A fly goes out looking for something to eat. A boy goes out looking for something to catch for the Amazing Pet Show. Boy and fly meet and a beautiful friendship begins! But flies can't be pets... or can they?

Will they be able to convince others that flies and boys can be friends?

Beginner Books are fun, funny, and easy to read! Launched by Dr. Seuss in 1957 with the publication of The Cat in the Hat, this beloved early reader series motivates children to read on their own by using simple words with illustrations that give clues to their meaning. Featuring a combination of kid appeal, supportive vocabulary, and bright, cheerful art, Beginner Books will encourage a love of reading in children ages 3-7.

Leroy Ninker is a small man with a big dream: he wants to be a cowboy, but for now he's just a thief. In fact, Leroy is robbing the Watsons' kitchen right this minute As he drags the toaster across the counter - screeeeeech - and drops it into his bag - clannngggg - little does he know that a certain large pig who loves toast with a great deal of butter is stirring from sleep. Even less could he guess that comedy of errors (not to mention the buttery sweets in his pocket) will soon lead this little man on the wild and raucous rodeo ride he's always dreamed of Nosy neighbors, astonished firemen, a puzzled policeman, and the ever-doting Watsons return for a new tongue-in-snout adventure about Kate DiCamillo's delightfully single-minded pig.

Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it's true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn't learn to butter his own bread until he turned twenty. Instead, he traveled around the world, from one mathematician to the next, collaborating on an astonishing number of publications. With a simple, lyrical text and richly layered illustrations, this is a beautiful introduction to the world of math and a fascinating look at the unique character traits that made Uncle Paul a great man.
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013 A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2013

Rushing home he tells Mole, and the two fast friends get to work building a kite of their own. They study, and collect, and measure, and construct--and soon, their kite is flying high above the meadow.

But when a storm rumbles in--SNAP --the kite string breaks, and all their hard work soars away. Chasing after it, Mole and Bear discover all is not lost--wedged in the branches of a tree, their kite protects a nest of baby birds from the pouring rain.

Will Hillenbrand's Bear and Mole series is the perfect choice for storytime sharing or reading aloud. Strong verbs, repetitive phrases, and fun-to-read sounds keep young listeners and readers engaged with the story, while the gentle illustrations add detail and quiet humor. Kids will delight in poring over these books again and again.

Don't miss the other Bear and Mole titles, including All For a Dime, Spring is Here, and First Star

A Caldecott medalist and a Newbery Honor-winning poet celebrate the beauty and value of spirals.What makes the tiny snail shell so beautiful? Why does that shape occur in nature over and over again--in rushing rivers, in a flower bud, even inside your ear?

With simplicity and grace, Joyce Sidman's poetry paired with Beth Krommes's scratchboard illustrations not only reveal the many spirals in nature--from fiddleheads to elephant tusks, from crashing waves to spiraling galaxies--but also celebrate the beauty and usefulness of this fascinating shape.

In what the New York Times Book Review calls a perfect book, a little girl watches birds from her window and dreams she can fly.

Perfect for the small dreamers and naturalists in your life, this critically acclaimed picture book is from the award-winning husband-and-wife team of Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek.

With a fine eye for detail, a girl observes and describes birds--their sizes, their colors, their shapes, the way they move and appear and disappear, and how they are most like her. She imagines what it would be like if clouds looked like birds, or if she could ask the birds questions.

Though she can't fly, the girl can do one thing birds do--she can sing. Vibrant and lively paintings accompany a text pitched precisely to preschoolers in this husband-and-wife collaboration.

Booklist said, Together, the words and pictures create a book that will enchant preschool audiences again and again. Birds will resonate with the youngest children, said School Library Journal.

They're darling. They're daring. They know their shapes! They're chicks on a mission--and on this, their first (mis)adventure, the Chicken Squad launches a galactic backyard expedition.

Meet the Chicken Squad: Dirt, Sugar, Poppy, and Sweetie. These chicks are not your typical barnyard puffs of fluff, and they are not about to spend their days pecking chicken feed and chasing bugs. No sir, they're too busy solving mysteries and fighting crime.

So when Squirrel comes barreling into the chicken coop, the chicks know they're about to get a case. But with his poor knowledge of shapes (Big is not a shape, Squirrel!) and utter fear of whatever it is that's out there, the panicky Squirrel is NO HELP. Good thing these chicks are professionals.

But even professionals get worried. Especially once they see that round, shiny, green, BIG thing in the yard. What if it's a UFO full of aliens who want chickens as pets? It's up to the Chicken Squad to crack a case that just might be out of this world.

Archie the Goat has a delivery to make. He has several barrels of buttermilk that the queen needs, but in order to get them to her, he needs to cross the moat.

Testing several different theories to find out what will float and what will sink, Archie and his friend Skinny the Hen don't succeed at first, but they do try, try, try again (and again). And with reason and persistence, they'll get that buttermilk where it needs to be

Gollie is quite sure she has royal blood in her veins, but can Bink survive her friend's queenly airs -- especially if pancakes are not part of the deal? Bink wonders what it would be like to be as tall as her friend, but how far will she stretch her luck to find out? And when Bink and Gollie long to get their picture into a book of record holders, where will they find the kudos they seek? Slapstick and sweetness, drollery and delight abound in this follow-up to the Geisel Award-winning, New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Bink and Gollie, written by the beloved and best-selling Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee and brought to hilarious life by Tony Fucile.

Stella Batts is in third-grade, she wants to be a writer, and her parents own a candy shop. Life should be sweet, right?

In Needs a New Name, Stella decides to change her name after a boy from her class keeps calling her Smella. How hard can it be to pick a new name? It's not as easy as it sounds.

This best-selling early chapter book series charmingly chronicles the ups and downs of a girl's school and family life with warmth and humor.

Can you guess why Miss Milly is so silly? A laugh-out-loud, delightful story for beginner readers in the bestselling Scholastic Reader Level 1 format!

Miss Milly likes green but not red, butter but not bread, seeds but not flowers, and umbrellas but not showers.

With delightful text, wacky illustrations, and a fun mystery to unravel, readers are sure to enjoy this silly book for beginners!

Scholastic Readers encourage the joy and fun of reading with topics that kids love -- perfect for children beginning to read on their own!

This year Henry and Mudge are out to make the best Mother's Day lunch ever. It has to be juicy, crunchy, and perfect for family sharing.

When they select a gorgeous golden pineapple, the menu is shaping up to be anything but dull. Dad is helping them carve something almost too pretty to eat. So how will Henry ever stop Mudge from devouring the surprise before Mom sees it?

Mouse and Mole are very excited. Minkus the Magnificent is in town--ONE SHOW ONLY!--and they can't wait to sit in the front row and see his tricks. After the abracadabras happen, though, something goes a bit wrong--and Mole is very disappointed to discover that magic is sometimes not exactly what it seems. How will Mouse help her friend realize that there is magic happening right in front of their very eyes? Wong Herbert Yee gives readers another grand adventure with two best friends, Mouse and Mole, who, despite their different outlooks on life, manage to show each other that friendship itself is a magical event!

National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

Once, lightships
anchored on waters
across America,
on the oceans
and in the Great Lakes,
floating where lighthouses
could not be built.
Smaller than most ships,
but more steadfast, too,
they held their spots,
through calm and storm,
to guide sailors
toward safe waters.

In these pages
one lightship
and her crew (and cat)
again hold their place.
The crew goes
again from bow to stern,
from keel to mast,
to run their engines,
shine their lights,
and sound their horns.

They run the small ship
that guides the large ships.
They are the crew (and cat)
that work to make the ocean safe,
that hold their place,
so other ships can sail.

Come aboard

Quack, quack--woof? A quick-thinking duck keeps a fox on his toes in this witty romp from a New Yorker cartoonist.

One dark night in the henhouse, a hungry fox in search of his dinner gets more than he bargains for. Instead of a chicken, Fox grabs a duck. A very smart duck. A duck so sly, he plans to convince Fox that he isn't a duck but a--dog Yes, a dog.

This clever story and its accompanying visual narrative will delight readers young and old--because if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it HAS to be a duck...right?