Rajani Larocca

Rajani LaRocca, recipient of a Newbery Honor and Walter Award for Red, White, and Whole, is back with an evocative novel in verse about identical twin sisters who do everything together—until external pressures threaten to break them apart. Maya is the pragmatic twin, but her secret anxiety threatens to overwhelm her. Chaya is the outgoing twin. When she sees her beloved sister suffering, she wants to tell their parents—which makes Maya feel completely betrayed. With Maya shutting her out, Chaya makes a dramatic change to give her twin the space she seems to need. But that’s the last thing Maya wants, and the girls just drift further apart. The once-close sisters can’t seem to find their rhythm, so they make a bet: they’ll switch places at their summer camp, and whoever can keep the ruse going longer will get to decide where they both attend high school—the source of frequent arguments. But stepping into each other’s shoes comes with its own difficulties, and the girls don’t know how they’re going to make it. This emotional, lyrical story will speak to fans of Ali Benjamin, Padma Venkatraman, and Jasmine Warga.

Meet the kids in Mrs. Z's wacky and wonderful third-grade class Rohan Murphy has an ambitious dream to launch his own pet care business, but when he starts small by babysitting the class guinea pig, he makes big mistakes. Rohan Murthy dreams of running a successful business--just like his mom, who's an artist. When Mrs. Z announces that Curiosity Academy needs to raise money for a school garden, Rohan knows it's the perfect moment to launch his dreams He'll start a pet care company to help the people of Peppermint Falls look after their dogs, hamsters, fish, snakes, lizards . . . anything but cats. With hard work, some glittery posters, and the help of his friends from Mrs. Z's class, Rohan knows he can do a lot for the school garden. His parents point out just one small problem: Rohan has never taken care of an animal before. Gulp To get some experience with pets, Rohan volunteers to spend a weekend watching over Honey, the class guinea pig. But Honey appears surprisingly fearful, which makes Rohan nervous too When his big dreams meet his secret fears, what will Rohan decide? Both sweetly poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, with black-and-white illustrations by Pura Belpr Honor artist Kat Fajardo, Rohan's story invites readers into Mrs. Z's class where friendship and fun rule the school, from Newbery Honor-winning author Rajani LaRocca. Perfect for ★ My Weirdtastic School fans ★ Reluctant readers ★ Classroom read-alouds ★ Andrew Clements fans ★ Pet lovers ★ Aspiring business owners Read them all The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class have plenty of stories to share Emma McKenna, Full out (#1) Poppy Song Bakes a Way (#3) The Legend of Memo Castillo (#4) Wyatt Hill Brings a Lizard to School (#5) Ayana Ndoum Takes the Stage (#6) Olive Little Gets Crafty (#7) -- available for preorder now Synclaire Fields Knows the Score (#8) -- available for preorder now Theo Chang is Not a Cat (#9) -- available for preorder now Thunder Nelson Does the Impossumble (#10) -- available for preorder now *The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class is an innovative series where every book is written by a different all-star author and features a different kid in the same third-grade class. They can be read in any order

Newbery Honor Book! A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. * Walter Award Winner * New England Book Award Winner * An NCTE Notable Verse Novel * Golden Kite Award Winner * Crystal Kite Award Winner * Goodreads Choice Nominee * A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year * An SLJ Best Book of the Year * A BookPage Best Book of the Year * An NYPL Best Book of the Year * A Mighty Girl's Best Book of the Year * An ILA Notable Book for a Global Society * A Bank Street Best Book of the Year *Junior Library Guild Selection * A Judy Lopez Memorial Award Honor *Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma. Although their names are linked—Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”—they are a universe apart. Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick. Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again. She’ll be the perfect daughter, if it means saving her Amma’s life. From Indies Introduce author Rajani LaRocca comes a radiant story about the ties that bind and how to go on in the face of unthinkable loss. This is the perfect next read for fans of Jasmine Warga and Thanhhà L?i.

Newbery Honoree Rajani LaRocca, author of I'll Go and Come Back, turns her focus to a careful, deliberate grandfather and his impatient grandson in a cozy family story featuring a recipe for spiced chai. Aarav loves his grandfather very much, but they're as different as water and molasses. Where Aarav runs and races, Thatha likes to saunter and stroll. Every day at five o'clock, Thatha makes masala chai for the family, and no matter how much Aarav urges him to hurry, Thatha insists on taking his time. "Masala chai cannot be rushed," says Thatha. "It must be made carefully." One day, when Thatha sprains his ankle and must rest on the couch, Aarav eagerly decides he'd like to make the chai himself--after all, what would make his grandfather feel better than a cup of warm, spiced sweetness? But no matter how hard Aarav tries, his rushing causes him to miss some crucial step. Will Aarav be able to slow down and get the recipe right? With charming illustrations by Neha Rawat that are as enticing as the aroma of spiced tea, author Rajani LaRocca invites readers in for a visit with Aarav and his family--and shares her favorite masala chai recipe at the end.

From Newbery Honor author Rajani LaRocca comes a celebration of extended family and summertime funSummer is for cousins. Mom and Dad,Two uncles, two aunties,Thatha and Pati,Seven cousins,All of us are together. Ravi can’t wait to spend summer vacation at the lake house with his family—especially his cousins! Summer vacation is for days at the beach, long hikes, paddleboarding, and—of course—ice cream. Ravi and his oldest cousin, Dhruv, had the same favorite flavor last year, but everything feels different now. Dhruv’s much taller and his voice is deeper. Ravi’s worried that Dhruv won’t be interested in spending time with him, the little cousin. The ice cream shop doesn’t even have their favorite flavor this year. But on the last night of vacation, the cousins decide to make dinner, and Ravi’s in charge of dessert. He only has one special thing in mind! This picture book all about summertime fun celebrates the resilient bond between extended family members.

A lyrical introduction to the many wonders of the human heart, from award-winning author and practicing doctor, Dr. Rajani LaRoccaIn this stunning non-fiction picture book, poetry and science come together with playful cut-paper illustrations to create a moving ode to the human heart and all that it does. Complete with illustrative diagrams and copious backmatter, this is a one-of-a-kind non-fiction picture book that gently guides readers through the various systems make up our most vital organ.

Co-written by Newbery Honor-winning author Rajani LaRocca and Chris Baron, this page-turning novel is told through letters, e-mails, instant messages, and video chats between camp friends Tripti and Sam over their shared love of a book series and some mysterious rocks they brought home from summer camp. Eleven-year-olds Tripti Kapoor, a feisty "word nerd" from Massachusetts, and Sam Cohen, a shy, imaginative, budding geologist from California, are both miserable at Camp Dilloway, a summer camp in upstate New York. On the last night of camp, they follow a shooting star to a quiet creek. There they find two silvery rocks glowing in the night. They each take one home, and their long-distance friendship begins. It's soon clear that these are no ordinary rocks. They seem to move on their own, get strangely hot, and even take over Tripti and Sam's thoughts Inspired by their mutual love of their favorite book series, The Dragon Gems, they dub the rocks Opal and Jasper, after the Dragon Gems in the books. But others are interested in the stones too--including the owner of Camp Dilloway, who hides a secret of his own. Tripti and Sam must crack the Dragon Gems' code and keep them out of Dilloway's clutches, all while navigating the rocky road of middle school friendships and learning to stand up for what is right.

A tender, beautifully illustrated story about a girl in America and her grandmother in India, whose love stretches between languages and cultures – and across the world. When Jyoti visits her grandmother halfway around the world, she is overwhelmed by the differences between India and home. At first she feels lonely and out of place, but soon, despite a language barrier, she and Sita Pati are able to understand each other. They form a bond – looking at books together, making designs with coloured sand, shopping at the market, playing games, eating chapatis and sipping warm milk with saffron to bring sweet dreams. When it’s time to part, Jyoti doesn’t want to leave, but then she remembers that in Tamil, people don’t say goodbye, they say “I’ll go and come back.” Sure enough, the two reunite the next summer when Pati visits Jyoti in America, and it’s Jyoti’s turn to make her grandmother feel welcome. Can they create some special memories that will last until the next time they see each other?

This timely book details the importance of vaccines and how they were developed throughout history, as well as how they work to protect your body and keep it healthy. "A lively, informative introduction to vaccines." --Booklist, STARRED REVIEW"Authoritative and reassuring." --Kirkus Reviews "Authoritative and approachable, these pages work hard to supply a measure of calm and common sense to readers." --Publishers Weekly Do you remember every time you've been sick? You may not, but your body does With many illnesses, you can't get sick more than once because your body remembers and fights it off before you get sick again. But what if your body could recognize germs that you've never had before so you don't get ill? There's where vaccines come in This book comes complete with extensive back matter all about types of germs and vaccines.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Kids imparts good values through heartwarming and humourous stories to help kids put their best foot forward. Lucas is the jokester in his squad of friends. He's always sunny--and usually ready with a funny quip or silly joke. His friends are used to Lucas being the life of the party, and the whole apartment building relies on his good humor. But what happens when he's the one who needs cheering up? Another adventure with the everyday heroes of the Sunshine Squad

Celebremos la diversidad, las matem ticas y el poder del cuento Celebrate diversity, math, and the power of storytelling with this bilingual (Spanish and English) edition Ahora en edici n biling e ingl s-espa ol Para la celebraci n hind Raksha Bandhan, Bina decide regalarles a sus hermanos brazaletes de cuentas hechos por ella misma. Para eso averigua qu colores le gusta a cada uno y cu les no, y se pone manos a la obra. Al seguir patrones de cuentas de colores alternados, uno y uno, Bina descubre algo nuevo sobre los patrones... y sobre sus hermanos. Los libros de la serie Cuentos matem ticos celebran las aventuras diarias de ni os que usan las matem ticas mientras juegan, construyen y descubren el mundo que los rodea. Historias divertidas y actividades pr cticas facilitan que tanto los ni os como los adultos exploren juntos las matem ticas de la vida diaria. Fue desarrollada junto a expertos en el curr culum STEM, For the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, Bina is determined to make beaded bracelets for her brothers all by herself. She finds out which colors her brothers like and dislike and sets to work. Working with her every-other-one beading pattern causes Bina to discover something new about patterns--and her brothers. Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

A child, mother, and grandmother travel all the way to the end of the earth in this picture book that celebrates multigenerational love—perfect for fans of Drawn Together and Alma. “I want to see what’s at the end of the earth!” Sejal, Mommy, and Pati travel together to the southern tip of India. Along the way, they share meals, visit markets, and catch up with old friends. For Pati, the trip retraces spaces she knows well. For Mommy, it’s a return to the place she grew up. For Sejal, it’s a discovery of new sights and sounds. The family finds their way to Kanyakumari, where three oceans meet, and delight in making it to the end of the earth together. This own voices picture book celebrates the beauty of India and the enduring love of family.

"Dynamic and eye-catching illustrations. . . . A solid introduction to a complex topic." -Kirkus Reviews"This whimsical approach to explaining the concept of DNA, cells, and chromosomes manages to make a complex topic accessible to preschoolers." -School Library Journal Learn about the secret code that is DNA in this vibrant and informative picture book There's a secret code inside you, a code called DNA. A code that tells your body's cells what they should do each day. It looks like twisted ladders, or tiny, twirling noodles. It makes us into people, instead of into poodles. Why can't humans breathe underwater? Why are some people tall and others short? Why do we resemble our parents and grandparents? This book explores all this and more in flowing, rhyming text, explaining cells, DNA, and genetics in a way that is simple and easy for children to understand. Colorful and brilliantly illustrated, The Secret Code Inside You illustrates that while DNA may be the blueprint for how a person looks, what you choose to do with your body is entirely up to you

Celebrate diversity, math, and the power of storytelling For the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, Bina is determined to make beaded bracelets for her brothers all by herself. She finds out which colors her brothers like and dislike and sets to work. Working with her every-other-one beading pattern causes Bina to discover something new about patterns--and her brothers. Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education non-profit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Celebrate diversity, math, and the power of storytelling For the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, Bina is determined to make beaded bracelets for her brothers all by herself. She finds out which colors her brothers like and dislike and sets to work. Working with her every-other-one beading pattern causes Bina to discover something new about patterns--and her brothers. Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education non-profit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.