She follows him down the chimney and, to her surprise, sees a big tree inside. The harebrained hen can?t make any sense of it, but young children will cackle with delight as they follow Minerva around on her Christmas Eve adventure with the jolly fat fellow. She even gets a present!

    They dance and clap and sing and create. Their adventures are the things of your dreams.Wee readers will delight in finding numbers, clocks, and other surprises hidden in the gorgeous artwork on every page of this dreamy book.

    But when everyone's watching, this book's shy young narrator finds it far easier to hide. With her best friend, Loretta, though, she doesn't feel shy, embarrassed, awkward, or odd -- not one bit. Together they're like two peas in a pod, whether anyone's watching or not.Any readers who have felt shy will certainly recognize themselves within the pages of this adorable book, which will encourage even the most timid of audiences with its celebration of the value of a good friend.Watch the trailer

    - John Burningham at his youngest and best.- A good-night story that plays with the special bond children feel for their beds.- A full 48 pages of glorious illustration.

    Guided and protected by his mother, Little Mist discovers the glistening snow, the mountain streams and the cloud forests. The world may look big to a little cub but one day, his mother tells him, he will be the king of the mountains.

    Following their mother down the street, the baby ducklings are swept up in a gush of water and washed down a storm drain. Quack! says their mother. Cheep cheep! call the babies.Sailing through the sewer pipes, the little ducks go, as mother duck chases them from drain to drain, trying to keep them calm. When her quacks attract the attention of a kind-hearted man, the little ducks are rescued!With warm, nostalgic watercolor paintings, Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully takes readers on a journey, chasing the little ducklings and their mother through the streets of a small town and a busier city. Perfect for young readers, this is a satisfying story of accidental adventure-- with a happy ending.A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year!The award-winning I Like to Read(R) series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors--create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own!For readers who've mastered basic sight words already, Level C books feature slightly longer sentences, suitable for mid-to-late kindergarten readers, and introduce a wider range of high-frequency vocabulary words. Move onto Level D once you've mastered them!

    Johnson, who Winnie fails to recognize as a fox. Never were two chickens more different than Harriet and Winnie. Harriet kept busy with many hobbies, while flighty Winnie was often bored. So when that sly fox Mr. Johnson happened by Winnie’s garden, she couldn’t resist the chance to live a little and climbed into the basket of his balloon. Now it’s up to Harriet to save her foolish friend from Mr. Johnson’s fricassee pot—and there are chases galore, hairsbreadth escapes, clever disguises, and lots more tomfoolery before she does. James Marshall’s clever wit and lively sense of the absurd keep this hilarious romp rollicking along from start to cliff-hanging finish.

    These two best friends don't always see things the same way, but there's one thing they do agree on--their friendship comes first!Croc is grumpy. Ally is happy. Croc sees a problem. Ally finds a solution. In Friends Forever, whether it's choosing new chairs, going for a walk, or looking for the moon, these best friends will always work together despite their differences.With three short stories, easy-to-read vocabulary, and adorable illustrations, this book is perfect for progressing readers.

    Why can't Jo-Jo go to sleep? He doesn''t like the darkness under the bed -- a monster might be hiding there. And one is! It's a tiny speck of a monster with a huge appetite for darkness, gobbling it up under the bed, in every nook and cranny, and in the wide world outside, growing bigger with every bite. Soon there is no darkness left anywhere, from the earth to the stars. All the world is light, but the monster still has an empty feeling inside. Only a sleepless boy will help him be fulfilled at last.

    Now it's Little Puffin's turn to say the words as three cheeky gull chicks follow him around, imitating his every word and step. And the more the puffin protests, the more the gulls enjoy their silly game. Can Little Puffin find a way to turn his frustration into a clever plan? With his usual wit and flair, author and artist Jonathan Allen turns a simple concept into a wildly entertaining tale.

    Learn how these animals and many others grow and thrive in very different environments.Incorporated into the book is an interactive element. Hidden in the illustrations are animals camouflaged in their surroundings. Turn the page to see if you were able to find them all!

    Who will save her? The knights try, but everything goes wrong. Now it’s all up to Peasant Pig and Lowly Worm...but they’ll face their greatest challenge ever!It’s a magical medieval tale as only Richard Scarry can tell it, with humor, unforgettable characters, and a new court jester: Lowly!

    One winter day, Beaver sees some snowflakes in the sky and gets a great idea: he’ll make a friend. Yes! A snowman will be a great friend!Raccoon passes by as Beaver sets to work and offers a helping hand. The two work side by side to give their snowman everything a friend needs.But when the snowman proves to be a little cold, Beaver discovers that he may have unknowingly “made” another buddy instead.Perfect for snuggling together for a read-aloud, this sweet snowy friendship story from Tammi Sauer and Alison Friend will warm the hearts of young readers.

    All Takoda needs is a capable crew to lend a paw or two--or three, four, or more.Two rhinos, three lemurs, four oryx, and eventually ten crocodiles turn up to help. Soon the animals are finding places to pitch in: bears are carving out burrows, elephants are stomping the way for a playground, and crocodiles are crafting a waterslide.It seems everyone's got something to do--everyone, that is, except for ten eager bugs. Will they be underestimated for their size or will this be a new kind of zoo where everyone counts?Judy Sierra's rhymes and Marc Brown's colorful, folk-inspired art lend themselves to themes of counting and teamwork in this new picture book all about how a tiger cub and a whole lot of friends to count on add up to one wonderful zoo."Sierra's rollicking rhymes are fun to read aloud and listen to, and Brown's gouache and pencil illustrations give children lots of details to pore over. This rhythmic, imaginative romp practically reads itself aloud."--Kirkus

    Drawn from the original text and intended for even the youngest of horse lovers, Black Beauty's Early Days in the Meadow depicts the first few months of the horse's life as a foal frolicking in the meadow. Artist Jane Monroe Donovan renders the classic story in lush oil paintings that convey a pastoral world of green fields and shady trees, while tenderly capturing the special love between mare and foal. The perfect harmony of words and pictures proves once again that the simplest messages are often the strongest. Readers will relish the sweetness of life in the meadow and the companionship of family and friends.