“Kids of all stripes will identify with EllRay and his unwittingly hilarious antics.”—BooklistEight-year-old EllRay is down to one-and-a-half best friends, and his little sister points out the obvious: he needs more! So EllRay decides to audition other boys for the part, the way his sister is auditioning for the lead role in her day care’s spring play. Now, EllRay has to come up with fun things to do at recess, because when he’s the Recess King, everyone w...

Emma McGraw's third-grade class is getting ready for Winter Games Day, and Emma wants to win a prize more than anything. It would be the perfect way to make her father proud. But the rest of the class has mixed feelings about Winter Games Day. Jared is desperate to be the fastest runner and the farthest jumper, Fiona is worried about her weak ankles, and Annie Pat doesn't seem to care at all. When the big day arrives, nothing goes exactly as planned, but Emma is still determined to be as e...

EllRay Jakes is a small kid with big problems!EllRay Jakes may be the smallest kid in his class at Oak Glen Primary School, but he’s also his sister Alfie’s big brother. So when it looks like Alfie is being bossed around by a dragon-like girl at her school, EllRay feels responsible. As her older (and wiser!) brother, shouldn’t he show her that she should stand up for herself?But little sisters and four year old dragons are a bit more complicated than he tho...

A novel in words and sketches. ?It?s only temporary,? twelve-year-old Skye McPhee writes in her sketchbook after being shipped off to her gran?s in Sierre Madre, California. After all, her parents have their hands full taking care of her older brother, who?s been severely injured in a car accident. So now Skye is in a new school sketching new kids and trying to stay invisible until she can return home.But her new life starts turning out better than she hoped; she?s making cool frie...

This book examines the transformations of rural society and economy in the UK and US during the last half-century, and explores the significance of these trends and changes for community sustainability, quality of life and the environment. While both the UK and US are highly urbanised, rural people and communities continue to contribute to national identity, economic development and social solidarity, as well as to environmental quality. Contributors explore the degree to which rural peopl...

All the boys in EllRay's third-grade class have something they can brag about. Corey's on the swim team, Kevin is super tall, Jared's dad has an ATV. But EllRay's dad is a geologist - not much to brag about. After all, rocks are boring. Then EllRay sees the crystals in his dad's office, and they are really cool looking. If EllRay just "borrows" them to show his classmates, he knows they'd be impressed. And his dad will never have to know. It's a perfect plan . . . until things go awry.

I rued the day my Jewish mother in a style popular in 1950s Australia placed my illegitimate self in the hands of a previous Catholic boyfriend and his Catholic bride to become a step parent adoption. I rued the day I was so brainwashed by the RC education by ‘Mercy’ nuns such that I believed I should dedicate - sacrifice my entire life to saving all the Communists in Red China by joining a Catholic clergy order. However neither the Catholic nun educators nor my adoptive medically trained ...

Sally spent five years over a ten year period volunteering in Mother Teresa’s homes especially in India. She met and chatted with hundreds of volunteers, locals, nuns and inmates. Now that adoptions from Mother’s homes have been stopped, 13 homes have been shut down yet Mother Teresa will become a saint on September 4 2016. This book describes a day in the life of a volunteer with in these homes as well as what life in India entails.

EllRay Jakes may be the shortest kid in his class, and he may get into trouble from time to time, but he can always count on his best friends Kevin and Corey. But lately, Kevin has been skateboarding with the meanest boy in class. Could EllRay be losing one of his friends?Not giving up without a fight, EllRay asks his older neighbor to show him a few jaw-dropping skateboard moves—like ollies and kickflips. EllRay must learn as many tricks as he can before the secret boys-only third...

Emma is already upset when her mother cancels their traditional Friday night dinner-and-ice-cream plans, but it's even worse when she finds out why: Her mom has a date! Emma's best friend, Annie Pat, thinks it's so romantic, but Emma knows better. Fortunately, she has a plan to keep her mom all to herself. But when Emma's plan backfires, she starts to realize that maybe sharing her mother with other people has its advantages.

emma Mcgraw is slowly making friends at her new school. but when Cynthia calls her weird, emma is shocked. they are supposed to be best friends! in response, emma decides that Cynthias new name should be bossy pants, and she tells everyone in the class. Now the entire third grade is trading nicknames. And while it starts out being funny, emma begins to see the downside of name-calling. but just when she decides its time for apologies, her teacher makes the most dreaded call of a...

Imagine an America where politicians, governmental institutions, schools, new technologies, and interest groups work together to promote informed, engaged citizens. Civic Education in the Twenty-First Century brings together scholars from various disciplines to show how such a United States is possible today. Inspired by Alexis de Tocqueville’s analysis of American democracy in the early 1800s, this edited volume represents a multidimensional evaluation of civic education in its new and va...