New Devotional Book for Children

God and Me: 365 Daily Devotions - Penny Boshoff
God and me helps children find out all about God: what he is like, how he cares for them, and how he wants them to live in this world. Familiar situations encourage children to think about Christian values. A short Bible passage for the parent and child to read together supports the day's message, and a prayer helps children to develop their relationship with God.

New Audiobook

The Lightning Thief
Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

New Biographies

From the Who Was... series:

Harriet Tubman

Abraham Lincoln

George Washington

Franklin Roosevelt

Sacagawea

Ben Franklin


The Beatles

Thomas Jefferson

Marco Polo

Ferdinand Magellan

Leonardo da Vinci

Anne Frank

Walt Disney

Thomas Alva Edison

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Martin Luther King, Jr.

New YA Books

Borrowed Names : Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters - Jeannine Atkins
A collection of poems that retell the histories of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, cosmetics entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, and Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie and their daughters.

Out of My Mind - Sharon Draper
Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

Twilight Land - Howard Pyle
The storyteller finds himself in Twilight Land at the Inn of the Sign of Mother Goose where well-known characters from fairyland are gathered and each one tells a story.

The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald
A little princess is protected by her friend Curdie and her newly-discovered great-great-grandmother from the goblin miners who live in caves beneath the royal castle.

Five Children and It - E. Nesbit
When four brothers and sisters discover a Psammead, or sand-fairy, in the gravel pit near the country house where they are staying, they have no way of knowing all the adventures its wish-granting will bring them.

New Children's Books

The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah - Leslie Kimmelman
No one will help the Little Red Hen make the Passover matzah, but they all want to help her eat it.






Whaling Season: A Year in the Life of an Arctic Whale Scientist - Peter Lourie
John Craighead George is an Arctic whale scientist studying bowhead whales in Barrow, Alaska. He conducts his research in harmony with the cultural traditions of the Iñupiaq Eskimos, natives to the area, who have been hunting these whales for more than two thousand years.



If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge - Marc Aronson
Text, photographs, and explanatory maps and illustrations document archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson's study of Stonehenge and the surrounding area, describing what he found and what the artifacts reveal about the site and its history.




Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter saved the President (and the Country) - Kathleen Krull
This biography reveals many reasons why Lincoln was a towering president. He had a rich sense of humor that helped him in tough times.





Read It, Don't Eat It! - Ian Schoenherr
Animal readers give rhyming advice on how to take care of a library book.








 Over in the Hollow - Rebecca Dickinson
A counting book that features a variety of spooky Halloween creatures, from one spider to thirteen ghosts.

New Award Book

The winner of the 2010 Charlotte Zolotow Award for excellence in picture book text:

What Can I Do with a Paleta? - Carmen Tafolla
A young Mexican American girl celebrates the paleta, an icy fruit popsicle, and the many roles it plays in her lively barrio.

New Award Books

I Spy Fly Guy! - Tedd Arnold
While playing hide-and-seek with Buzz, Fly Guy is taken away by a garbage man.

Mouse and Mole, Fine Feathered Friends - Wong Herbert Yee
When spring arrives, Mole and Mouse find a unique way to bird watch.

New Pop-Up Book

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
An aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert encounters a little prince from a small planet who relates his adventures in seeking the secret of what is important in life.

New Children's Books

Fancy Nancy: Poet Extraordinaire! - Jane O'Connor
Fancy Nancy and her class learn about poetry and write their own poems to read on Family Day at school.
 
St. Patrick's Day - Anne Rockwell
Mrs. Madoff's students celebrate Saint Patrick's Day by giving class presentations about the history of the holiday and Irish traditions and culture.

My Garden - Kevin Henkes
After helping her mother weed, water, and chase the rabbits from their garden, a young girl imagines her dream garden complete with jellybean bushes, chocolate rabbits, and tomatoes the size of beach balls.

New YA Books

One Crazy Summer - Rita Williams-Garcia
In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

Wishing for Tomorrow - Hilary McKay
Relates what becomes of Ermengarde and the other girls left behind at Miss Minchin's School after Sara Crewe leaves to live with her guardian, the Indian gentleman.

Party Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
When the parcel arrives for Selina it causes great excitement. A beautiful dress and gorgeous shoes - the best present a girl could ever have. But where will she wear them? It's war time after all.

A Nest for Celeste - Henry Cole
Celeste, a mouse longing for a real home, becomes a source of inspiration to teenaged Joseph, assistant to the artist and naturalist John James Audubon, at a New Orleans, Louisiana, plantation in 1821.

Before I Fall -  Lauren Oliver
After she dies in a car crash, teenage Samantha relives the day of her death over and over again until, on the seventh day, she finally discovers a way to save herself.

A Million Shades of Gray - Cynthia Kadohata
In 1975 after American troops pull out of Vietnam, a thirteen-year-old boy and his beloved elephant escape into the jungle when the Viet Cong attack his village.

March 2010 Newsletter

New Book Award Added to CMC Collection

The newest addition to the CMC award book collection is the Charlotte Zolotow Award.  This award, administered by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, is given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year. Established in 1998, the award is named to honor the work of Charlotte Zolotow, a distinguished children's book editor for 38 years with Harper Junior Books, and author of more than 70 picture books.  The Caldecott Medal, awarded annually since 1938 by the American Library Association, is given to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book, whereas the Zolotow Award honors the author of the most outstanding text.  The CMC award book plan now includes 26 different awards.  Click here to see the list.

Children's Book News

The movie version of author Rick Riordan's very popular "The Lightning Thief" opened in theaters across the country in February.  Although the film is done well and exciting to watch, the movies are never as good as the book!

New CMC Materials

Over 125 new items were added to the CMC collection in February.  This includes math and social studies texts, DVDs, trade books, Spanish teaching aids, and much, much more.  Click here to see the list.

New Teaching Aids

Clay Cutters and Tools

Three bags of clay cutters, each containing 48 assorted plastic cutters (similar to cookie cutters) for use with clay, Play-Doh, etc. Included are animals, geometric shapes, transportation, etc. Tools for use with the cutters are in separate hanging bag,

New Children's Books

The Jazz Fly - Matthew Gollub
While seeking directions to town, a fly picks up the rhythm of the answers he gets from a frog, a hog, a donkey, and a dog, and then uses these sounds to jazz up his band's music.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down - Andrea Davis Pinkney
This picture book is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

New Award Book

Eidi - Bodil Bredsorff
Eidi leaves her mother and stepfather in Crow Cove to live in a nearby village, where she meets the much younger Tink and rescues him from the abusive man he has been living with.

New YA Books

Hamlet: A Novel - John Marsden
Grieving for the recent death of his beloved father and appalled by his mother's quick remarriage to his uncle, Hamlet, heir to the Danish throne, struggles with conflicting emotions, particularly after his father's ghost appeals to him to avenge his death.

Incarceron - Catherine Fisher
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.

Darksolstice - Sam Llewellyn
While Idris Limpet, Rightful King of the Land of Lyonesse, is making the treacherous journey to the distant land of Aegypt to rescue his dear friend and sister, Morgan, he meets a company of friends who shall become his Knights of the Round Table and lead armies to battle the evil regent, Fisheagle.

New DVD

Robert Sabuda: Travels in Time and Space
Robert Sabuda uses his exhibition, "Travels in Time and Space" at the NCCIL (March 6th through August, 2003) to tell the story of how he creates picture and pop-up books.

New Activity and Idea Books

Basic Language Arts G.A.M.E.S.
Cover essential, standards-based skills. Perfect for centers, tutoring, remediation, enrichment, and assessment. G.A.M.E.S. can be played individually or in groups. Includes 15 full-color file folder, resealable bag, and envelope games; two reproducible assessment worksheets for each game; a cross-referenced skills matrix, and self-checking answer keys. 

Basic Math G.A.M.E.S.
Cover essential, standards-based skills. Perfect for centers, tutoring, remediation, enrichment, and assessment. G.A.M.E.S. can be played individually or in groups. Includes 15 full-color file folder, resealable bag, and envelope games; two reproducible assessment worksheets for each game; a cross-referenced skills matrix, and self-checking answer keys. 


All Around the Neighborhood
There’s a huge world for children to explore within their own communities, and this book provides the perfect place for them to start. Use the reproducible building fronts and vehicles to create a familiar neighborhood setting then let your students’ imaginations do the rest. From their own homes to fire stations to construction sites, social awareness is taught in conjunction with a variety of new concepts and vocabulary words that draw upon children’s interests. Includes 10 mini-books, seven file-folder games, 60+ reproducible patterns, 80+ literature links, and a wealth of cross-curricular activities to reinforce each new concept. Supports NCSS and NAEYC, standards.

Start Young! Early Childhood Science Activities
Offers a wealth of simple educational activities designed to use right away with even the littlest scientists. The book includes a chapter of helpful background on the latest thinking about effective ways to introduce science in early childhood. But the bulk of the book is two dozen articles compiled from Science & Children, NSTAs award-winning journal for elementary school teachers.

Activities Linking Science with Math 5-8
A hands-on guide for pre-service and in-service elementary and middle school teachers who want to connect science instruction with other areas of study, including visual arts, social sciences, language arts, and especially math.

Classic Classroom Activities: The Oxford Picture Dictionary Program 









Activities Linking Science with Math K-4
A hands-on guide for preservice and inservice elementary school teachers who want to connect science instruction with other areas of studyincluding visual arts, social sciences, language arts, and especially math.

New Children's Books

Copper - Kazu Kibuishi
Copper is curious, and Fred is fearful. And together boy and dog are off on a series of adventures powered by Copper's limitless imagination. The two friends have a knack for getting into all sorts of odd situations, but Copper's good cheer always smoothes the way--and Fred can usually be won over if there's food involved.

When Jack Goes Out - Pat Schories
Jack the dog plays happily in his backyard with visitors from outer space, but is not so sure he wants to go home with them.

New Audiobooks

The Chronicles of Narnia
Tells the tales of Narnia, a magical, fantastic place where good and evil battle, children have adventures as kings and queens, and beasts and creatures can talk. The seven books are in individual packages.

New VeggieTales DVDs

Minnesota Cuke and The Search for Noah's Umbrella
Minnesota is on the hunt for the famous Noah's Ark and along the way finds out about a powerful umbrella...and the villain who wants it for himself.

Lessons from the Sock Drawer
When Edmund Storch writes to Bob and Larry with a big problem, Larry must dig deep into the 'Veggie Vault' to find a solution. But what is the 'Veggie Vault' and why does Larry hide it in his sock drawer? And how did a sock puppet and a story-telling donkey get in there? Join the whole VeggieTales crew for this unique collection of tales.

The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment
What is auto-tainment? Larry the cucumber is pretty sure it involves an automated set from the future, singing robotic children and some of the veggies performing bizarre renditions of classic songs. Bob and Larry learn that God still loves them even when the future doesn't work out the way they had hoped.

New Children's Book

Wait Until Then - Randy Alcorn
Randy Alcorn helps children understand what the Bible says about heaven and the new earth yet to come - and why they're worth the wait.