Story Time with Avant-garde Books, LLC

In this remarkable retelling of Beauty and the Beast , award-winning illustrator Pat Cummings creates an enchanted fairy-tale world flavored by the art, architecture, and culture of West Africa, while writer H. Chuku Lee stays true to the story of this beloved classic. With breathtaking palatial settings inspired by the Dogon tribe of Mali and dazzling costumes reminiscent of the clothing seen on...

Learn to read with young Amelia Bedelia! Amelia Bedelia has been loved by readers for more than fifty years, and it turns out that her childhood is full of silly mix-ups, too! Amelia Bedelia's friend Rose is having a slumber party. It's Amelia Bedelia's first sleepover, and she's confused. Isn't sleeping boring? Luckily, all the girls in Amelia Bedelia's class are there, and the party is the exact...

(pp 5 -8) M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton Discover this middle grade masterpiece about a young black boy whose quiet rural live in the Appalachian Mountains begins to change—winner of the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Mayo Cornelius Higgins sits on his gleaming, forty-foot steel pole, towering over his home on Sarah’s Mountain. Stretche...

Trent's horse Rowdy wins the Youth Quarter Horse event at the state fair.

(pp 1-4) M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton Discover this middle grade masterpiece about a young black boy whose quiet rural live in the Appalachian Mountains begins to change—winner of the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Mayo Cornelius Higgins sits on his gleaming, forty-foot steel pole, towering over his home on Sarah’s Mountain. Stretched...

Celebrate a winter miracle  with the true, inspirational story of Balto in this Step 3 Step Into Reading Early Reader. It is one of the worst storms ever - the snow has not stopped for days and it is 30 degrees below zero. But somehow Balto must get through. He is the lead dog of his sled team. And he is carrying medicine to sick children miles away in Nome, Alaska. He is their only hope. Can...

Nia loves playing with her grandmother Nana, but has a hard time imagining that Nana was ever a child. Grandma Had a Grandma Too takes the reader on a journey back in time with a young Nana and her own grandmother...fishing at the creek, chasing fireflies at dusk, eating blackberries from the backyard and more. This story affirms that the simplest times we share with a child can create the most be...

"Escape" (Chapter 25) of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien and Zena Bernstein (Illustrator) Some extraordinary rats come to the aid of a mouse family in this Newbery Medal Award–winning classic by notable children’s author Robert C. O’Brien. Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer quarters...

The astronauts of Apollo 11 made history as the first men to land on the Moon. Learn more about how Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins trained and achieved this momentous feat in this Step 5 History Reader. Step 5 Readers tell stories in chapters using longer paragraphs, for children who want to take the plunge into chapter books but still like colorful illustrations and photography....

An all-new addition to DK's top-selling line of Star Wars readers. It's the question on everyone's minds: Are Ewoks scared of stormtroopers? Let's find out! Level 1 readers feature simple sentences and limited vocabulary, as well as a picture glossary and a simple index. Adult participation is helpful.

For the child who says, "I want to be an engineer when I grow up!" And for any child who wants a gentle behind-the-scenes look at being an engineer. I never knew that there were so many different ways to be an engineer. When my big brother goes to school for engineering, I learn that there are engineers who build buildings and design big rockets. Did you know that there are other kinds of engineer...

"Thorn Valley" (Chapter 22) of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien and Zena Bernstein (Illustrator) Some extraordinary rats come to the aid of a mouse family in this Newbery Medal Award–winning classic by notable children’s author Robert C. O’Brien. Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer qu...

Titanic. Just the name evokes tales of the doomed ship that have captivated people of all ages for more than 100 years.  Early readers will enjoy this exciting account of the world's most famous disaster-at-sea and the discovery of it's remains many years later.  Step 4 books are perfect for independent readers who are confident with simple sentences and are just starting to tackle parag...

"The Main Hall" (Chapter 20) of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien and Zena Bernstein (Illustrator) Some extraordinary rats come to the aid of a mouse family in this Newbery Medal Award–winning classic by notable children’s author Robert C. O’Brien. Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer q...

This Level 1 book is appropriate for children who are just beginning to read. A young dolphin's life is full of adventure! He wants to explore, but danger lurks! Can he escape the killer whale? For children who are just beginning to read and who have a limited vocabulary, these 32-page Level 1 books-about everything from tadpoles to puppies-use word repetition and simple sentences to convey meanin...

What was that? That’s the roaring burp of a bullfrog! See that? That’s the slick, shiny skin of colorful little rainforest frogs! Alive with froggy facts, this book has the coolest photos to bring kids deep into the swampy world of our amphibian amigos. National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visit  www.natgeoed.org/commoncore  for more information.

Introduces readers to simple Spanish words as they are boldly incorporated into the English tale about a group of animals getting together to play a game of baseball at the local park.

Six bugs are playing happily outside together. Each of them is eventually called to return home. This is a fun story about bugs and their friends.

Little ones are sure to be lulled off to a peaceful, sheep-filled sleep by this cozy book from acclaimed author Mem Fox. There are red sheep and blue sheep, wind sheep and wave sheep, scared sheep and brave sheep, but where is the green sheep? The search is on in this cozy, sheep-filled story from acclaimed author Mem Fox and popular Australian cartoonist Judy Horacek. Complete with sleepy rhymes...

Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales is an extraordinary audiobook featuring Gillian Anderson, Benjamin Bratt, LeVar Burton, Ricardo Chavira, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Hayes, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Parminder Nagra, Sophie Okonedo, CCH Pounder, Alan Rickman, Jurnee Smollett, Charlize T...

Henry can't wait to start kindergarten. When he gets to the school, though, he's not sure he's ready. But he soon discovers the only thing he's not ready for is how much fun he will have a school. This gentle, encouraging story is ideal for children about to enter kindergarten. (Baby/Preschool)

Presents the life and accomplishments of the deaf and blind woman who overcame her disabilities with the help of teacher Anne Sullivan to become a writer and speaker. Learn about the inspiring life of Helen Keller in this early reader biography. When Helen Keller was a baby, she became sick and lost her ability to see and hear. Although many people doubted her ability to persevere, Helen did not l...

In these beloved stories we meet a Kenyan lion named Simba, a snake with seven heads, and tricksters from Zulu folklore; we hear the voices of the scheming hyena, and we learn from a Khoi fable how animals acquired their tails and horns. Creation myths tell us how the land, its animals, and its people all came into existence under a punishing sun or against the backdrop of a spectacularly beautifu...

Noodles is ready for a fall adventure, but he needs a friend to join in on the fun. Who will he meet? This beginning reader uses rebus-style picture clues to reinforce familiar words.

Listen to how it all started for one of Disney's most beloved characters in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. Imagine a time long before Ariel met Prince Eric and walked on land -- a time when music was banned from the underwater kingdom of Atlantica. Torn between family duty and her love of music, Ariel must make the most difficult choice of her life. With the help of her friends, Sebastian...