No one knows how to have fun like kids do. But sometimes, even kids can use some fresh ideas for finding the fun in their lives. Fun is everywhere, and with this charmingly illustrated children's book, Annie F. Downs wants to help children ages 3 to 8 find it! Can it be found in science experiments, at the farmer's market, or in the kitchen? Yes! Can it be found on rainy days and starlit nights? You bet! Can it be found with friends or parents or even annoying little brothers? Of course! It's no secret that the world has felt a little less fun lately. What Sounds Fun to You? is the perfect book to get kids thinking about how to create their own fun right where they are, right now. And it's the perfect companion for parents who have run out of ideas!

A New York Times Bestseller! We know there are certain things we must have to survive--food, shelter, and safety to name a few. But there are also aspects of life that truly allow us to be joyful and fulfilled. For popular podcaster and bestselling author Annie F. Downs, fun is close to the top of that list. Few would argue that having fun doesn't enrich our lives, but so much gets in the way of prioritizing it. Tough days, busyness, and feelings that are hard to talk about keep us from the fun that's out there waiting to be found. With That Sounds Fun, Annie offers an irresistible invitation to understand the meaning of fun, to embrace it and chase it, and to figure out what, exactly, sounds fun to you--then do it! Exploring some research and sharing some thoughts behind why fun matters, she shows you how to find, experience, and multiply your fun. With her signature storytelling style and whimsical vulnerability, Annie is the friend we all need to guide us back to staying true to ourselves and finding the fun we need.

In the wake of his deeply powerful viral videos ("Before You Call the Cops" and "Walking While Black"), Tyler Merritt shares his experiences as a black man in America with truth, humor, and poignancy. Tyler Merritt's video "Before You Call the Cops" has been viewed millions of times. He's appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and Sports Illustrated and has been profiled in the New York Times. The viral video's main point—the more you know someone, the more empathy, understanding, and compassion you have for that person—is the springboard for this book. By sharing his highs and exposing his lows, Tyler welcomes us into his world in order to help bridge the divides that seem to grow wider every day. In I Take My Coffee Black, Tyler tells hilarious stories from his own life as a black man in America. He talks about growing up in a multi-cultural community and realizing that he wasn't always welcome, how he quit sports for musical theater (that's where the girls were) to how Jesus barged in uninvited and changed his life forever (it all started with a Triple F.A.T. Goose jacket) to how he ended up at a small Bible college in Santa Cruz because he thought they had a great theater program (they didn't). Throughout his stories, he also seamlessly weaves in lessons about privilege, the legacy of lynching and sharecropping and why you don't cross black mamas. He teaches readers about the history of encoded racism that still undergirds our society today. By turns witty, insightful, touching, and laugh-out-loud funny, I Take My Coffee Black paints a portrait of black manhood in America and enlightens, illuminates, and entertains—ultimately building the kind of empathy that might just be the antidote against the racial injustice in our society.

Join spunky Cat the Cat as she introduces the very youngest readers to her world, where a surprise is waiting in every book.

There's only one rule in Larry's book: don't push the button. (Seriously, don't even think about it!) Even if it does look kind of nice, you must never push the button. Who knows what would happen? Okay, quick. No one is looking... push the button. Uh, oh.

Kids love jokes; and teachers and SLPs love fast and eary ways to improve students' phonological awareness. That's why every elementary and middle-school SLP and educator needs this playful, effective activity book, packed with jokes and riddles that increase students' awreness of the phonemes that makeup words. The perfect way to avoid "drill and kill" instruction while still giving children the strong foundation they need to be successful readers, Sounds Like Fun: enhances the literacy skills children need for academic success; uses humour as an effective learning tool; helps older student work on phonological awareness skills; requires no extra training or materials; and works with all students, including children with learning disabilities, struggling readers, and English language learners. Complete with clear instructions and helpful appendices of consonant and vaowl sounds, this activity book is a simple, cost-effective, and reliable way to make learning key literacy skills fun for the whole class.

The best thing about you is YOU! No matter what you're good at, what you look like, or what you hope to do someday . . . whether you like to read or run or paint or play . . . the best thing about you is that you are uniquely YOU! Help your children learn early (and often) that being exactly who they are is the greatest gift! Join New York Times bestselling author Annie F. Downs and "Little Annie" as they celebrate every kid's fun, fabulous, and unique design. With delightful illustrations and an A-to-Z look at character qualities, children (and adults!) will learn how to treasure what makes them special rather than trying to fit into others' expectations of them. The positive, empowering message in So Happy to Know You will help kids accept themselves and show them the joy of accepting others for who they are designed to be.

'"The Rudy in You" will help young athletes, their parents, and coaches learn how to become more Rudy-like. Since we all need a little more Rudy in us, these pages are an outstanding guide for everyone involved in youth sports and everyone interested in elevating the role of sportsmanship in our communities."-Greg Aiello, Vice President of Public Relations, National Football League 'This book contains many of the lessons and values taught to me by my parents and coaches when I was growing up. They made a difference in my life, and I believe they'll make a difference in the lives of countless of kids all across America.. It's timeless."-Greg Maddox, Pitcher, Four-time winner of the Cy Young Award, Chicago Cubs Known to millions as 'the little guy with the big dream" who inspired the unforgettable motion picture "Rudy," Rudy Ruettiger is the most famous football player in the history of the University of Notre Dame. Together with Donald T. Phillips and Peter M. Leddy, Rudy delivers seasoned advice, timeless principles, and practical tools for young athletes, parents, and coaches in three sections: In the young athletes' section, children of all ages are encouraged to dream big, stay committed, create opportunities, and to value respect, graciousness, and sportsmanship. There's even advice on building lasting friendships and on just plain having fun. The parents' section offers vital insights into what motivates young competitors as well as simple tips and techniques for nurturing their natural tendencies and laying a solid foundation for a positive self-image. The coaches' section gives specific coaching strategies for building trust and caring fostering the strengths andcapabilities of a team, balancing discipline and comfort, and teaching players to be humble in victory and upright in defeat. The intense pressure to excel, the competition-crazed environment, the emphasis on winning above all else-these are signs that society has lost its focus on the real goals and benefits of youth sports. "The Rudy in You" delivers a solution and shows the tremendous value of quality sports for finding and nurturing the winning spirit in each child.

FREE RANGE KIDS has become a national movement, sparked by the incredible response to Lenore Skenazy?s piece about allowing her 9-year-old ride the subway alone in NYC. Parent groups argued about it, bloggers, blogged, spouses became uncivil with each other, and the media jumped all over it. A lot of parents today, Skenazy says, see no difference between letting their kids walk to school and letting them walk through a firing range. Any risk is seen as too much risk. But if you try to prevent every possible danger or difficult in your child?s everyday life, that child never gets a chance to grow up. We parents have to realize that the greatest risk of all just might be trying to raise a child who never encounters choice or independence.

Chuck "Hoopman" Hayes is a retired Army Officer getting a chance to play college basketball. It doesn't take Hoopman long to figure out his team is hiding a dark secret. As Chuck digs deeper, he finds the purity of the game that he loves is being subjected to corruption. But Chuck Hayes has the courage to take on the criminals that threaten his teammates and his dreams. To save the game he loves and what may be his only chance to be a champion, Chuck Hayes will do whatever it takes. Even if it costs him his life.