[Grades 3-4] Great Books to Read in August

The #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Award-winning novel The One and Only Ivan is coming to Disney+ this summer!This unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendship. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated book is told from the point of view of Ivan himself. Having spent twenty-seven years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create an unforgettable story of friendship, art, and hope.The One and Only Ivan features first-person narrative; author's use of literary devices (personification, imagery); and story elements (plot, character development, perspective).This acclaimed middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 8, for independent reading, homeschooling, and sharing in the classroom.Plus don't miss The One and Only Bob, Katherine Applegate's return to the world of Ivan, Bob, and Ruby!

Michael Jordan. The mere mention of the name conjures up visions of basketball played at its absolute best. But as a child, Michael almost gave up on his hoop dreams, all because he feared he'd never grow tall enough to play the game that would one day make him famous. That's when his mother and father stepped in and shared the invaluable lesson of what really goes into the making of a champion -- patience, determination, and hard work. Deloris Jordan, mother of the basketball phenomenon, teams up with his sister Roslyn to tell this heartwarming and inspirational story that only the members of the Jordan family could tell. It's a tale about faith and hope and how any family working together can help a child make his or her dreams come true.

Back in 775 BC, athletes from all over Ancient Greece came together to compete in various games. The contests were held every four years and winning athletes brought honor and respect to their homelands.The tradition of the Olympic Games faded over time until 1896, when they were brought back to life. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, with over two hundred athletes from fourteen countries. Today, nearly three thousand years after the first Games, the Summer Olympics attract one hundred thousand top athletes from over two hundred countries. Billions of fans around the world cheer on their national teams to bring back the gold.

This book in the Family Fun series has everything you need to know about having a fun and safe campfire. This collection of outdoor activities, games, stories, songs and more is for kids and families to share around the campfire. It includes tips on how to find the best campfire site, identify animal cries at night and locate constellations. Kids will also find out how to make pizza over an open fire, tell a spooky ghost story, or create musical instruments for a sing-along. With more than 125 pages of fun things to do around a campfire, this is the perfect book for every camper, canoeist and camp counsellor!

Hours of entertainment for the kids—let the good times roll!Why did the chicken cross the road? Knock, knock. Who's there? What do you get when you...? As kids guess the answers, they're sure to get the giggles! With this book, little ones will look forward to sharing the jokes with parents, teachers, and siblings--and even coming up with some variations of their own! In addition to hundreds of rib-tickling jokes, readers will love: –Head-scratching brain teasers –Funny knock-knock jokes –Hysterical puzzles –Ridiculous riddles And much, much more! Amid the jokes, kids also find information on how to deliver the perfect punch line and how their favorite comics got started telling jokes. Every budding comic needs a little help getting started, and this book is the perfect go-to for getting laughs!

Handpicked by Amazon kids’ books editor, Seira Wilson, for Prime Book Box – a children’s subscription that inspires a love of reading.The instant New York Times bestseller! From the author of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History comes the highly anticipated follow-up, a beautifully illustrated collectible detailing the lives of women creators around the world.Featuring the true stories of 35 women creators, ranging from writers to inventors, artists to scientists, Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World inspires as it educates. Readers will meet trailblazing women like Mary Blair, an American modernist painter who had a major influence on how color was used in early animated films, actor/inventor Hedy Lamarr, environmental activist Wangari Maathai, architect Zaha Hadid, filmmaker Maya Deren, and physicist Chien-Shiung Wu. Some names are known, some are not, but all of the women had a lasting effect on the fields they worked in.The charming, information-filled full-color spreads show the Dreamers as both accessible and aspirational so readers know they, too, can grow up to do something amazing.

Exploring and studying space are among humanity's greatest accomplishments, but history books have too often neglected the incredible work of women astronomers and scientists. This informative book illuminates the lives and achievements of astronomical geniuses, from Wang Zhenyi of the Qing dynasty, to Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Mini bio and feature boxes provide fast facts on each featured scientist, and a gallery spread introduces readers to even more crucial women astronomers. Quotes from each scientist and their contemporaries inspire readers to develop their own love of STEM. Beautiful original illustrations and vibrant photographs pull readers into this thoughtful book. A thorough timeline gives readers a view of women's progress in the field of astronomy, and a "Science Now" spread shows readers the wonders of modern day astronomy.

Records and reputations, cheats and champs, victors and venues - here's the lowdown on the modern Olympic games, from bestselling author and illustrator, Richard Brassey. Updated to include Rio 2016.From the games of ancient Greece to the twenty-first century, and with individual tales of heroes and heroines, this is a lively, witty and entertaining guide for young readers everywhere. As always with Richard Brassey's popular books, this is packed with comic strips, fact boxes, hilarious captions and speech bubbles, plus amazing information and entertaining insight.

A 2019 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students: K–12 (National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council). Take a tour of America's great outdoors and discover the beauty and diversity of its most iconic and majestic national parks. Packed with maps and fascinating facts about the flora and fauna unique to each of the 21 parks portrayed, this lushly illustrated coast-to-coast journey documents in large format the nation’s most magnificent and sacred places—and shows why they should be preserved for future generations to enjoy. Explore Florida's river-laced Everglades, travel down the white water rapids of the Grand Canyon, trek across the deserts of Death Valley, and scale the soaring summits of the Rocky Mountains with this book that brings you up close to nature's greatest adventures. Divided by region (East, Central, Rocky Mountains, West, Tropics, and Alaska), a pictographic map at the start of each section shows the locations of the parks to be covered. Each park is introduced by a stunning, poster-worthy illustration of one of its scenes and a summary of its makeup, followed by individual illustrations of the animals and plants that make their homes there. Captions provide captivating information about the wildlife. Did you know that Everglades National Park is home to marsh rabbits who paddle through its swamps searching for herbs, flowers, and other plants to nibble on? Or that the pronghorn antelope of Badlands National Park are the continent’s fastest land animals, sprinting up to 60 miles per hour to escape predators like bobcats and coyotes? A “Can you spot this…?” page at the back challenges you to find a pictured critter or plant for every letter of the alphabet.The parks include: Acadia, Badlands, Big Bend, Biscayne, Bryce Canyon, Channel Islands, Death Valley, Denali, Everglades, Glacier, Glacier Bay, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Hawaii volcanoes, Isle Royale, Mesa Verde, Olympic, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Virgin Islands, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. A book to be treasured by children and adults alike, National Parks of the USA serves to inspire the adventuring naturalist in all of us. Brimming with facts, activities, and beautiful illustrations, the National Parks of the USA series of books immerses young people in the wonders of America’s outdoors. Learn about the wonderful wildlife, stunning scenery, and rare plants that inhabit these precious outdoor spaces. Celebrate these beautiful and rare locations, and be awed by the diversity and grandeur of the national parks’ living landscapes.