New Teen Books

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Middle School
A collection of 101 stories for middle school students written by other young teens and by adults about their experiences in middle school. All stories are true personal anecdotes covering a range of topics from funny and embarrassing moments, to teen love and friendship, to family issues and others.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Tough Times
A collection of stories written by teenagers and adults reflecting on their teenage years, offering support and inspiration in tough times. Topics range from abuse to disease to death to self-destructive behavior.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Getting in...to College
A collection of 101 stories for high schools students who are applying to college written by teens and by adults about their experiences applying to college. Stories cover everything from grade pressure, to peer pressure, to parental pressure, to SATs and ACTs, interviews and essays, filling out college applications, to waiting for the letters, dealing with good and bad news, wait lists, and alternative paths to college such as gap years.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Growing Up
Collects anecdotes from teenagers about friendship, peer pressure, self-acceptance, family life, relationships, and overcoming obstacles.

Blinded: The Story of Paul the Apostle - Steve Ross
Saul of Tarsus is good at his job. He hunts down "Flesh Eaters," members of a strange and threatening religious sect that meets in secret and worships by eating and drinking the body and blood of their Lord. What happens when Saul discovers that's he's wrong? What happens when he becomes the Apostle Paul?

New Nonfiction Books

Larry Page and Sergey Brin: The Google Guys - Gail B. Stewart
A brief biography of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of the Google Internet Search Engine.

From the First Guide to Government series:

What's the Declaration of Independence? - Nancy Harris
What is the Declaration of Independence? -- The American colonies -- Unhappy colonists -- Taxes -- Taking a stand -- The Second Continental Congress -- Writing the Declaration of Independence -- Parts of the Declaration of Independence -- Signing the Declaration of Independence -- The Revolutionary War -- Celebrating the Declaration of Independence

What's the Constitution? - Nancy Harris
What is the United States Constitution? -- History of the Constitution -- The Articles of Confederation -- Writing the constitution -- Parts of the Constitution -- The amendments -- Why is the constitution important?

What's the Bill of Rights? - Nancy Harris
Simple text and illustrations provide an introduction to the Bill of Rights, discussing the history of the Constitution, when it was added, who wrote it, other amendments, and why it is important.

What Are the Amendments? - Nancy Harris
What is the United States Constitution? -- Why do we have amendments? -- How to amend the constitution -- The first ten amendments -- Other amendments -- Repealing amendments -- Why are the amendments important?

New Christian Education Resources Database

A new database is now online that helps users locate Christian education resources that are available in the CMC. There are approximately 700 items in the database, which includes such things as children's and youth Bibles, activity and idea books, Christian children's books, children's devotional books, and much more. Users may also limit their search to eleven specific publishers if desired. All new Christian education resources will be added to the database as they arrive in the CMC. Visit this new database by clicking here.

New Resources for Middle School Phonics

Month-by-Month Phonics for Upper Grades
This Month-by-Month book explains how to help struggling readers - whether they are fourth graders, tenth graders, or students learning English - become fluent decoders and spellers.

"Make Words" for Month-by-Month Phonics for Upper Grades Card Set
For use with the book "Month-by-Month Phonics for Upper Grades" (372.465 C973M). Contains 372 cards

Big Words for Big Kids : Systematic Sequential Phonics and Spelling
Contains 100 lessons which teach 33 common roots and all of the common prefixes and suffixes. The lessons are arranged in five-lesson cycles...Following the 100 lessons are some review and extension activities.

Big Words for Big Kids Word Card Set
For use with the book "Big Words for Big Kids" (372.465 C973B). Contains 662 cards.

Prefixes and Suffixes : Systematic Sequential Phonics and Spelling
Includes 120 lessons, arranged in five-lesson cycles, which teach the most common prefixes, suffixes, and spelling changes.

Word Cards for Prefixes and Suffixes: Systematic Sequential Phonics and Spelling
For use with book "Prefixes and Suffixes: Systematic Sequential Phonics and Spelling" (372.465 C973P). Contains 708 word cards. For grades 3 and above.

Phonics & Vocabulary - Grade 4
Provides activities with a major emphasis on vocabulary development along with phonics and structural analysis. Includes lessons using the dictionary, using vowels, consonant blends, vowel pairs, accents, antonyms, synonyms, homonyms, and more.

Phonics & Vocabulary - Grade 5
Provides activities with a major emphasis on vocabulary development along with phonics and structural analysis. Includes lessons using the dictionary, using vowels, consonant blends, vowel pairs, accents, antonyms, synonyms, homonyms, and more

Phonics & Vocabulary -Grade 6
Provides activities with a major emphasis on vocabulary development along with phonics and structural analysis. Includes lessons using the dictionary, using vowels, consonant blends, vowel pairs, accents, antonyms, synonyms, homonyms, and more.

Making Words: Lessons for Home or School -Patricia M. Cunningham
Making Words is an active, hands-on activity in which children manipulate letter cards to construct words, sort words by spelling patterns, and use the sorted patterns to spell and read new words. This collection of 50 reproducible lessons familiarizes students with many common spelling patterns.

Phonics for Middle-Grade Students
Designed for students who have not yet mastered basic phonics skills. Includes consonant and vowel sounds, blends, digraphs, dictionary skills, answer key, teacher instructions, and more.

New Nonfiction Books

Remember Little Rock - Paul Robert Walker
Just over 50 years ago, in Little Rock, Arkansas, nine brave black students stood up for their rights and made history. The integration of Central High School in Little Rock changed the course of education in America forever, and became one of the pivotal points in the Civil Rights Movement. In Remember Little Rock award-winning author Paul Robert Walker uses eyewitness accounts and on-the-scene news photography to take a fresh look at a time of momentous consequence in U.S. history. Here, we get the story from all sides: the students directly involved; their fellow students, black and white; parents on both sides; military, police, and government officials. The author uses personal interviews with many of those who attended the 50th anniversary celebration in 2007, and explores what happened, what's changed, what hasn't, and why.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through The Gates and Beyond - Jan Greenberg
Examines the lives and work of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude, a married couple who create environmental art installations, and features "The Gates," which was on displayed in New York City's Central Park in the winter of 2005.

When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature's Balance in Yellowstone - Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
When wolves were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park the natural system was out of balance. Shows the return of the wolves to the park and the natural balance being restored. Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor book

Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War - Thomas B. Allen
Lincoln knew that winning the war would take more than the same old strategies and maneuvers. It would require using technology to create new ways of waging war. Lincoln worked to make sure his soldiers and sailors had the best and latest hardware. By combining new tools with time-tested tactics, he helped revolutionize warfare.

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim : YouTube Creators - Katy S. Duffield
Presents a biographical discussion of the inventors of YouTube, a video sharing website, covering their education, development of their product, and changes as they worked together.

Genocide in Darfur - Janey Levy
Chronicles the events that led to the mass killings of thousands of Africans in Sudan's Darfur region, and efforts by many around the world to bring an end to it.

Genocide in Rwanda - Frank Spalding
Discusses the modern history of Rwanda, the violent events and single-party politics that led to the genocide in 1994, and the after effects in the country as the remaining ninety percent of Rwandans struggled to survive, and includes a timeline and glossary.

Afghanistan - Nicola Barber
Afghanistan is one of the least economically developed countries in the world. It will be hard for it to develop economically until peace is achieved.

Energy Technology - Chris Oxlade
Describes new technologies that are helping make fossil fuels, biofuels, water and wind energy, and solar energy more efficient, and discusses different ways we will get energy in the future.

Environmental Technology - Andrew Solway
Describes new technologies that can help us reduce pollution and global warming, such as alternative energy sources, buildings that cost less to heat, reducing waste, reducing threats to endangered species, and combining all of these to promote sustainable living.

New YA Books

Marcelo in the Real World - Francisco X. Stork
Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm.

A Curse Dark as Gold - Elizabeth C. Bunce
Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to keep the family's woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must decide if his help is worth the price. William C. Morris Debut Award

Alice's Shooting Star - Tim Kennemore
Middle sister Alice helps her family recognize that her exuberant younger sister Rosie's accounts of her day are creative stories rather than lies.

The Last Thing I Remember - Andrew Klavan
High school student Charlie West awakens bloody and bruised in a concrete bunker, only to discover that he has lost a year of his life and remembers nothing about escaping from prison after being convicted of murdering his former best friend, or why he is being pursued by both the law and a group of terrorists trying to bring down the government of the United States.

New Picture Books

Naughty Little Monkeys - Jim Aylesworth
Mom thinks all twenty-six of her monkeys are angelic, but from Andy's wayward airplane to Zelda's trip to the zoo, these little ones find a way to get into mischief for each letter of the alphabet.

Butterflies in My Stomach and Other School Hazards - Serge Bloch
On the first day of school, a student is confused by many of the phrases that are used, such as when the librarian says not to open a can of worms, or when the teacher says he expects the class to be busy bees doing their homework.

Our Abe Lincoln - Jim Aylesworth
Rhythmic verse tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's life, from his childhood in the wilderness of Illinois to his famous achievements as president.

The Black Book of Colors - Menena Cottin
This title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colors based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help reading along with their fingers.

One - Kathryn Otoshi
A number/color book reminding us that it just takes one to make everyone count.

Tacky Goes to Camp - Helen Lester
Tacky the penguin and his friends go to Camp Whoopihaha where they scare each other by telling ghost stories around the campfire, never expecting that one of the frightening stories will come true.

Tackylocks and the Three Bears - Helen Lester
Tacky the penguin and his friends perform a play for the little penguins in Mrs. Beakly's class, but with Tacky in the lead role, things do not go exactly as planned.

Little Beauty - Anthony Browne
When a gorilla who knows sign language tells his keepers that he is lonely, they bring him a very special friend.

Home on the Range: John A. Lomax and His Cowboy Songs - Deborah Hopkinson
As a child, John Avery Lomax loved the songs he heard the cowboys singing along the nearby Chisholm Trail. He began writing them down at an early age. As John grew older, he traveled the country collecting and recording cowboy songs, helping to preserve many favorites.

There's a Wolf at the Door: Five Classic Tales - Zoe B. Alley
As his plans are spoiled over and over again, the wolf keeps trying to find his dinner, in this retelling of five well-known stories and fables.

New Youth Bible

Manga Bible
Includes manga versions of the creation story, a history of the Israelites through the destruction of Jerusalem, and the life of Jesus.

New YA Books

Carolina Harmony - Marilyn Taylor McDowell
In the summer of 1964, Carolina is a runaway hiding out at Harmony Farm in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. The Harmony's, Mr. Ray and Miss Latah treat Carolina as their own and wait for her to reveal her secret. But Carolina doesn't want to reveal the accident that claimer her parents and her younger brother and the surrogate grandmother who cared for Carolina until illness forced Carolina to go to a foster home. Russell, a troublemaker who runs away from the foster home where Carolina was, comes to Harmony Farm. Then something so terrible happens that Carolina must run away again.

You Know Where to Find Me - Rachel Cohn
In the wake of her cousin's suicide, overweight and introverted seventeen-year-old Miles experiences significant changes in her relationships with her mother and father, her best friend Jamal and his family, and her cousin's father, while gaining insights about herself, both positive and negative.

Peace, Locomotion - Jacqueline Woodson
Through letters to his little sister, who is living in a different foster home, sixth-grader Lonnie, also known as "Locomotion," keeps a record of their lives while they are apart, describing his own foster family, including his foster brother who returns home after losing a leg in the Iraq War.

The Devil's Paintbox - Victoria McKernan
In 1865, fifteen-year-old Aiden and his thirteen-year-old sister Maddy, penniless orphans, leave drought-stricken Kansas on a wagon train hoping for a better life in Seattle, but find there are still many hardships to be faced.

Zorgamazoo - Robert Paul Weston
Imaginative and adventurous Katrina eludes her maniacal guardian to help Morty, a member of a vanishing breed of zorgles, with his quest to uncover the fate of the fabled zorgles of Zorgmazoo as well as of other creatures that seem to have disappeared from the earth.

Burn My Heart - Beverley Naidoo
Matthew and Mungo, boys with a different skin color and culture, have a friendship that is tested during the Mau Mau bid for national independence.

Crown of Horns (Bone #9) - Jeff Smith
It's full-fledged war as Briar, the rat creatures, and the Pawan army storm the city of Atheia. The Bone cousins, Thorn, and Gran'ma Ben are all there to defend the Valley and stop the return of the Lord of the Locusts. When Thorn goes inside a ghost circle, she hears a voice urging her to seek the Crown of Horns. What follows is another dangerous journey for Thorn and loyal Fone Bone as they race to the sacred grounds of the dragons, searching for the one thing that may save them all. This is the breathtaking conclusion to Jeff Smith's nine-book graphic novel series.

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith - Deborah Heiligman
Charles Darwin and his wife, Emma, were deeply in love and very supportive of each other, but their opinions often clashed. Emma was extremely religious, and Charles questioned God's very existence.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christian Teen Talk - Jack Canfield
A collection of 101 of the best stories and poems from Chicken Soup's library, written by Christian teens for other Christian teens to provide them with stories about the ups and downs of being a teenager, but from a devout Christian perspective. Stories deal with school, friends, love, family, growing up, puberty, and tough issues such as teen suicide, pregnancy, illness, death, and substance abuse.

New Children's Books

Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book - Ed Emberley
Shows how to make pictures by using one's fingerprints and a few dots and lines.

Do Kangaroos Wear Seat Belts? - Jane Kurtz
On a visit to the zoo, a little boy imagines what it would be like to be various animals, such as a hippopotamus or a penguin, and listens as his mother explains how all parents keep their young ones safe.

Tacky and the Emperor - Helen Lester
While awaiting a visit from the Emperor, a group of penguins fail to recognize their friend Tacky in the Emperor's clothes.

Annie Oakley: Wild West Sharpshooter - Jason Porterfield
Profiles Phoebe Ann Moses, the star sharpshooter of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show under the name Annie Oakley, who began shooting to help feed her family after her father's death.

Living in the Australian Outback - Jane Bingham
Looks at the ways in which the Aboriginal people have adapted to life in the Australian outback, describing their beliefs, art and artists, music and dance, body decoration, hunting and gathering skills, and use of plants and animals.

Australian Rainforest Animals - Steve Parish
Features information on Australian rainforest animals such as wallabies, dragons, and geckos, photographed in their natural habitats.

New Music Curriculum

Spotlight on Music
Teacher's editions for grades 1-8