Books published by publisher History House Publishers

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 Color throughout

*2019 Daybreak Children's Picture Book Award -- Recognizing Muslim Women's Contributions to Literature**Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People 2016, a cooperative Project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council**Featured Book of the Month, Anti-Defamation League**American Library Association Notable Book for Children 2016**Skipping Stones Honor 2016**International Literacy Association Choices Reading List* Lailah is in a new school in a new country, thousands of miles from her old home, and missing her old friends. When Ramadan begins, she is excited that she is finally old enough to participate in the fasting but worried that her classmates won’t understand why she doesn’t join them in the lunchroom.Lailah solves her problem with help from the school librarian and her teacher and in doing so learns that she can make new friends who respect her beliefs. This gentle, moving story from first-time author Reem Faruqi comes to life in Lea Lyon’s vibrant illustrations. Lyon uses decorative arabesque borders on intermittent spreads to contrast the ordered patterns of Islamic observances with the unbounded rhythms of American school days.Fountas & Pinnell Level N

Why put together an anthology about mistakes? Because we make mistakes all the time. Some are the size of erasing a hole in your paper, mispronouncing a word, or tripping over your shoelace. Some are the size of telling a friend's secret. Some can be useful, like a science experiment that goes wrong but gives you a new idea. How can we make the most of the good mistakes and do our best to fix the ones that need fixing? Poetry can help us figure it out.

Why an anthology about mistakes? Because we make mistakes all the time. Some are the size of erasing a hole in your paper, mispronouncing a word, or tripping over your shoelace. Some are the size of telling a friend's secret. Some can be useful, like a science experiment that goes wrong but gives you a new idea. How can we make the most of the good mistakes and do our best to fix the ones that need fixing? Poetry can help us figure it out.

Kirkus Starred ReviewPW Starred ReviewSchool Library Journal Starred Review"The definition of brown joy. THESE are the normalizations in stories that we need, unadulterated Black and Brown joy full of self-esteem and confidence..." the tiny activistTold by a succession of exuberant young narrators, Magnificent Homespun Brown is a story -- a song, a poem, a celebration -- about feeling at home in one’s own beloved skin. With vivid illustrations by Kaylani Juanita, Samara Cole Doyon sings a carol for the plenitude that surrounds us and the self each of us is meant to inhabit. full color

Having seen what being left out is like, children become agents of change, convincing their teacher to let them build a buddy bench.A school playground can be a solitary place for a kid without playmates; in one survey, 80 percent of 8- to 10-year-old respondents described being lonely at some point during a school day. Patty Brozo’s cast of kids brings a playground to raucous life, and Mike Deas’s illustrations invest their games with imaginary planes to fly, dragons to tame, and elephants to ride. And these kids match their imaginations with empathy, identifying and swooping up the lonely among them.Buddy benches are appearing in schoolyards around the country. Introduced from Germany in 2014, the concept is simple: When a child sits on the bench, it’s a signal to other kids to ask him or her to play. full color

* 2016 Maine Literary Award Winner - Best Children's Book ** Selected as Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People 2016, a cooperative Project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children's Book Council** Gelett Burgess Honor Book * Emma doesn't really like hurricanes. After a busy day of school and activities, Emma likes to sit still and rest. Her little brother, Henry, does everything but. She calls him The Lemonade Hurricane.Henry is a lot of fun when he's not storming through the house, so Emma decides to teach him how to be still. By showing him how to sit, bow, and breathe, Emma is able to calm the hurricane within Henry.A perfect introduction to meditation for young readers, presented in a captivating story.The illustrations bring the story to life with delightful whimsy.Includes a back-of-book presentation of simple mindfulness techniques that can be shared at home and in the classroom.In Planting Seeds, Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teaches that by sitting still and meditating, the mind can become clear. Like Hanh's apple juice story, when a glass of lemonade is stirred, the pulp swirls around. When it sits quietly, the pulp settles and the liquid becomes clear. In this way, a glass of lemonade is a metaphor for how meditation and mindfulness work. That is why this book is called The Lemonade Hurricane. Practicing mindfulness and meditation helps us tame the hurricane within.Fountas & Pinnell Level L Color throughout

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 Color throughout

At this school, there are some children who push and tease and bully. Sometimes they hurt other kids by just ignoring them.The girl in this story sees it happening, but she would never do these mean things herself. Then one day something happens that shows her that being a silent bystander isn’t enough. Will she take some steps on her own to help another kid? Could it be as simple as sitting on the bus with the girl no one has befriended (and discovering that she has a great sense of humor)? Resources at the end of the book will help parents and children talk about teasing and bullying and find ways to stop it at school.One child at a time can help change a school.Since its release in May 2004, this book has sparked Say Something weeks in schools from Maine to Shanghai. It has been turned into plays, distributed to hundreds of kids at conferences, read by principals on large screens, and rewritten by students in several schools (Do Something! is a favorite title). Most importantly, Say Something has helped start countless conversations among kids and adults about teasing.We’re celebrating with this new edition, updated with a new cover and an author’s note. Fountas & Pinnell Level O

This little book holds the message of dignity that every child on this earth needs to hear: You are loved. You matter. You make me smile. You make me the happiest person in the world, just by being you.“Have I ever told you that, for me, there is no one more special than you? That for me, you are the most special child in the world, and that I love you now and will love you forever? Have I ever told you that?” Shani King wrote Have I Ever Told You? as a note to his children, to remind them that they are amazing in their individuality and that they have the power to choose who they want to be in this world. The illustrations create a masterful visual narrative: warm, witty, simple, profound, and as ferociously empowering as a children’s book can be.“The book says all the things we could and should say to our children.” ―Jennifer Woolard, Associate Professor in Developmental Science, Georgetown University “Beautiful and thought-provoking.” ―António Guterres, Secretary- General of the United Nations “I adore this book.” ―James Forman Jr., Pulitzer Prize – winning author of Locking Up Our OwnMOONBEAM SPIRIT AWARD For dedication to children’s books and literacy and for inspired writing, illustrating and publishing. Compassion: Have I Ever Told You? by Shani King; illustrated by Anna Horváth Color throughout

* MOONBEAM GOLD AWARD ** GROWING GOOD KIDS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AND NATIONAL MASTER JUNIOR GARDENER PROGRAM * Milk doesn't just appear in your refrigerator, nor do apples grow in the bowl on the kitchen counter.Before We Eat has been adopted by the USDA’s Agriculture in the Classroom program.Before we eat, many people work very hard―planting grain, catching fish, tending farm animals, and filling crates of vegetables. With vibrant illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian, this book reminds us what must happen before food gets to our tables to nourish our bodies and spirits.This expanded edition of Before We Eat includes back-of-book features about school gardens and the national farm-to-school movement.Fountas & Pinnell Level L Color throughout

Why an anthology about mistakes? Because we make mistakes all the time. Some are the size of erasing a hole in your paper, mispronouncing a word, or tripping over your shoelace. Some are the size of telling a friend's secret. Some can be useful, like a science experiment that goes wrong but gives you a new idea. How can we make the most of the good mistakes and do our best to fix the ones that need fixing? Poetry can help us figure it out.