Giraffes have eyelashes. Sloths hang from trees for days at a time without going to the bathroom. These are just some of the insights featured in Life-Size Zoo. Acclaimed wildlife photographer Toyofumi Fukuda visited Japan's premier zoos to capture remarkably vivid and detailed close-up photographs of 21 animals, from pandas and meerkats to giraffes, rhinos, and elephants (adult and baby). Each photograph is accompanied by a profile including body length, weight, and natural habitat, as well as fun facts about the animal.

    He loved looking at something in the room and making it come alive again in front of him. He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers. Even during WWI, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches . . . until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn't lift his right arm, and couldn't make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint--and paint, and paint! Soon, people—including the famous painter N. C. Wyeth—started noticing Horace's art, and before long, his paintings were displayed in galleries and museums across the country.

    At first he’s short of customers. But that’s all right, because when Dog is surrounded by books, he is never short of friends—or fun. And when customers begin arriving, he knows just which books to recommend.Louise Yates’s expressive little white dog—and his many expressive doggie customers—extend an irresistible invitation to the very youngest to try reading. It’s fun!

    He'll build some birdfeeders and fill them with yummy seeds and berries. That way, the wild birds he loves so much will stick around for the winter--instead of flying south. But there are other hungry creatures in the forest, and the have plans, too...Those darn squirrels!

    R. R. Tolkien.John Ronald loved dragons. He liked to imagine dragons when he was alone, and with his friends, and especially when life got hard or sad. After his mother died and he had to live with a cold-hearted aunt, he looked for dragons. He searched for them at his boarding school. And when he fought in a Great War, he felt as if terrible, destructive dragons were everywhere. But he never actually found one, until one day, when he was a grown man but still very much a boy at heart, when he decided to create one of his own. John Ronald's Dragons, a picture book biography by Caroline McAlister and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, introduces the beloved creator of Middle Earth and author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to a new generation of children who see magic in the world around them.

    He assumes he isn't missing much. However, his friends are determined to prove otherwise! Will Tortoise sleep through another winter, or will his friends convince him to stay awake and experience the frosty fun of winter? Best-selling author Katy Hudson's charming picture book will have everyone excited for winter.

    It's been around for centuries; from the ancient Greeks to the American Indians, everyone's chewed it. But the best kind of gum; bubble gum! wasn't invented until 1928, when an enterprising young accountant at Fleer Gum and Candy used his spare time to experiment with different recipes. Bubble-blowing kids everywhere will be delighted with Megan McCarthy's entertaining pictures and engaging fun facts as they learn the history behind the pink perfection of Dubble Bubble.

    It's pumpkin seeds to pumpkins to pumpkin seeds again!This treat of a picture book comes cloaked in the colors of fall. Bouncy verse and glowing photographs show a backyard pumpkin patch move through its natural cycle--a bug's eye and a bird's high view of seeds sprouting, flowers blooming, bees buzzing, pumpkins growing . . .and then going back to earth.An author's note explains how to grow your own pumpkin.

    Harkness would inherit an expedition from her explorer husband: the hunt for a panda.  She knew that bringing back a panda would be hard. Impossible, even.  But she intended to try.So she went to China, where she found a guide, built traps, gathered supplies, and had explorers' clothes made—unheard of for a woman in those days.  Then she set out up the Yangtze River and into the wilderness.  What she discovered would awe America: an adorable baby panda she named Su Lin, which means "a little bit of something very cute."With breathtaking illustrations from Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet, this little-known true story shares the tale of an adventurous woman who was bold and brave—and the unforgettable journey that helped shape American attitudes toward wildlife.

    They’re mean. They eat things. Bor-ing. At least that’s how Sophie feels when she sits down to do her homework.   But then something decidedly unboring happens—Sophie is whisked away to the Arctic by a jovial polar bear named Olafur. In a whirlwind of a day, he shows the reluctant Sophie the many brilliant things there are to see in his home, from glacier mice to the northern lights. Sophie begins to learn that the polar bear’s home is so much more than a barren, frozen land. It’s a world filled with life, adventure—and a new friend.  The Bear Report showcases the power of curiosity to fill any blank canvas, whether it’s an incomplete homework assignment or the Arctic ice.

    This witty and poignant exploration of predator and prey will have children and parents alike roaring with laughter--and looking for their next meal.

    With clever peekaboo holes throughout, each page reveals a new set of animals playing and living in the tree—baby bears frolicking in the spring, bees buzzing around apples in the summer, squirrels storing nuts in the fall, and finally the lone owl keeping warm during the winter chill—until another year begins. . . .   Children will love seeing a new set of animals appear and then disappear as each page is turned, and along the way they’ll learn about the seasons and how a forest and its inhabitants change throughout the year."Ideal for sharing up close, where little ones can get a good look at the pictures, this gentle, easy-to-memorize story of the seasons is a great fit for bedtime."—Booklist

    Clever rhymes and humorous illustrations bring these collective nouns to life in funny ways, making it easy to remember which terms and animals go together. A glossary in the back matter offers further explanation of words used as collective nouns, such as sleuth meaning detective.-- "Journal"

    At a time when studios wanted to hire men and think in black and white, Mary painted twinkling emerald skies, peach giraffes with tangerine spots, and magenta horses that could fly.

    Here are 12 "hypotheses," as well as lists of "what you need," "what to do," and "what happened" that are sure to make young readers laugh out loud as they learn how to conduct science experiments (really!). Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter—the ingenious pair that brought you 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore—have outdone themselves in this brilliant and outrageously funny book.