An ideal way to teach information literacy and leadership skills to 1st to 4th graders—using chocolate chip cookies and glitter pens! The Cayuga Island Kids are five big-hearted friends who solve mysteries and have wonderful adventures together. They are fact detectives who think, brainstorm, research, and work together to follow clues, find answers, and puzzle out solutions. Above all, they are kind, helpful, smart, and resourceful kids who have lots of fun together. Book 1 is based on real events surrounding one of the biggest puzzles of the Great Lakes! The Cayuga Island Kids set off on a hunt for a certain kind of tree and instead unearth a cannonball thought to be from a treasure ship built right on their island that sank in 1679 and was never recovered. As they hunt for clues and follow leads, they discover that the island they live on is home to a whole lot of history. And, it turns out, a whole lot of mystery, too. We all have history in our own backyards, just waiting to be discovered by inquisitive, adventurous, and fun-loving fact detectives! In award-winning Book 2, the Kids rescue a mallard caught in the plastic rings from six-pack of cans. How they go from fishing a plastic bottle out of the creek to bringing the community together to build a recycling bin big enough to hold plenty of plastic makes for a lively adventure. Young readers come to realize the importance of brainstorming, teamwork, community effort, recycling, and friendship. Although we are each just one person, together we can make a BIG difference! In Book 3, Julian and his dad are trying to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie and Maya is helping with the Make-and-Take-Club. And then two glitter pens go missing. The clues and evidence point to a suspect, But when a classmate shares false information about Julian's cookies and they uncover misinformation when researching explorers, the importance of being a fact detective becomes crystal clear. The Kids learn that you have to have all the facts, not just a fraction of the truth. Young readers will cheer for the Kids on this adventure involving misinformation, faulty assumptions, flour bugs, glitter pens, and chocolate chip cookies.

It all begins one mid-summer day. First, the Cayuga Island Kids rescue a mallard caught in the plastic rings from six-pack of cans. Litter. Moments later, a girl on a bike carelessly tosses a plastic bottle in the creek. The Cayuga Island Kids successfully retrieve it, but then they notice all the litter in the park. That's when they decide it's time for action. But moving from knowing something has to be done to getting it done takes determination, teamwork, and sometimes, looking in a new direction. How the Cayuga Island Kids go from fishing a plastic bottle out of the creek to bringing the community together to build a recycling bin big enough to hold plenty of plastic makes for a lively adventure. Young readers will be entertained as they learn about the importance of recycling, brainstorming ideas, teamwork, the value of community effort, and the promise of new friendships. Best of all, readers will cheer on the Cayuga Island Kids as they come to realize that although we are each just one person, together we can make a BIG difference. The third book in the Cayuga Island Kids series will release in Spring 2022.

Pesky was pawing at something. Maya leaned over to take a closer look. At the edge of a patch of wildflowers there was a hard, round bump. Was it just a rock? Or was something buried there? When five friends set off to solve the mystery of a "barking" tree, they unearth a remnant of a famous battleship built in the 1600s! The island they live on is home to a whole lot of history and, it turns out, a whole lot of mystery, too... Meet the Cayuga Island Kids! It's summer vacation, and that means there's plenty of time for a quest, a mystery, and exciting adventure. This first book in the Cayuga Island Kids chapter book series is loosely based on one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries of the Great Lakes: the disappearance of fur-trading ship the Griffon. As the kids follow clues offered by the cannonball they find, young readers will learn about taking notes, verifying sources, and what an adventure doing research can be, learning to be "fact detectives" like the Cayuga Island Kids. The second book in the series, The Adventure of the Big Fish by the Small Creek, will release in Fall 2021.

It's Fall now and the Cayuga Island Kids are busy with homework, projects, and after school activities. But there's still plenty of time for mystery and adventure! In the third book in the Cayuga Island Kids chapter book series, Julian is exploring food science as he experiments with recipes on his quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Being a cookie sampler takes Mac's mind off his troubles with fractions. Yoko is practicing gestures and facial expressions in anticipation of the school play tryouts. Maya is Ms. Choi's helper in the after-school Make-and-Take-Club for younger crafters. Lacey is taking care of the little community library that Gram built—and searching for the next mystery to solve.When two of Ms. Choi's glitter pens go missing, Maya turns to Lacey for help. The clues and evidence point to a suspect, but are they jumping to conclusions? When a classmate jumps to conclusions and shares false information about Julian's cookies, the Cayuga Island Kids join forces to set the facts straight. When the kids research explorers for a school project, they uncover misinformation that blurs the truth, and makes the reasons for being a fact detective crystal clear.As the fall leaves turn color, the Cayuga Island Kids come to realize that sorting through clues and evidence—just like research—means making sure information is factual, and not just a fraction of the truth. Young readers will cheer for the Cayuga Island Kids as they embark on this latest adventure involving faulty assumptions, missing facts, flour bugs, and chocolate chip cookies.

Hands-on activities, games, and crafts introduce children to the diversity of Native American cultures and teach them about the people, experiences, and events that have helped shape America, past and present. Nine geographical areas cover a variety of communities like the Mohawk in the Northeast, Ojibway in the Midwest, Shoshone in the Great Basin, Apache in the Southwest, Yupik in Alaska, and Native Hawaiians, among others. Lives of historical and contemporary notable individuals like Chief Joseph and Maria Tallchief are featured, and the book is packed with a variety of topics like first encounters with Europeans, Indian removal, Mohawk sky walkers, and Navajo code talkers. Readers travel Native America through activities that highlight the arts, games, food, clothing, and unique celebrations, language, and life ways of various nations. Kids can make Haudensaunee corn husk dolls, play Washoe stone jacks, design Inupiat sun goggles, or create a Hawaiian Ma'o-hauhele bag. A time line, glossary, and recommendations for Web sites, books, movies, and museums round out this multicultural guide.

Elinor Malcolm is an eleven-year-old girl whose mother has big plans for her. When Elinor is rejected as a ballet student from a prestigious ballet academy, her attorney mother threatens a lawsuit, and Elinor is granted a spot in the program &– the only problem is that Elinor has no interest in ballet. After sitting out the first class, she finds an urban park to hang out at in lieu of dancing. There she meets an older girl named Indira with a seemingly magic ability to grant Elinor's wishes. Eventually, Elinor is found out. She is unceremoniously dropped from the program and returns to her humdrum life where she's miserable and friendless. Indira reappears out of the blue one day and helps her look deep inside to find out what she's capable of. Eventually, through Indira's intercession and a chance meeting with a local writer, Elinor opens up enough to make a friend at school who enjoys all the same things she does. In the final magical scene, all the characters in Elinor's life converge where secret identities are revealed and Elinor has an epiphany about the nature of relationships and the power of love.

Meet Fluff, Puff, and Stuff, three adorable dust bunnies ready to reveal their favorite hiding places, snacks, and games! In this charming rhyming book, young readers enter the world of dust bunnies—which happens to be right under their their own bed! Under the couch, in the corner, and anywhere crumbs and dust can be found, dust bunnies will be at play! Perfect for Easter baskets, spring cleaning season, or for any bunny-loving, chore-resistant child.

Jack Gordon and Henry Addison meet when the Great Lakes cruise ship, the Noronic, docks at Ward Island, just before the ship catches fire--with Henry on board.

Girl bullies, internet bullying, and substance use are themes in this James Preller middle grade standalone companion to Bystander Mary O’Malley is tired of keeping secrets. Secrets like her older brother, Jonny’s, drug use. Starting seventh grade is tough enough without the upheaval her brother is bringing to their family. It seems the only person who might understand is Griffen Connolly, whose older sister runs with Jonny in the wrong crowd. Mary thought Griff was too cool, too popular for her. But now he wants to hang out with her, and listen. When two girls Mary thought were her friends decide to slam another girl online, Mary tries to look the other way. Then the girls turn on Mary, and suddenly, she doesn’t have a safety zone. Her brother is out of control, her family’s energies are all spent on him. There is only one person she can turn to. But can she trust Griff? Or is he one of the bullies?