Zoe mostly has it good. Her parents are nice, her brother isn‰Ûªt half bad, and her dog Ella is amazing. But Zoe thinks her life is boring ‰ÛÒ nothing ever changes. She‰Ûªs stuck in her wheelchair and her parents never let her do anything fun. And it really bugs her that some of the kids think she‰Ûªs not smart just because her body doesn‰Ûªt always do what she wants. Then in the midst of the holiday season, Zoe learns about the diverse cultures of her friends at school, and realizes she‰Ûªs not the only different one in class. While celebrating the traditions of Christmas, Hanukkanh, Kwanzaa, Divali and Eid, she realizes that excitement can arrive in weird and challenging ways. Will Zoe succeed when she needs to take charge for the first time? Or, is having adventures really not as great as she thought?

Key Selling Points New, enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is celebrated with firecrackers, sweet treats, and exciting tales of a prince and princess. Readers will learn about the customs involved in celebrating this joyful holiday, and they can prepare a delicious mango lassi and construct a fun Diwali game to play on the big day.

Academic study of children's literature has explored various aspects of diversity; however, little research has examined Canadian books that portray characters with disabilities. This relevant and timely text addresses the significant dearth of research by exploring the treatment of disability in Canadian literature for young people. Engaging and highly accessible, this text will assist teachers, teacher educators, and teacher candidates in finding and using books about characters where disability is a part of their characterization, supporting the development of curricula that reflect critical literacy and social justice issues. Stories for Every Classroom explores the historical patterns and trends, theoretical frameworks, and critical literacy methods used to understand and teach children's literature and its portrayal of characters with disabilities. It provides educators with curriculum ideas and enriches the body of resources shared with children in K-12 settings for the purposes of developing imagination, empathy, and understanding of self and others. Featuring author portraits, comprehensive annotated bibliographies of contemporary Canadian children's books that depict characters with disabilities, and read-on bibliographies that provide connections with other books in the field, this unique text will be an invaluable resource for educators.

Daisy is looking forward to Christmas and getting everyone the perfect gift, but when her family gets bad news and her class loses the Winter Wonderland door-decorating contest, Daisy needs help regaining her enthusiasm.

The Childrens Book Review Index contains review citations to give your students and researchers access to reviewers comments and opinions on thousands of books, periodicals, books on tape and electronic media intended and/ or recommended for children through age 10. The volume makes it easy to find a review by authors name, book title or illustrator and fully indexes more than 600 periodicals.

The Predators’ starting quarterback Ryan Mitchell is sidelined with a concussion, and Ryan blames sports reporter Stewart “Mac” McKenzie for it. What will it take to get Ryan back in the game? And what will Mac do when he finds out?

In 1949 a special Valentine’s Day dance in small-town Nebraska teaches thirteen-year-old Addie about real love Kids in Addie’s seventh-grade class are starting to exchange rings and go steady, but Addie hates all that mush. When she grows up, she plans to be a real artist in New York City and never get married. Addie’s best friend is Carla Mae Carter, whose family lives next door. Addie’s worst friend, for as long as she can remember, has been annoying Tanya Smithers, who plans on becoming a ballet dancer. She’s always twirling around or striking a dramatic pose to remind everyone how talented she is. Addie definitely does not have a crush on Billy Wild, even if he is tall and cute and has dark, curly hair and blue eyes. She’s way too busy with her art for such silliness. Anyway, Tanya likes Billy—and they can have each other as far as Addie is concerned. But after Christmas break, the seventh-grade class gets a new teacher, Mr. Davenport, who has movie-star looks and studied art in college and even takes a special interest in Addie’s paintings. Addie starts to notice a strange feeling in her stomach when she’s around the handsome young teacher. Is this what love feels like? Is this what all the other girls have been giggling about? Addie suddenly starts to care about wearing dresses instead of jeans and getting her hairstyle just right. Will Addie get her moment with Mr. Davenport at the Valentine’s Day dance? Or will her true king of hearts be someone in her class—someone she never expected?

Naomi Demas is seventeen, and her relationship with her mother is conflicted. Irene is obsessive and strange. She has never gotten over Naomi’s disability, or her twin’s infant death. When Naomi was eight, Irene left with Naomi’s older sister. Naomi is sustained by her faith, her connection with her deceased twin, and her commitment to her remaining family. She also finds purpose in her connection with her valued friends -- whose struggles include alcoholism, foster care, and learning disabilities. There is excitement in Naomi’s romance with her boyfriend Matt, focus in her love of school, and comfort through her trusted horse. But she is unsettled... Naomi’s surviving sister, Jo, has reached out to her as their mother deteriorates in new ways, and as it is becoming clear that Matt is not who Naomi thought he was. She must find yet more strength when an emergency throws her half-brother into serious danger and tests everyone’s loyalties. Burning the Boats tells the story of a young woman, the ones she loves, and the value of her disability. It is a story about commitment, integrity, choices, consequences and convictions. Here is a world of loss, betrayal, love, trust, and healing when least expected.

Emily is horrified when Aunt Hannah tells her that for their holiday they are heading north to a housewarming party at an isolated cabin with no indoor plumbing or electricity. When they arrive, it is even worse than she imagined. The snow is deep. The work is hard. Aunt Hannah is bossy. And Blossom, the girl her age, wants her to play ice hockey on a nearby lake. Is it possible that this could turn into the five-star holiday Emily had dreamed of?