New Releases by Margaret McNamara

The first graders at Robin Hill School celebrate summer in these five easy-to-follow Level 1 Ready-to-Read stories in one big paperback bind-up with foil on the cover! It’s summer for the kids in Mrs. Connor’s class at Robin Hill School. The first graders go to the beach, have a counting race, plant a garden, and play on the playground. Before long, it’s time to get ready to go back to school. Celebrate the season with five Robin Hill School stories in one book for beginning readers! This adorable book includes: Summer Treasure The Counting Project The Counting Race The Playground Problem The First Day of School

This delightful book includes the following stories: Butterfly Garden First-Grade Bunny Earth Day Star of the Class Play Happy Graduation Mrs. Connor's class is loving butterflies, bunnies, and the Earth during the magical season of spring. Follow along as they celebrate spring in this paperback bind up for beginning readers.

A young, curious, science-loving environmentalist named Daisy proves to her community the importance of conservation in this whimsical and hopeful story. Daisy was born with a green thumb. As an infant, she composted her own baby food. As a toddler, she slept on a bed of leaves. Now she’s embarking on her most important experiment: she’ll plant herself on her manicured front lawn, stay put, and let nature take over. What happens is a blooming miracle. With a little help from expert gardener Auntie Betsy, Daisy thrives. Sunflowers grow in her hair, moss grows between her toes, hummingbirds buzz in her bee balm. Soon Daisy’s front yard is a haven for native grasses and flowers, for pollinating insects, for birds, even for lowly worms. And that’s when her real work begins. In this funny and whimsical story about restoring natural habitats, one tenacious girl passionately leads her own conservation efforts, helping the land heal itself, and teaching her community about the importance of nurturing wild places.

Visit the state capitol with Mr. Tiffin and his students to learn all about how a bill is voted on and passed. This kid-friendly picture book from the perennially popular Mr. Tiffin’s Classroom series follows a group of students passionately engaged in learning how the US government works. Mr. Tiffin’s students are learning how a bill can become a law and are eagerly brainstorming ideas to make their state a better place. Mr. Tiffin announces that whoever has the best idea will have the opportunity to present their bill to Representative Noor during their class trip to the state capitol. Jeremy believes that they should name an official state cookie. At first it seems like a brilliant idea – until his classmates begin to argue over cookie flavors and pick sides! The only way to settle this debate is with a class vote. When the students visit the capitol the following week to present their bill, Jeremy realizes that even the best ideas require a bit of compromise and often yield surprising – and delicious! – results.

The first graders at Robin Hill School learn about and celebrate the Lunar New Year in this easy-to-follow Level 1 Ready-to-Read story! Eigen’s mom has come to talk to Mrs. Connor’s class about a special holiday called Lunar New Year. She tells them all the fun ways that the holiday is celebrated around the world. But can the students guess why it’s Eigen’s favorite holiday?

After enjoying an unexpected snow day, first grader Nia realizes staying at home really isn't so much fun after all when the snow keeps falling and the school remains closed.

The kids are celebrating Halloween with a party, complete with a fun house. But it doesn't look like much fun to Hannah--in fact it looks "too" scary. That is until Jamie offers to walk through with her. Full color.

Fans of the musical Hamilton and their children won't want to miss this stunning picture book biography about Eliza Hamilton, American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton's extraordinary wife and an important figure in her own right. Includes an afterword from Phillipa Soo, the actress who originated the role of Eliza in Hamilton! We all know the story of scrappy Alexander Hamilton and his rise in American politics--but how much do we know about his workmate, inspiration, and stabilizing force, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton? Margaret McNamara employs the letter-writing style of the period to tell the story of Eliza Hamilton, who was born into a family of considerable wealth, power, and influence in Albany, New York, in 1757. Eliza was expected to marry into a similarly powerful family . . . until she met and fell in love with the charismatic Hamilton. She stood by him throughout his tumultuous life, and after his death, she single-handedly collected his papers and preserved them for historians and musical-theater writers of the future. Eliza outlived Hamilton by fifty years; during that time she founded the first orphanage in New York State, raised funds for the Washington Monument, and kept the flame of her husband's memory and achievements alive. This is a beautiful and informative biography featuring extensive back matter--including information about America's revolution, the historical relevance of letter writing, and a timeline--and exquisite, thoroughly researched art that mirrors paintings from 18th-century America. Every Hamilton lover will want to gift it to the young readers in their lives.

Saint Patrick's Day is only one day away and Katie can't wait to celebrate. Her family comes from Ireland, and Mrs. Connor tells her she has the luck of the Irish. Soon, it's Katie who is teaching Mrs. Connor about what it means to be lucky. Full color.

Students at Robin Hill School visit a memorial to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and learn the importance of having a special dream of their own. Full color.

The first-grade class at Robin Hill School learns the best way to get rid of germs in this story of the bestselling series! Mrs. Connor's classroom learns about washing their hands and the importance of keeping germs away!

Mr. Tiffin and his students from the perennially popular How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? and The Dinosaur Expert make friends with, Librarian Beck a new character in the series who also happens to be non-binary. This thoughtful picture book is about a wood-working project that helps a young student become a book lover. Everyone in Mr. Tiffin's class couldn't be more excited that the new school library has finally opened. Everyone except Jake. Jake is a slow and careful reader. Sometimes he reads the same page more than once to figure everything out. And he often feels left behind on class Library Day. All that changes when Librarian Beck notices Jake running his fingers across the grooves of a brand-new bookshelf and offers him an old, worn book: Woodworking for Young Hands. Jake checks the book out, studies the pictures and instructions, and renews the book again and again. When the school year comes to an end, Jake has the perfect gift idea for the librarian who changed his life--and he makes it with his own two hands.

The Robin Hill School first graders learn about being thankful in this Level 1 Ready-to-Read, the twenty-ninth book in the Robin Hill School series! It’s almost Thanksgiving, and Mrs. Connor asks the class to think about what they are thankful for. Reza and his mama make a list together. He can’t wait to talk to his class about his family, his dog, his bike, and so much more! But then at school, everyone takes turns saying what they’re thankful for, and the other kids say the same things Reza wanted to say! Can Reza think of something else he’s thankful for before it’s his turn to speak?

In this charming and powerful picture book about voting and elections, the students of Stanton Elementary School learn how we can find--and use--our voices for change. Every two years, on the first Tuesday of November, Stanton Elementary School closes for the day. For vacation? Nope! For repairs? No way! Stanton Elementary School closes so that it can transform itself into a polling station. People can come from all over to vote for the people who will make laws for the country. Sure, the Stanton Elementary School students might be too young to vote themselves, but that doesn't mean they can't encourage their parents, friends, and family to vote! After all, voting is how this country sees change--and by voting today, we can inspire tomorrow's voters to change the future.

For fans of the musical Hamilton, here is a stunning picture book biography about Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton's extraordinary wife and an important figure in her own right. We all know the story of scrappy Alexander Hamilton and his rise in American politics--but how much do we know about his workmate, inspiration, and stabilizing force, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton? Margaret McNamara employs the letter-writing style of the period to tell the story of Eliza Hamilton, who was born into a family of considerable wealth, power, and influence in Albany, New York, in 1757. Eliza was expected to marry into a similarly powerful family . . . until she met and fell in love with the charismatic Hamilton. She stood by him throughout his tumultuous life, and after his death, she single-handedly collected his papers and preserved them for historians and musical-theater writers of the future. Eliza outlived Hamilton by fifty years; during that time she founded the first orphanage in New York State, raised funds for the Washington Monument, and kept the flame of her husband's memory and achievements alive. Featuring Esme Shapiro's exquisite, thoroughly researched art, which mirrors paintings from 18th-century America, this is a beautiful and informative biography with extensive back matter.

Robin Hill School continues to bring important lessons to beginning readers; this story is especially helpful for those who are about to have their first graduation! Graduation day is here! But a special guest almost ruins the event. Luckily, Mrs. Connor’s class uses all the skills they have learned in the first grade to save the day!

Charlie, the smallest child in his first grade class, is amazed to discover that of the three pumpkins his teacher brings to school, the tiniest one has the most seeds.

Mrs. Connor's class celebrates Thanksgiving in this Level 1 Ready-to-Read! Thanksgiving time is here, and Mrs. Connor's class is dressing up to celebrate. When the fire alarm goes off, they share their Thanksgiving cheer with the whole school! Ready-to-read books offer children a world of possibilities at four different reading levels: Pre-Level One: Recognizing Words -Word repetition -Familiar words and phrases -Simple sentences Level One: Starting to Read -Simple stories -Increased vocabulary -Longer sentences Level Two: Reading Independently -More-complex stories -Varied sentence structure -Paragraphs and short chapters Level Three: Reading Proficiently -Rich vocabulary -More-challenging stories -Longer chapters

Usher in National Poetry Month with Mr. Tiffin and his students, stars of the hugely popular How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? and The Apple Orchard Riddle. Once again, Margaret McNamara sets her playful, child-friendly story in the classroom, and this time, poetry—from metaphors to acrostics to haiku—is the name of the game. The focus here is on Elinor, whose confidence falters as she tries to write something "perfect" for Poem in Your Pocket Day and impress a visiting poet. G. Brian Karas's accessible, adorable illustrations add to the fun. Includes a list of Mr. Tiffin's tips for celebrating Poem in Your Pocket Day. "A nimble introduction to poetry as well as a sensitive look at the perils of perfectionism." —The New York Times "Pair this book with the works of Shel Silverstein, Paul B. Janeczko, Jack Prelutsky, Douglas Florian, or Robert Louis Stevenson." —School Library Journal, Starred

Readers of Disney Fairies, The Never Girls, and Rainbow Magic will absolutely love the fifth book in the Fairy Bell Sisters series by Margaret McNamara, a delightful chapter-book series about Tinker Bell's little sisters for kids ages 6-10. Springtime means spring-cleaning for the fairies of Sheepskerry Island. It also means getting to search for treasure in the jumble pile—a giant collection of unwanted items outside Queen Mab's palace. When Sylva Bell and her best friend, Poppy Flower, find Queen Mab's old fairy dollhouse in the pile, they are overjoyed! But as the two friends play with it, they start to unlock its secrets and discover its special magic—a magic that has a history of putting friendships to the test.

New readers will love this sweet tail about a bunny joining Mrs. Connor's classroom! A visitor is coming to Mrs. Connor's class—a bunny! Her name is Sparky and everyone wants to take care of her. Except for Reza. He doesn't want to admit it, but he's afraid of bunnies. So Mrs. Connor gives him a special job, and Reza begins to realize that maybe bunnies aren't so scary after all.

It's almost the first day of first grade, and Charles can't wait. That is, until he discovers that his puppy, Cookie, can't join him. But when he learns that bringing Cookie means she wouldn't be just his anymore, he decides it's better if she stays home.

A perfect picture book biography from award-winning author Margaret McNamara and New Yorker artist Barry Blitt comes this partly true and completely funny story of George Washington's 7th birthday. In this clever approach to history, readers will discover the truths and myths about George Washington. Did George Washington wear a wig? No. Did George Washington cut down a cherry tree? Probably not. Readers young and old who are used to seeing George Washington as an old man, will get a new look at the first president—as a kid. Perfect for classrooms, Presidents' Day, or as a birthday gift.

Individual Big Book

Introduce kids to the planets and solar system in this fractured fairy tale retelling of the classic The Three Little Pigs. Parents and children alike will adore this out-of-this-world story, which is set in outer space! GREEP BOINK MEEP! The three little aliens are happily settling into their new homes when the Big Bad Robot flies in to crack and smack and whack their houses down! A chase across the solar system follows in this humorous and visually stunning book from Margaret McNamara (How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?) and Mark Fearing (The Book that Eats People). The endpapers even include a labeled diagram of all the planets.

The students of Robin Hill School plant, tend, and harvest a garden together.

Have you ever seen a butterfly? Butterflies are insects that change and grow. Read about the life cycle of butterflies.

What do you like to do in summer? Do you do the same things in winter? Read about how seasonal changes affect people.

A big city, or urban community, can be an exciting place to live, work, and play. Read to learn about life in the biggest type of community.