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YA Nonfiction

Life Skills

Life Skills

$17.99
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A beautifully illustrated book that covers the essential life skills that kids need to know

Discover how you can become the awesome person you want to be with this guide to essential life skills for kids. This life book tackles the difficulties that kids face and helps prepare them for whatever the future may hold.

Inside the pages of your essential life skills book, you'll discover:

- Life skills education is an important topic, especially for children, as highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO)
- Beautiful illustrations accompanied by stunning photography help to engage readers to digest complex topics like understanding body language and decision making
- Topics that drill down into all the different aspects of life skills education for 7-9-year-olds, such as communication, solving problems, making decisions, understanding yourself and others, critical thinking skills, and coping in difficult times
- Practical advice on how to think up solutions for difficult problems, how to work with other people as a team, and how to write a feelings diary using mindfulness

An illustrated guide book for kids that includes practical advice and real-life examples that teach problem-solving, how to make good decisions, and excellent communication skills. Kids will learn how to better understand themselves and others, as well as create coping strategies for difficult situations.

Kids can work through engaging activities like making mind maps, thinking about body language, and putting themselves in someone else's shoes. Developing life skills not only leads to better prospects at school and in a future career, but it also gives young people higher self-esteem to aim for a bright, secure and happy future.

Manual to Manhood: How to Cook the Perfect Steak, Change a Tire, Impress a Girl & 97 Other Skills You Need to Survive

Manual to Manhood: How to Cook the Perfect Steak, Change a Tire, Impress a Girl & 97 Other Skills You Need to Survive

$15.99
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There's a lot a guy needs to know as he grows up and makes his way in the world. And a lot of it, he wouldn't necessarily want to have to ask about because then, well, people would know he didn't know what he was doing! For all the guys out there who want to have it all together, Jonathan Catherman offers this collection of one hundred step-by-step instructions on almost everything a guy needs to know, including how to
- wear cologne correctly
- manage a credit card
- talk to a girl
- plan a date
- write a résumé
- ask for a reference
- clean a bathroom
- throw a football
- change a tire
- behave during a traffic stop
- fold a shirt
- tie a tie
- grill a steak
- clear a sink drain
- find a stud in a wall
In fact, if it's in here, it's an important skill or character trait practiced by capable and confident men. With great illustrations and a supporting website, this all-in-one reference tool for young men in the making is the perfect gift for birthdays, graduations, or any occasion.















Marshall "Major" Taylor: World Champion Bicyclist, 1899

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This biography presents the life and times of Marshall "Major" Taylor, the African-American bicycle racer who won three consecutive world championship titles at the turn of the twentieth century. He started his cycling career when he was twelve years old, doing bicycle tricks and winning races against adults. This was a time when bicycle racing was one of the most popular sports in the world and Jim Crow was raging against Blacks. Yet, he became an international superstar of bicycle racing and is still revered overseas and locally. This is a Society of Midland Authors Honor Book.


Michelle Obama: In Her Own Words: Young Reader Edition

Michelle Obama: In Her Own Words: Young Reader Edition

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Get inside the head of Michelle Obama: author, lawyer, humanitarian, and the trailblazing first Black woman to serve as First Lady of the United States.This collection of quotes has been carefully curated from Michelle Obama's numerous public statements--interviews, books, social media posts, television appearances, and more. It's a comprehensive picture of her legacy as one of America's most recognizable and influential women, specifically geared toward middle and high school readers. The quotes in the collection touch on education, friendship and community, life lessons, America, the role of First Lady, making change, inequality and injustice, and more. This edition includes educational materials and resources for lesson plans designed to provoke discussion and thought for readers in grades 7-12 about Michelle Obama's ideas.
Michelle Obama has been challenging others' expectations since she was a young woman growing up on Chicago's South Side. When a high school counselor told her, "I'm not sure you're Princeton material," Obama graduated as the salutatorian and went off to Princeton anyway. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Obama spent several years as an attorney at a prestigious Chicago law firm before committing her efforts to public service and community outreach. When her husband, Barack Obama, was elected president in 2008, she began a new chapter of her life as the first Black woman to serve as First Lady of the United States of America. While always conscious of the unique pressures and difficulties of her role, Obama made it her mission to present her authentic self to the American people. Her pride in and openness about the aspects of her identity that made her unusual among First Ladies--including her race, working-class upbringing, career path, and educational achievement--made her a figure beloved by the general public.
Since emerging on the global stage, Obama has become a source of inspiration for young people all over the world, largely due to her engaging authenticity and candor. Now, Michelle Obama: In Her Own Words offers a unique look into the mind of one of the world's most influential women by collecting 200 of her most insightful quotes. Meticulously curated from interviews, speeches, statements, and other sources, Michelle Obama: In Her Own Words creates a comprehensive picture of Michelle Obama, her wisdom, and her legacy.
Special educational materials for classrooms are available from Agate Publishing.
My Name Is Jason Mine Too

My Name Is Jason Mine Too

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A stunning visual autobiography of two crazy-talented besties, bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds and painter Jason Griffin, who could never be who they are singularly if they weren't who they were together.

Once upon a time in America, there were two Jasons. Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin. One a poet. One an artist. One Black. One white. Two voices. One journey in mind: to move to New York, the city of dreams, to make their own dreams come true. Willing to have a life not un-hard, so long as it wasn't unhappy. Willing to let the city swallow them whole, so long as it gives them their chance. They had each other. "What if painting was a sin, and the poetry became taboo. And no one ever clapped for me again. My question is, would you?"

They clapped. Oh, they clapped. And aren't we glad?

Mythmakers

Mythmakers

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From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions--C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien--following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks

"Masterful. . . Effortlessly blending fantasy and reality." (BCCB, starred review)

Through narrative and comic panels, Hendrix chronicles Lewis and Tolkien's near-idyllic childhoods, then moves on to both men's horrific tour of the trenches of World War I to their first meeting at Oxford in 1929, and then the foreshadowing, action, and aftermath of World War II.

He reveals the shared story of their friendship, in all its ups and downs, that gave them confidence to venture beyond academic concerns (fantasy wasn't considered suitable for adult reading, but the domain of children), shaped major story/theme ideas, and shifted their ideas about the potential of mythology and faith.

The Mythmakers also shows the camaraderie and the importance of the social/literary circle of friends called the Inklings, and how the friendship of these two great men fell apart and came together again. Hendrix concludes describing how the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had re-enchanted the 20th century, after two World Wars.

In writing aimed at scholars, adults, and young people, these two tweedy academics altered the course of storytelling and embraced the concept that fantasy writing for an adult audience was an accepted form of literature.

The format is similar to The Faithful Spy: prose interspersed with images and narrative comics. The narration is often conversations between a knowledgeable wizard and a comical lion. Through brisk conversation between these two friends, they explain some of the bigger ideas in an approachable and entertaining way.

Throughout the story, there are "gateways" that lead readers to the back matter where certain themes, such as how myth/fantasy evolved or the art of world-building, are discussed more fully. This device keeps the main story flowing quickly and smoothly for those readers not interested in the more academic ideas behind the narrative.

Among the ideas covered in the narrative and back matter:
- Tolkien's world-building
- The "Theology of Creation" linking their faith to their writings
- The meaning of real friendship
- Notions of modernity and mythology
- The value of fantasy
- The power of a creative community
- An exploration of the different kinds of storytelling in Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, both relying on "the Myth" as a storytelling device, but differing in the use of allegory vs. symbolism
- The creative differences of Lewis and Tolkien: the high standards of Tolkien's fiction and the faster and more immediate approach of Lewis's
- Logos vs. Mythos: Lewis created from images, Tolkien created from language
- The mixing of mythologies

Also included are an author's note, endnotes, bibliography and index.

Nevertheless We Persisted

Nevertheless We Persisted

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A powerful collection of essays from actors, activists, athletes, politicians, musicians, writers, and teens, including Senator Amy Klobuchar, actress Alia Shawkat, actor Maulik Pancholy, poet Azure Antoinette, teen activist Gavin Grimm, and many, many others, each writing about a time in their youth when they were held back because of their race, gender, or sexual identity--but persisted.

"Aren't you a terrorist?" "There are no roles for people who look like you." "That's a sin." "No girls allowed." They've heard it all. Actress Alia Shawkat reflects on all the parts she was told she was too "ethnic" to play. Former NFL player Wade Davis recalls his bullying of gay classmates in an attempt to hide his own sexuality. Teen Gavin Grimm shares the story that led to one of the infamous "bathroom bills," and how he's fighting it. Holocaust survivor Fanny Starr tells of her harrowing time in Aushwitz, where she watched her family disappear, one by one.

What made them rise up through the hate? What made them overcome the obstacles of their childhood to achieve extraordinary success? How did they break out of society's limited view of who they are and find their way to the beautiful and hard-won lives they live today? With a foreword by Minnesota senator and up-and-coming Democratic party leader Amy Klobuchar, these essays share deeply personal stories of resilience, faith, love, and, yes, persistence.

An International Latino Book Award Winner
A National Council for Social Studies Selection

"Each tale is a soulful testament to the endurance of the human spirit and reminds readers that they are not alone in their search for self. . . . An unflinchingly honest book that should be required reading for every young person in America." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"An invaluable collection of snapshots of American society." --VOYA, starred review

"[A] gem of a book. . . . There's a lot to study here and talk about on the way to becoming kinder, more empathetic, and most important, compassionate." --Booklist

"Readers encountering injustice in their own lives may be compelled to take heart--and even action." --Publishers Weekly

"A powerful collection of voices." --SLJ

"The sheer variation in writing styles, subject-matters, and structure to these narratives provides readers with inspiration in assorted forms and a complex interpretation of what it means to persist." --The Bulletin

No Better Friend Young Readers Edition

No Better Friend Young Readers Edition

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Discover an extraordinary tale of friendship and survival between a man and a dog in World War II in this young readers' adaptation of the New York Times bestseller No Better Friend.

No Better Friend tells the incredible true story of Frank Williams, a radarman in Britain's Royal Air Force, and Judy, a purebred pointer, who met as prisoners of war during World War II. Judy, who became the war's only official canine POW, was a fiercely loyal dog who sensed danger--warning her fellow prisoners of imminent attacks and protecting them from brutal beatings. Frank and Judy's friendship, an unbreakable bond forged in the worst circumstances, is one of the great recently unearthed stories of World War II.

As they discover Frank and Judy's story in this specially adapted text, young readers will also learn about key World War II moments through informative and engaging sidebars, maps, photographs, and a timeline.

Noisemakers

Noisemakers

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Astonishing comics about world-changing women. What could possibly be better? --NEIL GAIMAN

Thoughtful, timely and super-engaging. --JACQUELINE WOODSON

I wish I'd had Noisemakers when I was growing up. --ALISON BECHDEL

From the creators of Kazoo magazine, a quarterly magazine for girls ages 5-12, which Amy Poehler's Smart Girls called required reading, comes a graphic novel anthology of women who are not afraid to make some noise!

Did anyone ever get anywhere by being quiet? To change anything, you have to make some noise! From the creators of the award-winning Kazoo magazine comes a look at the lives of 25 extraordinary women through the eyes of 25 extraordinary comic artists. In chapters titled Grow, Tinker, Play, Create, Rally, and Explore, you'll meet Eugenie Clark, who swam with sharks, Raye Montague, who revolutionized the design process for ships, Hedy Lamarr, a beautiful actress and brilliant inventor, Julia Child, a chef who wasn't afraid to make mistakes, Kate Warne, the first female detective, who saved the life of President-Elect Abraham Lincoln, and many more.

In 25 distinct styles from some of the most exciting comic artists, Noisemakers makes for great Women's History Month reading and is perfect for everyone who is not afraid to use their voice and for those who could use a little boost.

Notes from a Young Black Chef Adapted for Young Adults

Notes from a Young Black Chef Adapted for Young Adults

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This inspiring memoir, now adapted for young adults, chronicles Top Chef star and Forbes and Zagat 30 Under 30 phenom Kwame Onwuachi's incredible and odds-defying fame in the food world after a tough childhood in the Bronx and Nigeria.

Food was Kwame Onwuachi's first great love. He connected to cooking via his mother, in the family's modest Bronx apartment. From that spark, he launched his own catering company with twenty thousand dollars he made selling candy on the subway and trained in the kitchens of some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the country. He faced many challenges on the road to success, including breaking free of a dangerous downward spiral due to temptation and easy money, and grappling with just how unwelcoming the world of fine dining can be for people of color.

Born on Long Island and raised in New York City, Nigeria, and Louisiana, Kwame Onwuachi's incredible story is one of survival and ingenuity in the face of adversity.

Praise for the adult edition of NOTES FROM A YOUNG BLACK CHEF

Kwame Onwuachi's story shines a light on food and culture not just in American restaurants or African American communities but around the world. --Questlove

Fierce and inspiring. . . . This rip-roaring tale of ambition is also a sobering account of racism in and out of the food industry. --New York Tiimes Book Review

Official SAT Study Guide 2020 Edition

Official SAT Study Guide 2020 Edition

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Review every skill and question type needed for SAT success - with eight total practice tests.

The Official SAT Study Guide includes eight official SAT(R) practice tests - all of them created by the test maker. As part of the College Board's commitment to transparency, all practice tests are available on the College Board's website, but The Official SAT Study Guide is the only place to find them in print along with over 250 pages of additional instruction, guidance, and test information.

With guidance and practice problems that reflect the most recent information, this edition takes the best-selling SAT guide and makes it even more relevant and useful. Be ready for the SAT with strategies and up-to-date information straight from the exam writers.

The Official SAT Study Guide will help students get ready for the SAT with:
- 8 official SAT practice tests, written in the exact same process and by the same team of authors as
the actual exam
- detailed descriptions of the math and evidenced based reading and writing sections
- targeted practice questions for each SAT question type
- seamless integration with Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy.

Note: The optional SAT Essay is discontinued for weekend SAT.

One Person No Vote YA edition

One Person No Vote YA edition

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A timely and essential history of Black voter suppression, adapted from the National Book Award longlisted adult book

This young adult adaptation brings to light the shocking truth about how not every voter is treated equally. After the election of Barack Obama, a rollback of voting rights occurred, punctuated by a 2013 Supreme Court decision that undid the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Known as the Shelby ruling, this decision allowed districts with a history of racial discrimination to change voting requirements without approval from the Department of Justice. This book follows the stunning aftermath of that ruling and explains how voter suppression works, from photo ID requirements to gerrymandering to poll closures. It also explores the resistance: the organizing, activism, and court battles to restore the basic right to vote to all Americans.

Complete with a discussion guide, photographs, and information about getting involved with elections in teens' own community, this is an essential explanation of the history of voting rights--and a call to action for a better future. As the nation gears up for the 2020 presidential election season, now is the time for teens to understand the past and work for change.

Opening My Eyes Underwater

Opening My Eyes Underwater

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Inspired by the life and quotations of former first lady Michelle Obama, Opening My Eyes Underwater is a collection of essays penned by bestselling author Ashley Woodfolk.

Essays of bullying, heartbreak, racism, and confidence, Ashley taps into her own past and shares those stories that made her who she is today as she seamlessly weaves in parallel experiences that both she and Mrs. Obama have faced in their separate childhoods as well as their adult lives.

Open, searing, and honest, these are stories readers will feel seen with. Readers who are growing and learning as they move forward through life's triumphs and pitfalls will undoubtedly gravitate to and find comfort within its pages.

Ordinary Hazards

Ordinary Hazards

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In her own voice, acclaimed author and poet Nikki Grimes explores the truth of a harrowing childhood in a compelling and moving memoir in verse.

Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir that will resonate with young readers and adults alike, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life.

Ordinary Hazards

Ordinary Hazards

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Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor Book
Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Book
Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for Teens

Six Starred Reviews--★Booklist ★BCCB ★The Horn Book ★Publishers Weekly ★School Library Connection ★Shelf Awareness

A Booklist Best Book for Youth * A BCCB Blue Ribbon * A Horn Book Fanfare Book * A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book * Recommended on NPR's Morning Edition by Kwame Alexander

This powerful story, told with the music of poetry and the blade of truth, will help your heart grow.-Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Shout

[A] testimony and a triumph.-Jason Reynolds, author of Long Way Down

In her own voice, acclaimed author and poet Nikki Grimes explores the truth of a harrowing childhood in a compelling and moving memoir in verse.

Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir that will resonate with young readers and adults alike, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life.

Other Side

Other Side

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Award-winning Mexican author Juan Pablo Villalobos explores illegal immigration with this emotionally raw and timely nonfiction book about ten Central American teens and their journeys to the United States.

You can't really tell what time it is when you're in the freezer.

Every year, thousands of migrant children and teens cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The journey is treacherous and sometimes deadly, but worth the risk for migrants who are escaping gang violence and poverty in their home countries. And for those refugees who do succeed? They face an immigration process that is as winding and multi-tiered as the journey that brought them here.

In this book, award-winning Mexican author Juan Pablo Villalobos strings together the diverse experiences of eleven real migrant teenagers, offering readers a beginning road map to issues facing the region. These timely accounts of courage, sacrifice, and survival--including two fourteen-year-old girls forming a tenuous friendship as they wait in a frigid holding cell, a boy in Chicago beginning to craft his future while piecing together his past in El Salvador, and cousins learning to lift each other up through angry waters--offer a rare and invaluable window into the U.S.-Central American refugee crisis.

In turns optimistic and heartbreaking, The Other Side balances the boundless hope at the center of immigration with the weight of its risks and repercussions. Here is a necessary read for young people on both sides of the issue.

Other Talk

Other Talk

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A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Brendan Kiely starts a conversation with white kids about race in this "well-executed and long overdue" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) introduction to white privilege and why allyship is so vital.

Talking about racism can be hard, but...

Most kids of color grow up doing it. They have "The Talk" with their families--the honest talk about survival in a racist world.

But white kids don't. They're barely spoken to about race at all--and that needs to change. Because not talking about racism doesn't make it go away. Not talking about white privilege doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The Other Talk begins this much-needed conversation for white kids. In an instantly relatable and deeply honest account of his own life, Brendan Kiely offers young readers a way to understand one's own white privilege and why allyship is so vital, so that we can all start doing our part--today.

Our Stories Our Voices

Our Stories Our Voices

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From Amy Reed, Ellen Hopkins, Amber Smith, Sandhya Menon, and more of your favorite YA authors comes an anthology of essays that explore the diverse experiences of injustice, empowerment, and growing up female in America.

This collection of twenty-one essays from major YA authors--including award-winning and bestselling writers--touches on a powerful range of topics related to growing up female in today's America, and the intersection with race, religion, and ethnicity. Sure to inspire hope and solidarity to anyone who reads it, Our Stories, Our Voices belongs on every young woman's shelf.

This anthology features essays from Martha Brockenbrough, Jaye Robin Brown, Sona Charaipotra, Brandy Colbert, Somaiya Daud, Christine Day, Alexandra Duncan, Ilene Wong (I.W.) Gregorio, Maurene Goo. Ellen Hopkins, Stephanie Kuehnert, Nina LaCour, Anna-Marie LcLemore, Sandhya Menon, Hannah Moskowitz, Julie Murphy, Aisha Saeed, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Amber Smith, and Tracy Walker.