Oh wait, puppy, wait, please, please, please, please.... In page after page of tail-wagging fun, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, Beacon Award-winning producer Tonya Lewis Lee, take a close-up look at what happens when a couple of high-energy toddlers meet their match in an adventurous pup who has no plans of letting up. Irresistible illustrations by Coretta Scott King Award winner Kadir Nelson unleash countless memorable moments of toddlerhood, and puppyhood, which families with four-legged friends will enjoy over and over again. A Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection A Black Expressions Book Club Featured Selection

    Nothing that Sparkles suggests--making crafts, playing checkers, and selling lemonade--goes well with the leaping, spinning, and twirling that Ballet Cat likes to do. When Sparkles's leaps, spins, and twirls seem halfhearted, Ballet Cat asks him what's wrong. Sparkles doesn't want to say. He has a secret that Ballet Cat won't want to hear. What Sparkles doesn't know is that Ballet Cat has a secret of her own, a totally secret secret. Once their secrets are shared, will their friendship end, or be stronger than ever?

    From napping to crying, cuddling to playing, this book introduces the world with humor, honesty, and unmitigated sweetness. Award-winning author and artist Lucy Knisley celebrates the joys of having—and being!—a baby in this timeless celebration of new beginnings and the transformative power of love.

    Home may be on the road or the sea, in the realm of myth, or in the artist's own studio. A meditation on the concept of home.

    But one day while playing farm animals at recess, her friends point out that her whiskers would make her the perfect cat. She starts to notice body hair all over--on her arms, legs, and even between her eyebrows.With her parents' help, Laxmi learns that hair isn't just for heads, but that it grows everywhere, regardless of gender. Featuring affirming text by Shelly Anand and exuberant, endearing illustrations by Nabi H. Ali, Laxmi's Mooch is a celebration of our bodies and our body hair, in whichever way they grow.

    even if you don't have sparkles.Thelma dreams of being a glamorous unicorn. Then in a rare pink and glitter-filled moment of fate, Thelma's wish comes true.She rises to instant international stardom, but at an unexpected cost. After a while, Thelma realizes that she was happier as her ordinary, sparkle-free self. So she ditches her horn, scrubs off her sparkles, and returns home, where her best friend is waiting for her with a hug.From award-winning author Aaron Blabey comes this joyful book about learning to love who you are...even if you don't have sparkles

    But she has Four Big Problems in the way: Mom, Dad, Uncle Conrad...and Grand-mama.Will her presentations, proposals, and pie charts convince them otherwise? Turns out, all it takes is one word.

    Santa comes to the barnyard in this holiday addition to the award-winning Click, Clack series from the New York Times bestselling and Caldecott winning team who brought you Click, Clack, Moo and Click, Clack, Peep!It's the night before Christmas and all through the farm, not a creature is stirring, not even a...duck?Farmer Brown is busy decorating his home in preparation for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve! All seems calm in the barnyard, but Farmer Brown isn't the only one who is getting ready...Ho Ho OH NO!Once again, Duck has gotten the whole barnyard STUCK in quite a predicament! Will anyone be able to un-stuck Duck and save Christmas?

    It's sleepy time in Alphabet Town. But the twenty-six little letters of the alphabet all have something they need--or want--to do before BIG-letter moms and dads tuck them in. Not since the classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom has there been such an appealing way to teach the youngest child the ABCs while providing a one-minute goodnight story. Of course, Melissa Sweet's animated watercolor, pencil, and collage illustrations may beg for a little more time to match up all the toys with the right letters, and Judy Sierra's rollicking rhymed story will want to be heard again and again. Okay, so maybe it's a three-minute story!

    With a simple text and childlike language, the story expresses and addresses a child's concerns, highlights the friendship between child and pet, presents a common ground for the parents, and resolves conflict in a positive way. Tricia Tusa's charming and whimsical artwork adds a light, happy feel to this poignant--but not overly sentimental--story.

    Seuss! This never-ever-before-seen picture book by Dr. Seuss about making up one’s mind is the literary equivalent of buried treasure! What happens when a brother and sister visit a pet store to pick a pet? Naturally, they can’t choose just one! The tale captures a classic childhood moment — choosing a pet — and uses it to illuminate a life lesson: that it is hard to make up your mind, but sometimes you just have to do it! Told in Dr. Seuss’s signature rhyming style, this is a must-have for Seuss fans and book collectors, and a perfect choice for the holidays, birthdays, and happy occasions of all kinds. An Editor’s Note at the end discusses Dr. Seuss’s creative process, his interest in animals, and Seussian creatures throughout his work.

    But what did he make it into after that? And after that?As children turn the pages of this book, they can use the die-cut holes to guess what Joseph will be making next from his amazing overcoat, while they laugh at the bold, cheerful artwork and learn that you can always make something, even out of nothing.

    Deborah Freedman’s masterful new picture book is at once an introduction to the pieces of a house, a cozy story to share and explore, and a dreamy meditation on the magic of our homes and our world.Before there was this house,there were stones,and mud,and a colossal oak tree—three hugs aroundand as high as the blue.What was your home, once?This poetically simple, thought-provoking, and gorgeously illustrated book invites readers to think about where things come from and what nature provides.

    The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do? When they go up to the roof to escape the heat, they find the lights--in stars that can be seen for a change--and so many neighbors it's like a block party in the sky! On the street below, people are having just as much fun--talking, rollerblading, and eating ice cream before it melts. The boy and his family enjoy being not so busy for once. They even have time to play a board game together. When the electricity is restored, everything can go back to normal . . . but not everyone likes normal. The boy switches off the lights, and out comes the board game again.Using a combination of panels and full bleed illustrations that move from color to black-and-white and back to color, John Rocco shows that if we are willing to put our cares aside for a while, there is party potential in a summer blackout.

    But every night, as darkness falls, she becomes afraid. When her mother encourages her to look at the soft glow of the moon and fireflies dancing in the night, and to listen to the chirping of crickets and the gentle rustling of the wind, Ella gradually realizes that nighttime can be something to look forward to rather than something to fear.