Best Friend

Rachel Vail's powerful middle-grade novel proves once again that no one does tween better than she does! Niki Ames can't wait to start eighth grade, that all-important year before high school. She and her best friend Ava have shared so many plans for the coming year. But then the unthinkable happens: at gym class pair-up, Ava chooses someone else to be her partner. Niki is devastated. It's clear that Ava wants to be part of the popular group, leaving Niki behind. Niki has to decide who her real friends should be, where her real interests lie. Meanwhile, life at home is complicated. Niki's nine-year-old brother Danny continues to act out more and more publicly. Their mother refuses to admit that Danny is somewhere on the autism spectrum, but it's clear he needs help. Niki doesn't want to be like her brother, to be labeled as different. She just wants to be popular! Is she a bad sister and a bad best friend?

Perfect for fans of Catherine Hapka -- a heart-warming story about a girl who must find her voice, with lots of manatee and dolphin fun along the way! Becca Wong Walker may be so shy that most people at school think she doesn't speak at all, but why should she care? She has more important things to worry about. Missy, the manatee who visits the dock in Becca's backyard, and Becca's only friend, hasn't been seen for a long time. When Missy finally does return, she has a new baby with her! Becca wants to be excited, but more than ever inconsiderate boaters are speeding through the river, putting the lives of Missy and her baby in terrible danger.One day, Becca spots a dolphin in the river too! By bonding over the dolphin and manatees, Becca finally starts to make friends at school. But when Becca takes a video that goes viral, it seems like it will be harder than ever to save the manatees... and trying might just tear Becca's new friendships apart.

New York Times bestselling author Julie Fogliano and Caldecott Honor winner Jillian Tamaki come together to tell a delightful story of first friendship. she is my best friend i think i never had a best friend so i’m not sure but i think she is a really good best friend because when we were drawing she drew me and i drew her. What is a best friend, if not someone who laughs with you the whole entire day, especially when you pretend to be a pickle? This pitch-perfect picture book is a sweetly earnest, visually stunning celebration of the magic of friendship.

In almost 40 per cent of households in North America, dogs are kept as companion animals. Dogs may be man's best friends, but what are humans to dogs? If these animals' loyalty and unconditional love have won our hearts, why do we so often view closely related wild canids, such as foxes, wolves, and coyotes, as pests, predatory killers, and demons? Re-examining the complexity and contradictions of human attitudes towards these animals, Dog's Best Friend? looks at how our relationships with canids have shaped and also been transformed by different political and economic contexts. Journeying from ancient Greek and Roman societies to Japan's Edo period to eighteenth-century England, essays explore how dogs are welcomed as family, consumed in Asian food markets, and used in Western laboratories. Contributors provide glimpses of the lives of street dogs and humans in Bali, India, Taiwan, and Turkey and illuminate historical and current interactions in Western societies. The book delves into the fantasies and fears that play out in stereotypes of coyotes and wolves, while also acknowledging that events such as the Wolf Howl in Canada's Algonquin Park indicate the emergence of new popular perspectives on canids. Questioning where canids belong, how they should be treated, and what rights they should have, Dog's Best Friend? reconsiders the concept of justice and whether it can be extended beyond the limit of the human species.

Mike and Conrad, Conrad and Mike are best, BEST friends. That is until Victor--a new boy, a big boy, a cool boy--arrives at school. Suddenly, Conrad turns into the WORST best friend and forgets all about his pal, Mike. But when Victor's need to win leaves Conrad crushed, Mike steps up to the plate and shows how to be a real friend, a true-blue friend--a best, BEST friend. From the creators of The Recess Queen, exuberant illustrations and rhythmic text bounce off the pages in this frank and funny look at the challenges and rewards of friendship. A perfect read-aloud to share with a best, best friend--and all friends--again and again.

Do you know how to find a best friend? Find out in this wonderful celebration of kindness and friendship! "Today, I will find a best friend!" announces a little girl to her mother as they walk to school. Her mother reminds her that it's only the first day of school, and finding a best friend might take some time. But the girl isn't worried, because she knows exactly how to spot a best friend. "A friend lends you a crayon. A best friend lends you a brand-new, extra-sharp green crayon," she explains. And so begins a whimsical exploration of what it means to be a best friend. Full of imagination and charm, this is the perfect picture book for little ones hoping to find--and be--a best friend at school.

“A fascinating, informative and highly entertaining expedition through the highways and byways of dogdom.” —John Bradshaw, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Sense A charming meditation on the relationship between humans and dogs, drawing upon history, science, art, and personal experience to illuminate a magical bond that has endured millennia—from the New York Times bestselling author of Just My Type. “Ludo is now an elderly gentleman, and we would do almost anything to ensure his continued happiness. We schedule our days around his needs—his mealtimes, his walks, the delivery of his life-saving medication (he has epilepsy, poor love). We spend a bizarrely large amount of our disposable income on him, and he never sends a card of thanks. When he’s not with us for a few days, the house feels extraordinarily empty. I feel so fortunate to know him.” Ludo is a dog—Simon Garfield’s beloved black Labrador retriever, one of millions of canines who have become integral parts of our lives. But how did the dog become top dog? How did these faithful animals come to assist us not only in hunting, but in bomb disposal and cancer detection—and ultimately become our closest companions? Dog’s Best Friend examines how this bond developed over the centuries, and how it has transformed countless lives, both human and canine. Garfield begins with the earliest visual representations—dogs depicted in ancient rock art—and ends at the laboratory that first sequenced the canine genome. Along the way, we meet the legendary Corgis of Buckingham Palace, the dogs of the Soviet space program, the world’s first labradoodle, and a border collie that can identify more than a thousand different plush toys. Garfield reveals the secrets of the world’s best dog trainers, takes us inside the wild world of dog breeding and dog shows, and unearths the deep psychological roots of the human-dog link. And Ludo pops his snout in from time to time as well. A celebration of this deep interspecies connection, delivered with Simon Garfield’s inimitable wit, Dog’s Best Friend offers delights and insights for anyone who has ever loved a dog.