Each guide includes an author biography, background information, summaries, thought-provoking discussion questions, as well as creative, cross-curricular activities and reproducibles that motivate students.

     The Stone Marshall Studio is developing a new series: Legends & Heroes A hybrid of comic-book style illustrations and short stories. Each issue is fun, challenging, and engaging. These interrelated stories follow a series of characters on a journey through life in Minecraft. Relatable characters, thrilling action, and colorful illustrations will suck in readers and leave them excited to read the next adventure! Secrets await! Solve the puzzle, uncover secrets! The Blacksmith and The Apprentice: Issue 1 The ancient art of blacksmithing is a thing of beauty. A lot of hard work goes into the process. It’s very complicated, really. Stoking the flames to many small, contained fires—making lumps of metal into differently shaped items of metal—hitting said lumps of metal with hammers to turn them into different weapons. You can shape metals into whatever item you want. Okay, it might not be a very interesting job, but apprenticing with the best blacksmith in the kingdom is a huge opportunity. Blacksmiths make the tools everyone needs to get about in their day-to-day lives. It’s a very prestigious and impressive position, although this honor is lost when the position is held by Dane, a youthful boy who dreams of greater adventure! Luckily, Dane has a skilled master to reign in his daydreaming. Viegar has quite an interesting past. From his years on the Royal Guard to his close relationship with the previous king, he’s quite a friend to have on your side. There is one other apprentice, Snip, who is much more passionate about his duties than Dane. Between the three of them, they churn out powerful weapons and protective armor, usually with no thanks to Dane. Of course, no cast of characters would be complete without the big man in charge—in this case, a king. By almost anyone’s account, he’s a good and fair ruler, but there is no one in power without enemies. Though Viegar and his workers only want to help their wonderful king, there are still plenty who wish to do him harm. But Dane can only imagine such things. It’s not as if he’d ever be in the position to really make any sort of difference or be in any place of power. Right? And though his apprenticeship is mundane and boring, the young man gets a few moments of excitement. Every once in a while, his master Viegar lets him venture out past the village to visit the caravan, where he can trade and buy supplies. It’s the most excitement Dane ever gets in his line of work. Sometimes, he gets to meet interesting people. Sometimes, he hears interesting things. And maybe, just maybe, he sometimes hears of a new opportunity for himself. But who would want to give up such a life as an esteemed apprentice? But of course, destiny and desire are not always what you expect . . .

    Everyone in the house is sleeping, but outside, the night world is wide-awake.It's a wonderful night to explore!Perfect for bedtime, this book from Caldecott Medalist Mordicai Gerstein celebrates the secrets of the night world and the joys of the sunrise.

    This fan-favorite is perfect for reluctant readers as well as fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries.A sudden zombie epidemic has turned a sleepover at Zack Clarke’s house into a level three creep-over! Zack’s sister is now a zombie; his living dead, flesh-eating neighbors have wrecked his house; and he’s been left to fend them off with his sister’s snotty BFF, Madison. Luckily Zack’s nerdy pal Rice has a plan to defeat the undead…if these three zombie chasers can make it out alive.Featuring John Kloepfer’s signature hilarious and gory descriptions and Steve Wolfhard’s hysterical black and white interior illustrations, this is an uproarious, gore-streaked kick-off to the ever-popular Zombie Chasers series!

    Matt Napier's "breakaway" rhymes and "hard-checking" expository text team up with the "top-shelf" illustrations of Melanie Rose to elucidate this increasingly popular game for every beginning hockey aficionado. Highlighting rules, players, coaches, teams, and the history of the game, it is both fun and educational.

    ‘Wow, you are so strange!’ said the sunflower. ‘Come quickly out of your egg. Let me see who you are!’Hearing the sunflower’s kind encouragement, he started to stick out his feet one after the other. First, there were only two … then four… then six … By the end, he had so many feet, the sunflower couldn’t even count them. ‘Wow, one thing is sure, you are not short of feet!’ cried the bee.‘How red is your hair!’ said the spider.‘What am I?’ wondered the tiny egg. ‘Maybe a beautiful skylark or a graceful swan or maybe a sweet little chick?!? … Oops!’As he was wondering, he rolled down and hit the ground. The eggshell broke and the newcomer was out of the egg......

    In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin faces the excitement and fear of starting school.

    Now Zombie Steve, too nice to abandon young Beep, has to play babysitter on a new quest to reunite the precocious child with his worried parents. But there will be spiders, silverfish, a miner and even a friendly wolf or two along the way.Zombie Steve knows he needs to do the right thing and bring Beep to his parents, unfortunately, his parents are avid zombie hunters!Will Zombie Steve be able to return Beep home by protecting his own (zombified) skin? Read “Beep” to find out.A hilariously written page turner, this book would be the perfect gift for Minecraft lovers of any age.Disclaimer: This book is a work of fanfiction; it is not an official Minecraft book. It is not endorsed, authorized, licensed, sponsored, or supported by Mojang AB, Microsoft Corp. or any other entity owning or controlling rights to the Minecraft name, trademarks or copyrights.

    

    What can it do? You will be surprised. Dust may seem small, dark, dirty, and dull. But it's the secret behind one of the largest, most colorful sights on earth.

    But playing Robin Hood for her impoverished community doesn’t come without risks, and when Chaya steals the queen’s jewels from a bedside table―a messy getaway jeopardizes the life of a close friend. After an equally haphazard prison break, Chaya barely escapes on the king’s prized elephant! With leeches and revolution lurking in the jungle, Chaya leads her companions on a thrilling adventure. After leaving her village as a thief, can she return as a hero? Or will Chaya’s sticky fingers be the beginning―or the end―of everything for the intrepid gang?

    George is surprised to wake up and find snow outside! But it's hard for a little monkey to walk in such deep snow. Thankfully, his friends teach him all about snow and the different ways to play in it, and he uses his new skills to rescue a farmer’s stranded pig! The animated series Curious George is available to watch on Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming platform.

    Russ saw it all and wants to tell Dad. However, Dad is suspicious, since the last incident ended with his slippers being found in the dishwasher. Follow Dad’s keys as a team of strange contraptions airlift into the house to conduct a nightly key-relocation operation. The keys are hoisted by micro cranes, hauled using a minuscule cable car, and are carried upstairs by a three-legged walking machine. But where did the keys end up? Did they go down the drain as Dad suspects?

    Best selling children's book author Mark Smith answers the question that every child wants to know.Do Monsters Wear Undies?Find out for yourself in this fully illustrated rhyming picture book that comes to life with bright vibrant colors, and a catchy rhythm that kids will fall in love with.Hooray for underwear! Says a giant monster bear.He wears his boxer shorts while playing his favorite sports.Say hi to Max, A monster who wears slacks.He has purple hair and matching purple underwear.This book has been created with early readers in mind, but the whole concept will appeal to the kid in all of us.Do monsters wear undies? What are you waiting for? Grab a copy and find out for yourself!

    He’s learned that each civilization needs a staple food crop, so he decides to sow a garden and start his own - civilization, that is. He turns over a plot of earth, and plants begin to grow. They soon tower above him and bear a curious-looking fruit. As Wesley experiments, he finds that the plant will provide food, clothing, shelter, and even recreation. It isn’t long before his neighbors and classmates develop more than an idle curiosity about Wesley - and exactly how he is spending his summer vacation.