The peacock's flashy tail is a masterpiece of color and shape. A buzzing beehive is built of tiny hexagons. Even a snake's skin is patterned with diamonds. Poet Betsy Franco and Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins bring geometry to life in this lively, lyrical look at the shapes and patterns that can be found in the most unexpected places.

    Because if we’re talking about the best possible compliment to your eyes and ears alike, few have as many perks and grand moments as this." —School Library Journal starred review "Out of a windless August night/A luna moth in ghostly lightBeat softly on my window screen/Tick-tick-ticking-all silver green.She whispered secrets in my ear--/I am but a stranger here.The stars are scrawled across the sky/By ghostwriters, the Moon and I.You will not see me here tonight--/I have a thousand stars to write."What could be better than cuddling up with your child and this book on your lap and allowing your imaginations to soar with the words and images? Lovingly selected by U.S. Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis and paired with vibrant animal photography, this collection of poems is an exuberant celebration of the animal kingdom and a beautiful introduction to this genre of literature. Designed for family sharing but targeted to ages 4-8, this dynamic, fresh, yet still classic collection of animal poems is a must-have for the family bookshelf.Featured poets include J. Patrick Lewis, Dorothy Aldis, Emily Dickinson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Frost, Rudyard Kipling, Jack Prelutsky, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and many more.Divided into chapters that group the poems by theme for extra resonance, the collection is a mix of old and new, classics, and never-before-published. A foreword from Lewis, sets the scene for helping children appreciate this gift of language and this visual feast for the eyes. Chapters include:Welcome to the World (birth of animal young)Big Ones (large animals--elephants, hippos, rhinos, bears)Little Ones (small animals--worms, insects)Winged Ones (birds and other flying creatures) Water Ones (aquatic animals--fish, dolphins, crabs)Strange Ones (curious creatures--armadillos, centipedes)Noisy Ones (loud animals--lions, hyenas)Quiet Ones (silent or still animals--hens, rabbits, snakes)Last Thought (a reflection on the world we share with animals)

    The fresh, new signs of spring. The toe-wiggling freedom of summer. The leaf-dropping days of fall. Each season is celebrated for many different reasons, but one never fails to roll right into the next. Jane Yolen's lilting verses and Lisel Jane Ashlock's sensitive portraits convey the cyclical nature of the seasons in this poetic tribute to the characteristics of the four periods of the year.

    The dog brings the string. The horse shares his straw. And then a surprise gatefold spread reveals how Robin knits them all together to make a safe and cozy home for her babies.

    She dreams of a life off the farm, where she can put her grand plans into action. Her wish is granted when pirates recruit her and her fellow chickens and whisks them away to the open seas. Soon, Lily has taken charge and becomes captain of an allchicken crew as the feared chicken pirate Redfoot. But when Lily faces a mutiny, will she change her ways, or be forced to squawk the plank?

    Peek into this bright and lively book and discover the big ways this little insect contributes to the beauty of the environment, from pollinating colorful flowers to buzzing about the bright and beautiful meadow.With clever peekaboo holes throughout, each page reveals new flowers and plants, plus a look inside a beehive as the bees work together to help a plants grow.Children will love seeing the details of a bee's active day as each page is turned, and along the way they'll learn about ways in which bees and plants works together to produce a healthy, beautiful environment.And look for its companion books, Tree, Moon, and The Twelve Days of Christmas, in the same Peek-Through Picture Book series!"Ample opportunities can be found to linger over the vibrant multimedia collages of meadows, woods, hedgerows, streams, and, most of all, the flowers bursting from the pages. An inviting introduction to the busy lives of honeybees."--Booklist

    rex.Care to meet a dunkleosteus? An apatosaurus? How about the dragonflyesque meganaura? In a collection that's organized chronologically by epoch and is sure to intrigue everyone from armchair dino enthusiasts to budding paleontologists, David Elliott and Matthew Trueman illuminate some of the most fascinating creatures ever to evolve on the earth. Combining poems both enlightening and artful with illustrations perfect for poring over, this volume ensures fascinating trips back to a time as enthralling and variable as any in our planet's evolutionary history.

    Beginning with the rising sun and ending with twilight, this book takes us on a tour through the fields, encouraging us to watch for a nest of rabbits, a foamy spittlebug, a leaping grasshopper, bright milkweed, a quick fox, and a cruising hawk.

    Laura Purdie Salas's lyrical rhyming text and Violeta Dabija's glowing illustrations show how rocks decorate and strengthen the world around them.

    Filled with familiar favorites and new discoveries written by a wide variety of poets, including William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, John Updike, Langston Hughes, N. M. Bodecker, Okamoto Kanoko, and many more, this is the perfect book for children (and grown-ups!) to share at the beginning or the end of the day.

    Matthew Cordell’s clever and playful line art lightheartedly captures the spirit of the poetry. This is the perfect book for anyone who’s ever apologized . . . and not really meant it.

    From the beauty of snow blanketing the forest and falling on animals’ fur and feathers to the fascinating winter water cycle, this nonfiction picture book celebrates snowfall and the amazing science behind it.

    Most of the poems are about animals—some are big and some are small, some have unusual interests, and some are just plain unusual.Some of the animals in this book are real. They include:the hippopotamus (she's missing)the elephant (he's artistically talented)the octopus (it's great at multitasking).Others may not be quite so real. These include:the wiguana (very hairy, for a lizard)the halibutterfly (there's something fishy about it)the gludu (quite clingy).

    Words like Dandelion, Otter, Bramble, Acorn and Lark represent the natural world of childhood, a rich landscape of discovery and imagination that is fading from children's minds.The Lost Words stands against the disappearance of wild childhood. It is a joyful celebration of the poetry of nature words and the living glory of our distinctive, British countryside. With acrostic spell-poems by peerless wordsmith Robert Macfarlane and hand-painted illustrations by Jackie Morris, this enchanting book captures the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages.

    Science meets subtraction as a swarm of flies buzzes along, losing one member to each predator along the way. Includes a guide to eating bugs, complete with nutritional information for a single serving of flies."--