Rajani Larocca

Bina is thrilled for the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, and this year, she has a special plan. She is determined to craft beautiful, handmade beaded bracelets for her brothers entirely on her own! To make the perfect gifts, Bina carefully investigates which colors each of her brothers loves and which ones they do not. With this important information, she sets out to create unique, alternating patterns with her beads. As she works on her every-other-one patterns, Bina uncovers fascinating concepts about math and discovers new things about her brothers along the way. This joyful story invites you to explore the everyday math all around you. It beautifully highlights how simple concepts like patterns and sequences can be found in our daily adventures, especially when celebrating family and creating heartfelt gifts for the people we love.

I want to see what is at the end of the earth! Sejal is embarking on an unforgettable journey to the southern tip of India with her mother and grandmother, Pati. Together, these three generations travel across the beautiful landscape, sharing delicious meals, exploring vibrant markets, and visiting cherished old friends. For Pati, the journey is a nostalgic return to familiar places. For Mommy, it brings back fond memories of where she grew up. For Sejal, every step is an exciting discovery filled with brand-new sights and sounds. Eventually, their path leads them to Kanyakumari, a spectacular destination where three oceans converge. Delighting in the experience of reaching the end of the earth together, the family celebrates their enduring bond. This heartwarming story captures the beauty of travel, cultural heritage, and the incredibly special connection shared between a child, her mother, and her grandmother.

Discover the incredible rhythm keeping you alive every single day. Your heart is an amazing, vital organ, and this book serves as a beautiful tribute to everything it does for your body. Blending fascinating science with lyrical poetry, this journey inside the human body reveals how the heart functions in a way that is both engaging and easy to understand. You will learn about the complex systems that work together to pump blood, provide energy, and keep you healthy. Featuring playful, cut-paper illustrations and clear diagrams, it breaks down biological concepts into approachable lessons. Whether you are curious about science or simply amazed by how your body operates, this unique exploration provides a perfect balance of factual information and poetic wonder. Step inside to uncover the secrets of your circulatory system and celebrate the extraordinary power of your one and only heart.

Travel back to ancient India and meet Bhagat, a clever boy with a grand plan to save his family from poverty. Hoping to secure a coveted position as a singer in the Rajah's court, Bhagat journeys to the bustling city. He carries his family's entire fortune to pay for his stay: a single coin and a beautiful chain of seven golden rings. However, the innkeeper demands one ring per night, and every single time the chain is snipped, it costs Bhagat a coin! Faced with this difficult puzzle, Bhagat must figure out how to break the chain without completely running out of money. Through sharp thinking and determination, he uncovers an inventive solution. This engaging story brings a mathematical conundrum to life, introducing you to the brilliant concept of binary numbers while showing how clever problem-solving can lead to unexpected triumphs.

When Jyoti travels halfway around the world to visit her grandmother in India, everything feels overwhelmingly different from her home in America. Initially, she feels lonely and terribly out of place. But soon, despite speaking different languages, Jyoti and Sita Pati find beautiful ways to understand each other. They build a special bond by sharing books, creating colorful sand designs, shopping at the busy market, and sipping warm saffron milk. When it is finally time to leave, Jyoti is heartbroken. However, she is comforted by a special Tamil tradition: instead of saying goodbye, people say, I'll go and come back. True to those words, the pair is reunited the very next summer when Pati visits America. Now, it is Jyoti's turn to help her grandmother feel completely welcome in a brand-new place, creating unforgettable memories that bridge the distance between their two worlds.

Rohan Murthy has massive dreams of running a wildly successful business, just like his incredibly creative mom. When his teacher announces that the school needs to raise money for a brand-new garden, Rohan knows exactly what to do. He decides to launch a pet care company to look after the local dogs, hamsters, fish, and lizards, basically anything except cats! Armed with determination and some very sparkly posters, Rohan is ready to succeed. There is just one tiny problem: Rohan has never actually taken care of an animal before, and he is secretly a bit nervous around them. Determined to prove his parents wrong, he volunteers to watch over Honey, the school's guinea pig, for the entire weekend. But when Honey turns out to be surprisingly anxious, Rohan's fears begin to surface. He must learn to stay calm, face his worries, and prove he has what it takes to be a great pet sitter.

Summer vacation is finally here, and Ravi is absolutely thrilled to head to the lake house with his family! Nothing beats sunny days at the beach, long nature hikes, paddleboarding, and eating endless scoops of ice cream with his seven cousins. Last year, Ravi and his oldest cousin, Dhruv, shared the exact same favorite ice cream flavor. But this year, everything feels different. Dhruv is much taller, and Ravi secretly worries that his older cousin will not want to play with him anymore. To top it off, the local shop doesn't even have their favorite treat! Determined to make the final night special, the cousins team up to cook dinner, and Ravi is put in charge of dessert. He comes up with a brilliant, heartfelt idea to show Dhruv how much he cares, proving that the special bond between cousins can never be broken.

Did you know there is a secret, invisible code hidden right inside your body? It is called DNA, and it works like a tiny set of instructions that tells your cells exactly what to do every single day! It looks like a twisted ladder or twirling noodles, and it is the amazing blueprint that makes you a human instead of a poodle. Have you ever wondered why we cannot breathe underwater? Or why some people grow very tall while others stay short? Why do you share traits with your parents and grandparents? Written in incredibly fun, flowing rhymes, this bright picture book answers all these questions by explaining cells and genetics in a brilliantly simple way. It beautifully shows that while DNA determines how you look on the outside, the choices you make about who you want to be are entirely up to you!

Aarav absolutely loves his grandfather, Thatha, but the two of them are as different as water and molasses. While Aarav loves to run, race, and hurry through his day, Thatha prefers to stroll and take his time. Every afternoon at five o'clock, Thatha carefully makes a delicious pot of masala chai for the whole family. No matter how much Aarav begs him to speed up, Thatha insists that good chai cannot be rushed. One afternoon, Thatha sprains his ankle and has to rest on the couch. Eager to help, Aarav decides to make the warm, spiced tea himself to make his grandfather feel better. But as Aarav rushes through the process, he completely misses a crucial step! He quickly learns that some things require patience. Will Aarav finally learn to slow down, carefully follow the steps, and brew the perfect cup of sweet, spiced love?

Do you remember every single time you have been sick with a cold or a fever? You probably don't, but your body definitely does! When you catch certain illnesses, you cannot get sick from them a second time because your amazing body remembers the germs and completely fights them off before you feel ill. But what if your body could recognize dangerous germs that you have never even encountered before? That is exactly how vaccines work! This fascinating and timely book explores the incredible science behind vaccines, explaining how they function like a biological memory to protect you and keep your body strong. You will discover how brilliant scientists invented them throughout history and learn exactly how they train your immune system. Packed with helpful facts about different types of germs, this book is the perfect guide to understanding how we stay healthy and strong.