Cleaning his room and talking to his best friend while preparing to write what he knows will be an incredible story, little Ike discovers that he is missing just the right ink to get his project underway, a need that requires extraordinary effort to fulfill.

The journey is the important thing in this tale of a sympathetic — if temporarily distracted — artistic soul. Features an audio read-along! Ike wants to write a story, an incredible story. He’s all ready to go, but even after cleaning his room and calling his best friend, he somehow can’t seem to get started. And then Ike realizes what’s missing — he needs new ink. His very own ink, made from just the right ingredients. Now what can Ike find that is velvety, dark, and sneaky, just like ink? How far will he go to get it? In Brianne Farley’s whimsical debut picture book, freely illustrated in a fresh, bold collage style, Ike’s adventurous quest to find the perfect ink might just be the inspiration he needs to get started on his incredible story.

Even the most totally awesome story starts with a little bit of nothing. What happens next is up to you! A delightfully meta picture book that will set imaginations soaring. Features an audio read-along! It begins with an octopus who plays the ukulele. Since this is a story, the octopus has to want something—maybe to travel to faraway galaxies in a totally awesome purple spaceship. Then the octopus sets out to build a spaceship out of soda cans, glue, umbrellas, glitter, and waffles. OK, maybe the octopus needs some help, like from an adorable bunny friend, and maybe that bunny turns out to be . . . a rocket scientist? (Probably not.) But could something even more amazing come to pass? Debut author Maggie Tokuda-Hall, with the help of illustrator Benji Davies, sets up an endearingly funny story, then hands the baton to readers, who will be more than primed to take it away.

A rich and imaginative discovery of how ink has shaped culture and why it is here to stay. Ink is so much a part of daily life that we take it for granted, yet its invention was as significant as the wheel. Ink not only recorded culture, it bought political power, divided peoples, and led to murderous rivalries. Ancient letters on a page were revered as divine light, and precious ink recipes were held secret for centuries. And, when it first hit markets not so long ago, the excitement over the disposable ballpoint pen equalled that for a new smartphone—with similar complaints to the manufacturers. Curious about its impact on culture, literature, and the course of history, Ted Bishop sets out to explore the story of ink. From Budapest to Buenos Aires, he traces the lives of the innovators who created the ballpoint pen—revolutionary technology that still requires exact engineering today. Bishop visits a ranch in Utah to meet a master ink-maker who relishes igniting linseed oil to make traditional printers' ink. In China, he learns that ink can be an exquisite object, the subject of poetry, and a means of strengthening (or straining) family bonds. And in the Middle East, he sees the world's oldest Qur'an, stained with the blood of the caliph who was assassinated while reading it. An inquisitive and personal tour around the world, Ink asks us to look more closely at something we see so often that we don't see it at all.

Jeff Anderson and literacy coach Whitney La Rocca take you into primary and intermediate classrooms where students are curious about language, engage with the world around them, and notice and experiment with the conventions all writers use. Instead of chanting grammar rules or completing countless convention worksheets, we invite young writers to explore conventions as special effects devices that activate meaning. Our students study authentic texts and come to recognize these "patterns of power"--the essential grammar conventions that readers and writers require to make meaning. The first part of the book introduces a vibrant approach to grammar instruction and sets up what you need to immerse yourself in the Patterns of Power process, inviting students to experiment and play with language. The second part of the book offers over seventy practical, ready-to-use lessons, including: Extensive support materials Over 100 mentor sentences, curated for grades 1-5 Student work samples Tips and power notes to facilitate your own knowledge and learning Examples for application In Patterns of Power Jeff and Whitney suggest that taking just five minutes from your reading workshop and five minutes from your writing workshop to focus on how the conventions connect reading and writing will miraculously affect your students' understanding of how language works for readers and writers.

Whether used for thematic story times, program and curriculum planning, readers' advisory, or collection development, this updated edition of the well-known companion makes finding the right picture books for your library a breeze. Generations of savvy librarians and educators have relied on this detailed subject guide to children's picture books for all aspects of children's services, and this new edition does not disappoint. Covering more than 18,000 books published through 2017, it empowers users to identify current and classic titles on topics ranging from apples to zebras. Organized simply, with a subject guide that categorizes subjects by theme and topic and subject headings arranged alphabetically, this reference applies more than 1,200 intuitive (as opposed to formal catalog) subject terms to children's picture books, making it both a comprehensive and user-friendly resource that is accessible to parents and teachers as well as librarians. It can be used to identify titles to fill in gaps in library collections, to find books on particular topics for young readers, to help teachers locate titles to support lessons, or to design thematic programs and story times. Title and illustrator indexes, in addition to a bibliographic guide arranged alphabetically by author name, further extend access to titles.

"Charlotte, a budding bunny scientist, ignores the doubters and confidently finds a cure to the mysterious malady affecting the forest"--

Get your daily dose of girl power with this inspiring treasury bursting with ten stories about ten amazing girls that can each be read aloud in five minutes flat! Fearless, fun, determined, daring, kind, and confident . . . these girls rule! Whether you're looking for a strong role model, a quick pick-me-up, a jolt of inspiration, or just a giggle, this treasury has all that and more! A padded cover with plenty of glitz and gloss makes this the perfect book for gifting. Get empowered by these ten titles: David McPhail's Sisters; Mary Lyn Ray and Tricia Tusa's A Violin for Elva; Marilyn Singer and Alexandra Boiger's Tallulah's Solo; Margarita Engle and Rafael López's Drum Dream Girl; Allison Oliver's Moon; Irena Kobald and Freya Blackwood's My Two Blankets; Billy Aronson and Jennifer Oxley's Melia and Jo; Camille Andros and Brianne Farley's Charlotte the Scientist Is Squished; Linda Sue Park and Ho Baek Lee's Bee-bim Bop!; and David Goodner and Louis Thomas's Ginny Goblin Is Not Allowed to Open This Box

Books and blocks bring together two siblings with nothing in common in this story from Megan Wagner Lloyd (Finding Wild) and illustrator Brianne Farley (Secret Tree Fort). Katie loves to build. She loves the way the blocks click together, the way they crash when they topple to the floor. But most of all, she loves to build something brand-new. Unlike her brother, she hates reading. Owen loves to read. He loves the way the pages rustle when he turns them, the way the paper smells. But most of all, he loves to read something brand-new. But, unlike his sister, he has no interest in building. When their rivalry finally comes to a head, a librarian suggests a solution. Books for Katie to read and books for Owen to shelve. Can they learn to appreciate their siblings hobbies and build something together?

Charlotte is a serious scientist. She solves important problems by following the scientific method. She has all the right equipment: protective glasses, a lab coat, a clipboard, and a magnifying glass. What she doesn’t have is space. She has so many brothers and sisters (she is a rabbit, after all) that she is too squished to work on her experiments! Can she use science to solve her problem? This funny, satisfying story is a playful introduction to the scientific method and perfect for sparking an interest in STEM subjects.