The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau


Michelle Markel - 2012
    But he had no formal training. Instead, he taught himself to paint. He painted until the jungles and animals and distant lands in his head came alive on the space of his canvases. Henri Rousseau endured the harsh critics of his day and created the brilliant paintings that now hang in museums around the world. Michelle Markel's vivid text, complemented by the vibrant illustrations of Amanda Hall, artfully introduces young readers to the beloved painter and encourages all readers to persevere despite all odds.

Working from Home with a Cat


Heidi Moreno - 2020
    With colorful art and oh-so-relatable scenarios, Working from Home with a Cat takes readers through a day in the life of artist Heidi Moreno and her pet cat Peanut. From the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed, she navigates working with her needy yet loveable feline companion, as Peanut walks over her paintings, hogs her chair, disrupts her yoga routine, and more.Despite all the struggles, cats like Peanut are always by our side when we need them, even on the hardest, loneliest workdays. Working from Home with a Cat reminds us why cats are the cutest colleagues and a source of comfort and calm in this chaotic world.• Perfect gift for any cat owner• Features funny and heartwarming scenarios anyone who has tried to concentrate at home with a cat has experienced• For readers who like How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You, Herding Cats by Sarah Scribbles, and You Need More Sleep: Advice from Cats by Francesco Marciuliano

The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems


Paul B. Janeczko - 2019
    Janeczko and Richard Jones invite you to enjoy an assortment of poems that inform and inspire.Today I walked outside and spied a hedgehog on the hill. When she and I met eye to eye, she raised up straight and still. Be they practical (how to mix a pancake or how to bird-watch) or fanciful (how to scare monsters or how to be a snowflake), the poems in this book boast a flair and joy that you won't find in any instruction manual. Poets from Kwame Alexander to Pat Mora to Allan Wolf share the way to play hard, to love nature, and to be grateful. Soft, evocative illustrations will encourage readers to look at the world with an eye to its countless possibilities.

Jazz On A Saturday Night


Leo Dillon - 2007
    Leo and Diane Dillon use bright colors and musical patterns that make music skip off the page in this toe-tapping homage to many jazz greats. From Miles Davis and Charlie Parker to Ella Fitzgerald, here is a dream team sure to knock your socks off. Learn about this popular music form and read a biography of each player pictured-and then hear each instrument play on a specially produced CD. What's the featured song? "Jazz on a Saturday Night," written and recorded to accompany this book.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes


Eric Litwin - 2010
    Along the way, his shoes change from white to red to blue to brown to WET as he steps in piles of strawberries, blueberries, and other big messes!But no matter what color his shoes are, Pete keeps movin' and groovin' and singing his song...because it's all good. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes asks the reader questions about the colors of different foods and objects—kids love to interact with the story.The fun never stops—download the free groovin’ song.

The Little World of Liz Climo


Liz Climo - 2013
    Through her comics, we make unexpected yet wise discoveries: how armadillos make fast-and-easy Halloween costumes, how dinosaurs deal with their inquisitive children, or the ingenious ways that animal friends can work together to ensure their juice is always freshly squeezed.

The Secret Life of Walter Kitty


Barbara Jean Hicks - 2007
    He's Fang—a swashbuckling protector of the high seas, a tiger waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey, and a caped superhero ready to save the day. But do his "people," Mr. and Mrs. Biddle, acknowledge his greatness? Not even!So once in a good long while, Walter will answer to Wally or Kitten or even Snookums, but most of the time . . . he's Fang!With a hilarious text by Barbara Jean Hicks and fabulously fun illustrations by Dan Santat, Walter Kitty is one cat readers will not soon forget!

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music


Margarita Engle - 2015
    Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule—until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongós. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at last her dream-bright music was heard, everyone sang and danced and decided that both girls and boys should be free to drum and dream.         Inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers, Drum Dream Girl tells an inspiring true story for dreamers everywhere.

What Do People Do All Day?


Richard Scarry - 1968
    Follow lots of busy people working through their busy days. With plenty to spot on every page, this book is a timeless classic, written and illustrated by the author.

I Am Pan!


Mordicai Gerstein - 2016
    Noise and confusion follow him as he steals arrows from Artemis, conceives panic, tricks the moon into falling in love with him, and saves the world from the monster, Typhon. With panache and a wicked pair of horns, Pan spreads chaos and laughter on the way to becoming Mount Olympus's most lovable pest.From Mordicai Gerstein, Caldecott Medal-winning author of The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, comes an irresistible picture book about Greek mythology's wildest, wackiest god. Gerstein's high-spirited paintings and rollicking sense of humor create an accessible introduction to an unforgettably vivacious hero.

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum


Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman - 1998
    But its string becomes untied, and the balloon embarks on an uproarious journey through New York City. With an ever-increasing cast of wacky urban characters in tow, it soars past a host of landmarks. Eighteen famous paintings and sculptures are reproduced in this delightful, wordless book that explores the magical relationship between art and life.

Bently and Egg


William Joyce - 1992
    Bently can't resist painting Kack Kack's egg, and thanks to his dazzling brushwork, his charge is soon mistaken for an Easter egg and kidnapped. How Bently gets the egg back to the nest, and what happens when Kack Kack returns, proves to be an adventure of a lifetime for a young frog."Bently is miffed when his friend Kack Kack the duck ignores him to brood in her nest. After she leaves him in charge of her single egg, Bently decides to paint it. [But] when a boy mistakes it for an Easter egg and runs off with it, Bently knows his duty. . . . A book that revels in the joys of spring and song, friendship and fatherhood, and the spirit of adventure . . . a classic tour de force." —H. Notable Children's Books of 1993 (ALA)Best Books of 1992 (SLJ)100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1992 (NY Public Library)

What Do You Do With a Chance?


Kobi Yamada - 2018
    Later on, when a new chance arrives he reaches for it, but this time he misses and falls. Embarrassed and afraid, he begins ignoring each new chance that comes by, even though he still wants to take them. Then one day he realizes that he doesn't need to be brave all the time, just at the right time, to find out what amazing things can happen when he takes a chance…The final addition to the award-winning What Do You Do With…? picture book series created by New York Times best selling author Kobi Yamada and illustrator by Mae Besom, What Do You Do With a Chance? inspires kids of all ages and parents alike to find the courage to go for the opportunities that come their way. Because you never know when a chance, once taken, might be the one to change everything.

Good Night, Planet


Liniers - 2017
    Planet befriends a dog, gobbles a cookie, and takes a leap into the unknown.

Olivia


Ian Falconer - 2000
    dressing up, singing songs, building sand castles, napping (maybe), dancing, painting on walls and - whew! - going to sleep at last.