Grandma S Pet Polka

In Cats in the Crater: My FANGtastically Evil Vampire Pet, the third in the spin-off series to Mo O'Hara's New York Times bestselling My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish chapter books, an aspiring evil scientist and his mostly evil (and totally forbidden) vampire kitten must face a trap-filled Volcanic Lair at Evil Scientist Summer Camp. Welcome back to Camp Mwhaaa-haa-ha-a-watha! My epic summer at Evil Scientist Summer Camp hasn't gone quite like I planned, but THIS week I will DEFINITELY be Evil Emperor of the Camp. I've been stocking up on evil inventions and Fang's been sharpening her claws. We're ready for anything! Okay, so maybe I wasn't really prepared to find out that Geeky Girl's grandmother is actually Madame Mako, inventor of the original volcano lair, and ruler of the most famous evil empire ever . . . but, this is going to be GREAT. Geeky Girl can inherit her grandmother's empire, and I'll come in as Head Partner, and help teach her the best way to be an evil ruler—with an epically evil crown! Let our Epic Evil Empire begin! Signed, The Great and Powerful Mark Featuring illustrations by Marek Jagucki

Join the world of balloons, pancakes, and musical instruments—just a few items to help improve early literacy in the library, the classroom, and at home. Literacy-builders covered range from music and instruments to magnetic letters, alphabet beads, and food. Literacy is a popular topic of discussion among librarians. Especially important is "early literacy," what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. In this book, experienced librarians Kathy Barco and Melanie Borski-Howard share hands-on techniques that they have used to successfully promote early literacy and encourage family involvement. Storytime and Beyond teaches readers how to use "literacy doodads"—inexpensive props that add excitement to storytimes and can be used outside the library or classroom—to enhance the basic components of any early literacy program: talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing. Many of the doodads can be created as family do-it-yourself projects, and some can be adapted to work with non-readers of any age. Instruments can also be a great way to get children's attention and teach literacy skills, whether it's a drum to beat while reading a story or a maraca for children to shake during a song, and lesson plans for musical storytimes address how to use rhythm, singing, and dancing to make early literacy fun.