bosses her brother Arthur into carrying her on his shoulders at the beach because she maintains that she hates the water, until she gets a big wet surprise.

    They chase, wrestle, and roar--until the doorbell rings and in walks a group of fearless trick-or-treaters who know exactly what to do.

    She's also a little nervous about leaving Miss Pym... what if her new teacher doesn't let Gerry wear her wings and crown? Change can be hard, even for a fairy princess! Thankfully, she realizes that new things can bring their own sparkle. From the mother-daughter team of Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton comes another delightful story in the #1 "New York Times "best-selling Very Fairy Princess series.

    Retells the traditional tale of Jack and the beanstalk with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy playing major roles.

    D. Eastman (Go, Dog. Go! and Are You My Mother?). Accident-prone Aaron is no match for runaway snowballs and thin ice in this silly, wintry book. Young readers will giggle along as they tackle the simple words and sentences all on their own. Aaron the Alligator also stars in The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary and a long out-of-print series called Everything Happens to Aaron, the basis for this book. Look for more of Aaron’s Step into Reading escapades: Aaron Is a Good Sport, Aaron Has a Lazy Day, and Aaron Loves Apples and Pumpkins.   Step 1 Readers feature big type and easy words for children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading. Rhyme and rhythmic text paired with picture clues help children decode the story.

    Medallion Honoree * From the Midwest Book Review: "The Pajama Elves" is a delightful, creatively presented holiday tale that shares a family tradition of giving children magic pajamas secretly tailored by Santa's sewing elves, so they can sleep snug in their beds on Christmas Eve. Hayden Edwards is a special pseudonym for author/illustrator Julie Szabo, combining the names of her two sons and husband. Told in verse narrative and creatively illustrated with combination photos/prints in color, "The Pajama Elves" is all about keeping the magic of Christmas alive for young children. The author describes it as follows: "'The Pajama Elves' allows people to adopt and personalize the tradition in many ways, and it can be shared with family members who live far apart from one another." Sensitively done, "The Pajama Elves" is an ideal contemporary response to unique challenges faced by parents of young children today.

    In this menagerie we have stories made of words, made FOR all the letters. The most inventive and irresistible book of the year spans a mere 26 letters (don't they all!) and 112 pages. From an Astronaut who's afraid of heights, to a Bridge that ends up burned between friends, to a Cup stuck in a cupboard and longing for freedom, Once Upon an Alphabet is a creative tour de force from A through Z. Slyly funny in a way kids can't resist, and gorgeously illustrated in a way readers of all ages will pour over, this series of interconnected stories and characters explores the alphabet in a way that will forever raise the bar.   In Once Upon an Alphabet, #1 New York Times bestseller Oliver Jeffers has created a stunning collection of words and artwork that is a story book, alphabet book, and gorgeously designed art book all in one.Praise for ONCE UPON AN ALPHABET: * "The silly, spare, slightly surreal text occasionally rhymes and endlessly surprises. An utterly delightful alphabet book."–Kirkus Review, starred review * "An altogether stimulating, surprising, and satisfying reading experience."–School Library Journal, starred review "Jeffers knows how to catch the attention of his young audience while challenging their imagination, intellect and vocabulary. This whimsical exploration of letters and language begs to be read over and over again."–Book Page

    Jones took her class to visit the monkeys, the tigers, and the hippopotamus at the zoo. But when she leaned too close to the railing to feed a hippo a peanuts, the hippo ate Ms. Jones instead. Who will teach class now? Why the hippo, of course When a hippopotamus eats the teacher instead of a peanut, the children wonder who will teach their class now?

    Not knowing where home is makes it even worse.So George sets off on a search. He isn't sure what home looks like, but he'll know it when he finds it.

    How does one discover faeries in one’s backyard or a garden, forest, or meadow? Through insets, hidden messages, magical signs, reflective mirrors, and other paper mechanics, Froud and Matthews reveal how anyone may discover the way to the land of Faerie. All you need is to believe and to own this book!

    The fiery old Judge, impatient with such foolish nonsense, calls them scoundrels, ninnyhammers, and throws them all in jail. But in the end, Justice is done--and the Judge is gone. Head first! Harve Zemach's cumulative verse tale is so infectious that children won't be able to avoid memorizing it. And Margot Zemach's hilarious pictures are brimming with vitality as well as color.

    "I'm going to sell the General Store and head South."Mr. Whiskers can't believe his ears. He knows Seth's been feeling lonely recently, but no Easter egg hunt...suffering codfish! And besides, without Seth around, who will he beat at checkers on Saturday nights?Mr. Whiskers realizes something must be done, but what? Just when things look their worst, his young friend Maggie come up with a plan that may save the egg hunt, and convince Seth that Cranberryport is the place for him afterall!

    On their walks, they find amazing treasures, like shells and stones and sea glass and even a loggerhead turtle. But one day, they find something completely unexpected: a baby whale, washed ashore. Emma empathizes with the animal's suffering, imagining what the whale is thinking and feeling. When the tide starts to come in, Emma pushes as the water swirls and rises, and eventually the whale swims free, back to her mother.

    Retells Sergei Prokofiev's fairy tale of a Russian boy who captures a wolf with the help of a bird, duck, and cat.

    Here's a totally twisted take on the alphabet that invites readers to look at it in a whole new way: An A is an H that just won't stand up right, a B is a D with its belt on too tight, and a Z is an L in a tug-of-war fight! Twenty-six letters, unique from each other -- and yet, every letter looks just like one another! Kind of like...one big family.