Visit Enslow at ALA/Las Vegas Booth #204

Enslow Publishers is proud to continue its decades-long ALA Annual Conference participation this year. You'll find company President Mark Enslow and National Accounts Manager Tim Hoey at the Enslow booth #204. We'll have a daily 30-book raffle, ARCs and samples to take with you, and advance information about our exciting Fall 2014 Blue Wave Classroom print and e-books (including ePub versions suitable for the BYOD school needs!).

See you at ALA/Las Vegas! The exhibition events begin on Friday, June 27th and conclude on Monday, June 30th.

World Cup, Lionel Messi Books Score with Young Readers

The 2014 World Cup, the globe's premier international soccer tournament, began with the excitement of a brilliant Lionel Messi goal. The Argentine striker, considered among the world's best soccer players, is among the Latin stars appearing in the month-long event. Messi is also appearing in two Enslow Publishers' titles this season. Our Speeding Star imprint, designed to encourage young boys to read, features the 48-page Soccer Star Lionel Messi. Author John Albert Torres' well-written text, amplified by excellent color photographs, is an ideal choice for reluctant readers and for those young readers searching for an exciting, quick read on the player.

Enslow's repertoire also features a biography of the South American soccer sensation titled Lionel Messi: A Soccer Star Who Cares. Author Kimberly Gatto's 48-page, full-color biography includes Messi's positive activities in "giving back," as well as fascinating details about his early life and current career.

Both titles are available in paperback, and e-book formats. Buy them now from Blue Wave Classroom/Enslow Publishers, from your preferred vendor, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.com.

New 2014 series on Insects!

Zoom In on Insects is written for the beginning reader. Each of the 6 titles covers a different insect. Color photographs show the insects in their habitat, as well as up close images of the insect's features. Written by Melissa Stewart, these books are sure to please the young insect lover!

Available in library, paperback, and e-book formats, these books can be found at your preferred vendor, local bookstores, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Happy Birthday Taylor Swift

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978-1-59845-286-0 Paperback

Enslow's biography, written for the middle school student, offers personal stories, quotes, as well as a timeline of Taylor Swift's life and success. Written by award-winning author Jeff Burlingame, this title gives insight into Taylor's life for her fans.

The Hot Celebrity Biographies series is also correlated to the Common Core. These titles are available in library, paperback, and eBook formats, and is available from your preferred vendor, local independent bookstore, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Looking for inventor biographies for different grade levels?

Genius Inventors and Their Great Ideas is written for the upper elementary reader, while Genius at Work! Great Inventor Biographies is geared toward the middle school reader.

The seven titles in Genius Inventors and Their Great Ideas cover Philo T. Farnsworth (TV,) George Ferris (Ferris wheel,) Stephanie Kwolek (Kevlar,) Theodore H. Maiman (laser,) James Naismith (basketball,) Les Paul (electric guitar,) and Vivien Thomas (cardiac surgery.) All of these titles are correlated to the Common Core, and are available in library, paperback, and eBook formats.

The Genius at Work! Great Inventor Biographies series contains six titles, each of which is also correlated to the Common Core. George Ferris, Theodore H. Maiman, and Les Paul are also in this series, with the addition of Thomas Gallaudet (sign language,) Igor Sikorsky (helicopter,) and Madam C.J. Walker (hair care products.) These titles are available as library-bound books.

All of the above titles can be found at your local independent bookstore, your preferred vendor, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and 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!

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.

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.

Joke books for upper elementary students

As part of the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards, the titles in the Funnier Bone Jokes series meet the standards for Reading, Writing, and Language.

This six-title series, written for third and fourth graders, not only includes fun and silly jokes, knock-knock jokes, limericks, tongue twisters, and fun facts for readers to tell each other, it also includes an activity section. In Funny Valentine's Day Jokes, readers are directed in creating their own valentine. Kooky Halloween Jokes instructs students in creating their own knock-knock jokes. Ho-Ho-Ho Christmas Jokes includes a make your own card activity. Corny Thanksgiving Jokes instructs the reader in how to write a limerick. The activity in Brainless Birthday Jokes shows the reader how to make a funny birthday card. The activity in April Fool's Day Jokes helps the reader pull a prank on a friend or family member.

All of the books in the Funner Bone Joke series are available in library, paperback, and eBook formats. They are available from your preferred vendor, your local independent bookstore, enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Family Health and Fitness Day

Handy Health Guides, a 12-book series, is written for the middle school reader. Each 48-page book

contains information about the science behind common illnesses and injuries, and includes an activity.

Some of the topics covered include ADHD, bites and stings, burns and blisters, dyslexia, diabetes, and headaches. Did you know that Orlando Bloom is dyslexic? So is Britney Spears! And George Clooney! President Woodrow Wilson was also dyslexic, and he was a college professor before he became president. It seems that dyslexia is detected more often in boys, but just as many girls have dyslexia. It is thought that boys have a tendency to misbehave in class if they have learning problems, which the teacher will notice, however girls have a tendency to keep to themselves and will not try to attract attention.

Interested in any of these titles? They are all available in library and paperback editions, as well as in single-user and multi-user PDFs and as epubs. You can contact your preferred vendor or local independent bookstore, as well as find the books on enslow.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

See Mark Enslow Up Close With Poison Dart Frogs

In light of New York State's and New York City's adoption of Enslow Publishers' Poison Dart Frogs Up Close into the Grade 3 curriculum, company president Mark Enslow recently hit the road in search of these beautiful, but lethal, creatures. Mark was able to get up close with poison dart frogs (as shown in the photograph) during a visit to a Pennsylvania site that humanely showcases benign or deadly amphibians and reptiles.

Right now, young readers can safely up close with poison dart frogs with Enslow's Poison Dart Frogs Up Close. Author Carmen Bredeson's 24-page, Guided Reading Level K work offers on-target informational text, excellent color photographs, and a reader-friendly design. The book is available in paperback direclty from Enslow Publishers for $6.95. A library-bound edition and a multi-user e-book version is also available.

Poison Dart Frogs Up Close is also available from your preferred vendor, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

Animal Bodies Up Close

Did you know that honeybees have more than two eyes? Or that squirrels use their tails for balance? Or that hippos have their ears on top of their heads? Or that polar bears have the best sense of smell of any animal on Earth? Or that a cow uses its tongue to clean its nose? Or that one sea star has hundreds of feet?

Discover the answers to these and other questions in the Animal Bodies Up Close series, written for the elementary reader. Each title in this series has a words to know section, a learn more section, and index, as well as a guessing game.

All six titles in this series fit Reading and Language Common Core standards, and are available in library, paperback, eBook, and book/eBook combos. They are available from your preferred vendor, enslow.com, your local independent bookstore, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

Looking for a craft book for Halloween?

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978-0-7660-3731-1 Paperback

Haunted House Adventure Crafts is a 32 page book written for upper elementary readers. Not only does this title give instructions on creating crafts, it also has a feature about creating your own story using those crafts.

Want to make a coffin? How about a mummy or a skeleton? How about a haunted house or Frankenstein? Following step-by-step instructions and using easily found materials, if readers are not interested in creating their own story, they can read the scary story included at the end of the book.

This title is available from enslow.com, your preferred vendor, local independent bookstores, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Biographies about Inventors

For STEM Friday, we are going to focus on two series for the upper elementary/lower middle school reader. Both series focus on inventors.


Genius Inventors and Their Great Ideas, a new series for 2013 and written for the upper elementary reader, takes the reader on a journey of learning how different inventions were made and created. One of the books in this series is about Stephanie Kwolek, the woman behind the creation of a fiber, made from petroleum and other products, that was eventually used in bullet-resistant vests.

Other titles in this series focus on Theodore H. Maiman, Les Paul, George Ferris, Philo T. Farnsworth, James Naismith, and Vivien Thomas. All of these titles are 48 pages in length, and are available in library, paperback, ePUB, single-user PDF, and multi-user PDF formats.



The Genius at Work! Great Inventor Biographies series is written for the lower middle school reader. This series also covers six inventors: Madam C. J. Walker, Igor Sikorsky, Thomas H. Gallaudet, W. K. Kellogg, Samuel Colt, and Ralph Baer. Each book is 32 pages in length, and is available in a library edition.

Titles from both of these series are available from your preferred vendor, enslow.com, local independent bookstores, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Review of Body System Disease Investigations in Library Media Connection

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The August/September 2013 issue of Library Media Connection includes a review of the five titles in the Body System Disease Investigations series.

Here is an excerpt from that review:

"Annie Biotica stars in this series as a 'Disease Scene Investigator.' In each title, Biotica walks us through one of the body systems. Five 'cases' in which the back story and symptoms of diseases attributed to that system are presented...With its colorful, concise format, this series is as delightful as gross body books come."

These five titles, with the help of a supersleuth character named "Annie Biotica," present real-life scenarios of infections, helping middle school readers experience the scientific method that medical teams and scientists use to decipher symptoms and lab test results. Each book contains five chapters, in which each chapter covers a different disease/ailment set up as a "case." This engaging and fun series makes the health and life science content more relevant to the student's own life.

The five titles are:
The Case of the Flesh-Eating Bacteria
The Case of the Infected Tick
The Case of the Rusty Nail
The Case of the Sneezy Popcorn
The Case of the Undercooked Burger

All five of these titles are available in library, paperback, and eBook versions, and are available from your preferred vendor, enslow.com, local independent bookstores, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Math Word Problems? "No Problem" With Enslow Math Titles

Math word problems are increasingly appearing on high-stakes mathematics assessment tests for the Common Core and for specific state requirements. These problems, which require reasoning as well as performing mathematical operations, take considerable practice to master. Finding suitable, concise material to help students grasp these challenges is not easy.

Enslow Publishers offers a solution. Our Problem Solving and Word Problem Smarts! title provides excellent, step-by-step instructions and examples that bring clarity to mathematical issues. Author Rebecca Wingard-Nelson's 64-page work includes useful problem-solving tips and organizational suggestions that can contribute to improved performance and academic success.

Problem Solving and Word Problem Smarts!, part of Enslow's "Ace Your Math Test" series, is available in a paperback edition for $7.95. A library-bound edition is available directly from Enslow Publishers for $20.95; that price represents a 25% school/library discount from Enslow's list price.

The book is also available from your preferred vendor, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Math Biographies for the Common Core

The Common Core embraces the notion that reading literacy is a goal in all subject areas. That direction includes mathematics. To address this idea, Enslow Publishers offers a number of age-appropriate biographies that incorporate information-rich texts on mathematicians and their contributions to the field.

For example, Enslow's "Great Minds of Ancient Science and Math" includes a biography of the Greek mathematician Euclid. Author Paul Hightower's well-written, 128-page work delivers a lively look at Euclid's life and profound contributions to understanding geometry and the reasoning underlying its axioms. The book provides an excellent text for math teachers to use for Common Core literacy development.

Hightower's The Father of Geometry: Euclid and His 3-D World is available in a library-bound format directly from Enslow Publishers for $23.95. That price represents a 25% school/library discount from Enslow's list price for the title. The book is also available from your preferred vendor, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

Animal Stories + Math = Enslow Common Core Success

Enslow's "Math Fun with Sebastian Pig and Friends" embraces fun reading with solid math skill development for young readers. Author Jill Anderson's and illustrator Amy Huntington's winsome six-book series features 32-page books that students can use in class, share in read-along sessions, or read at home. Each of these AR 1.8-2.0 illustrated books address a key mathematical operation, such as addition, subtraction, measurement, geometry, or counting. One title focuses on money math. The books make a strong contribution to a library, media center, or classroom's collection, and are appropriate for Common Core supplemental materials needs.

Titles in the "Math Fun with Sebastian Pig and Friends" series are available in library-bound, paperback, and e-book formats. The library-bound book may be purchased directly from Enslow Publishers for $16.95 per title; that price represents a 25% discount from Enslow's list price for each book. Paperbacks are available for $6.95. The multi-user e-book is available directly from Enslow for $21.95; that price represents a 25% discount from Enslow's list price for these items.

What is the 4th of July?

Enslow Publishers celebrates our nation's birthday all throughout the year with fun,

easy-to-read books about the symbols, traditions, and crafts that teach children 

about the 4th of July holiday.

Enslow books can be purchased directly from Enslow, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, independent bookstores, and your favorite vendors.