Benji The Bad Day And Me

Sammy is having the absolute rottenest, worst day ever. His little brother, Benji, knows exactly what that's like.

“Filled with diverse characters, from caped crusaders to badly behaving villains . . . Full of action and vibrancy . . . A good way to soothe bad days away.” —School Library Journal When Superheroes don’t get their way, when they’re sad, when they’re mad, when they’ve had a bad day . . . . . . they COULD super-tantrum, they COULD but they DON’T, because REAL Superheroes just WOULDN’T—they WON’T! All kids have trouble getting a grip on their emotions, sometimes—even young superheroes! But what do they do when they’re having a bad day? Colorful action-packed illustrations and a dynamite rhyming text reveal the many ways superheroes (and ordinary children, too) can resist the super-temptation to cause a scene when they’re sad, mad, frustrated, lonely, or afraid. From burning off steam on a bike or a hike, to helping others, this energetic picture book has plenty of fun ideas to help kids cope when they’re feeling overwhelmed. “An action-packed romp.” —Kirkus Reviews “[A] lighthearted exposé on how a group of superheroes deal with their frustrations . . . A spoonful of superheroes certainly helps the message go down.” —Booklist

After the phenomenal success of The Storm Whale and On Sudden Hill, this new book by Benji Davies deals with the emotional topic of losing a grandparent. Subtly told, this beautifully illustrated book tackles a difficult subject with great sensitivity and depth. At the bottom of Syd’s garden, through the gate and past the tree, is Grandad’s house. Syd can let himself in any time he likes. But one day when Syd comes to call, Grandad isn’t in any of the usual places. He’s in the attic, where he ushers Syd through a door, and the two of them journey to a wild, beautiful island awash in color where Grandad decides he will remain. So Syd hugs Grandad one last time and sets sail for home. Visiting Grandad’s house at the bottom of the garden again, he finds it just the same as it’s always been — except that Grandad isn’t there anymore. Sure to provide comfort to young children struggling to understand loss, Benji Davies’s tale is a sensitive and beautiful reminder that our loved ones live on in our memories long after they’re gone. Praise for Grandad's Island: 'Davies’s elegantly rough illustrations, evoking a child’s paintings, tap into the imagination of death with little fuss, and his story declines to offer kids instruction on how to feel. Indeed, Grandad’s Island doesn’t mention death at all, but is deeply in touch with the ways in which loss and abundance commingle in the mind, correcting and assuaging each other.' The New York Times Book Review 'The creator of The Storm Whale (2014) offers another thoughtful picture book guaranteed to spark discussion...Recommend to young families dealing with loss, especially those who prefer to gloss over the scientific realities.' Booklist Online 'As with The Storm Whale, Davies offers a story of loneliness and togetherness distinguished by understated, deeply felt emotions and a nautical milieu.' Publishers Weekly 'This book is innovative and useful as a way to talk about the idea of loss—without ever referring to actual death. Parents and educators can use this to talk with a child about how it’s normal to be sad and miss loved ones...Cheerful, brightly colored illustrations make this a fine choice to use with the youngest of audiences. Since death isn’t directly specified, this title also works for when a child’s loved one is moving far away. An excellent vehicle to gently approach the topic of loss. Recommended for collections needing these types of materials.' School Library Journal 'Grandad's Island by British author-illustrator Benji Davies (The Storm Whale; Bizzy Bear series) celebrates a close grandfather-grandson relationship with warmth and style. Whether it's read as a picture book about love, loss or just missing someone who isn't around anymore, it's a charmer. Cheerful cinematic spreads invite young readers into all sorts of intriguing places, from a cozy attic full of curiosities like a turtle teapot, to a vast ship's deck, to the deep jungle of an island paradise.' Shelf Awareness for Readers 'A resonant, layered tale that will only gain in texture as its readers get older.' USA Today

Winner of the 2018 Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award * Two starred reviews * A New York Public Library Best Kids Book of 2017 * A Bank Street Best Children's Book of 2017 * Wisconsin Library Association CBA Outstanding Books of the Year selection * 2018-2019 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award list selection * 2018-2019 Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award nominee * Young Hoosier Book Award nominee * The Someday Birds is a debut middle grade novel perfect for fans of Counting by 7s and Fish in a Tree, filled with humor, heart, and chicken nuggets. Charlie’s perfectly ordinary life has been unraveling ever since his war journalist father was injured in Afghanistan. When his father heads from California to Virginia for medical treatment, Charlie reluctantly travels cross-country with his boy-crazy sister, unruly brothers, and a mysterious new family friend. He decides that if he can spot all the birds that he and his father were hoping to see someday along the way, then everything might just turn out okay. Debut author Sally J. Pla has written a tale that is equal parts madcap road trip, coming-of-age story for an autistic boy who feels he doesn’t understand the world, and an uplifting portrait of a family overcoming a crisis. “Offering a mixture of suspense, mystery, tragedy and humor, Pla’s story captures both the literal and figurative meanings of journey.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Pla gives us a memorable hero in this lyrical and funny book.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

A New York Public Library Best Kids Book of 2018 * A Kirkus Best Book of 2018 * A Bank Street Best Children's Book of 2019 This funny and moving second novel from the author of The Someday Birds features comic trivia, a safety superhero, and a super-cool scavenger hunt all over downtown San Diego, as our young hero Stanley Fortinbras grapples with his anxiety—and learns what, exactly, it means to be brave. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 7 to 8, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom. Nobody knows comics trivia like Stanley knows comics trivia. It’s what he takes comfort in when the world around him gets to be too much. And after he faints during a safety assembly, Stanley takes his love of comics up a level by inventing his own imaginary superhero, named John Lockdown, to help him through. Help is what he needs, because Stanley’s entered Trivia Quest—a giant comics-trivia treasure hunt—to prove he can tackle his worries, score VIP passes to Comic Fest, and win back his ex-best friend. Partnered with his fearless new neighbor Liberty, Stanley faces his most epic, overwhelming, challenging day ever. What would John Lockdown do? Stanley’s about to find out.

Everything is yellow, red, orange. Everything is chilly, frisky, gusty. Everything is changing, turning. It’s the middle of Fall. Can you see it? Can you taste it? Can you smell it? Can you imagine it?

What could happen if we viewed every read aloud as an invitation to learn more about literacy and ourselves? In Layers of Learning: Using Read Alouds to Connect Literacy and Caring Conversations , author JoEllen McCarthy explores read aloud strategies designed to enhance your reading and writing standards by capitalizing on the way literature can impact caring communities. Layers of Learning is structured around four key elements: Community, Agency, Respect, and Empowerment, or CARE. The book provides tools necessary to emphasize reading and writing connections, character education, and culturally responsive teaching, all while championing the power of read alouds. Inside you’ll find: Over 200 picture book suggestions introducing the Heartprint Framework , which demonstrates how you can layer literacy with life lessons 60 read aloud based connections that support caring classroom conversations, lesson planning, and extensions Instructional opportunities for nurturing readers and writers during workshop time, small-group gatherings, or individual conferring sessions Literacy Snapshot photo essays with ideas on how to adopt or adapt Continuing connections with additional resources and invitations for further learning Layers of Learning pulls together the ideas that the books we share not only serve an academic purpose, but also convey big, affective messages. This can lead to richer and more meaningful classroom conversations.

Who’s Crazy? What does it mean to be crazy? Is using the word crazy offensive? What happens when such a label gets attached to your everyday experiences? In order to understand mental health, we need to talk openly about it. Because there’s no single definition of crazy, there’s no single experience that embodies it, and the word itself means different things—wild? extreme? disturbed? passionate?—to different people. (Don’t) Call Me Crazy is a conversation starter and guide to better understanding how our mental health affects us every day. Thirty-three writers, athletes, and artists offer essays, lists, comics, and illustrations that explore their personal experiences with mental illness, how we do and do not talk about mental health, help for better understanding how every person’s brain is wired differently, and what, exactly, might make someone crazy. If you’ve ever struggled with your mental health, or know someone who has, come on in, turn the pages, and let’s get talking.