A is for Algonquin: an Ontario Alphabet. Lovenia Gorman & Melanie Rose, $19.95

A is for Algonquin: an Ontario Alphabet introduces young readers to all the beauty of this spectacular province. Written with the charm and knowledge of a life long resident, A is for Algonquin teaches youngsters of all ages about Ontario's inhabitants, history, flora and fauna, movers and shakers.

Also in this series:

C is for Chinook: an Alberta Alphabet. Dawn Welykochy & Lorna Bennett, $24.95
M Is For Maple: a Canadian Alphabet. Michael Ulmer & Melanie Rose-Popp, $12.95
P is for Puffin: a Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet. Janet Skirving & Odell Archibald, $24.95
S is for Spirit Bear: a British Columbia Alphabet. G. Gregory Roberts & Bob Doucet, $24.95
Z is for Zamboni: a Hockey Alphabet. Matt Napier, illustrated by Melanie Rose, $12.95

ABCs Write & Wipe! Lowercase Letters. Kumon Flash Cards. $11.95 (Ages 2 +)

ABCs Write & Wipe! Uppercase Letters. Kumon Flash Cards. $13.50 (Ages 2 +)

These unique write and wipe flash cards will help children learn to write their upper and lower case ABCs. Each card features the outline of a letter on one side with proper stroke order noted, and a picture and word illustrating the letter on the other. Each set includes a non-toxic dry erase marker so children can practice writing their letters again and again.

Also available: Numbers 1-30 Write & Wipe! Kumon Flash Cards. $13.50 (Ages 2 +)

The American Sign Language Phrase Book, 3rd Edition. Lou Fant & Barbara Bernstein Fant, $20.95

The American Sign Language Phrase Book is the reference guide to everyday expressions in American Sign Language. Clearly illustrated with hundreds of line drawings, this book focuses on areas such as health, family, school, sports, travel, religion, time, money, food and drink, and small talk. This edition's new chapter on technology boasts 50 signs to help you communicate about the Internet, computing, video relay, and more. There is even a chapter that gives you signs for communicating about signing: asking people to sign slower, indicating your finger-spelling ability, and requesting help with your fledgling skills. From asking simple questions to more complex phrases, The American Sign Language Phrase Book gives you the power to communicate easily and comfortably in ASL.

Animal Match-Up Puzzle. Garlic Press, $13.95

A complement to the Early Sign Language board books. For older learners, this 26 two-piece/two-sided puzzle set allows puzzle parts to be combined in a variety of ways to reinforce letters of the alphabet, sign language, and early reading pre-skills.

ARCTIC A to Z. Wayne Lynch, $7.95

Each page of this beautiful book tells the story of a different plant, animal or natural wonder found in the arctic — one for each letter of the alphabet.

Baby Read-Aloud Basics: Fun and Interactive Ways to Help Your Little One Discover the World of Words. Caroline Blakemore & Barbara Weston Ramirez, $19.95

Filled with step-by-step instructions and a list of recommended titles, Baby Read-Aloud Basics gives you all the guidance and information you need to instill a lifelong love of reading and learning, and start your baby along on the road to success.

Baby Sign Language Basics: Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers. Monta Briant, $16.95

Make sign language a part of everyday life with young children. Includes over 300 ASL signs, songs and family demonstrations.

Baby Sign Language Basics Flash Cards. Monta Briant, $14.95

Talk and sign about the objects on the cards — just as you would with a picture book!

Bee Smart Baby ACTION WORDS!™ - Baby BumbleBee™ series!
DVD format, 3 volumes, $22.95 each volume

The award-winning Bee Smart Baby™ series of language development DVD's are great tools for enhancing your child's language development. In the Vocabulary Builder Series, common nouns are introduced while Action Words!™ focuses on common verbs. Set to the music of classical composers, the Bee Smart Baby™ series uses techniques proven effective in successful language learning. The DVD's also include an interactive Sign Language Tutor; a Reading Tutor as well as games and fun facts to increase learning interest and the option of learning the featured words in French, Spanish, German or Japanese. Baby BumbleBee™ DVD's are also recommended for use with children who have language and developmental delays.

The Best Children’s Books of the Year, 100th Anniversary Edition. The Children’s Book Committee, Bank Street College of Education, $10.50

Searching for the right book for a toddler’s birthday? Trying to turn your reluctant teen into an avid reader? The Children’s Book Committee has selected the best recently published books for children and young adults in this easy-to-use, annotated and beautifully illustrated guide. Teachers, parents, grandparents and librarians have come to rely on this delightful publication for 100 years. This anniversary edition includes a list of “classic” literature from the last century. Rediscover old favourites that are still relevant today!

Beyond Bedtime Stories: a Parent’s Guide to Promoting Reading, Writing and Other Literacy Skills from Birth to 5. Susan Bennett-Armistead, Nell Duke & Annie Moses, $24.99

Taking a "literacy-throughout-the-day" approach, the authors organize the book around spaces in the home-the kitchen, bedroom, living room, and so forth-and suggest fun, stimulating activities for building children's reading and writing, listening, and speaking skills in those spaces. Filled with tips, photos, milestones to watch for, and great ideas to try today, Beyond Bedtime Stories is essential reading.

The Big Book of Exclamations. Teri Peterson, illustrated by Chris McAllister, $17.95

A fun, educational book designed to promote speech sound development and imitation of gestures, sounds and words.

Bilingual by Choice: Raising Kids in Two (or More) Languages. Virginie Raguenaud, $23.95

In Bilingual by Choice, Virginie Raguenaud guides parents on how to introduce a second language to their children. She also provides insights, resources, and activities for raising children who will go on to become bilingual adults. This book is the first of its kind to address bilingualism from the cradle through adolescence. Raguenaud uses practical strategies and techniques for any family or instructor to ensure that kids stay engaged and active in every language available to them. By using creativity, consistency and commitment in the classroom (as well as the living room), teaching children a second language can be fun as well as beneficial.

The Bilingual Edge: Why, When, and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language. Kendall King & Alison Mackey, $19.95

Many parents want their children to have the lifelong cultural and intellectual advantages that come from speaking more than one language. The Bilingual Edge translates the latest research into interactive strategies and quick tips that will help parents wade through the hype and provide clear insights into what actually works.

First Signs Match-Up Puzzle. Garlic Press, $13.95

A complement to the Early Sign Language board books, this boxed set contains 26 two-piece puzzles. Suitable for 2 years and up. Pieces match signs and pictures appropriate for young learners. Appropriate for early language development and development of expressive language skills.

Help Your Child with Literacy, Ages 3-7. Caroline Coxon, $20.95

Help Your Child with Literacy is a quick and practical overview on how to best help your young child with their developing skills in reading and writing.

Also available: Help Your Child with Literacy, Ages 7-11. Caroline Coxon, $24.95

How Language Works: How Babies Babble, Words Change Meaning and Languages Live or Die. David Crystal, $22.00

In this fascinating survey of everything from how sounds become speech to how names work, David Crystal answers every question you might ever have had about the nuts and bolts of language in his usual highly illuminating way. Along the way we find out about eyebrow flashes, whistling languages, how parents teach their children to speak, how politeness travels across languages and how the way we talk show not just how old we are but where we're from and even who we want to be.

M is for Maple: a Canadian Alphabet. Mike Ulmer, illustrated by Melanie Rose-Popp, $12.95

In clever rhymes and informative text, author Mike Ulmer shares the unique details of Canada. Illustrator Melanie Rose has captured the beauty and splendor of Canada, from the Northern Lights to brave Mounties and the beautiful cities of Toronto, Victoria, and Quebec. Destined to become a national classic, M is for Maple is a treasure for Canadians young and old.

Magnetic Poetry Kit® — First Words: Kid-Friendly, Creative Wordplay! $20.95

This box contains over 140 big, thick word magnets just right for little fingers. Your kids break the magnet sheets into separate tiles and install them on your fridge, a cookie sheet or any steel surface and watch a love of language emerge. Includes a special kid's guide to Magnetic Poetry. Great fun for families and educators.

Maisy's Amazing Big Book of Words. Lucy Cousins, $18.50

Open the cover and enter Maisy’s amazing world of words! This mega-Maisy book is bursting with pictures and first words perfectly suited to a preschooler’s brand-new interests, from friends to farm animals, favorite toys to things that go. Sixty-four pages, twenty-five fabulous flaps, and more than 300 wonderful words combine in a colorful, can’t-put-down collection from award-winning artist Lucy Cousins.

Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I Don’t). Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Michael Emberley, $22.99

A librarian and a contrarian face off in this tale of a reluctant reader.

a northern alphabet. Ted Harrison, $9.99 (ages 4 and up)

This beautiful alphabet book was created by one of the Yukon’s best known and loved artists, for the children of the North and for anyone intrigued by the beauty of life in far northern communities.

Playful Reading: Positive, Fun Ways to Build the Bond between Preschoolers, Books, and You. Carolyn Munson-Benson, $39.95

Want to boost a child’s love of reading while making your time together more fun and meaningful? Playful Reading takes readers on a joyful romp through asset-rich children's picture books, emphasizing early literacy skills, reading for pleasure, and the eight asset categories. This collection is a terrific resource for teachers, daycare providers, parents, grandparents—anyone who spends time with children. Playful Reading comes full of activities, discussion topics, and ways to create memorable moments between children and the adults who read to them.

Read! Move! Learn! Carol Totsky Hammett & Nicki Collins Geigert, $27.95

Enhance literacy skills, bring the magic of a good book to the classroom, and encourage active, healthy lifestyles in young children with Read! Move! Learn! This book has more than 150 active learning experiences based on popular children’s books. In addition to the activities for each featured children’s book, you will find theme connections, lesson objectives, a vocabulary list, a concept list, and related children’s books and music for hours of fun in the classroom.

Reading Together: Everything You Need to Know to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read. Diane Frankenstein, $18.50

This engaging guide shares advice for parents, teachers, librarians, and caregivers on how to help children find what to read, and then through conversation, how to find meaning and pleasure in their reading. With more than 100 great book recommendations for kids from Pre-K through grade six, as well as related conversation starters, Reading Together offers a winning equation to turn children into lifelong readers.

Reading with Babies, Toddlers and Twos: a Guide to Choosing, Reading and Loving Books Together. Susan Straub & KJ Dell’Antonia, $18.50

Reading with Babies, Toddlers and Twos is a fun, interactive guide for parents on what to read, when to read and how to read to children ages zero to three. It answers the questions of parents, expectant parents and grandparents who wander through the bookstore scanning the shelves, wondering “what comes after Goodnight Moon?”

7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual Child. Naomi Steiner, $19.50

For families whose children are learning a second or third language, this book offers insightful and powerful strategies to help with this enriching experience - at home and at school.

Signing Smart Board Books

My First Signs. Michelle Anthony & Reyna Lindert, $8.99

What Do You See? Michelle Anthony & Reyna Lindert, $8.99

Your child has a lot to say! Though he or she may not yet be speaking fluently, your child can tell you many exciting things — with signs.

Supporting Children’s Reading, 2nd Edition. Margaret Hughes & Peter Guppy, $55.50

A complete short course for teaching assistants, volunteer helpers and parents.

Talk to Me, Baby! How You Can Support Young Children's Language Development. Betty Bardige, $32.95

Playful, engaging talk with young children is much more than a social activity: it's the foundation of language, intellectual, and social-emotional development, and it's also the key to narrowing the achievement gap between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Now there's a practical, easy-to-read guidebook that shows professionals and parents how to talk to and play with young children in ways that directly support their emerging language skills.

With passion, warmth, and wisdom, early education expert Betty Bardige takes readers on a fascinating tour through six stages in a young child's language development—starting with the "baby babbles” of infancy and ending with the early literacy skills of the preschool and kindergarten years.

Talking Hands. Margalit Fox, $17.50

In a remote village in the Middle East, where everyone uses sign language, scientists are discovering the essential ingredients of all human language and deepening our understanding of cognitive development.

What Does a LION Say? And Other Playful Language Games. PBS & the Between the Lions Staff, $18.95

With on-the-go games that are perfect for busy lifestyles, this book is filled with fun and easy literacy games for you to play with your children anytime, anywhere.

What to Read When: the Books and Stories to Read with Your Child and All the Best Times to Read Them. Pam Allyn, $21.00

A celebration of storytelling, What to Read When shows parents how choosing the right books can shape thoughtful, creative, curious children with a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

Z is for Zamboni: a Hockey Alphabet. Matt Napier, illustrated by Melanie Rose, $9.95

Z is for Zamboni is an ode to hockey fans young and old across North America. Matt Napier's ‘breakaway’ rhymes and ‘hard-checking’ expository text team up with the top-shelf illustrations of Melanie Rose to elucidate this increasingly popular game for every beginning hockey aficionado. Highlighting rules, players, coaches, teams, and the history of the game, it is both fun and educational.