Is learning a new language part of your New Year’s Resolution? If you are still working on this goal, congrats, you made it through the hardest days and even past Ditch the Resolution Day! If you haven’t started yet, we have some new languages to test your skills.
This year we are helping new language learners expand their horizons with Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Indonesian, Portuguese, French, and German. It’s amazing how much you learn while enjoying a picture book. This is extremely exciting for our little company, and we hope these books will help language learners of all ages.
As a high-school student, I experienced this first hand. My French teacher assigned a book report on a classic French children’s story – we groaned in unison. But we had a choice, and I knew Le Petit Prince would be perfect for me. I had never read it.
The reading was definitely a challenge, so the dictionary stayed by my side as I slowly made the way through the book. I loved it! We each presented our book report to the class in what I am sure was a cringe-worthy pronunciation of the French language, but the enthusiasm shined as each student talked about the merits of their book.
Since then, I have revisited the book in French and English. It is still a great story at any age.
So now, I am pretty proud to share with you our expanded library of great stories in many different languages. You can explore the Rainforest in Portuguese, Spanish, and English or push and pull with Newton and Me in Arabic, Spanish, French, and English of course.
This month you can read Animals are Sleeping in English, Spanish and Chinese. It is our free ebook of the month! While so many of the new languages are available in our incredible ebooks. We have just received many of these books in print! Check out our website to find the perfect read in your new language.
For a baby bird, the leap from the nest is a scary first flight. In a new study, biomechanists researched the timing of that first flight and the survival rates of baby birds. Some momma birds may want to clear the nest early, keeping predators away. The survival rate for these early flyers can be as low as 30 percent.
predators that take out the entire family. So, bird parents have a very tricky choice when it comes to pushing their young to set off on their own.
Henry the Heron couldn’t stand still! He was always moving, and it drove everyone crazy! His brother and sister yelled at him for stepping on their heads, and Mom and Dad could barely get food into his little baby mouth. But herons have to stand still to catch their food, so how would Henry ever be able to eat on his own? In Henry the Impatient Heron, Donna Love takes readers along with Henry as he learns a valuable lesson from the King of Camouflage! Hilarious and lighthearted illustrations by Christina Wald complement the important lesson in the text. It is a meaningful lesson for both herons and kids alike, which teaches the importance of just being still!
In beautifully detailed photographs, Mary Holland captures the first few months of a baby barred owl’s life. The huge eyes and fluffy feathers will steal the hearts of readers as they learn how barred owl parents ready their young owlets for the big world outside the nest. Follow along as Otis learns to eat, fights with his sister, and prepares for flight.
Can a swan survive without winter migration? Marcel, a young tundra swan, is tired from the first half of a winter migration. One thousand miles is a long way to fly—too long for Marcel, so he hides in the rushes to stay behind while his parents and the flock continue south. But with the lake nearly frozen over, he soon realizes that he is not cut out for life on ice. Other animals offer advice about how to survive the winter, but their ways of living aren’t right for the swan. Hungry and scared, he falls asleep – only to be awakened by a big surprise! The “For Creative Minds” educational section includes “Tundra Swan Fun Facts” and a “Tundra Swan Life Cycle Sequencing Activity.”
Long ago, when the world was young, the magpies’ nests were the envy of all other birds. To help the other birds, Maggie Magpie patiently explained how to build a nest. But some birds were impatient and flew off without listening to all the directions, which is why, to this day, birds’ nests come in all different shapes and sizes. This clever retelling of an old English folktale teaches the importance of careful listening.
What if you found a baby owl in your backyard? Would you know what to do? Where would you go to find help? Join young Maddie and Max as they learn a valuable lesson from a little lost owl in Baby Owl’s Rescue by Jennifer Keats Curtis. The brother and sister pair just wanted to play baseball one day. They never expected to come face-to-face with a wild animal! Lush illustrations by Laura Jacques accompany this story and demonstrate the proper treatment of wildlife. This story reminds all of us that we live in a world surrounded by wild animals, and those wild animals deserve our caution and our respect!
This summer, you can learn lots of butterfly facts in Ten For Me, one of our 
Hearing is an important sense for animals’ survival. Ears give animals vital information to help them find food or listen for predators ready to attack. This continuation of Mary Holland’s award-winning Animal Anatomy and Adaptations series features a wide variety of animal ears and how animals use them. Did you know that some animals have ears on their legs? Like the eyes, mouths, legs, and tails featured in previous books, animal ears come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes—a perfect match for each animal’s needs.
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