Meet our author, Loren Spiotta-DiMare

As an avid animal lover,Loren has been writing books and magazine articles about various animals for over 30 years. Her current personal menagerie consists of six beloved dogs, numerous pet birds, a rabbit, and a Koi pond. She has been horseback riding on and off throughout her entire life. Five years ago, Elwood, a Quarter Horse, joined the family. "The bond I've developed with Elwood is like no other," Loren says. "Since he is my first horse, I've created a strong support team to care for him including: my trainer, barn manager, vet, farrier, even an equine massage therapist! I now also have a strong social network of friends who also own and love horses. I bring all of my experiences with Elwood, and horses in general, to my writing about them."

Loren is the author of a new Enslow series, Horses That Help with the American Humane Association, written for the upper elementary reader. Each title in the four book series introduces the reader to a different working horse. By the way, Elwood is on the cover of Therapy Horses. The other three titles cover draft horses, police horses, and performing horses.

These titles are available in library, paperback, and eBook formats. They can be found through your preferred vendor, local bookstores, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Congratulations to our latest raffle winner!

Westridge Elementary School in Kentucky is the latest winner of Enslow's monthly raffle!

Sunday is World Oceans Day

Officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008, World Oceans Day is held on June 8.

In recognition of this day, Our Earth's Oceans, an elementary series from Enslow, is a perfect complement to this day. Each book focuses on a different ocean, with five oceans covered in all. The titles explore and describe the physical characteristics, natural resources, and plant and animal life of the featured ocean.

This series is correlated to the Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards, as well as individual state standards. These titles are available from your preferred vendor, enslow.com, independent bookstores, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

Today would have been Rachel Carson's birthday

For grades 1–3, author Mary Dodson Wade explores Rachel Carson's life in this biography for beginning readers. Learn how Carson wrote about the environment after her experiences working as a marine biologist. Her books still influence environmentalists today.

Bold. Pioneering. These adjectives describe Rachel Carson who is one of the most important figures of the twentieth-century environmental movement. The author of the book Silent Spring, Carson exposed the environmental harm done by pesticides and helped lead to restrictions on their use. This biography, for grades 6 and up, covers the life and work of Rachel Carson who has been called the mother of the environmental movement.

International Jazz Day

Tomorrow is International Jazz Day. Tomorrow's International Jazz Day Global Concert will be in Osaka, Japan.

Since most of us aren't able to be in Osaka, how about a collective biography on jazz musicians? This middle grade biography discusses the lives of eight jazz musicians.

Available in library, paperback, and eBook formats, this book is available from your preferred vendor, local bookstores, and enslow.com.

Upcoming Book Festivals

There are several book festivals taking place this upcoming weekend, May 17 and 18.

The Gaithersburg Book Festival will take place on the grounds of City Hall on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be author events, panel discussions, and workshops. All genres of books are included.

The Teen Book Festival is also on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. This event is free and open to everyone, however seating preferences will be given to teen readers at all sessions.

The South Carolina Book Festival takes place at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, S.C. on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday's hours are 12 Noon to 4:30 p.m. There will also be free events on Thursday and Friday nights. Panel discussions and author events (including author signings) will also take place.

These festivals are sure to be fun for everyone!

Congratulations to our April raffle winner!

Causey Middle School library in Alabama is the April winner of our raffle!

Children's Book Week

This year Children's Book Week is from May 12th to the 18th, and is celebrating its 95th anniversary. This is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country, and is celebrated at events nationwide. These events take place in schools, libraries, bookstores, and any other places children gather to read and connect.

The website offers a list of national and local events to attend.

Happy Limerick Day

What is a limerick? A limerick is a poem with five lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another. Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and also rhyme.

The following limerick is from Enslow's April Fool's Day Jokes to Tickle Your Funny Bone:

When logging onto the Internet
It's almost always a very safe bet
That the fake "news" you'll find
Will be old and behind—
Or it won't quite have happened yet.

This title, and the others in the Funnier Bone Jokes series, are available from your preferred vendor, local bookstore, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. They are available in library, paperback, and eBook format.

Review of The Story of the Civil Rights Movement in Photographs series

The May 1, 2014 issue of Booklist features a review of four of the titles in The Story of the Civil Rights Movement in Photographs series.

The titles reviewed are:
The Story of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement in Photographs
The Story of the Civil Rights Freedom Rides in Photographs
The Story of the Little Rock Nine and School Desegregation in Photographs
The Story of the Selma Voting Rights Marches in Photographs

An excerpt from the review:
"...[David] Aretha’s clearly written, succinct texts introduce significant individuals, follow major actions chronologically, place events within their social context, and comment on their long-term significance. Quotes from participants are used to good effect...Well-focused, useful books for students researching the civil rights movement in mid-twentieth-century America."


All of these 48-page books, written for the middle school reader, are available from your preferred vendor, local bookstores, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. They are available in library, paperback, and eBook format.

Book Festival May 10

If you are in the area, the Ohioana Book Festival will take place on Saturday at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in Columbus, Ohio, from 10 am to 4:30 pm. There will be children's activities, lots of panel discussions, and award-winning food trucks.

Book Festival May 3

The Hudson Children's Book Festival takes place on May 3 and Hudson Junior and Senior High Schools.

The author and exhibitor tables open at 10 a.m.

Have you signed up for Enslow's monthly book raffle?

Today is the 30th, so don't forget to sign up!

If you don't get a chance today, you can sign up tomorrow and be part of May's raffle.

New review of In the River Darkness

In the River Darkness was reviewed in Library Media Connection's May/June 2014 issue. This title, part of

Enslow's new imprint, Scarlet Voyage, tells the story from the alternating perspectives of Mia, Alex, and Jay. Mia has just moved to town and has befriended brothers Alex and Jay. As the three teens spend more and more time together, strange things start to happen.

An excerpt from the review:

 "Young readers will enjoy Röder's analogical writing style, and will enjoy the brief moments of suspense and mystery."

Other titles in this new imprint include: Code Name Komiko, Freak City, Paint Me a Monster, Spirit of a Mountain Wolf, and What We Did for Love. They can be viewed on www.scarletvoyage.com.

This title, and the others in this imprint, are available from your preferred vendor, local bookstores, scarletvoyage.com, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. 

Heart Man: Vivian Thomas, African-American Heart Surgery Pioneer reviewed in Book Links January 2014

Heart Man: Vivian Thomas, African-American Heart Surgery Pioneer reviewed in Book Links January 2014. The original edition has been revised and expanded. The link above goes to the newly revised edition. Available from Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Drake! Hip-Hop Celebrity reviewed in Booklist 2/1/14

Drake, the Canadian rapper, actually began his career in television on the teen drama DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION. Read about his rise to stardom, and his friends, family, and fans. Find out what motivates him, and his plans for the future.  Written by Ally Azzarelli, read the review in Booklist edition 2/1/14.  Available from Enslow Publishers in hardcover, paperback, and eBook.

States Lag in Educating Students About Personal Finance

Recent Pew Charitable Trusts article states: "States Lag in Educating Students About Personal Finance" and can be found at: http://bit.ly/PAO8TE.   Please consider our new series Be Smart About Money and Financial Literacy.   Available in Library Edition, paperback and eBook. From Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Book Festivals April 25 and 26

There are several book festivals taking place this weekend. If you will be in the area, please attend!

The Nebraska Book Festival will take place on Friday and Saturday at the University of Nebraska Omaha. All events are free and open to the public. Friday night's festivities begin with a poetry reading at 7 pm. Saturday's events are from 12 pm to 4 pm with book readings. There will be an open reception after that, as well as a presentation by Seven Doctors Project following the reception.

The Southern Kentucky Book Festival takes place on Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm at Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green. There is also a Children's Day on Friday from 9 am to 2 pm. Books will be signed by authors, however those books must be purchased at the Festival.

The Second Annual Rosemont Book Festival will also take place on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm at Connelly Green at Rosemont College in Pennsylvania. There will be a Children's Story Hour, panel discussions, and workshops.

The Pasadena Public Library will be hosting the Pasadena Teen Book Festival from 12 pm to 4 pm. Young adult and middle grade authors will be there and admission is free.

Enslow author Lisa Wroble interviewed on C-SPAN

C-SPAN has started a new series called Cities Tour, which is part of the Local Content Vehicles Program, designed to give C-SPAN broader appeal by featuring stories outside of Washington, D.C. Covering unique literary culture in other parts of the country, this series focuses on a connection to government, history, or books. Lisa Wroble's book, The Right to Counsel, targets all three.

Lisa was interviewed by Christy Hinton from C-SPAN in March and the interview can be viewed here. It is also archived on a dedicated page for Cities Tour–Fort Meyers.

The Right to Counsel is the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, an unemployed drifter who was arrested in Florida and charged with burglarizing a pool hall. Because he could not afford an attorney, Gideon asked for one, and was turned down. He was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to five years in prison. Believing the U.S. Constitution was on his side, Gideon took his case all the way to the Supreme Court. The author explores the case, its impact on the U.S. legal system, and the movie made about it, Gideon's Trumpet, which starred Henry Fonda.

This title is part of Enslow's Famous Court Cases That Became Movies series.

Earth Day

Written for the elementary reader, I Love Our Earth is a series that consists of six titles, with each title covering a different environmental issue. These easy-to-read titles include color photographs that bring the text to life.

Correlated to the Common Core College and Career Readiness Standards, these titles are available in library, paperback, and eBook formats. They can be found through your preferred vendor, enslow.com, local bookstores, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.