So for now she's just dancing in the wings, watching from behind the curtain, and hoping that one day it will be her turn to shimmer in the spotlight. When the director of an important dance festival comes to audition her class, Sassy's first attempts to get his attention are, well, a little wobbly. But Sassy just knows, somehow, that this is her time to step out from those wings, and make her mark on the world. Actress/choreographer Debbie Allen and Kadir Nelson collaborated on Brothers of the Knight, about which School Library Journal raved, the strutting high-stepping brothers are full of individuality, attitude, and movement.

    But taking over the quarters above their store will mean major renovations for the new occupants, and none of the potential renters can envision the possibilities of the space—until one special couple shows up. With their ingenuity, the little girl’s big heart, and heaps of hard work, the desperate fixer-upper begins to change in lovely and surprising ways. In this bustling wordless picture book, JonArno Lawson’s touching story and Qin Leng’s gentle illustrations capture all angles of the building’s transformation, as well as the evolving perspectives of the girl and her grandparent. A warm and subtly nuanced tale, Over the Shop throws open the doors to what it means to accept people for who they are and to fill your home with love and joy.

    He wears it when he sleeps, when he goes to school, and even when he takes his monthly bath. But when a crow whisks the hat off his head and high up into a nest, Harold doesn't feel so special anymore. He tries everything to get it back--offering the crow blueberries, worms, and even shiny objects--but alas, the crow will not budge. Turns out that the hat has a new special purpose: keeping three baby crows warm. This heartwarming picture book features an irresistible bear and gently reinforces the notion that it doesn't matter what you have, it's who you are that matters.

    She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.Through the eyes of a little girl who begins to see her familiar world in a new way, this book celebrates the differences and similarities that connect all people.Karen Katz created this book for her daughter, Lena, whom she and her husband adopted from Guatemala six years ago.

    That was a mistake.The weird frog-cat-cow thing? It made an excellent bush.And the inky smudges... they look as if they were always meant to be leaves floating gently across the sky.As one artist incorporates accidental splotches, spots, and misshapen things into her art, she transforms her piece in quirky and unexpected ways, taking readers on a journey through her process.

    Sometimes she feels like a bird, flying north in the spring and south in the fall. Sometimes she feels like a jack rabbit living in an abandoned burrow, as her family moves into an empty house near the fields. But most of all she wonders what it would be like to stay in one place.The Low German-speaking Mennonites from Mexico are a unique group of migrants who moved from Canada to Mexico in the 1920s and became an important part of the farming community there. But it has become increasingly difficult for them to earn a livelihood, and so they come back to Canada each year as migrant workers in order to survive. And while they currently have the right to work in Canada, that right may be challenged. Working conditions are difficult for all migrant workers, most of whom have to leave families far behind. And yet countries like Canada and the United States benefit greatly from their labor.Beautifully written by Maxine Trottier and imaginatively illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, this book describes what it is like to be a child in a migrant family.

    As each flower turns into a butterfly, children will discover different ways to group numbers to create ten, an essential building block of math, all while watching each flower's dream come true. (And keep an eye out for the caterpillar who wishes he could fly, too!)

    Is the whale dead? While the man worries about losing their net, the boy worries about the whale. He remembers the fear he felt when, caught in a net himself in childhood, he almost drowned before being rescued by his father. When the whale blinks an enormous eye, the boy knows that he has to try to save the creature, no matter how dangerous doing so may be.Expressive and perfectly paced, this powerful story, The Boy and the Whale, by Caldecott Medal–winner Mordicai Gerstein was inspired in part by a real-life video of a whale’s rescue, and the creature’s joyful dance through the waves after being freed.

    Things were just fine around here until UNICORN showed up.So what if he can fly?Or make it rain cupcakes?And turn stuff into gold?Big deal. I can do some cool stuff too, like...Hey! What are you doing? Why are you opening the book?He's just going to tell you how great he is. Blah, blah, blah.Go ahead. Just don't say I didn't warn you.Dopey Unicorn.

    Seuss wrote in 1973, was a letter outlining his hopes of finding "a great color artist who will not be dominated by me." The late Dr. Seuss saw his original text about feelings and moods as part of the "first book ever to be based on beautiful illustrations and sensational color." The quest for an artist finally ended—after the manuscript languished for more than two decades—at the paint brushes of husband-and-wife team Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher whose stunning, expressive paintings reveal such striking images as a bright red horse kicking its heels, a cool and quiet green fish, a sad and lonely purple dinosaur, and an angrily howling black wolf. Using a spectrum of vibrant colors and a menagerie of animals, this unique book does for the range of human moods and emotions what Oh, the Places You'll Go! does for the human life cycle. Here is a wonderful way for parents to talk with children about their feelings. With Johnson and Fancher's atmospheric, large-scale paintings bursting off the pages, Dr. Seuss's vision is brought to life. This rare and beautiful book is bound to appeal to both the innocent young and the most sophisticated seniors.

     Bird is new to the forest, and he's looking for a friend. Bear could use a friend, too. But Bird is too shy to introduce himself. Just as he musters the courage to say hello . . . it's too late! Bear has already found a friend: a bright, shiny red balloon.Has Bird missed his chance?From the acclaimed Il Sung Na comes a charming and beautifully illustrated story about courage, kindness, and friendship.Peek inside the jacket for a special poster!Praise for Il Sung Na:"Na brings fresh energy to the familiar. With a coloring style that feels as if someone took a firecracker to a box of crayons, Na makes turtle shells as dynamic as a peacock's plumage." --The New York Times (The Opposite Zoo)"Il Sung Na's illustrative art is so joyous, so jubilantly colorful, it feels celebratory and poetic even when the story is simple and spare." --The Boston Globe (A Book of Babies)★ "[A] grand read-aloud." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred (Welcome Home, Bear)★ "It's the rare picture book that, upon arrival, feels as though it has been around for years already; Na's belongs to this group." --Publishers Weekly, Starred (A Book of Sleep)★ "Vibrant [and] whimsical." --School Library Journal, Starred (Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit)

    She is unashamedly, irrefutably, irrepressibly wild. That is, until she is snared by some very strange animals that look oddly like her, but they don't talk right, eat right, or play correctly. She's puzzled by their behavior and their insistence on living in these strange concrete structures: there's no green here, no animals, no trees, no rivers. Now she lives in the comfort of civilization. But will civilization get comfortable with her?In her debut picture book, Hughes brings an uncanny humor to her painterly illustrations. Her work is awash with color, atmosphere, and a stunning visual splendor that will enchant children while indulging their wilder tendencies. Wild is a twenty-first-century answer to Maurice Sendak's children's classic—it has the same inventiveness, groundbreaking art, and unmissable quirkiness.Emily Hughes is a talented young illustrator. Her book Nana Shaped Like a Banana won second prize in the 2012 Macmillan Children's Book Awards.

    One is afraid of the light, the other is afraid of the dark. Together they learn that friends are all they need to conquer their fears.Nancy Armo's humorous story, with adorable illustrations, explores fear and friendship to show how opposites can complement, strengthen, and support each other.

    That the story ends with success and a reward is, of course, as every child would wish.Like so many other classic stories for children, this one grew from being told and retold to a child for many years. That is why Mr. Heyward gives credit on the title-page to his eight-year-old daughter, Jenifer.

    She feeds them, shelters them and loves them. Everywhere Sonya goes, her chicks are peeping at her heels. Under her care, the chicks grow into hens and even give Sonya a wonderful gift: an egg! One night, Sonya hears noises coming from the chicken coop and discovers that one of her hens has disappeared. Where did the hen go? What happened to her? When Sonya discovers the answers, she learns some important truths about the interconnectedness of nature and the true joys and sorrows of caring for another creature.