Mama's button jar is almost as big as Elisa! Tucked inside are hundreds of buttons, and every single one has a story.When Elisa and her mama spill the jar out onto the table, an ordinary afternoon turns into a treasure hunt through their family's history. A duck-shaped button from Elisa's baby sweater. A pearl button from Grandma Margaret's Sunday dress. A little black button from someone she loves and misses.As Elisa arranges the buttons into something new, she discovers t...

Zara loves everything about school—except the moment she carries her lunch tray into a room full of strangers.On Monday, she asks to sit at a table. On Tuesday, another. Table after table, the answer is the same: not today.Then a girl with curly red hair pats the empty chair beside her and says the two words that change everything: "Sit with me."From that single act of kindness, a lunch table transforms into a gathering of new friends—each one carrying a different f...

Zara Wants a KittyEveryone else has a pet — a dog, a rabbit, a gerbil that stuffs food into its cheeks. Everyone, it seems, except Zara.When her best friend MiLin describes her cat curling up beside her every night, Zara can't stop imagining a soft, furry kitty of her own. But getting a pet means convincing Mama and Daddy — and promising, really promising, to take care of it.Zara and Mama pore over pictures of fluffy Maine Coons, tiny-legge...

Artificial intelligence is suddenly everywhere. It can write, analyze, translate, create images, search for information, work with documents, use software tools, and help solve surprisingly complicated problems.But what is AI actually doing?And perhaps more importantly: When should you trust it?Working With AI: A Practical Guide to Understanding, Using, and Trusting Artificial Intelligence is written for people who want to understand modern AI without becom...

A unique, must-have resource with medical information, practical tips, psychological insight, and coping strategies to help men help the women they love through the challenges of breast cancer“With a wonderful blend of empathy, humor, and information, Breast Cancer Husband is a buddy and an on-call support group for men who love women with breast cancer.”—Hester Hill Schnipper, oncology social worker and author of After Breast Cancer

What's in your lunch? More than you might think.Every morning, Zara's mama packs her lunch with familiar foods—and a little reminder to "carry our family with you today."At school, Zara begins looking at her friends' lunches in a whole new way. Sophie brings matzo and shares her family's Jewish traditions. MiLin's noodles carry a tradition passed from her grandmother to her baba. Priya brings dal and roti and explains why her Hindu family chooses not to eat...

Zara and the Boy with Blue HeadphonesA story about listening, understanding, and experiencing the world differentlyEli always wears his blue headphones. He waits until the room is empty before standing. He sits alone at lunch. Some kids whisper that he's weird. Zara isn't so sure.Then strange things start happening. Eli hears a squeaky cart wheel nobody else notices. He hears a dripping faucet three rooms away. During orchestra practice, he ...

Every big garden begins with something small. So do kindness, friendship, and hope.When Elisa brings a little painted seed tin to School Garden Day, her classmates wonder what could possibly grow from something so tiny.Together with Zara and their friends, Elisa plants seeds, waters the soil, and waits. But when nothing seems to happen, the children begin to wonder whether their garden will ever grow.Then one morning, a tiny green sprout appears—and the children dis...

Real Brother, Real SisterA story about how family doesn't have to match to be real.Theo has a new stepsister, Kimmie — and at first, that's just fine. But when a friend at school says Kimmie "isn't really" his sister, Theo goes quiet. He holds his dinosaur a little tighter. He doesn't finish his dinner. And nobody notices... except Kimmie.She's learned to read the small signs — the tight shoulders, the too-quiet voice — because she's felt th...

Reading seems to come easily to everyone else. For one of Zara's classmates, it doesn't.Words can be difficult, reading aloud can feel uncomfortable, and school can sometimes make a child wonder why something that seems so simple for others feels so hard. But Zara and her friends begin to understand something important: struggling with reading doesn't mean struggling with thinking, learning, imagining, or having something valuable to contribute.Zara and the Missing ...

Autumn has arrived, and Elisa and her mama are gathering feathers by the river — one soft white feather at a time. At home, Mama washes them, dries them, and begins stitching together scraps of cloth left over from the clothing factory where she works. Patch by patch, color by color, she sews Elisa a coat unlike any other — and finishes it with a tiny red heart stitched right where Elisa's own heart beats.At school, not everyone understands. Some classmates admire the coat's colors...

Zara and the Boy Who Learns DifferentlyA Story from the Zara & Friends CollectionWhen it's Ethan's turn to read aloud in class, the words don't come easily. But when a special project lets him choose his own topic, Ethan picks something he loves — sharks — and shows his classmate Zara a whole new way to learn.Ethan has dyslexia, and reading takes him longer. But he's found his own toolkit: listening closely, asking questions, and drawing wha...