Welcome to Pam's Picks
Meet Pam, our professional librarian.
Pam carefully selects all of our titles, from hundreds of publishers using reviews, curriculum standards, and, ultimately, what kids will want to read. She takes the guess work out of selection so you know you're getting the best titles for your library, no matter what you choose!
Keep coming back to Pam's Picks to get her honest opinion and her top recommendations.
| Super3 Kit
- Brought to you by Mike Eisenberg and the rest of the Big6™ people
- Research at a VERY low level – for grades K-3 (yes, they’re requiring “research” that young)
- Different from other kits; no student books
- Kit includes teacher’s book, student project templates, stickers, PP presentation, bookmarks and posters
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| American Experience Set
- Great HS set
- Wonderful reviews
- 4 books on general topics (Working, Poverty, Slavery, Religion)
- 20% off set, since it is pricey
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| American Symbols Set
- For young (K-3) students
- Illustrated nonfiction
- American symbols in many state curricula
- General interest topics too
- 12 books
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| National Geographic Investigates Set
- National Geo a perfect publisher for Ancient History
- Amazing photos, of course
- 10 book set includes India, China and Africa
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| Horse Power
- Shows horses in different “occupations” (e.g., police, therapy, show)
- Horses always popular
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| Art Off the Wall Set
- Really cool topics that kids want to know more about
- 5 books on topics like animation, video game graphics, and commercial design
- Unique
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| Encyclopedia of Art for Young People
- 8 volumes
- For grades 5-12
- Covers a wide range of subjects
- Not many relatively low level art reference books
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| Blue Banner Biographies
- New titles for fall: Akon, Chris Brown, Chris Daughtry, Ciara, David Ortiz, Fergie, Jessica Simpson, Johnny Depp, JoJo, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban, Mary J. Blige, Nancy Pelosi, Shakira, Zac Efron
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| Up Close Biographies
- 5 books, 2 starred reviews (so far)
- More than 200pp.
- Weird group of people: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Oprah Winfrey, Rachel Carson, Robert F. Kennedy
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| Dream Jobs Set
- AWESOME for upper elementary (grades 3-5)
- Very high interest topics: sports stars, actor, rock star
- Gives actual career paths
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| Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance
- New edition of a classic reference
- Perennial best seller
- Last update 2005
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| Media Literacy Set
- Media literacy part of many states’ curricula
- Makes kids look at the messages they’re receiving from TV, movies, and other media
- Includes Virtually True: Questioning Online Media
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| Dinosaur Find
- 4 subsets, based on continent, behavior (fast, fierce), ecosystem, and US region
- Picture book-y; kids will love to look at them
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| Eyewitness Books
- 4 subsets, based on continent, behavior (fast, fierce), ecosystem, and US region
- 8 new editions, 4 new titles (Mesopotamia, China, Oil, Great Scientists)
- All of these come with a CD-ROM with DK clipart to use
- Same price!
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| Languages for Dummies
- Audio-based – 3 CDs + booklet
- Many people feel stupid when learning languages, so it’s a friendly take on the subject
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| Our Rights
- Topic is perennial; series have sold very well, good to get in a single volume
- From OUP, who did Our Constitution and First Freedoms
- Lots of primary source stuff
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| Dance Set
- Do you know a young girl who doesn’t dance? Didn’t think so
- Other dance series popular, now OP
- Includes ballet, tap, hip hop and more
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| The Cars of Overhaulin' with Chip Foose
- Chip Foose hosts popular TV show
- Great appeal to YA boys
- Cool pictures
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| Map Mania Set
- For Grades 1-3
- Go along great with Fun with Maps Set
- Introduces the basics of map reading using a kid-friendly format (not scarily technical)
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| Middle Reader
- Lots of new books by favorite authors: Andrew Clements Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell (Edge Set) Anthony Horowitz (Gatekeepers Set) Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver (Hank Zipzer Set) Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Set) Sharon Creech Erin Hunter (Warriors Sets) Jack Gantos (I Am Not Joey Pigza) Jerry Spinelli (Love, Stargirl)
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| Graphic Military History
- Was only in Graphics catalog before, may have been overlooked
- Good reviews
- Good topic for graphic representation
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| Landmark Events in Native American History Set
- Finally, a series on Native American history for upper grades (9+)
- Not arranged by tribe
- Covers topics such as Code Talkers, the Trail of Tears, etc.
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| Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America
- A cheaper alternative to the Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes
- More colorful pictures
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| Extreme Environmental Threats Set
- All the fun topics currently in the news, including Antarctic Melting, Climate Change, Rising Seas, and Ultraviolet Danger
- Great for junior high through 10th grade reports
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| Making a Difference Set
- 4 books focused on the 3 ecological Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle
- For younger (grades 2-5) kids, who are learning about these topics
- Had gotten requests from librarians for books on recycling
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| Our Wild World Ecosytems Set
- Because you just can’t have too many biomes books
- 2/3 have starred reviews
- Author investigates and photographs the ecosystems himself
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| An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming
- Kids’ version! (Well, grades 5-12)
- Less wonky, more understandable
- Starred review
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| Beginning Vivarium Systems Set
- Reptile/Amphibian books for kids
- Very colorful, very no nonsense, and very much aimed at kids
- Snakes coming in spring (right now just lizards and turtles and tortoises)
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| Great Joy
- New Kate DiCamillo’s new picture book
- Everyone LOVES Kate!
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| TIPS Set
- Made up of content from the TIPS column in LMC – all submitted by librarians
- 2 levels, elementary and secondary
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| Grant Writing for Dummies
- A great resource according to development personnel
- CHEAP but not aimed specifically at librarians (unlike the $95 grantwriting book we’d carried before)
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| Groundwork Guides Set
- New series
- Great reviews, including starred for Being Muslim
- Not pro/con
- Other topics include Climate Change, Empire, Genocide and Pornography (with Sex for Guys for Spring!)
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| Merriam-Webster's Visual Dictionary
- Absolutely gorgeous book
- Huge
- INCLUDES DEFINITIONS! (Oooh, ahhhh)
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| MySpace for Dummies
- Popular social networking site
- Includes some safety advice for people posting profiles
- Librarians covering grades 8 and up will be interested
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| Early Bird Earth Science
- Lots of great reviews
- Ties in nicely with early (Gr 2-4) science core curriculum
- Includes important curricular titles (e.g. Earth’s Crust) along with high interest (e.g., Volcanoes)
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| Earth’s Spheres
- “Core” earth science topic
- Very attractive layout
- Includes inner and outer spheres – the lithosphere to the outer atmosphere
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| Graphic Science Set
- Explores various science topics in a graphic format
- Topics include photosynthesis, magnetism, and science safety
- Lead character Max Axiom, Super Scientist
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| Encyclopedia of World Scientists
- Contains almost 1,000 scientists, almost half female
- Covers all disciplines and from 600 BCE forwards
- Includes all of the big guys and also scientists that other works don’t cover
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| It’s Elementary: Put the Crackle in Chemistry
- Elements for students in grades 3-7
- DK book, has DK appeal
- Needs some handselling, not immediately obvious it’s about elements
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| Rourke's World of Science Encyclopedia
- 10 volumes: Human Life, Animal Life, Plant Life, Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy and Space, Mathematics, Technology, and a Cumulative Index with Research Projects
- Developed with state and national science curricula in mind
- For grades 3-8, and covers the diverse topics at those levels
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| Exploring the Galaxy Set
- VERY young (Gr K-4) space set
- Oversized format with huge, attractive photos
- All new books include the Pluto demotion
- Lots of updated books are in the section (e.g., Exploring the Galaxy set, First Facts Solar System set and Ten Worlds, all of which were only a year or two old.)
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| Girls Got Game
- Includes a few “girly” sports (figure skating, softball, volleyball); the rest (basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, ice hockey, skateboarding and snowboarding) are more unisex and harder to find girl-focused books on
- See also Gymnastics Set for more girl sports (and of course Cheerleading Set)
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| Go Guides Set
- More adventure-y sports (climbing, skiing, sailing)
- Include how-to DVDs
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| The Great Outdoors Set
- Revamped Capstone series
- Includes hunting and fishing books along with camping, canoeing, hiking, and snowmobiling
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| Inside College Football Set
- MANY requests for college football books
- Organized by conference
- For grades 5-10; good for hooking older reluctant readers
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| Team Spirit
- 3 separate groups: baseball, basketball, and football
- Focus on individual teams
- My brother helped on one of the books – and so did Jamie Feldman! (And Gloria Miller!)
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| The Child's World® Encyclopedia of the NFL
- 4 volumes
- Grades 3-9
- A kids’ multivolume reference set on an extremely high-interest topic
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| Go! The Whole World of Transportation
- Single volume book covers all modes
- Starred review from SLJ
- You can lose yourself in this one, no matter how little you care about the topic!
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| America the Beautiful Set
- New edition
- Suitable for older grades; about the same level as Enchantment of the World
- First 13 books are due in November
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| Regions of the United States Set
- A lot of state curricula mandate teaching US geography regionally
- This is the 7 region breakdown
- Attractive books
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| Global Connections Set
- Very teen-focused: text is about teens and about teens’ interests
- Lots of cultural details: school, music, fashion, “typical day”
- Differentiates between urban and rural life
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| Places In Time Set
- Tracks countries that have come and gone
- Helpful for students who don’t realize places like Myanmar had other names or what area places like the Ottoman Empire actually covered
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| Welcome to the World Set
- For younger readers (grades 2-5)
- Very attractive photos and layout
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| Life in Elizabethan England Set
- Same format as Life in the Middle Ages and Life in the Renaissance
- Absolutely beautiful books with in-depth information
- See also Life in Ancient Egypt, also new this year
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| A Painful History of Childhood Set
- High interest presentation of world history topics
- Great (i.e., sometimes gruesome) photos
- Who can resist titles like Freaky Fashion and Foul Food and Scary Schools and Horrid Homework??
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| Holocaust
- DK book and DVD combo
- Pictures amazing, of course
- Starred review in PW – talks about how there’s almost “too much information” included
- Real draw is the DVD with survivors telling their stories
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| Young Adult
- Like Middle, there’s a lot of new books by favorite authors: Darren Shan (Demonata) Eoin Colfer Gary Paulsen Louise Rennison (Georgia Nicholson) Lauren Myracle Mary Hoffman (The Falconer’s Knot) Meg Cabot (Meg Cabot AND Princess Diaries) Stephenie Meyer Walter Dean Myers
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| Pendragon Set
- Best-selling series
- Had only been available in paperback, now available in hardcover
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| Children of Hurin
- Posthumously-published book by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Finished by his son, Christopher
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