A herd of Spanish sheep is badly in need of guidance. Everyone knows that sheep are followers. They are perfectly content to trail along behind whomever happens to be a few steps ahead. This is exactly the case with a flock of sheep living outside a tiny village in the heart of Spain. One day Isabella begins to wonder if there isn't another way. "Must we always be wandering about willy-nilly, nobody knowing where we are going?" But recognizing the need for a leader and accepting the responsibility of being one are two different things. It will require a bolt of lightning — literally — to transform the reluctant Isabella into the leader she must be. From crumbling stone farm buildings and rugged grazing land to the pinnacled Alcazar, once home of Queen Isabella, this story captures the drama of the Spanish landscape, the perfect backdrop for the exciting events that lead to our Isabella's transformation. 

Following Isabella will help you:

• Consider leadership as a service to one's community
• Investigate different kinds of leadership
• Present information about sheep and sheep farming
• Explore the geography and culture of Spain

"A story about leadership, confidence, initiative and cooperation. Particularly useful for studies in social skills and character education. [Isabella] will be appreciated by general viewers as well." — School Library Journal

Author Linda Talley

Illustrator Andra Chase

Key Concept: Becoming a leader

Age Group: Grades K-4

Fly into Miami Beach and meet a parrot who talks too much. People never stop talking, do they? And from his perch at Las Flores café, Feathers hears every word — and repeats a good deal of what he hears. The problem is, the words sometimes get a little jumbled up, turned around, stretched out of shape. That's what happens when Julio finds a ten dollar bill on the sidewalk. By the end of the day — and with the help of the talkative Feathers — Julio's bit of good luck has grown to immense proportions — at least in the minds of the regulars at Las Flores. Feathers' misadventures take place within sight of palm trees and blue ocean waters in Miami Beach, Florida. Andra Chase has depicted a kaleidoscope of local color and characters in her sunny watercolor illustrations.                         

 Feathers at Las Flores will help you:

Follow Boston's Freedom trail and witness a small revolution against a big bully. Emily is a nice, playful little dog. So why would she join forces with a big bully like Spike? Even Emily can't answer that question. It`s true that Spike makes Emily laugh, in spite of herself, and he is fun — in a way. Emily feels flattered that Spike asks her to tag along with him. But when Spike begins to tease a fluffy outsider named Cotton, Emily's feelings become confused. Just when Emily is wondering how to make things right, a bewhiskered terrier named Emerson saunters onto the scene and shows Emily how to break free of Spike. This compelling story unfolds along the Freedom Trail™, Boston's famous walking tour of historic sites from the Revolutionary era. These scenes of the colonists' struggle for independence from Britain are a perfect backdrop for Emily's struggle to free herself from Spike's tyrannical ways! 

Emily Breaks Free will help you:

Keep it clean For your health, your appearance, Or your own self-esteem Hair, face, hands, feet, body And your clothes, And your shoes, And your teeth, And your nails. Wash it, change it, floss it, brush it, Turn it down, get with it. Keep it clean! Keep it clean! Keep it clean!

This generation-spanning, attention-grabbing brand new program promotes good hygiene in a format that all ages can relate to...MUSIC!! Four talented young people rap to the original lyrics and music of Rainmaker Bob Walkenhorst in the catchiest way possible while painlessly absorbing lots of information on many important topics including head to toe hygiene basics, self esteem, acne, tooth decay, eye safety, hearing safety, hand washing musts, and sound advice on how to maintain a healthy body.

If your students enjoyed and learned from the Marsh favorite "Whatsa Hygiene?" they will be equally compelled by this fresh and energizing take on keeping clean.

Just in time for the flu season, this exciting new program will seriously help students learn the importance of hygiene in halting the spread of germs that can cause colds, flu, stomach upsets and other more serious infections.

Visit the Okefenokee for a lesson in pursuing goals. Jackson is a green tree frog and a resident of the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia. One afternoon, Jackson learns that a slick new brochure is being prepared to draw tourists to this famed wildlife refuge, home to alligators and water lilies, coach whip snakes and cypress trees, pileated woodpeckers and cinnamon ferns. Jackson is determined that the diminutive green tree frog species will not be left out. Jackson's plan takes him on a photo shoot through three habitats of the Okefenokee — the swampy woods, the piney woods, and the open marshlands. Along his madcap way, he encounters obstacles and setbacks, but Jackson perseveres — with surprising results. 

Jackson s Plan will help you:

• Promote goal-setting and strategic planning
• Encourage perseverance in the face of obstacles
• Explore the ecology of wetlands and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

"A striking multimedia presentation package." — Children's Bookwatch

Author Linda Talley

Illustrator Andra Chase

Key Concept: Learning to persevere

Age Group: Grades K-4

Filmed entirely in a school setting, this program is designed to supplement your existing emergency preparedness plan as it relates to a school shooting. In consultation with law enforcement and school district security personnel, "How Will You React?" will encourage your staff to think realistically, to prepare mentally and to assess the situation in order to make the decision to RUN, HIDE or FIGHT.

Topics Include:

-Survival mindset

-Dealing with fear and panic

-Areas to avoid

-Assessing the situation

Head Lice: An Itchy Problem teaches students everyday precautions that they can take to keep from contracting head lice. The program explains that anyone can get head lice, the symptoms of head lice, the treatment for head lice, the precautions that need to be taken to prevent re-infestation, but most importantly, it provides students with the information they need on how they can guard against contracting head lice in the first place! The program informs students that head lice can be spread by sharing a cap, head phones, bike helmets, a comb or brush, or at a sleepover. It explains the importance of telling someone if they suspect they have head lice, what to expect if lice or nits are discovered, and it provides reassurance that head lice is a problem with a solution.

How are germs and diseases spread? That's just what these middle schoolers are trying to uncover for their next science report. After the kids meet an uncle with Hepatitis C they realize that the way the body works is a lot like a video game. In gathering information for their report the kids find out how diseases are spread and how the immune system works to fight off those diseases.

Focusing on the school setting, this no-nonsense presentation explains how to avoid transmission of pathogens, with emphasis on those carried by blood and other bodily fluids. This timely program covers these important topics:

• What to do when someone has a nosebleed or gets a cut or scrape
  
• How teachers and the school nurse can help when someone is bleeding
  
• Dangerous behaviors that may spread blood borne disease, such as handling needles or broken glass
  
• Germs - and how they travel from person to person
  

The importance of handwashing in preventing illness By showing kids everyday dangers of classroom and playground, and by outlining some simple safeguards, Blood Borne Pathogens and Other Germs will help keep your students and their friends safe and healthy.

Make a beeline for the French countryside to learn how boundaries benefit everyone.

To keep the honeycomb strong, to make the very best honey, and to keep all the little honeybees safe and sound, bees must do things just so — according to honeybee rules.

One early spring day, an inexperienced honeybee named Beatrice hears about the most beautiful garden in the world, and she decides to go on an expedition, even if it means breaking a rule or two. When a change in the weather turns her outing into a near-disaster, Bea realizes that rules are for her own good.

Bea's story takes students to the Loire Valley of France where they will visit a beehive, a country market, and the famous Chateau of Villandry. Illustrator Andra Chase has created delicately beautiful scenes of Bea’s world inside and outside her hive. 

This DVD is a word for word match of the storybook and will help you:

 Investigate the function of rules at home and at school
 Promote responsibility and self-control
 Explore the lives of bees and other insects
 Present information about the culture and geography of France

[an] excellent, well-rounded production...”
School Library Journal

Age Group: Grades K-4

A New York story weighs love against material wealth. Hit the sidewalks of New York with a girl named Margot and a Dalmatian pup named Bailey. Both are on their best behavior in anticipation of their shared birthday celebration. Students will feel Bailey's keen disappointment when all he gets for his birthday is a kiss and a bandanna. And they will rejoice with Bailey's realization that the love and support of his family are more important than material gifts. This DVD is a word for word match of the storybook.

Bailey s Birthday will help you:

• Explore the value of material gifts as measures of worth
• Promote growth in self-confidence
• Introduce factual information about aviation, about the canine species, and about the sights and history of New York City

 " Bailey learns] about something more important than material gifts: the love and support of a family. Recommended." - Video Librarian

Author Elizabeth Happy

Illustrator Andra Chase

Key Concept: Celebrating gifts of the heart

Age Group: K-4 

This DVD program explains human reproduction, including information about conception, pregnancy, fetal growth and development, and genetics. It describes various human physical characteristics, explains how and why sex cells and hormones are produced and relates this to the biological process of fertilization. The growth and development of the fetus is illustrated with clear and beautiful artwork, a "must" for any complete course of study of human growth.