Child Esteem

Patricia Polacco is now one of America's most loved children's book creators, but once upon a time she was a little girl named Trisha starting school. Trisha could paint and draw beautifully, but when she looked at words on a page, all she could see was jumble. It took a very special teacher to recognize little Trisha's dyslexia: Mr. Falker, who encouraged her to overcome her reading disability. Patricia Polacco will never forget him, and neither will we.

When he loses his left hand in an accident, Norm finds that the world becomes a complicated place. But he refuses to give up the things he loves - after all, who says you need two hands to play sports or a musical instrument?

MJ is more than ready for her first day of kindergarten! With her hair freshly braided and her mom's special tiara on her head, she knows she’s going to rock kindergarten. But the tiara isn’t just for show—it also reminds her of all the good things she brings to the classroom, stuff like her kindness, friendliness, and impressive soccer skills, too!

Daisy’s hero is Florence Nightingale, and she hopes to one day become a nurse just like her. But as a girl growing up in the East End of London in 1912, it seems like all her future holds is dropping out of school to work a tough job in a factory for very little money.

Sisters Hope, Faith and Mercy have everything: fame, success, money and beauty. But what Hope wants most of all is love, and it doesn’t matter how far she has to go to find it. Except real life isn't like the movies. Even if you're a Valentine...

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.

Is it possible? Can an ordinary human being really become a perfect person in three short days? Milo Crinkley thought so. What gave him the idea was a book that fell on his head one day at the library - a book with the impressive title Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! The author, Dr. K. Pinkerton Silverfish, did look kind of weird, but he claimed to be the world's leading authority on perfection.

Zeus comes from a long line of heroic dogs, and he dreams of glory as a K9 commander. But he receives a much more dangerous assignment - middle school! And as all good service dogs know, the only way to get through hostile territory is by being invisible. Zeus’ new human, Madden, is diabetic, and he wants to be invisible, too. That’s hard to do with a huge German shepherd at his side to alert him when his blood sugar drops. And it’s even harder because Madden makes this noise called music that draws attention. Zeus’ mission becomes clear: He must destroy music.

Sulwe has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything.

Jo Jo Makoons Azure is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else on her Ojibwe reservation. It always seems like her mom, her kokum (grandma), and her teacher have a lot to learn - about how good Jo Jo is at cleaning up, what makes a good rhyme, and what it means to be friendly. Even though Jo Jo loves her number one best friend, Mimi, (who is a cat), she’s worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore.

Every president started out as a kid! Forget the legends, tall tales, and historic achievements - before they were presidents, the future leaders of the United States had regular-kid problems just like you. John F. Kennedy hated his big brother. Lyndon Johnson pulled pranks in class. Barack Obama was bothered by bullies. And Bill Clinton was crazy clumsy (he once broke his leg jumping rope). Kid Presidents tells all of their stories and more in these hilarious biographies. History has never been this much fun!

Dazzle is a snow-white unicorn with a twisty horn, a sparkly pink tail, and a tag that says unicorns can grant wishes. He isn't sure whether he can make a wish for himself, but he does so anyway, hoping for a child and a home of his own. Instead, Dazzle gets sold at a yard sale and becomes one of the Book Buddies, friendly toys that children can check out of the library just like books. Meanwhile, Maya has just moved to town and decides to borrow Dazzle, hoping he can grant her a wish for a new friend.

Does your child always seem to give up too easily when faced with a challenge? Is she or he discouraged when corrected? Does he or she seem unwilling to share their point of view with others or with you? Does all this make you feel you are fighting an endless battle? As a solution, Dr. Eleanor Wint gives you the S.H.I.N.E. parenting model which teaches: How to remove self-doubt about your parenting Why self-confidence is a key factor in the development of a 6-10 year old 5 Easy strategies for building a great self confident kid. How to make sure this self confidence remains intact when ...

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.

Ever since Unicorn moved into the neighborhood, Goat has been feeling out of sorts. Goat thought his bike was cool--until he saw that Unicorn could "fly" to school! Goat made marshmallow squares that almost came out right, but Unicorn made it rain cupcakes! Unicorn is such a show-off, how can Goat compete? When Goat and Unicorn share a piece of pizza, Goat learns that being a unicorn might not be all it's cracked up to be. And when Unicorn shows his admiration for Goat, it looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Of the identical twins, Iris has always been the grounded, capable, and rational one; Lark has been inventive, dreamy, and brilliant - and from their first moments in the world together, they’ve never left each other’s side. Everyone around them realized early on what the two sisters already knew: They had better outcomes when they were together. When fifth grade arrives, however, it's decided that Iris and Lark should be split into different classrooms, and something breaks in them both.

Our confidence is what gets us through life. It’s our helmets, life jackets, seatbelts, and mouthguards. Seeing your child battle with low self-esteem and self-doubt is not easy, and your first inclination might be to lock them in a bubble and shield them from the harsh realities of life. But taking that approach will undoubtedly do them more harm than good.

Author Elizabeth Atkinson’s debut novel for middleschoolers was included in the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of 2009. I, Emma Freke tells of one girl’s search for her identity. Smart and shy, Emma is as close to normal as her family gets. Still, she has a terrible time fitting in at school—and things only get worse when Emma attends her family reunion. Soon, she realizes that she’s better off being herself than someone else’s Freke.

Buffalo Fluffalo arrives on the scene puffed up with self-importance. Stomping around and raising billows of dust, Buffalo Fluffalo proclaims his superiority to the other creatures—the ram, the prairie dog, and the crow—who just want to be his friend. So Buffalo Fluffalo, who has had enuffalo, heads off to grumble to himself. Suddenly, a rain shower pours down from the clouds and—what’s this? All of his fluffalo is a soggy mess! There Fluffalo stands, a drenched pip-squeak without his disguise.

Eighth grade is wrapping up and Marc is bigger and stronger than ever. He's also smarter, healthier, and better because he's on The Warrior Kid Path! But when a schoolmate, who's moving away, wants to become a Warrior Kid too, Marc is faced with a dilemma: how do you get someone on The Path if they live halfway across the country? The solution: you write a Field Manual. A Warrior Kid Field Manual!