Take to the sky with Apis, a honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life! Follow the life cycle of this devoted and extraordinary worker as she cleans the hive, tends to larvae and the queen, builds wax comb, and guards the hive from invaders - before embarking on her first flight to seek nectar. Eric Rohmann's exquisitely detailed illustrations bring the great outdoors into your hands in this poetically written tribute to the hardworking honeybee. Award-winning author Candace Fleming presents the life cycle of the honeybee in accessible, beautiful language. Honeybee also features a stunning gatefold and an essay on the plight of honeybees.

In the streets and canals of Venice, Gabriella can hear nothing but sweet music. The drying laundry goes slap-slap, the church bells go ting-aling-ling, and the lire go jing-aling-ling. Soon, Gabriella is humming her way through town -- and everyone hears her song! Some find it sad, others smile when they hear it -- but none can forget the beautiful melody. Before long, a certain struggling composer is inspired by Gabriella's song -- and a beautiful symphony is born.

From award-winning author Candace Fleming, comes the powerful and fascinating story of the brave and dedicated young women who helped turn the tides of World War II for the Allies, with their hard work and determination at Bletchley Park. Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills, so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future. "You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, in four days time....That is all you need to know." This was the terse telegram hundreds of young women throughout the British Isles received in the spring of 1941, as World War II raged. As they arrived at Station X, a sprawling mansion in a state of disrepair surrounded by Spartan-looking huts with little chimneys coughing out thick smoke--these young people had no idea what kind of work they were stepping into. Who had recommended them? Why had they been chosen? Most would never learn all the answers to these questions. Bletchley Park was a well-kept secret during World War II, operating under the code name Station X. The critical work of code-cracking Nazi missives that went on behind its closed doors could determine a victory or loss against Hitler's army. Amidst the brilliant cryptographers, flamboyant debutantes, and absent-minded professors working there, it was teenaged girls who kept Station X running. Some could do advanced math, while others spoke a second language. They ran the unwieldy bombe machines, made sense of wireless sound waves, and sorted the decoded messages. They were expected to excel in their fields and most importantly: know how to keep a secret. Candace Fleming is the award-winning and highly acclaimed author of Crash from Outer Space, The Curse of the Mummy, and many other nonfiction books for young readers. With her canny and compelling narrative voice she makes history come alive. Thick with tension and suspense, this is an extraordinary and relatively unknown story of World War II that will fascinate readers who will be thrilled to see young people playing such an important role in the wartime effort.

From award-winning author Elissa Brent Weissman comes a collection of quirky, smart, and vulnerable childhood works by some of today's foremost children's authors and illustrators--revealing young talent, the storytellers they would one day become, and the creativity they inspire today.

Everyone's story begins somewhere...

For Linda Sue Park, it was a trip to the ocean, a brand-new typewriter, and a little creative license.

For Jarrett J. Krosoczka, it was a third grade writing assignment that ignited a creative fire in a kid who liked to draw.

For Kwame Alexander, it was a loving poem composed for Mother's Day--and perfected through draft after discarded draft.

For others, it was a teacher, a parent, a beloved book, a word of encouragement. It was trying, and failing, and trying again. It was a love of words, and pictures, and stories.

Your story is beginning, too. Where will it go?

"These contemporary "fables" are instructive, hilarious, and now in paperback!
"The fourth graders at Aesop Elementary are, well, unusual. There's Calvin Tallywong, who wants to go back to kindergarten. But when he actually gets the chance, he's forced to do the squirrel dance and wear a yellow-school-bus name tag. The moral of his story? Be careful what you wish for. Then there's Amisha Spelwadi, who can spell "wildebeest, "no problem. She's sure she'll get 100 percent on her spelling test. But when the teacher, Mr. Jupiter, asks the class to spell "cat, "all Amisha can come up with is "kat. "The moral this time? Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
Here's a collection of contemporary fables about a hilariously rambunctious group of kids and their amazing teacher that is sure to delight students and teachers alike!

A little girl finds a lost dinosaur baby roaming the halls of a museum and is determined to give it a home in this sweet and charming picture book. Penny feels certain that something is following her down the hall as she walks with her class through the Natural History Museum. She looks—nothing. She looks again—still nothing. She looks one more time and spies a verrrrry long neck and a verrrrry long tail on something that looks suspiciously like a baby brontosaurus! Penny might be only five, but she knows dinosaurs are extinct. And yet, one seems to be following her. The little dino and Penny spend time together all over the museum, and when Penny doesn’t see a giant adult dinosaur lumbering around, she realizes Pip—as she’s named him—must be on his own. The only thing to do is to feed him some snacks and take him home with her…if she can figure out how.

"Clink Clankety-bang Thump-whirr "That's the sound of Papa at work. Although he is an inventor, he has never made anything that works perfectly, and that's because he hasn't yet found a truly fantastic idea. But when he takes his family fishing on Lake Michigan, his daughter Virena asks, "Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a fish?"--and Papa is off to his workshop. With a lot of persistence and a little bit of help, Papa--who is based on the real-life inventor Lodner Phillips--creates a submarine that can take his family for a trip to the bottom of Lake Michigan.

No matter how the question is answered, one thing is clear: There has hardly been a life in the last century that Eleanor Roosevelt has not affected, in one way or another. From securing safe, low-cost housing for Kentucky's poor, to helping her grandchildren hang a tire swing on the White House's south lawn, to representing America as the first female delegate to the United Nations, Eleanor rarely kept a second of her life for herself -- and she wouldn't have had it any other way.

In this stunning "scrapbook" biography, Candace Fleming, author of the acclaimed "Ben Franklin's Almanac, " turns her keen eye to our nation's premier First Lady. Filled with photographs of everything from Eleanor's speech at the 1940 Democratic National Convention to her high school report card, as well as fascinating stories about life in and out of the White House, "Our Eleanor" gives us a remarkable perspective on a remarkable woman, and presents to a new generation an Eleanor to call its own.

Oo Knocka-knocka-knocka! That's the sound of three little bunnies on Mr. McGreely's doorstep, begging to come inside for the winter. But while Mr. McGreely shared his carrots with the bunnies last summer, he has no intention of sharing his house! So... Hammer Bam! Smack Slam! That's the sound of Mr. McGreely boarding up his windows to keep the bunnies out in the cold where they belong! The trouble is, no matter what Mr. McGreely does, the pesky pufftails have a way of sneaking inside -- and taking his things to make a warm, cozy nest for themselves. Will Mr. McGreely ever get the best of these infuriating flopears? The three wily bunnies from Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! return in a sequel that's even funnier than their first adventure.

In the sequel to "The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School," Mr. Jupiter's rambunctious students are fifth graders now . . . and they rule the school! Bernadette Braggadoccio stirs things up when her investigative reporting for the school's TV station reveals some scandalous stuff. But . . . "don't believe everything you hear."

After a young Dutch girl writes to her new American friend in thanks for the care package sent after World War II, she begins to receive increasingly larger boxes.

"Step right up! Meet the astounding . . . the amazing . . . P. T. Barnum!
"The award-winning author of "The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary," "Our Eleanor," and "Ben Franklin's Almanac "brings us the larger-than-life biography of showman P. T. Barnum. Known far and wide for his jumbo elephants, midgets, and three-ring circuses, here's a complete and captivating look at the man behind the Greatest Show on Earth. Readers can visit Barnum's American Museum; meet Tom Thumb, the miniature man (only 39 inches tall) and his tinier bride (32 inches); experience the thrill Barnum must have felt when, at age 60, he joined the circus; and discover Barnum's legacy to the 19th century and beyond. Drawing on old circus posters, photographs, etchings, ticket stubs--and with incredible decorative art by Ray Fenwick--this book presents history as it's never been experienced before--a show-stopping event!

From the acclaimed author of "Amelia Lost" and "The Lincolns" comes more nonfiction at its very best--and a perfect resource for meeting Common Core standards.
Here is the riveting story of the Russian Revolution as it unfolded. When Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne in 1894, he was unprepared to do so. With their four daughters (including Anastasia) and only son, a hemophiliac, Nicholas and his reclusive wife, Alexandra, buried their heads in the sand, living a life of opulence as World War I raged outside their door and political unrest grew.
Deftly maneuvering between the lives of the Romanovs and the plight of Russia's peasants--and their eventual uprising--Fleming offers up a fascinating portrait, complete with inserts featuring period photographs and compelling primary-source material that brings it all to life. History doesn't get more interesting than the story of the Romanovs.

Modeled on his own Poor Richard's Almanack, this unique scrapbook captures Franklin's countless accomplishments. Biography and anecdote, cartoon and etching mesh to create a fascinating portrait of this most fascinating man. Anyone interested in the birth of American democracy...or curious about the rise of the U.S. postal system...or wondering how paper money came to be...or wanting to know how Ben Franklin was part of it all, is sure to pore over Ben Franklin's Almanac.