Some play in bright red socks that stink, blue team jerseys that don’t quite fit, accessorized with a baseball mitt, and a sparkly crown!Princesses come in all kinds. Exuberant text from Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Yolen Stemple paired with charming illustrations prove that girls can jump in mud puddles and climb trees, play sports and make messes—all while wearing their tiaras! Not every girl has a passion for pink, but all young ladies will love this empowering affirmation of their importance and unlimited potential.

    Daddy gathers wood. Mama cooks. Ben and the other slaves go out to work. Each day is the same. Full of grueling work and sweltering heat. Every day, except one, when the bell rings and Ben is nowhere to be found. Because Ben ran. Yet, despite their fear and sadness, his family remains hopeful that maybe, just maybe, he made it North. That he is free.

    But in the course of this picture book from Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Vaunda Michaux Nelson, a young girl finds a way to express her affection for this prickly, independent woman.

    Along the way, they experience the sights and sounds of the streets--neighbors talking, musicians performing, and beautiful, colorful cars putt-putting and bumpety-bumping along. In the end, though, it's their old car, Cara Cara, that the boy loves best.

    All is well...until an intruder arrives in her kingdom. Surely he will be banished soon. Or could he be here to stay? Princess Puffybottom is not amused.

    In which a girl who is asked where she's really from turns to her abuelo for the answer.

    Who will the king choose?Award-winning artist John Steptoe’s rich cultural imagery of Africa earned him the Coretta Scott King Award for Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. The book also went on to win the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. This stunning story is a timeless treasure that readers will enjoy for generations.Coretta Scott King Award for IllustrationCaledcott HonorReading Rainbow BookBoston Globe-Horn Book

    From home to school and back again, our hero conquers the Mountain of Knowledge (the library), forges new bridges (friendships), and leads the victorious charge home on her steed (the school bus).This story is a powerful declaration about courage, confidence, kindness, and finding the extraordinary in everyday moments.

    "I want to be an astronaut!" she says to everyone who will listen. While her mama is away, Astrid and her papa have fun acting out the challenges an astronaut faces on a space mission -- like being in zero gravity ("I can do that all day long!" she says), eating food from a kind of tube, and doing science experiments with the help of cookie sheets. When at last it's time to meet Mama at the air base, Astrid wears her favorite space T-shirt to greet her. But where exactly has Mama been? Channeling a sense of childlike delight, Ken Wilson-Max brings space travel up close for young readers and offers an inspiring ending.

    An American Library Association Notable Children's BookThis is the land that's never been sold, where work the hands, so wise and old, that reach through the water, clear and cold, into the mud to pick the taro to make the poi for our ohana's luau.Acclaimed illustrator and animator Kenard Pak's light-filled, dramatic illustrations pair exquisitely with Ilima Loomis' text to celebrate Hawaiian land and culture.The backmatter includes a glossary of Hawaiian terms used, as well as an author's note.A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the YearA New York Public Library Best Book of the YearA Bank Street Best Childrens Book of the Year!A Booklist Editor's Choice

    But he also has many demands, and when his faithful subjects let him down, King Baby himself must take royal action!

    Gaston works the hardest at his lessons on how to be a proper pooch. He sips - never slobbers! He yips - never yaps! And he walks with grace - never races! Gaston fits right in with his poodle sisters.But a chance encounter with a bulldog family in the park-Rocky, Ricky, Bruno, and Antoinette-reveals there's been a mix-up, and so Gaston and Antoinette switch places. The new families look right...but they don't feel right. Can these puppies follow their noses-and their hearts-to find where they belong?

    Alex likes dolls. What will they play together? Their new favorite game, of course!Jack and Alex meet almost every morning in the sandbox at the playground. Jack likes trucks -- big ones, the kind that can wreck things. Alex likes dolls -- pink ones, with sparkles. And tutus. But Jack doesn't want to play dolls, and Alex doesn't want to play trucks. Readers will smile at the quintessential playground squabble on display in this amusing, relatable tale from Ann Stott and Bob Graham. Luckily for Jack and Alex, the day is saved with a little bit of compromise -- what about dolls who drive trucks? -- and the easy acceptance that characterizes the youngest of friendships. Not to mention a familiar jingle from nearby that reminds Jack and Alex of something else they both like: ice cream!

    Quite the contrary: "You're a BOY!" Mother and Father tell Bailey. "You shouldn't be thinking about dresses at all." Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey's imagination and courage. In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. And Bailey becomes the girl she always dreamed she'd be!This gorgeous picture book—a modern fairy tale about becoming the person you feel you are inside—will delight people of all ages.

    From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving and thoughtful story explores what a child can do to be kind, and how each act, big or small, can make a difference--or at least help a friend.