the teacher's pet

Things go completely awry when the pet in Mr. Stricter’s classroom—a tiny tadpole named Bruno—strangely grows into a huge beast-like creature.  And worst of all, he has no manners or sense of propriety.  He consumes the children's homework and school supplies, smashes the classroom furniture, snores during silent reading and hogs the swings.  Too enthralled with the idea of having a pet, Mr. Stricter is not at all concerned about Bruno’s ghastly ways—in fact, he adores them and dotes on Bruno.  It’s up to his students to intervene before things go too far.  And that they do—with a dash of creativity and ingenuity, they take matters into their own hands.  A hilarious story that would be a perfect read-aloud for the first week of school—guaranteed to ease back-to-school jitters.

Save & CloseThe Teacher’s Pet was written by Anica Mrose Rissi, illustrated by Zachariah OHora and published by Disney Hyperion Books.

book of bones

There’s no argument that Gabrielle Balkan is a master of nonfiction for kids.  It takes a special writer to not only get the job done but craft an engaging and captivating book that keeps kids turning the pages with rapt attention.  Here’s yet another superb book she just put out into the world along with illustrator Sam Brewster—Book of Bones.

Book of Bones is fascinating.  It presents sets of clues to ten different notable and record-breaking animal bones—the thinnest, fastest-growing, spikiest and heaviest, to name a few.  After readers guess the creature to whom the bone belongs, they turn the page and see the animal in their natural habitat and get to learn about its behaviors and the special functions of its bones.  A great feature of the pages of the book—the skeletal structure in each animal has a special texture that's palpable and makes it stand out (sort of like the reader has x-ray vision).  Can you guess which cold-blooded animal has more than a thousand bones in its body?  A thoughtfully written and standout piece of nonfiction, the kind we've come to expect from Gabrielle.  Sam Brewster did an amazing job with the illustrations and we're looking forward to seeing more of their collaborations in the future.

Book of Bones: 10 Record-Breaking Animals was written by Gabrielle Balkan, illustrated by Sam Brewster and published by Phaidon.