The New York Times bestselling author of Dangerous Minds continues her inspiring story. "These jagged, elegant true stories ripple with giggles and gunfire. Required reading. A+".--Entertainment Weekly.

The New York Times bestselling author of Dangerous Minds continues her inspiring story. "These jagged, elegant true stories ripple with giggles and gunfire. Required reading. A+".--Entertainment Weekly.

Told with humor and heart, The Boy at the Back of the Class offers a child's perspective on the refugee crisis, highlighting the importance of friendship and kindness in a world that doesn't always make sense. There used to be an empty chair at the back of Mrs. Khan's classroom, but on the third Tuesday of the school year a new kid fills it: nine-year-old Ahmet, a Syrian refugee. The whole class is curious about this new boy--he doesn't seem to smile, and he doesn't talk much. But after learning that Ahmet fled a Very Real War and was separated from his family along the way, a determined group of his classmates bands together to concoct the Greatest Idea in the World--a magnificent plan to reunite Ahmet with his loved ones. This accessible, kid-friendly story about the refugee crisis highlights the community-changing potential of standing as an ally and reminds readers that everyone deserves a place to call home. "This moving and timely debut novel tells an enlightening, empowering, and ultimately hopeful story about how compassion and a willingness to speak out can change the world." --School Library Journal, Starred Review Overall Winner of the 2019 UK Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winner of the 2019 UK Blue Peter Book Award A CLIP Carnegie Medal Children's Book Award Nominee

A young high school teacher recounts the struggle to keep her students in school and out of trouble

The beloved bestseller from Newbery Medalist and National Book Award winner Louis Sachar (Holes), with a brand-new cover! “Give me a dollar or I’ll spit on you.” That’s Bradley Chalkers for you. He’s the oldest kid in the fifth grade. He tells enormous lies. He picks fights with girls, and the teachers say he has serious behavior problems. No one likes him—except Carla, the new school counselor. She thinks Bradley is sensitive and generous, and she even enjoys his far-fetched stories. Carla knows that Bradley could change, if only he weren’t afraid to try. But when you feel like the most hated kid in the whole school, believing in yourself can be the hardest thing in the world. . . .

An updated and revised edition of the controversial classic—now more relevant than ever—argues that boys are the ones languishing socially and academically, resulting in staggering social and economic costs. Girls and women were once second-class citizens in the nation’s schools. Americans responded with concerted efforts to give girls and women the attention and assistance that was long overdue. Now, after two major waves of feminism and decades of policy reform, women have made massive strides in education. Today they outperform men in nearly every measure of social, academic, and vocational well-being. Christina Hoff Sommers contends that it’s time to take a hard look at present-day realities and recognize that boys need help. Called “provocative and controversial...impassioned and articulate” (The Christian Science Monitor), this edition of The War Against Boys offers a new preface and six radically revised chapters, plus updates on the current status of boys throughout the book. Sommers argues that the problem of male underachievement is persistent and worsening. Among the new topics Sommers tackles: how the war against boys is harming our economic future, and how boy-averse trends such as the decline of recess and zero-tolerance disciplinary policies have turned our schools into hostile environments for boys. As our schools become more feelings-centered, risk-averse, competition-free, and sedentary, they move further and further from the characteristic needs of boys. She offers realistic, achievable solutions to these problems that include boy-friendly pedagogy, character and vocational education, and the choice of single-sex classrooms. The War Against Boys is an incisive, rigorous, and heartfelt argument in favor of recognizing and confronting a new reality: boys are languishing in education and the price of continued neglect is economically and socially prohibitive.

This two-volume exploration of what might be termed "interpersonal war and peace" reveals why individuals and groups coalesce or collide, and how more positive relationships can be achieved. In this two-volume set, the most comprehensive treatment of its subject to date, eminent social scientists explore the processes involved in becoming friends—or enemies. Volume 1, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Insights, focuses on friendship and enmity between individuals, examining situations that arise in romances, at school, at work, and between races, genders, and sexual identities. The text is enriched by a discussion of individual interactions in classic books and movies, what those stories reflect, and what they teach about human nature. Volume 2, Group and Intergroup Understanding, focuses on group dynamics across time and around the globe. Topics range from group interactions before and after the American Civil War to friendship and enmity between Afghans and Americans today. The work's ultimate concern, however, is to present ways in which individuals, groups, and nations can learn to be friends.