Child Esteem

Skiff Beaman has a boatload of problems. Ever since his mother died, his father doesn't want to get up off the TV couch - even when the Mary Rose, his fishing boat, sinks at the dock. Twelve-year-old Skiff's been bailing out Rose by himself for months, getting up before dawn to pump out the bilge and keep her floating - just in case his dad decides to put his beer aside and get up and go fishing. But once a boat has gone under, you can't bail it out.

"McDonald has a wonderful sense of how eight-year-olds think and behave, and the irrepressible Judy is completely believable.” ( Booklist); >“Established fans and new readers will enjoy this adventure. Amusing black-and-white watercolors capture the humor and the girl’s inimitable spirit. Prediction: another winner starring Judy Moody.” ( School Library Journal); “Judy Moody Predicts the Future is the famously temperamental third-grader’s fourth adventure.... Here Judy, equipped with a mood ring, convinces herself and her classmates...."

Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can’t understand why Lieutenant Baird won’t believe the story Mason has told about that day.

Im Herzwald kommt ein kleines, schnickeldischnuckeliges Einhorn zur Welt. Aber obwohl alle ganz lilalieb zu ihm sind und es ständig mit gezuckertem Glücksklee füttern, benimmt sich das Tierchen ganz und gar nicht einhornmäßig. Es sagt einfach immer Nein, sodass seine Familie es bald nur noch NEINhorn nennt. Eines Tages bricht das NEINhorn aus seiner Zuckerwattewelt aus. Es trifft einen Waschbären, der nicht zuhören will, einen Hund, dem echt alles schnuppe ist, und eine Prinzessin, die immer Widerworte gibt. Die vier sind ein ziemlich gutes Team.

Marco Polo is a small felt mouse who used to be a Christmas ornament on Anne the librarian’s tree. But now he’s one of the Book Buddies, toys that can be checked out just like books. Marco Polo may be small, but he’s also a brave explorer looking for adventure - if only someone would check him out of the library. Seth is a boy who visits the library with his dad and younger brother. He wishes he could be a little more brave, especially when he goes on his first sleepover. But maybe a small explorer like Marco Polo is just the kind of friend he needs.

You are a very lucky girl to have so many people love and support you. Your relationship with your parents and family can give you confidence and help you spread your wings through the world. The connection you have with your loved ones will inspire you to do many things you may not have tried before. You are a loved and wonderful girl.

It's not easy being Rafe Khatchadorian's sister. He's got quite a reputation around school, and Georgia's got it hard enough as is! Georgia can't help but throw all her energy into the one thing that makes her happy: her kick-butt, all-girl rock band, We Stink! When Georgia's favorite rock band, Lulu and the Handbags, advertises a major music competition where the winner gets to jam with Lulu herself, Georgia will pull all the stops to make sure We Stink wins - even if it means asking her annoying older brother, Rafe, for help!

The girl does not respond to questions in any language and remains silent, even when she is threatened, harassed, and mistreated over several days. The only clue to her identity is a tattered shoulder bag containing papers that refer to people named Shauzia, Nooria, Leila, Asif, Hassan - and Parvana. As she waits for foreign military forces to determine her fate, she remembers the past four years of her life. Reunited with her mother and sisters, she has been living in a village where her mother managed to open a school for girls.

Meet Bubble Gum Brain and Brick Brain: two kids with two very different mindsets. Bubble Gum Brain likes to have fun adventures, learn new things, and doesn't worry about making great mistakes. Brick Brain is convinced that things are just fine the way they are and there's not much he can do to change them, so why try?

Parkland Middle School is a place the students call Darkland, because no one in it does much to stop the daily harassment of kids by other kids. Three bullied seventh graders use their smarts to get the better of their tormentors by starting an unofficial e-mail forum at school in which they publicize their experiences. Unexpectedly, lots of other kids come forward to confess their similar troubles, and it becomes clear that the problem at their school is bigger than anyone knew.

Amber Brown and Justin Daniels are best friends. They sit next to each other in school, help each other with fractions and spelling, and always stick up for one another. But when Justin finds out that he is moving away, everything begins to change.

Lizzie has a lot to worry about. Ever since her sister left for boarding school, Lizzie has felt overwhelmed by worries. Will she flunk out of 7th grade? Will she say something humiliating in front of her crush? Will her campaign for class secretary set a record for the lowest number of votes ever? Her friends say her fears are far-fetched, but they still make Lizzie's stomach hurt.

Jamie Grimm has finally accomplished his dream of proving himself the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic, and the sky's the limit from there. Enter a couple of TV executives with a huge plan for Jamie: a new show about Jamie and his oddball friends! But when Jamie struggles to learn the acting ropes, will it be an early curtain call for the biggest show of the decade?

Marisol Rainey's mother was born in the Philippines. Marisol's father works and lives part-time on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. And Marisol, who has a big imagination and likes to name inanimate objects, has a tree in her backyard she calls Peppina . . . but she's way too scared to climb it. This all makes Marisol the only girl in her small Louisiana town with a mother who was born elsewhere and a father who lives elsewhere (most of the time)—the only girl who's fearful of adventure and fun.

Helps kids grow in faith and confidence by looking at what the Bible says about their identity. Sooner or later, kids ask big questions about themselves and their faith: Who am I? Where do I fit in? Am I good enough? What do people think of me? What does God think of me? Christian studies teacher and school chaplain Chris Morphew has been answering big questions from kids for over a decade. In this warm, empathetic audiobook, he shows children how to embrace and enjoy their identity as those loved by God and made in his image.

Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood", travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic", and whose mother disappeared. Beneath Phoebe's stories Salamanca's own story and that of her mother, who left one April morning for Idaho, promising to return before the tulips bloomed. Sal's mother has not, however, returned.

In Billy's Sky-High Courage, a young boy’s balloon ride becomes the journey of a lifetime. Along the way, Billy encounters challenges that test his bravery—but with a bold heart and a soaring spirit, he learns that facing fears leads to the greatest adventures.

Ever since Tyler started getting into art and hanging out with Emmie, his friends and teammates have been giving him a hard time. He wonders why can’t he nerd out on drawing and play ball? Emmie is psyched that she gets to work on a comics project with her crush, Tyler. But she gets the feeling that his friends don’t think she’s cool enough. Maybe it’s time for a total reinvention.

Every morning, Abuelo walks Sofia to school...until the day that Abuelo hurts his ankle at a local landfill and he can no longer do so. Sofia misses her Abuelo and wonders what she can do about the dangerous Mount Trashmore. Then she gets an idea - the town can turn the slimy mess into a park! She brainstorms and plans and finally works up the courage to go to City Hall - only to be told by a clerk that she can’t build a park because she’s just a kid! Sofia is down but not out, and she sets out to prove what one kid can do.

Forget the gold medals, the championships, and the undefeated seasons. When all-star athletes were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you. Baseball legend Babe Ruth was such a troublemaker that his family sent him to reform school. Race-car champion Danica Patrick fended off bullies who told her “girls can’t drive”. And football superstar Peyton Manning was forced to dance the tango in his school play.