When a screeching seagull appears on the horizon of New Zealand's southern island with an urgent message from Mother Nature, Shaggy is ready to save the planet and its penguins. So much more than a cute and cuddly ball of wool, Shaggy is a material-powered climate warrior. With his magic yarn, he rescues a penguin stuck in an ocean oil spill and knits a warm and woolly igloo city (and a few extra socks) for a flock of winter waddlers.

When a tree-hugging bear climbs up Canada's tallest tree with an urgent message from Mother Nature, Page is ready to save the planet and its squirrels. So much more than a smart and sassy piece of paper, Page is a material-powered climate warrior. With her magic scroll, she rescues a squirrel whose oak treehouse stopped making nuts because its branches are clogged with plastic bags and folds a secret-squirrel nut hut for a family of hungry squirrels .

In the cold and dark days between eating turkey and opening presents, when many kids are Santa-obsessed: I want, I want, I want…this snow gnome teaches us how to write a giving wish. Some kids learn quickly and they tie giving wishes on a holiday tree before writing a Santa letter. Some kids do nothing until they get pranked and finally wrote one giving wish, just in time for the holidays. If you wake-up from your winter dreams and can’t remember how to write a giving wish, don’t worry...that’s why the giving gnome visits.

It is often easy to forget to say thank you to Mother Nature, for everything she does to make our planet green. The garden in spring is the most obvious evidence of her gentle power and what she makes possible. From the cold dark dirt, delicately colorful flowers burst onto the backyard landscape.

This story is written to teach NGSS, 1st Grade - PS4.B: Objects can be seen if light is available to illuminate them or if they give off their own light. Almost every kid loves unicorns, if they believe in magical creatures. This unicorn teaches kids how rainbows, shadows and glitter are made: Some materials allow light to pass through them. Some block all the light and create darkness, with no light. Mirrors redirect light and sparkle.

This story is written to teach NGSS, Kindergarten - LS1.C: All animals need food in order to live and grow. Bees are cute and fuzzy buzzy, when they don’t sting. In every meadow, the bees buzz and grass grows, with a few friendly daisies. This bee is fed by the daisies, and the daisies are pollinated by the bees. Daisies grow food with help from the sun and the rain. Thank you, blue sky and grey thunder!

For some kids the world is out of focus, until they read. When this boy gets stuck inside a book, the words surround him like a good hug and he is calm. He is ready to fight dragons, paddle rapids and fly to the moon. When mom calls him for Sunday dinner, he has to figure out how to get out of the story before his noodles gets cold.

Some of nature's secrets are loud and obvious. Some are soft and quiet. These berries are hard to find but easy to love. Hidden from us but not from the bears. Huckleberries grow in very few, very wild places and they cannot be grown on a farm…so if you know where they are, pick a few for pancakes, but remember to leave some for the bears!