New Releases by Toni Buzzeo

Cora Mae Tipton is determined to light up her Appalachian community in this historical fiction novel from an award-winning author and former librarian. It’s 1937 and the government is pushing to bring electricity to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. It’s all Cora can think of; radios with news from around the world, machines that keep food cold, lightbulbs by which to read at night! Cora figures she can help spread the word by starting a school newspaper and convincing her neighbors to support the Rural Electrification Act. But resistance to change isn’t easy to overcome, especially when it starts at home. Cora’s mother is a fierce opponent of electrification. She argues that protecting the landscape of the holler—the trees, the streams, the land that provides for their way of life—is their responsibility. But Cora just can’t let go of wanting more. Lyrical, literary, and deeply heartfelt, this debut novel from an award-winning author-librarian speaks to family, friendship, and loss through the spirited perspective of a girl eager for an electrified existence, but most of all, the light of her mother’s love and acceptance. Back matter includes an Author’s Note; further information on the Rural Electrification Act, the herbs and plants of Appalachia, the Pack Horse Library Project, and more; and a “Quick Questions” historical trivia section for readers. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

A kind and generous grandparent-grandchild duo nourish their neighborhood in this new picture book from critically acclaimed author Toni Buzzeo Pa and his grandchild, Jelly Bean, have a sidewalk library filled with stories. Anyone can bring donations or take something to read. Jelly Bean loves the sidewalk library! But what about when their neighbors might need something more than books? Together, Pa and Jelly Bean build a sidewalk pantry right next to the sidewalk library. They get donations from neighbors who have a lot to give, and leave the doors open for those who may not have enough. This charming multigenerational story from award-winning author Toni Buzzeo and rising-star illustrator Zara González Hoang celebrates community, generosity, and creative problem solving.

Learn about six different construction vehicles in this guessing-game board book This nonfiction follow-up to Whose Truck? features six kinds of specialized rigs used to construct a light-rail system--a tunnel borer, an excavator, a bulldozer, a tie dragon, a tamping machine, and a bucket truck--with five different parts of each rig properly labeled. The answer to each inquiring refrain of "Whose rig is this?" is revealed under a gatefold, engaging the reader in an informative guessing game about construction machines and their operators. With lyrical (and factual!) rhyming text by New York Times bestselling author Toni Buzzeo, and the expertly stylized art of Ramon Olivera, this sturdily constructed board book is perfect for curious and playful young readers.

Empower backseat passengers to become informed backseat drivers with this road sign decoder featuring 35 shaped road signs! From road signs around the neighborhood, like "School Crossing" and "Playground," to signs you zoom past on the highway, this hefty reference board book highlights and explains 35 road and highway signs for the youngest readers on the go. The shaped pages make each sign tactilely memorable, and the carefully crafted one-sentence explanations will easily guide young readers as they contextualize the world that zips past their backseat windows.

From a very young age, Sue Hendrickson was meant to find things: lost coins, perfume bottles, even hidden treasure. Her endless curiosity eventually led to her career in diving and paleontology, where she would continue to find things big and small. In 1990, at a dig in South Dakota, Sue made her biggest discovery to date: Sue the T. rex, the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever unearthed. Named in Sue’s honor, Sue the T. rex would be placed on permanent exhibition at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. When Sue Found Sue inspires readers to take a closer look at the world around them and to never lose their brave, adventurous spirits.

Grace writes a letter home each of the twelve days she spends exploring all six states in New England at Christmastime, as her cousin Camden shows her everything from lighthouses to dog sledding. Includes facts about New England.

Smoke billows up. Cool water flows. Whose boat is that? Do you know? This nonfiction ode to boats features six kinds of workers and their boats—a patrol boat, a tugboat, a car ferry, a lobster boat, a lifeboat, and a fireboat—with important parts properly labeled. The answer to each inquiring refrain lies under a gatefold, engaging the reader in an informative guessing game. With lyrical (and factual!) text by New York Times–bestselling author Toni Buzzeo, and the stylized art of Tom Froese, this sturdy board book is perfect for curious and playful young readers.

Little Tembo, a baby elephant, is thirsty and her herd cannot find any water. But Bibi, the matriarch, "remembers the way to wet." As Bibi leads them across the parched savannah, Tembo happily follows, every now and then getting distracted by her own memories of games she loves to play. With touching family moments interspersed between Tembo''s playful actions, this tribute to grandmothers will make a perfect read-aloud. Praise for Stay Close to Mama "Readers and their parents will instantly see themselves in this loving but ongoing conflict over the need to explore and the need to protect, and they''ll undoubtedly find the two characters adorable and reassuring."

A science and nature biography of Cynthia Moss, the elephant expert, by the author of Caldecott Honor book One Cool Friend Cynthia Moss was never afraid of BIG things. As a kid, she loved to ride through the countryside on her tall horse. She loved to visit faraway places. And she especially loved to learn about nature and the world around her. So when Cynthia traveled to Africa and met the world’s most ENORMOUS land animal, the African elephant, at Amboseli National Park in Kenya, she knew she had found her life’s work. Cynthia has spent years learning everything she can about elephants and sharing these fascinating creatures with the world. She is a scientist, nature photographer, and animal-rights activist, fighting against the ivory poachers who kill so many elephants for their tusks. This lyrical and accessible picture book gives kids a glimpse of what scientists do in the real world and inspires them to dream of accomplishing BIG things.

Kito wants to be just like his papa, the protector of the pride. Throughout a day and night on the savanna, the cub imitates the way his father roars, swings his tail, shakes his head, and pounces. Kito may be too little to catch a wildebeest, but he is brave enough to succeed in his own hunt. Someday he will be King, just like Papa. With its rhythmic text, dramatic moments on the African plain, playful times for cub and papa, and word-for-word narration this book will make a perfect read-aloud for family sharing.

In the wide, shining world there is so much to see, and Twiga is curious. But Twiga''s tall, tall Mama wants her baby to stay close, stay safe from the dangers that lurk near each irresistible sweet smell and sparkling sight that Twiga finds. With lyrical text and enchanting illustrations, this story of a mother''s love will soothe and delight readers of all ages.

Hunter and Carmen disagree whether George Washington really had wooden teeth, and Mrs. Skorupski encourages them to research the story on the internet and use her "Website Evaluation Gizmo" to evaluate websites and come up with the correct answer.

2013 Caldecott Honor Book. From New York Times bestselling author Toni Buzzeo and Caldecott Medal winning illustrator David Small, comes a cool tale about an unlikely friendship. On a spontaneous visit to the aquarium, straight-laced and proper Elliot discovers his dream pet: a penguin. When he asks his father if he may have one (please and thank you), his father says yes. Elliot should have realized that Dad was probably thinking of a toy penguin, not a real one… Clever illustrations and a wild surprise ending make this sly, silly tale a kid-pleaser from start to finish.

"I love to look inside the books. They beckon me from wooden shelves that guard the stories hidden there ... All across the world, on every continent, there are libraries filled with books. Some libraries are big, and others small. Some libraries sit on land, others float on water, and still others nestle amidst ice and snow. Some libraries even bump along in wheel barrows!"--

Christmas is two days away, but Frances and her little brother Peter, who recently moved with their father to a lighthouse on an isolated island, fear that they will have no treats, no music, and no visit from Santa. Includes facts about the Flying Santa Service. Full color.

Letter of the Week is a long-standing approach to early literacy introduction. With this method, teachers and students take an incremental approach to the alphabet and its sounds, adding new letters and sounds on a weekly basis. Buzzeo offers educators a way to contextualize and enhance Letter of the Week instruction through the use of children s literature. From A to Z, this book offers an array of delightful picture book suggestions, as well as a variety of engaging reading, writing, thinking, and creative activities to accompany each letter of the alphabet.

Twins Hugh and Louis Abernathy take the lead when their fourth grade class hosts Mr. Hester''s second grade class for Mrs. Skorupski''s Great Dewey Hunt.

Buzzeo has written the seminal work on collaboration. This concise, heavy-duty, power-packed volume is filled with the information teachers, librarians, and administrators need to increase levels of collaboration in their schools in order to increase student learning and achievement. Step up to the plate and hit one out of the park for collaboration! Read, learn, and apply these strategies to raise the level of collaboration and achievement in your school! • Offers hands-on tools for moving from isolation, to cooperation, to collaboration, step-by-step • Teaches you to asses your collaboration quotient and raise it to new levels • Convinces administrators, teachers, and librarians of the benefit collaboration has on student learning Buzzeo has written the seminal work on collaboration. This concise, heavy-duty, power-packed volume is filled with the information teachers, librarians, and administrators need to increase levels of collaboration in their schools in order to increase student learning and achievement. Buzzeo gives readers the why, the how, and the inspiration to build and enhance collaboration in every school. Data-based analysis is a key component of this handbook which is designed to be used by teachers and librarians wherever they are on the collaboration continuum.

An alphabet picture book that introduces basic research concepts to elementary students.

Supplement is a library lesson based on the story.

Provides an introduction to collaboration, including a history and overview of the movement, practical suggestions for implementing the collaborative process, and ideas for overcoming common roadblocks to collaboration.

Patty Lee and Carmen Rosa Peña compete to be the top reader in the fourth grade and earn the right to wear the dragon costume in the Read Across America Day parade.

A companion book to Read! Perform! Learn!, a resource for school media specialist, public children''s librarians, and classroom teachers who want to share excellent children''s literature with their students while improving reading skills. Includes a set of standards-based learning activities with accompanying standards.

Also available with an accompanying 18-page workbook titled Library lessons.

Playing on the phrase, The author and you, a commonly taught reading comprehension strategy that teaches the learner how to look at the words of an author and make inferences about what is being said, this series assists teachers and teacher-librarians in understanding the underlying purposes of the author as they prepare learning activities for their students. Through family photos, reminiscences, anecdotes and stories, Toni Buzzeo relates her lifelong preparation to become a writer. The book features wonderful insights into the creation of her picture books for children and interesting creative lesson activities to use with students. The series focuses primarily on books for the elementary age child (K-6), featuring insights into the author''s background, purposes and goals in writing books. By furnishing an overview of the author''s works, the books in the series give teachers the big picture. Each book features personal information about the author, including insights into why this author has chosen to write in a specific genre plus lesson plans and/or activities for each of the author''s books featured. These lessons will stress the particular interest of the author and the author and you (the teacher) will build a collaborative instructional relationship using the material provided. Each book is written by the featured author or in close collaboration with the author. Using family photographs, reminiscences, anecdotes and stories, Toni Buzzeo relates her lifelong preparation to become a writer. The book features wonderful insights into the creation of her picture books for children and interesting creative lesson activities to use with students. Grades K-6.

Mama Duck tries to keep Dawdle Duckling together with his siblings, but he wants to dawdle and dream, preen and play, splash and spin.

A young girl listens as her great-aunt, a lighthouse keeper''s daughter, tells of her childhood living on a Maine island, and of the infant that washed ashore after a storm.

A train gets noisier and more crowded as quacking ducks, dancing acrobats, talking yaks, and packs of elephants board.

Exciting, productive connections with authors, illustrators, and storytellers are at your fingertips with this resource. Unlike other author visit guides, this book goes beyond nuts-and-bolts planning to how to create the best possible encounters between students and authors. Successful visits in real space and in cyberspace are described, giving you specific ideas of the many ways to connect with and create meaningful links between bookpeople and children. Choosing the right guest, guidelines for successful visits, making curriculum connections, using e-mail to connect with bookpeople, live chats in virtual space, taking advantage of ITB and satellite technology, and using such props as realia and curriculum guides are some of the topics covered. Lists of author/illustrator web pages and managed Internet sites for author interaction are included.