Books published by publisher History House Publishers

Massachusetts Must Read Title: 17th Annual Mass Book Awards*CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book**CCBC Choices Selection*This warm, engaging story, which unfolds entirely through the conversation of two adopted sisters, was inspired by the author's own daughters, whom she overheard talking about how adoption made them "real sisters" even though they have different birth parents and do not look alike."I liked how they took care of one another in their pretend-play scenario about climbing a mountain," Lambert says, "and I loved how they also took care of one another's feelings as they talked about adoption. REAL SISTERS PRETEND captures these interactions perfectly and movingly.Told with simple words and playful illustrations, this book touches on the topics of adoption, two moms, and multiracial family life.Modern families can look very different from the nuclear families of yesteryear, but as Lambert says in the book's introduction, "No matter how a family comes to be, the most important thing is for everyone to feel loved, safe, and cared for." REAL SISTERS PRETEND is a great vehicle for sharing that love and reassurance. Fountas & Pinnell Level L Color throughout

Michael Garland (Daddy Played the Blues) displays his impressive illustration range with the stylized, country-quilt, digital collage illustrations of A Season of Flowers. Snowdrops and crocuses yield to tulips and hyacinths, then dogwood blossoms, iris, lupine, daisies, morning glories, daylilies, geraniums, peonies, sunflowers, roses, and chrysanthemums as spring passes to summer, then autumn. At last the garden slumbers into winter under a blanket of snow, preparing next year’s procession of blooms. Like actors crossing a stage, flowers narrate the passing seasons in the first person, each one briefly proclaiming its unique and vital role in the natural world. Backmatter descriptions complete this child’s introduction to a garden year, in which the passage of time is vividly realized. Fountas & Pinnell Level L Color throughout

120,000 copies sold! Who Belongs Here? tells the story of a boy who, having been forced to flee his war-torn country, struggles to be accepted by his new classmates in the U.S. Some kids think he should go back where he belongs, but what if everyone whose family came from another place was forced to return to his or her homeland? Who would be left? A new introduction traces the waves of immigration that have built America and celebrates the Muslim and Latino immigrants who are today contributing to America’s future. The book’s new cover shows a group of kids―sons and daughters of newly arrived immigrants--taking their oath of citizenship. This story is more timely now than ever.Long an anchor text for school units on immigration and tolerance, Who Belongs Here? is now renewed in look and content. Teaching compassion for recent immigrants while sharing the important contributions made by immigrants of the past, this story is more relevant now than ever.In this probing, plain-spoken book, based on a true story, Margy Burns Knight and Anne Sibley O'Brien, author and illustrator of the acclaimed "Talking Walls," invite young readers to explore the human implications of intolerance. Anecdotes relating the experiences of other refugees and their contributions to American culture play counterpoint to Nary's tale, all enlivened by O'Brien's full-color pastels. A compendium at the end of the book offers more detailed information about Pol, Pot, Ellis Island, and other topics in this text.Who Belongs Here? will lead to discussions aboutThe effects of war on children and familiesRefugees and relocation processes in the U.S.Cambodian cultureU.S. History and attitudes towards immigrationBullying and intoleranceConflict-resolution skillsLexile Level 1040Fountas and Pinnell Level W Color throughout

Masterpiece Robot pays tribute to the power of a child’s vivid imagination, which can transform a suburban autumn backyard into a futuristic battleground and Laura’s lively siblings into unwitting but enthusiastic participants in a fight for a planet’s survival. We begin in Laura’s bedroom where she is struggling to find her way into the story she wants to write, and we end there with Laura putting the finishing touches on her triumphant tale. When Laura―a.k.a. Masterpiece Robot―heads into the backyard with her little sister Molly―a.k.a. Sidekick―her active imagination places them instead on patrol around the perimeter of a dystopian city, guarding against super villains. Then older sister Amber―a.k.a. Valerie Knick-Knack―throws handfuls of fallen leaves at them, unknowingly initiating a battle for the ages. The transitions back and forth from suburbia to dystopia in this story within a story are deftly rendered with contrasting palettes. The rollicking interactions of the sibling heroes and villains make Masterpiece Robot pure fun to read.Lexile Level 900Fountas and Pinnell Level V Color throughout

In the opening story of the Rusty Coati series, a young Rusty sits on the branch of a giant kapok tree. From there, it looks like the Amazon forest goes on forever and ever. Rusty is ready for a grand quest. He wants to find the Great River Old Boris talks about. Legend has it that the river is so wide it cuts the world in two! Saying goodbye to his family and friends, the courageous ring-tailed coati sets out into the vast, scary, and sometimes dangerous wilderness. Will he ever find the river and understand the true meaning of the ancient tale? Will he make it back to his valley to tell his friends? ABOUT THE RUSTY COATI STORIESRusty Coati is a very curious creature and wants to know more about his home, the great Amazon jungle. He embarks on a number of bold adventures and overcomes daring challenges with the support of some trustworthy friends he meets along the way. The Rusty Coati stories are authored and wonderfully illustrated by Aldo Galli who had the honor of bringing to life the 40th anniversary edition of Richard Adams' Watership Down, one of the best-selling novels of all time. Aldo Galli wants to use his art through the medium of children's books to help parents and kids discover the treasures of the Amazon rainforest and learn how important this place is in our world.

* 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

2019 Moonbeam Silver MedalMany thousands of years ago, when a sheet of ice up to a mile thick began to let go of the land, the Atlantic Ocean flooded great valleys that had been scooped out by glaciers, and the salty waves of an inland sea lapped the green hills of Vermont. Into this arm of the sea swam Charlotte. Her milky, smooth, muscled body sliced slowly through the water like scissors through silk. Like a chirping canary, her voice echoed across dark waters showing the way to her pod as belugas have done for millions of years.In 1849, a crew building a railroad through Charlotte, Vermont, dug up strange and beautiful bones in a farmer’s field. A local naturalist asked Louis Agassiz to help identify them, and the famous scientist concluded that the bones belonged to a beluga whale. But how could a whale’s skeleton have been buried so far from the ocean? The answer―that Lake Champlain had once been an arm of the sea―encouraged radical new thinking about geological time scales and animal evolution. Charlotte’s Bones is a haunting, science-based reconstruction of how Charlotte died 11,000 years ago in a tidal marsh, how the marsh became a field, how Charlotte found a second life as the Vermont state fossil, and what messages her bones whisper to us now about the fragility of life and our changing Earth.Some reader reviews:I am a paleoanthropologist at Dartmouth College-- I study the human evolution and both retrieve & study early human fossils in Africa. We've connected very briefly on twitter when I tweeted out my love of Jeff Howe's book about Charlotte and Nick Pyerson's recent whale book. I just purchased and read Charlotte's Bones to my kids this morning. It is beyond beautiful. I tell my college students all the time that every fossil is precious; that every fossil has a story to tell and deserves to have its story told. Your book captures not just the science, but the true meaning of fossils and how they reveal a deep connectedness between living things, past and present. It is a gift of a book-- thank you. Jerry DeSilva I read Charlotte’s Bones yesterday. My sister Ellen showed it to me. It is beautifully written and illustrated to such an extent it is difficult to read without becoming very emotional. The combination of such pure prose and captivating illustration makes the reader ‘own’ Charlotte’s experience and therefore the reader cares. This is key to us humans, particularly the young ones, actually investing emotionally and practically in the fate of our precious wildlife. I think this fabulous book should be compulsory reading for children and if it makes them sad so much the better. It will help plant seeds of thought and compassion which can blossom in to a passion for respecting and conserving our precious species so under threat from the actions of us humans. Congratulations to you and Erin. Keep going and produce more on this theme please! Kind Regards, Vicky Yeates Color throughout

*Notable Books For Children - Smithsonian**Skipping Stones Book Award for Exceptional Multicultural and Nature/Ecology Books**Wordcraft Circle Writer of the Year (Prose - Children's Literature)**Wordcraft Circle Mentor of the Year*Although Jeannie loves her lakeside neighborhood, her feelings are hurt by her schoolmates who live in fancier homes and call her a Lake Rat.When she confides her troubles to her grandfather, he tells her about his own childhood experiences with teasing. As the story unfolds, the grandfather shares a traditional Seneca story that helps Jeannie to find strength in her Native identity and a new appreciation for the different roles that animals play in nature. This is a quiet book that celebrates family and place and the teachings of Native people. Muskrat Will Be Swimming is based on a real incident in Cheryl Savageau's life.Muskrat Will Be Swimming will help inspire classroom conversations about:Teasing and bullyingStorytelling traditions and customs in Native and non-Native familiesThe Seneca creation story and creation stories in generalTraditions of the Sky Woman in Native storiesContemporary Native American families and building connections to tribal identityNative identity and mixed-blood ancestrySignificance of dreams in Native cultureThe role of animals as teachers in Abenaki cultureAnimals of the forestThe Abenaki view towards the natural environmentThe value of experiences in the natural world for children's growthF&P Text Level R

Named one of the Top 10 Native American Books for Elementary Schools by American Indians in Children's LiteratureLittle Zoo Sap and his family are moving from their summer home on the coast to their winter home in the deep woods. Unnoticed, the youngster tumbles off the end of the sled.Alone, cold, and frightened, Zoo Sap cries, and his cries attract the forest animals. Beginning with beaver and ending with the great bald eagle, the animals rush to protect the baby and shelter him from the cold until his father returns for him. New, expanded 10th-anniversary edition of this classic that has sold more than 30,000 copies. · New features include an author’s note explaining the seasonal movement of the Passamaquoddy people; a pronunciation guide to the Passamaquoddy names of the animals in the story; and a QR code that will let readers link to the audio recording of Allen Sockabasin telling the story in the Passamaquoddy language.A beguiling bedtime story and a profound expression of reverence for the natural world.Lexile Level 620Fountas and Pinnell Text Level L Color throughout

*2016 EUREKA SILVER**2016 LIVING NOW AWARD, Books for Better Living**RIF Multicultural Collection**Skipping Stones Honor Book**CBC Recommended Reading**Santa Monica Public Library Green Prize for Sustainable Literature*In a Guatemalan village, students squished into their tiny schoolhouse, two grades to a classroom. The villagers had tried expanding the school, but the money ran out before the project was finished. No money meant no wall materials, and that meant no more room for the students. Until one boy got a wonderful, crazy idea. The idea not only solved both problems, but also inspired others. Why not use soda bottles, which were scattered all around, to form the cores of the walls? Never underestimate the power of an idea!Laura Kutner, the real-life “Seno Laura” in The Soda Bottle School, wrote this book because she wanted to “inspire young readers to believe in themselves and work together to make the world a better place, and have fun at the same time.”Sometimes thinking outside the box—or inside the bottle—leads to the perfect solution.

AWARDS: *Moonbeam Silver*, *John Burroughs Association Riverby 2016 Award* Estuaries form where river meets sea and fresh water mixes with salt. Teeming with life, these places of salt marshes, mudflats, and tidal backwaters serve as nursery areas for oceangoing fish, migratory stopovers for shorebirds, and homes for an amazing diversity of snails, bivalves, fish, mammals, horseshoe crabs, fiddler and blue crabs, terrapin turtles, plankton, and many others, all of whom we meet in the pages of this delightful book.Narrated in the poetic voice of the estuary itself, and accompanied by natural-history sidebars about estuary plants, animals, and cycles, THE SECRET BAY is another topnotch nature book from the author and illustrator of the award-winning, bestselling The Secret Pool.A stand-alone book and a stunning companion volume to Ridley and Raye’s award-winning Secret Pool.Ridley deftly augments the estuary’s lyrical narrative voice with sidebars about the plants, animals, and natural processes of an estuary.Raye’s gorgeous watercolors reveal new features and hidden treats with each reading.Back matter includes The Estuary Food Web, Great Escapes (how estuary animals avoid predators), and an author’s note about the challenges facing estuaries.A perfect book for the budding naturalist and for his or her parents and teachers.Fountas & Pinnell Level SLexile 1180 Color Throughout