Growing Kids

Tips, tools, advice, and activities for raising eco-friendly kids while nurturing compassion, resilience, and community engagement. Drawing from cutting-edge social-science research, parent interviews, and experiential wisdom, science writer and parenting blogger Shannon Brescher Shea shows how...

Lotus Bloom just wants to express herself—with her violin, her retro style, and her peaceful vibe, not to mention her fabulous hair. Lotus is taking her talent to the seventh grade at a new school of the arts. The one where she just might get to play under a famous maestro. But Lotus's best friend thinks she should stay at their school. Rebel wants Lotus to help her protest, but Lotus isn't sure. If she's going to be in the spotlight, she'd rather it be for her music. When boys throw paper wads and airplanes into Lotus's afro, she finds herself in trouble for a dress code violation.

In the humdrum town of Moormouth, Walter Mortinson's unusual inventions cause nothing but trouble. After one of his contraptions throws the town into chaos, Walter's mother demands he cut the nonsense and join the family mortuary business. Far off on Flaster Isle, famed inventor Horace Flasterborn plans to take Walter under his wing. When a letter arrives by unusual means offering Walter an apprenticeship, he and the moody one-eyed girl next door run away and journey through a strange landscape of fish-people, giantess miners, and hypnotized honeybees.

This spellbinding fantasy about a girl from the shadows and a boy from the sea is perfect for fans of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The Book of Boy.In which a story is spun. And unspun. Clothilde has lived her whole life in the shadows with her (sometimes) thieving and (always) ailing father...

Top Secret Agents Sophie Taylor and Lil Rose have set sail to New York City on an elegant ocean liner, ready to face their enemies and settle old scores. These two brave friends will need all of their detective skills, courage and derring-do as they race against time to rescue a beloved friend and save the city - and its inhabitants - from destruction and certain death....

The award-winning Kids Korps founders present parents with a fresh framework and the tools necessary to shape children into productive, well-adjusted, compassionate individuals. By focusing on the five Touchstones, they offer ways to surround their children with actions and messages designed to strengthen character, build self-esteem, and develop inner contentment.

Being a kid is like having two permanent police officers watching you all the time - even when you're going to the bathroom. At least that’s how it feels to Billy March. He’s been grounded for 63% of the past month. The thing is, every time Billy almost gets his parents’ trust back, his mind wanders off, and he causes another disaster! Like the time he and his best friend Keenan decided to play droid war in a parking lot — and ended up launching a shopping cart into a car…

In a future Australia ravaged by climate change, twins Ashleigh and Aiden Delatour have always promised to protect and be there for each other, no matter what. Their privileged upbringing and loving, wealthy parents leave them with little to worry about. But when Aiden is seriously injured during a school trip, the twins' entire world begins to unravel. Back home from the hospital, something about Aiden seems different and Ashleigh's quest to find out why will uncover dark truths about the world they thought they knew.

Benjamin Banneker STEM Academy is the top middle school in Denver. Let’s just say the kids are . . . competitive. When Principal Yee announces the start of an epic Team Competition for the school, Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows that trophy’s got his name on it. That’ll show his sports-obsessed Dad that he’s worthy, right? Only problem is, it’s a TEAM competition … and Doug isn’t so great working in a team environment (except with his best friend Huey, of course).

What do you do when you discover your sister is a unicorn? This is the story of a little girl who got a big surprise when her new sister appeared one day! Laugh your way through this charming book with this heart-warming unicorn sister story that both adults and kids can enjoy together as Ciara and her unicorn sister get into all types of trouble as they embark on amazing adventures around the world together.

Step into a world where kindness blooms like flowers in a spring garden and courage roars like a mighty lion in the heart of a child. "The Fruit of the Spirit: Growing in Goodness Kids Bible Stories" invites young listeners on an enchanting journey through tales of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Modern Manners for Kids is a fun, easygoing book packed with short stories, playful poems, and simple ideas kids can try at home to bring kindness and respect into their everyday lives. Whether it’s learning to say please and thank you, figuring out how to share with others, or being a good friend on the playground, this book helps kids understand why modern manners matter—without sounding like a rule book. Each story shares an important lesson, and the poems and activities make it fun to practice at home with family and friends.

Meet Tariq, a kind and talented tortoise who worries his Tourette’s makes him different. As we learn more about his condition, his friends help him realize he has nothing to worry about, and that he is brilliant, just the way he is.

The White Tiger Temple is under threat. To help the Shaolin monks, Sensei Ki-Yaga and the whole gang of samurai kids embark on a perilous journey across the Sea of Japan to China. But they soon discover that getting there is only half the battle. An enemy awaits them: a former student of Sensei’s named Qing-Shen, China’s Warrior, who is now the most skilled soldier in the Middle Kingdom and who holds a grudge against his onetime teacher.

Jeremy “JB” Barnes is looking forward to spending the summer before seventh grade hanging on the beach. But his mother, a scientist, has called for him to join her aboard a research ship, where, instead, he’ll spend his summer seasick and bored as he stares out at the endless plastic, microbeads, and other floating debris, both visible and not, that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Miles and miles away, 12-year-old Sidney Miller is trying to come up with an alternate activity worthy of convincing her overprotective parents that she can skip summer camp.

Melvin Robinson wants a strong, smooth He-Man voice that lets him say what he wants, when he wants - especially to his crush Millie Takazawa, and Gary Ratliff, who constantly puts him down. But the thought of starting high school is only making his stutter worse. And Melvin's growing awareness that racism is everywhere - not just in the South where a boy his age has been brutally killed by two White men, but also in his own hometown of Spokane - is making him realize that he can't mutely stand by.

The second in a fast-paced, funny series featuring The Stig: Top Gear's legendary racing driver. The Stig's one known nemesis, the evil villain PT Cruiser, is dying, his plan for global domination in pieces. And The Stig is missing, presumed dead. But rumour has it that he is in a dusty hick town in the USA, racing again and winning every time, no matter how beaten up the car....

Ato hasn’t visited his grandmother’s house since he was seven. He’s heard the rumors that she’s a witch, and his mother has told him that he must never sit on the old couch on her porch. Now here he is, on that exact couch, with a strange-looking drink his grandmother has given him, wondering if the rumors are true. What’s more, there’s a freshly dug hole in her yard that Ato suspects may be a grave meant for him.

Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she's always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It's Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world! The journey to Planet 80 UMa c is supposed to be just a fun camping trip. But then the local wildlife starts acting really dangerous. Only the onboard computer SABRINA sorta knows what's happening - at least when it's not goofing off or telling bad jokes.

Since as far back as Ben can remember, it’s been him, his devoted dad, and Sunshine - Ben’s little dog, who rarely leaves Ben’s side. It was Mom who did the leaving, and Ben’s about to spend a whole week with his suddenly present mother in the wilds of northern Minnesota. On the remote island she calls home, Ben will learn to camp, canoe, weather the elements, and weigh a burning question: When will she come back to where she belongs?