The octopus turns out to be a very neighborly sort of octopus, helping the residents to wash their cars or weed the window boxes, and Nora makes fast friends with him. But one morning, the octopus is nowhere in sight. Has he moved on already? And just when Nora wanted to bring him for Show and Tell!

    A fictional editor's note tells of an encounter with an author and illustrator named Harris Burdick, who provided the images and captions as samples, each from a different picture book he had written. He left with a promise to deliver the complete manuscripts if the editor chose to buy the books. Burdick was never seen again, and the samples are all that remain of his supposed books. Readers are challenged to imagine their own stories based on the images in the book.

    Hoist the wood. Chain and hook and strap. Swing it round, then lower it down. Thonk! Clonk! Clap! Build the frame. Build the frame. Hammer all day long. Make the stairs and floors and walls. Bing! Bang! Bong!

    Now, The Thankful Book celebrates all the little things children can give thanks for. From everyday activities like reading and bathtime to big family meals together and special alone time between parent and child, Todd inspires readers to remember all of life's special moments. The perfect book to treasure and share, around the holidays and throughout the year.

    In a compelling fable, she explores the temptations and pitfalls that accompany freedom and choice in all our lives.Jarrod lives far away in a land where children climb trees and soar without fear of falling, and sunlight keeps out dark shadows.As happy as Jarrod is living with his mother and his sister, he is also curious and daring. He wonders about the mysterious pond, the one place his mother wants him to stay away from. How deep is it? Why can't he go into the water? Why is his mother so afraid for him?

    But, one day they are separated out in the beautifully falling snow. The boy is lost and falls asleep. When he wakes up he is surrounded by blinking eyes, a rabbit, a fox, an owl and all manner of other creatures have surrounded him! But with a bear hug he and the woodland animals become best of friends! But soon he misses his dad and so the animals bring him back home. The father opens up his heart and home, and lets nature and love envelop their previously lonely existence.

    When she runs out of willing companions, she finds a prince so myopic that for a short while he is able to be with her (before the inevitable happens). But they are together long enough that she has an extremely beautiful baby and for the first time ever Griselda learns what it's like to lose your head for someone you love. A funny and beautifully illustrated take on the pitfalls of narcissism.

    Time to put on your safari hats, says a teacher before leading her class on an exciting imaginary journey. Off they go! They slosh through mud, splish-splash through rivers, swish through grass, and finally come face to face with a lion! Joe Mathieu brings the lion hunt to life with delightful illustrations rendered in Prisma colors, dyes, pen, and ink that add to this classroom fantasy based on a traditional game.

    There’s just one hitch: Spencer’s new pet is a balloon. And that means No. Sharp. Objects. No drooling dogs at the park. No prickly porcupines at the vet. And absolutely no pinning tails on any donkeys! Spencer’s New Pet is a story of pure fun about a boy, his dog, and a friendship that endures life’s sharpest...and most unexpected twists.

    Sure, there's buried treasure to be found, but nobody's digging up anything until Bonney Anne quits her caterwauling. So, quicker than you can say "scurvy dog," Braid Beard and his swashbuckling pirates become . . . babysitters? Blimey!     This hilarious companion to How I Became a Pirate reveals that minding the nursery can be even more terrifying than walking the plank--especially if you're a pirate.

    With irrepressible spirit, Penguin follows his dreams to flip, flap, fly! Even if he needs a little help with the technical parts, this penguin is ready to live on the wind.

    A mission to find something spectacular. So they dig a hole. And they keep digging. And they find . . . nothing. Yet the day turns out to be pretty spectacular after all. Attentive readers will be rewarded with a rare treasure in this witty story of looking for the extraordinary—and finding it in a manner you’d never expect.

    An exuberant pig proclaims "I like me!" She likes the way she looks, and all her activities....When she makes a mistake she picks herself up and tries again." --Booklist"Wonderful in its simplicity, here's a story that will help kids feel good about themselves." -- Boston Globe

    What could the surprise be?! Leo and his brother are desperate to find out. Could it be a bike? A pool? A new car? Their imaginations run wild until they latch, with utter conviction, onto what surely must be the answer: an all-expenses-paid, two-week trip to Hawaii! Perhaps not surprisingly, the brothers are soon proven wrong. But the ingenious way their family decides to cheer them up poignantly reminds us that, sometimes, embracing what you already have is enough to make you feel “lucky.”

    Is Eeyore digging holes in the ground? Wrong. Is he leaping from branch to branch of an oak tree? Wrong. Is he waiting for somebody to help him out of the river? Right. Perfect for early readers, Pooh Invents a New Game will not fail to please! Adapted by Stephen Krensky. Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard.