Thank you, Veterans!

We want to take this time to thank our veterans for their service to our country.

Tomorrow's anniversary

On November 10, 1938, Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," took place in parts of Germany and Austria. The name Kristallnacht originated from the fact that the streets were littered with broken glass from the windows and doors of Jewish homes and businesses that had been attacked and ransacked, by the Nazis, destroying thousands of them. Hundreds of synagogues were burned down, and many people were murdered. This event marked the beginning of something even worse: the Holocaust.

This title, and the other titles in the The Holocaust Through Primary Sources series, are available in library, paperback, and eBook formats. They are available from your local preferred vendor, local independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and enslow.com.

An innovative way one public library tries to get kids to love reading

The Arlington Public Library in Virginia has a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Parents and caregivers can sign up and receive a reading log, in which they fill in a circle after they finish reading a book to a young child. There are prizes (and stickers) upon reaching certain milestones.

There is also a Reading Superheroes program for older children who read to younger children who are enrolled in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program.

What a great idea to encourage older kids to read, as well as encourage younger children to learn to love books!

Does your school or public library offer programs similar to this?

Looking for science books to pair together?

Great for a STEM Friday post!

Pairing up The Case of the Flesh-Eating Bacteria with Learning About the Musculoskeletal System and the Skin gives readers the opportunity to read about skin diseases while also learning about the skin as a body system.

Both titles are written for the middle school reader, and give detailed explanations of what skin is, as well as what types of illnesses and diseases can be found on skin.

Fun fact: did you know that a baby's skeleton has about 350 bones? By the time that baby is an adult, he or she will have 206 bones because many of the bones fuse together.

Available in library and paperback from your preferred vendor, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, enslow.com, and your independent bookstore, both of these titles are also available as multi-user eBooks.

Wondering how these titles fit into the Common Core? You can find that information on enslow.com.

Some fun Halloween facts

Did you know that trick-or-treating was stopped at one point in time? Because of a sugar shortage during World War II, children were not allowed to trick-or-treat. People were asked to cut back on the amount of sugar they used, so many people switched to using honey to sweeten their food.

Did you know that carving jack-o-lanterns began a few hundred years ago? People in Ireland carved potatoes and turnips, and when they immigrated to the United States they brought that skill with them. When they arrived in America, they found that pumpkins could be carved just as easily.

These facts (and more!) can be found in Kooky Halloween Jokes to Tickle Your Funny Bone by Linda Bozzo. This title is part of the Funnier Bone Jokes series. All six titles in the series are available in library, paperback, and eBook versions.

Look for them at your local bookstore, or you can order them through your preferred vendor, enslow.com, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

Happy Halloween!

Upcoming Book Festivals Nov 2 and 3

Going to be in the area of Kirkland, Washington this weekend? This is the third year of the Northwest Bookfest, and this year's focus is on the benefits and challenges of digital publishing. There will be events open to the public, and the Bookfest will be at Northwest University. The festival will take place from 8 am to 6 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

The 10th annual Louisiana Book Festival will take place on Saturday at Capitol Park in downtown Baton Rouge from 10 am to 5 pm. There is also an app available on the website above.

The 26th annual Buckeye Book Fair, featuring over 100 Ohio authors and illustrators, will take place on Saturday at Fisher Auditorium on the OARDC Campus in Wooster from 9:30 am to 4 pm.

Sizzling celebrities

Enslow's new biography series, written for the reluctant reader, contains 48 page books on high-interest celebrities. These titles are available in library, paperback, and eBook formats.

Adele is one of the subjects in the Sizzling Celebrities series. Read about her childhood, her first musical interests, and her rise to fame. Demi explores this talented actress life, and struggles with bipolar disorder. Read about Drake's rise to stardom, his family, friends, and fans. Discover what motivates him, and his plans for the future. Growing up in Arizona, Emma Stone began acting by joining  the Valley Youth Theatre. Learn how Emma convinced her parents to allow her to move to Hollywood, and more! Jennifer Lawrence started her acting career in New York City. The roles she took in the beginning to get her foot in the acting door are described, and what she had to do as those characters is explained as well. Another Hunger Games actor, Josh Hutcherson is featured in a sixth book in the series. He got his first role at the age of nine. Learn more about his career path and his plans for the future. The seventh title in the series is about Logan Lerman. Read about Logan's early acting roles, his rise to fame, and what his plans are for his future.

The titles in the Sizzling Celebrity series will soon be aligned with the Common Core standards.

All of these titles are available from your preferred vendor, your local independent bookstore, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Zombie 99 Cent Special -- Offer Ends November 8th!

This Halloween season, fill your book buying "trick or treat" bag with Enslow Publishers'  e-books! As an introduction to our Speeding Star: Keep Boys Reading! imprint, we're offering the e-book version of Book 1 of our four-title "Zombie Zappers" series -- Zombie Camp -- for 99 cents!

Zombie Camp presents author Nadia Higgins' playful 64-page tale of young adventurers encountering the living dead. Her age-appropriate storytelling style embraces language suitable for children while avoiding graphic violence. The book also provides a character development focus as the kids in the story learn a valuable life lesson.

The "Zombie Zappers" fiction series is included in Enslow's new Speeding Star: Keep Boys Reading! imprint. Speeding Star's mission is to publish easy-to-read, high-quality fiction and informational texts suitable for boys from third grade through high school. "Speeding Star" books are currently available in e-book format as well as trade hardcover editions.

Zombie Camp, other Speeding Star titles, and many other Enslow Publishers' K-12 nonfiction books are available via bn.com, amazon.com, and other retail e-book sellers. Act now: Enslow's 99 cent offer for Zombie Camp ends on Friday, November 8, 2013!

Looking for a title containing several inventors in one book?

Amazing American Inventors of the 20th Century, now available from Enslow Publishers, will help your middle school student find the scientist he or she needs to write that report or create that project. Part of the Inspiring Collective Biographies series, this 112 page book contains biographies of ten American inventors.

Written by Laura S. Jeffrey, these inventors created everything from the microcchip to the Super Soaker! Learn about Gertrude Belle Elion, Philo Farnsworth, Charles Ginsburg, Gordon Gould, Lonnie Johnson, Beatrice Kenner, Jack Kilby, Stephanie Kwolek, William Lear,  and Robert Shurney.

This title (and the rest of the titles in this series) are available in library, paperback, and eBook versions, and are available from your preferred vendor, your local independent bookstore, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. They will soon be correlated to the Common Core Standards, as well.

Book Festivals the weekend of October 26 and 27

The National Black Book Festival starts tomorrow, October 24 and runs through the 27th, in Houston, TX. Admission is free to the general public.

The Texas Book Festival will take place on Saturday and Sunday, the 26th and 27th, in Austin. There is a mobile app you can download.

Biographies and eBooks

Of the hundreds of eBooks Enslow has available, there are two biography series that would be a great match for books for both early readers and middle school readers.

In the Famous African Americans series, written for the elementary reader, Paul Robeson is one title in this series of twelve books. A short biography of him is also included in Amazing African-American Actors, which is part of the African-American Collective Biographies series.

There is also an elementary biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Famous African Americans series, as well as a short biography of him in Inspiring African-American Civil Rights Leaders from the African-American Collective Biographies series.

Titles in both series are available in library and paperback editions, as well as eBook formats. These titles are available from your preferred vendor, your independent bookstore, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

American Space Missions

With the new film, Gravity, now being shown, American Space Missions—Astronauts, Exploration, and Discovery focuses on dramatic stories of space mission milestones. Great for the reluctant reader, these six titles contain exciting stories about space exploration. Each 48 page book discusses one particular aspect of space exploration and discovery.

The Coolest Job in the Universe reveals how astronauts eat, sleep, work, and more at the International Space Station (ISS.) The ISS is examined from its design and construction to the amazing astronauts who work there and the types of research and experiments they perform.

Danger in Space is about the Apollo 13 mission and the survival of its three astronauts after an explosion in the oxygen tank. Apollo 13 was more than two hundred thousand miles from Earth when the explosion occurred, and the astronauts had a new mission: not landing on the Moon, but surviving.

The Hubble Space Telescope is the subject of Eye on the Universe. This telescope captures the amazing wonders of space, relaying the photographs back to Earth, and allowing scientists and astronauts the ability to study parts of space that were completely unknown. Want to see the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy? What does a storm look like on Saturn? The answers to these questions (and more) can be found because of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Space Shuttle Disaster is an in-depth look at the Challenger disaster. On January 28, 1986, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Challenger blasted off from the launchpad, only to explode in mid-air less than two minutes later. What caused the explosion? Who were the seven people aboard? What has changed since this disaster to make flying to space safer? The answers to these questions, and more, are answered in this title.

The Gemini 4 mission is the subject of Spacewalk. Pilot Ed White was able to see the states while walking in space. This first American spacewalk was a monumental achievement, and it helped push the space program towards its ultimate goal of landing on the Moon. Learn about the technology that made it possible and the brave astronauts who helped to get this accomplished.

Learn about Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon's surface in Walking on the Moon. On July 29, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin were aboard the Eagle as it touched down on the surface of the Moon, with Buzz Aldrin exiting the Eagle shortly thereafter, joining Armstrong on the Moon's surface.

All six of these titles are available in library and paperback editions, as well as eBooks. They are available from your preferred vendor, your local independent bookstore, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Book Festivals for October 17th through the 20th

Starting October 17 and running through the 20th, the Madison Public Library will be celebrating its Wisconsin Book Festival. There will be book sales, a High School Friday,  a selection of children's activities, and more!

The Boston Book Festival runs from October 17 through the 19th in Copley Square. With over 150 world-class presenters, there will be something for everyone. Wondering what to do with the kids this weekend? There is a Kids & Teens section, which includes a story time, a craft session, meet the medalists, and more!

Enslow Halloween Special: "Zombie Zappers" E-Book for 99 Cents

This Halloween season, Enslow Publishers' "trick or treat" bag contains a special discount incentive for e-book readers: we're offering Book 1 of our four-title "Zombie Zappers" series -- Zombie Camp -- for 99 cents!

Zombie Camp presents author Nadia Higgins' playful 64-page tale of young adventurers encountering the living dead. Her age-appropriate storytelling style embraces language suitable for children while avoiding graphic violence. The book also provides a character development focus as the kids in the story learn a valuable life lesson.

The "Zombie Zappers" fiction series is included in Enslow's new Speeding Star: Keep Boys Reading! imprint. Speeding Star's mission is to publish easy-to-read, high-quality fiction and informational texts suitable for boys from third grade through high school. "Speeding Star" books are currently available in e-book format as well as trade hardcover editions.

Zombie Camp, other Speeding Star titles, and many other Enslow Publishers' K-12 nonfiction books are available via bn.com, amazon.com, and other retail e-book sellers. Act now: Enslow's 99 cent offer for Zombie Camp ends on November 8, 2013!

Are your students and/or children getting enough sleep?

Several studies have shown that students don't get enough sleep. Between sports, homework, other after-school activities, as well as social media sites and games found on tablets/phones/computers, it's harder for students to get that needed sleep.

Want to know what happens when you sleep? Why do you need sleep? What happens when we dream, and do we dream every night? What is REM sleep? A Handy Health Guide to Better Sleep answers all of these questions and more. Written for the middle school student, the book also gives suggestions on good sleeping habits.

This title is available from your preferred vendor, enslow.com, your local bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. It is available in library, paperback, and eBook versions.

Oct 10 to Oct 13 book festivals

The Southern Festival of Books will take place October 11 through the 13th in Nashville, Tennessee. Free and open to the public, this festival has events for children and young adults, and features many authors from across the nation.

The Iowa City Book Festival will take place from October 10 through the 13th. This is a four-day celebration of books, reading, and writing. The festival includes readings, discussions, and demonstrations.

From October 11 through October 19, Litquake 2013, a literary festival, will take place in San Francisco. More than 800 authors and journalists will appear in more than 160 events over a nine-day period.

If you are in the area and can attend one of these events, enjoy!

Hispanic Heritage Month

Written for the middle school reader, the titles in the Latino Biography Library series cover famous Latinos whose careers range from acting to teachers. These books are also correlated to the Reading and Language sections of the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards.

Ellen Ochoa was the first Latina to enter space. Freddie Prinze, Jr., is a successful Latino actor and George Lopez is known for his stand-up comedy. Jaime Escalante was an inspirational math teacher, and inspired inner-city youth. Pablo Neruda was a talented writer who openly denounced the president of Chile and was declared an enemy of his own country. Sandra Cisneros is a writer and activist who encourages women and members of minority groups to achieve their full potential.

All of these books are available from your preferred vendor, your local independent bookstore,  enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Congratulations to our latest raffle winner!

Congratulations to the Hancock County Library System in Mississippi for winning our most recent monthly raffle!

Enslow author wins award!

Congratulations to Linda Bozzo, winner of New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL) Outstanding Author or Illustrator Award.

Per the NJASL website:  "This award is presented to recognize an author or illustrator who is or was a resident of New Jersey or whose work represents/reflects New Jersey and who has made a notable contribution to the field of literature for children and young adults. This award is presented at the NJASL Fall Conference."

Linda has authored many books for Enslow, most of which are written for the elementary school reader.

Exploring Hands-On Science Projects

The six titles in the Exploring Hands-On Science Projects are written for the middle school reader. These titles have been leveled to the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, Writing, and Language.

Each book in the series covers a different topic.  Plants discusses the process of photosynthesis, the life cycle of plants, the differences between short day and long day flowers, and more. Sound describes how it's possible to hear and feel sound, how sound travels, and moves, as well as dimensions of space. Solids, Liquids, and Gases investigates the states of matter and the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. Sports introduces an object's center of gravity and the laws governing the collision of objects. Toys and Games discusses gravity, friction, electrical charges, and more. The concepts in Magic include magic through chemistry, magic through light and through sticky water, as well as magic through motion.

Each title is 128 pages and is available in library, paperback, and eBook formats. Copies of these titles are available from your preferred vendor, your local independent bookstore, enslow.com, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.