Books published by publisher Tilbury House Publishers

* GREEN EARTH BOOK AWARD ** MOONBEAM GOLD AWARD(NON-FICTION) ** MARYLAND BLUE CRAB AWARD ** SOCIETY OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS INTERNATIONAL HONOR AWARD *On a cool December morning near San Francisco, a distress call was radioed to shore by a local fisherman. He had discovered a humpback whale tangled in hundreds of yards of crab-trap lines, struggling to stay at the surface to breathe. A team of volunteers answered the call, and four divers risked their lives to rescue the enormous animal.What followed was a rare and remarkable demonstration of animal behavior. This celebrated story, beautifully depicted in Jennifer O’Connell’s mesmerizing paintings, will make you wonder about animal emotions and the unique connections we can have with animals―even whales.Fountas & Pinnell Level M

Books that explore science through adventureThe Acadia Files: Book Two, Autumn Science presents five stories of fall, each one followed by Acadia’s science notebook pages with her simple explanations and lively, whimsical drawings of natural phenomena. The Acadia Files is a fun introduction to the wonders of science, using real-world scenarios to make scientific inquiry relatable and understandable. Parents and educators can use The Acadia Files to let kids discover for themselves what it’s like to be curious about the world and to satisfy that curiosity with scientific thinking.Acadia Greene wants answers. What happened to the frogs she used to see at her favorite local pond? Why do leaves change color in the fall, and why don’t evergreen needles do the same? What is the water cycle, and what is transpiration? How do time zones work, and why does the sun set at different times in different places within a single zone? How do germs infect us? Acadia doesn’t mean to do science, but she has questions and her parents refuse to simply give her the answers. “Conduct an experiment,” they tell her. “Use the scientific method.” So Acadia makes hypotheses, designs experiments, analyzes data, and draws conclusions. Acadia does science.The author, Katie Coppens writes a recurring column for NSTA's middle school magazine Science Scope on science and literacy called "The Integrated Classroom."Praise for The Acadia Files Series:Kirkus Review:Acadia and two friends learn more science while enjoying a Maine winter. This is the third in a thoughtful series that began with Summer Science (2018). Like its predecessors, this combines a slight storyline with science facts, definitions, and descriptions of experiments using the scientific method. A melting snowman, a floating balloon, a paper-airplane contest, a wait outside in the cold, and a sledding challenge prompt 11-year-old Acadia's questions, which are presented in a present-tense narrative with unlikely dialogue but realistic daily details. Her parents are always happy to help her find answers, offering clear explanations, demonstrations, and encouragement for further experimentation. This outing introduces the topics of climate change, food waste, recycling and repurposing, atoms and elements, buoyancy, aerodynamics, animal adaptations for winter, and the physics of sledding. In each chapter, the protagonists accomplish some activity, one that could be easily replicated by readers at home or in school: listing ways to reduce one's carbon footprint or looking for animal tracks in the snow, for example. The author appends a list of helpful websites for further exploration of each topic. Acadia is pictured as pale and blonde; Joshua is darker, with straight hair, and brown-skinned Isabel wears her hair in two Afro puffs. Experiments, charts, and definitions are hand-lettered and profusely decorated with sketches, and each chapter ends with further questions. Accessible and approachable, a useful tool for science learning. (Informational fiction. 8-12) color

*Skipping Stones Honor Award* Rafael is hungry―because someone stole his lunch.The Lunch Thief can be used for curriculum centered on nonviolence and peacemaking.Discussions might include:How to turn an enemy into a friendNonviolent communication skills • Looks can be deceivingWildfires and ecologyDisaster reliefHunger in our own countryHomelessnessFood InsecurityKindness/Bullying His mom had packed his lunch bag with two burritos, a bag of corn chips, some carrots, and an apple. Once a week she tucks in a slice of her special lemon pound cake. Rafael saw Kevin, a new kid in his class, sneak his lunch bag from underneath his desk and tuck it in his backpack. But how can he do something about the theft without picking a fight? Inspired by his mother's advice to “Use your mouth before your fists,” Rafael bides his time, but other kids' lunches are disappearing,too. On an errand with his mom, Rafael sees Kevin carrying a bundle of laundry into a motel room, and his mom tells him Kevin's family might be one of the families who lost their homes in the recent wildfires. Rafael rethinks his anger. The next day, instead of accusing Kevin, Rafael invites him to share his lunch, letting Kevin know he's been caught, but offering friendship as well as lunch. Color throughout

On September 11, 2001, Lisa Beamer was thrust into the national spotlight after her husband, Todd, became an American hero by preventing terrorist hijackers from almost certainly flying United Flight 93 into the White House or the United States Capitol. Instead, Todd led a group of passengers to resist the hijackers, forcing the plane to crash into a Pennsylvania field. Todd and the other heroes of Flight 93 gave their lives so that untold others would be spared. Nothing could be more heroic. Lisa is now telling that story, and much more. She explores the tragic events of that day, revealing some information never before published. She also looks at the life of her husband, telling how and why he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice and the reason for her hope, courage, and quiet personal strength. This is Todd and Lisa's story, but it's also ours, for all of us who long to have the personal qualities of a real hero. This book shows us what they are and how to develop them. The phrase, "Let's Roll" were the last words the GTE Airfone operator heard from Todd before the crash. They have become a rallying cry for all Americans to move ahead, despite pain and suffering, with hope, courage, and strength.

A classroom-tested resource for social and emotional learning Henry’s discovery of the many ways he can be kind will inspire young readers to use the simple mindfulness practices taught in this book to develop their own capacities for kindness. Ms. Snowden and her class practice sending kind thoughts to the people they love, and they launch a class Kindness Project. There is only one problem: Henry can’t think of one kind thing he has done. Declaring that kindness is stupid, he stomps to the classroom door on the verge of tears, but his classmates save the day by reminding him of the kind things he has done for each of them. full color

2017 Gold Moonbeam Children's Book Award: For dedication to children’s books and literacy and for inspired writing, illustrating and publishing.The world can be a scary place. Anxious adults want children to be aware of dangers, but shouldn’t kids be aware of kindness too?Michael Leannah wrote Most People as an antidote to the scary words and images kids hear and see every day. Jennifer Morris’s emotive, diverting characters provide the perfect complement to Leannah’s words, leading us through the crowded streets of an urban day in the company of two pairs of siblings (one of color). We see what they see: the hulking dude with tattoos and chains assisting an elderly lady onto the bus; the Goth teenager with piercings and purple Mohawk returning a lost wallet to its owner; and the myriad interactions of daily existence, most of them well intended. Most People is a courageous, constructive response to the dystopian world of the news media.Fountas & Pinnell Level M

A Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2019A warm-hearted homeless woman finds a homeFrom its humorous opening through its sad midpoint and uplifting end, Miss Pinkeltink’s story shines a light on humanity. This story with children as agents of positive change reminds us again that communities are best known by their treatment of the disadvantaged among them."Rosy-cheeked and quite antique, Miss Pinkeltink / carried everything but the kitchen sink. / Her purse was so big that it dragged on the floor. / When she rode on the bus it got stuck in the door."Generous and eccentric, Miss Pinkeltink fills her huge purse with everything from a toilet plunger to roller skates, and then gives it all away. She offers tape to fix a flat tire and a bone to a kitty: Miss Pinkeltink’s gifts never quite hit the mark, / but she gave what she had, and she gave from the heart. And then, with nothing left to give or to shelter herself, she huddles on a park bench, trying to sleep in the rain. And that’s where Zoey sees her from her bedroom window and knows that something must be done. Color throughout

The Acadia Files series uses real-world scenarios to make scientific inquiry relatable. Acadia Greene has done science in summer, autumn, and winter. In the fourth and final book of this series, she carries her search for answers into the spring, investigating meteors and mass extinctions; germination and pollinators; parasites, ticks, and Lyme disease; and pesticides and malaria. Finally, looking back through her notebooks, she puts together her scientific inquiries from all four seasons into a holistic understanding of the natural world. Acadia is curious, determined, bold, and bright―a wonderful STEAM ambassador!Lexile 750Praise for The Acadia Files Series:Kirkus Review:Acadia and two friends learn more science while enjoying a Maine winter. This is the third in a thoughtful series that began with Summer Science (2018). Like its predecessors, this combines a slight storyline with science facts, definitions, and descriptions of experiments using the scientific method. A melting snowman, a floating balloon, a paper-airplane contest, a wait outside in the cold, and a sledding challenge prompt 11-year-old Acadia's questions, which are presented in a present-tense narrative with unlikely dialogue but realistic daily details. Her parents are always happy to help her find answers, offering clear explanations, demonstrations, and encouragement for further experimentation. This outing introduces the topics of climate change, food waste, recycling and repurposing, atoms and elements, buoyancy, aerodynamics, animal adaptations for winter, and the physics of sledding. In each chapter, the protagonists accomplish some activity, one that could be easily replicated by readers at home or in school: listing ways to reduce one's carbon footprint or looking for animal tracks in the snow, for example. The author appends a list of helpful websites for further exploration of each topic. Acadia is pictured as pale and blonde; Joshua is darker, with straight hair, and brown-skinned Isabel wears her hair in two Afro puffs. Experiments, charts, and definitions are hand-lettered and profusely decorated with sketches, and each chapter ends with further questions. Accessible and approachable, a useful tool for science learning. (Informational fiction. 8-12) Spot color

Girls (and boys!) can become stronger and more resilient simply by realizing how strong and resilient they already are, and running provides a pathway to that realization. Programs like Girls on the Run (which serves more than 200,000 girls each year, through 200 councils, across all 50 states) help kids discover their inner reservoirs of fortitude. Such programs address the whole child when she most needs a counterbalance to harmful stereotypes of who she should be and how she should act. In the words of participants, “Girls on the Run made me realize that I am the boss of my brain.” “At Girls on the Run I learned how to be comfortable in my own skin!” Refusing to quit, overcoming weariness, skinned knees, and self-doubt to finish a cross-country run, the resolute narrator of I Am Darn Tough realizes that she is stronger than she thought, inside and out. I Am Darn Tough shapes the Girls on the Run philosophy into a beautifully illustrated narrative to inspire any child, anytime, who wants to run toward greater confidence in themselves. color throughout

A new kid-friendly tour of art history from the Newbolds In this sequel to the tour de force children's art-history picture book If Picasso Painted a Snowman, Amy Newbold conveys nineteen artists' styles in a few deft words, while Greg Newbold's chameleon-like artistry shows us Edgar Degas' dinosaur ballerinas, Cassius Coolidge's dinosaurs playing Go Fish, Hokusai's dinosaurs surfing a giant wave, and dinosaurs smelling flowers in Mary Cassatt's garden; grazing in Grandma Moses' green valley; peeking around Diego Rivera's lilies; tiptoeing through Baishi's inky bamboo; and cavorting, stampeding, or hiding in canvases by Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Franz Marc, Harrison Begay, Alma Thomas, Aaron Douglas, Mark Rothko, Lois Mailou Jones, Marguerite Zorach, and Edvard Munch. And, of course, striking a Mona Lisa pose for Leonardo da Vinci.As in If Picasso Painted a Snowman, our guide for this tour is an engaging hamster who is joined in the final pages by a tiny dino artist. Thumbnail biographies of the artists identify their iconic works, completing this tour of the creative imagination. Color throughout

★ PBS Books "Best Children's Picture Books of 2018"★ Brightly List: Best Children's Books of March 2018★ Story Time From Space selection: Read by an astronaut on the Space Station!Annie's joyful exuberance and her family's whole-hearted support leave no doubt that her dream is within her grasp. This delightful story―with backmatter about women astronauts―encourages young readers to pursue their dreams and reach for the stars.Career Day is approaching, and Annie can't wait to show her family what she's planning to be when she grows up. But, she must keep it a secret until Friday! So curious family members each ask Annie for a clue. Convinced that she'll be a news reporter like he once was, Grandpop gives her his old camera for her presentation. Grandma is sure Annie wants to be a champion baker like her, so she offers a mixing bowl and oven mitts to Annie. Hopeful she'll become the mountain climber he aspired to be, Dad gives Annie an old backpack. Mom presents Annie with a pair of high-top sneakers to pursue Mom's favorite sport in high school -- basketball. Grateful for each gift, Annie cleverly finds a way to use them all to create her Career Day costume. When the big day arrives, Annie finally reveals her out-of-this-world dream to everyone. Fountas & Pinnell Level M Color throughout

On Regent Street in Philadelphia, stories are still told of Luigi, who could run faster than anybody and never lost a race on those long-ago summer evenings when neighbors would gather on front stoops to watch. They say Luigi always ran barefoot. And they speak of his greatest challenge—the race nobody thought he could win, not even Luigi himself.They say Luigi always ran barefoot. And they speak of his greatest challenge—the race nobody thought he could win, not even Luigi himself.Maybe it’s urban legend, or maybe the true events have acquired added luster in Dan Paley’s memory. After all, a story this amazing couldn’t possibly be true, could it?Suffused with nostalgia for soft summer evenings in a city neighborhood, with kids playing in the street, neighbors visiting, twilight seeming like it would never end….A tall tale that kids will never tire of.Aaron Boyd’s colorful illustrations vividly recreate an urban Philadelphia street and its houses, shops, and memorable people.Fountas & Pinnell Level M