out of a country at war when normal resources are lacking and every step of a plan to transport animals could get you arrested, kidnapped, or blown apart? As Crisp soon learns, each rescue mission from first to last is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience, and no animal is truly safe until its paws touch U.S. soil. Terri and her team have saved the lives of 223 dogs and forty-two cats befriended by military personnel since February 2008—and No Buddy Left Behind finally tells this story.

Jessica Verdi, the author of My Life After Now and The Summer I Wasn't Me, returns with a heartbreaking and poignant novel of grief and guilt that reads like Nicholas Sparks for teens. It's all Ryden's fault. If he hadn't gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead he's failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it's not like he's had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college. The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She's fun and energetic—and doesn't know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg's journals only stirs up old emotions. Ryden's convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can't let go of the past? "Ryden's story is a moving illustration of how sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned to embrace the life you've been given. A strong, character-driven story that teen readers will love."—Carrie Arcos, National Book Award Finalist for Out of Reach

Children's picture book

Aronson, a social psychologist, offers concise, practical, and easy-to-apply strategies for creating a more supportive, stimulating, and compassionate environment in our schools.

Disability and Disaster adds disaster research to the expanding area of disability studies. The book includes writings by international scholars and first-hand narratives from individuals with disabilities affected by disasters around the globe. Hazards described in these narratives include earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, and war.