Knowing the havoc it will cause, all the animals try to prevent the elephant from sneezing.

    In it they swear undying friendship, wage furious battles

    How could everyone in a castle - even the flies on the walls - sleep for a century and then wake up? This magical, beautifully illustrated tale begins when the king excludes the most difficult fairy of the kingdom from a feast celebrating the birth of his beautiful daughter Briar Rose. Furious, the fairy storms in and curses the baby, pronouncing that on her fifteenth birthday she will be pricked by a distaff (from a spinning wheel) and fall down dead. The youngest fairy softens the curse to a century-long sleep. Despite the fact that the king burns all the spinning wheels in the kingdom, 15-year-old Briar Rose finds herself in the tower where the evil fairy and her fate await her. The drama of the spell unfurls as she and the other inhabitants of the castle fall instantly asleep, from courtiers to kitchen maids. Thorny briars - moodily captured by Trina Schart Hyman's masterful paintbrush - grow up around the castle. Hyman depicts those who died attempting to break through the maze of thorns to reach the legendary sleeping beauty in a nightmarish illustration. But goodness and true love prevail when the perfect prince does finally find his way through the thick vines.Hyman won a Caldecott Medal for her work in Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, and her version of The Sleeping Beauty makes us believe in the magic of the spell. The scenes inside the castle are alive with color and movement and rich with details that children will devour eagerly. Moods and expressions are rendered exquisitely, especially those of the wild, red-haired beauty Briar Rose. This wonderful read-aloud classic is one of Hyman's best.

    The cooking was done and her famous cranberry bread was cooling on the wooden board. Every year Grandmother invited a guest for dinner and allowed Maggie to do the same. "Ask someone poor or lonely," she always said.She wasn't happy upon learning that Maggie had invited the unsavory Mr. Whiskers to dinner. Would her secret cranberry bread recipe be safe with him in the house?After a long absence this delightful 1971 classic is back and so is the secret recipe for Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread!

    Kids will love the surprising, funny solution to keep Droofus safe from harm and will delight in the illustrations.

    I was very sad. My mother said we could have a funeral for him, and I should think of ten good things about Barney so I could tell them...But the small boy who loved Barney can only think of nine. Later, while talking with his father, he discovers the tenth—and he begins to understand.

    But Leo's mother isn't. She knows her son will do all those things, and more, when he's ready.With its message of patience and humor, Leo the Late Bloomer is more timely than ever. As Children's Books and Their Creators commented: "Leo's reassuring 'I made it!' at the end delights young listeners who may have been scrutinized for early blooming by well-intentioned moms and dads. Deserves space on any parenting shelf."

    A cat grows fatter and fatter as he eats everyone he meets.

    Keats's collage-style illustrations perfectly complement this classic Appalachian counting rhyme, which is also a popular song for toddlers.

    Katy Caboose is tired of being last, and one day an accident allows her to realize her dream of peace and solitude.

    And the most exciting thing at the Corgiville Fair is the goat race! Caleb Corgi has spent months training his goat, Josephine, for the big event. But Edgar Tomcat's goat is fast, too, and Caleb knows that Edgar is not above indulging in some dirty tricks in order to win.The sights, smells, and all the fun and excitement of a typical small-town fair are captured with humor and affection in Tasha Tudor's text and marvelously detailed watercolor paintings.

    Grandpa is blind, and so when John visits him he gets to see things from a new perspective. If he closes his eyes, everything comes alive through sound and touch. This house is the place where John gets to experience the special way Grandpa sees and moves in the world.

    

    To put a stop to his wife's unqueenly behavior, the king makes singing and dancing illegal, only to find the queen is willing to sing and dance in jail with the rest of the kingdom.

    Being a painter's cat can be quite a trial, especially when your forgetful master paints you blue or too thin or even invisible.

    Emerging from her peeling each evening at sunset, she becomes a lovely maiden and is predictably espied, then married, by a prince. They enjoy "many years" of happy nights which end when "each morning, before the sun rose, she returned to the orange." One night, however, the prince lies ill in the jungle and the princess, preoccupied with healing him, exposes herself to the rising sun -- and disappears. But "on the spot where she had vanished, there now stood an orange tree, glowing and shimmering in the sun." The tale's romantic theme is unexceptional, but Gobhai's highly flavored pictures make the most of the variations.

    A little Russian girl is desolate when she loses a reputedly magic ring in the snow."

    The Patterprints' household has an unusual Christmas eve when Santa falls into the soup cooking in the fireplace.

    Wilkins Retold by Ellin GreenePopcorn is the secret weapon that restores a kidnapped princess to the royal household.

    Yearning to see some of the world they have heard the birds talk about, the leaves fall into the water and become fish.

    Three children seek revenge on a grouchy lady they believe poisoned their dog.

    Strange things occur when the old lady living on the edge of town discovers her magical powers.

    The poor farmer and his wife find a way to retrieve their youngest daughter from the ogre she married.

    

    

    dinner outside the window for the raccoon. Now the garbage is left alone and the raccoon watches T.V. through the window while he eats.

    

    Describes the history and culture of the Aztecs who flourished in the Valley of Mexico before the arrival of the Spanish.

    His children were christened with French names because their last name was Spanish. They spoke both languages and alternated their church-going between the two countries. All went well until France and Spain declared war on each other. Clearly Balthazar and his family were faced with a dilemma. The shooting had already begun when they hit upon a solution that not only solved their own problem but had some far-reaching and decidedly unexpected results.

    Joshua Cobb's mother told him boarding school would be the making of him, but after the first few weeks Josh felt it might well be his undoing.

    Adam's aunt accepts the other animals he tames but hesitates about the baby porcupine because porcupines have been eating parts of her cabin.

    Theodore is jealous of the new "bear" in the house until he finds out it's really a panda.

    

    So when she said, "What I should like is a unicorn," Sir Addlepate buckled on his armor, and ordered his white mare, Alabaster saddled. Then, with his trusty bestiary tucked under one arm, he went in search of a unicorn. He met all kinds of strange monsters before he reached home again and children will find his wild adventures delightfully entertaining. Dahlov Ipcar's classic illustrations bring the story vividly to life.

    

    When a storm destroys his island home, a kindly giant goes out into the world and finds it a very unfriendly place.

    

    

    

    A fun read.

    A handsome peasant boy marries a beautiful princess after rescuing her from a cruel fate.