Real Kids Real Stories Real Change

Eleven-year-old Tilly saved lives in Thailand by warning people that a tsunami was coming. Fifteen-year-old Malika fought against segregation in her Alabama town. Ten-year-old Jean-Dominic won a battle against pesticides—and the cancer they caused in his body. Six-year-old Ryan raised $800,000 to drill water wells in Africa. And twelve-year-old Haruka invented a new environmentally friendly way to scoop dog poop. With the right role models, any child can be a hero. Thirty true stories profile kids who used their heads, their hearts, their courage, and sometimes their stubbornness to help others and do extraordinary things. As young readers meet these boys and girls from around the world, they may wonder, “What kind of hero lives inside of me?”

A follow-up to the popular Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change, this inspiring sequel spans the globe again with true accounts of ordinary kids showing extraordinary character. Thirty short inspirational stories are divided into six character traits (courage, creativity, kindness, persistence, resilience, and responsibility), and feature kids facing adversity from bullying in an American middle school to surviving persecution in the war-torn streets of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Readers will see how every choice they make is a chance to build character and show the world who they really are. Available online: Free Leader’s Guide at freespirit.com/leader

Level 3 guided reader that helps educate young readers on the importance of reusing items and the role that plays in saving the earth's resources.

Level 3 guided reader that helps kids understand the importance of consuming less and the impact that has on keeping the earth healthy.

Inspiring true stories of kids from around the world of kids who have overcome obstacles to create success for themselves. The third installment in the Real Kids, Real Stories collection again travels the world with inspirational short stories of young people who overcame adversity and persevered in the face of extreme challenges. Soosan Firooz broke barriers to become Afghanistan’s first female rapper and speaks out about the oppression and hardships women in her country must overcome. David Omondi in Kenya built his own radio station despite a lack of resources. And Kevin Breel speaks out about his own depression to help save lives. The thirty short stories in Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Challenges will inspire readers to believe in themselves, strive for success, overcome obstacles, and create change in the world—even when faced with a challenge. Note: Several stories in this book address intense and serious situations, which some readers may find unsettling.

Level 3 guided reader that helps educate young readers on the importance of recycling and what they can do to help protect the earth's resources.

It's 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. "Confused today," read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know-what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don't seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining to run again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev. Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War-those were solid things. But after that, did she marry Mark or not? Did her friends all call her Trish, or Pat? Had she been a housewife who escaped a terrible marriage after her children were grown, or a successful travel writer with homes in Britain and Italy? And the moon outside her window: does it host a benign research station, or a command post bristling with nuclear missiles? Two lives, two worlds, two versions of modern history; each with their loves and losses, their sorrows and triumphs. Jo Walton's My Real Children is the tale of both of Patricia Cowan's lives...and of how every life means the entire world. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The inspiring stories of 45 young heroes who have made an impact on our planet. Forty-five young people from around the world (including twelve from the U.S. and four from Canada) are doing something every day to make the world a better place. They discovered issues that concerned them and did something about it. With skills ranging from singing, drawing, and painting to fund-raising, public demonstrations, and events, they have fought climate change and pollution, and worked to protect animals and their natural habitats. This inspiring book also includes reference materials and suggestions on how readers can get involved.