But what about a super-speeder in Japan that zooms on the track at 361 miles per hour? Or the world's longest freight train, stretching on for a whopping 4.6 miles? Or futuristic railways in the sky? In this Level 1 reader, young readers will discover a whole new way of looking at trains!National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

    When Chuck gets ready to go to town, his barnyard friends gather around. Into the truck climb the duck Luck, dogs Nip and Tuck, the burro Buck, workhorse Huck, the chicken that goes “cluck,” Sue and Lou, and the goat Flo, too. So come along, jump in Old Blue—there’s still some room just for you!

    Along the way she faces wire gates, dark shadowy woods, a bull grazing with the cattle, and wickedly cold wind. Will she be able to sing her way through the dark morning? Lilting rhyming text by Caroline Woodward and stunning paintings by Julie Morstad create the look and feel of a classic picture book.

    The firefighter responds. He jumps in the fire truck and races to a daring rescue! Will he be able to save the trapped people in time? Luckily, there's a happy ending for everyone: This is the smokeAs it drifts far away.This is the glowAt the end of the day.This is the company --Eight-fifty-zeroThis is the firefighter.This is the hero. Get ready for an adventure as Laura Godwin and Julian Hector celebrate one of our bravest everyday heroes.

    Two neighboring cats compete for first place in a pumpkin contest, but it takes a cat-astrophe to make them realize there's a lot more they can win than just a blue ribbon.

    But when a trip to the museum turns into a real-life prehistoric encounter, Dave and his dad don't need to use their imagination. As they walk through the rooms of the exhibit, Dave keeps trying to get his dads attention. The dinosaurs around him spring to life, but Dad remains oblivious to the unfolding scene and keeps insisting they're dead. Dave knows better, though, and when they find themselves pursued by a hungry Tyrannosaurus, Dad finally realizes it too!

    But they know one thing: the hedgehog that wandered in must be trouble. So all winter they build and build, until they have a wall that towers over the barn. When spring comes, though, they find that everything hasn't gone quite according to plan . . .

    But the baby elephant knows just what to do: lead all the big animals down to the water, where they can drink and squirt and splosh and splash! With brilliant paintings that saturate the pages, Flora McDonnell refreshes the very concept of young picture books.

    When Max finds a pile of forgotten toys under the bed, his brothers Benjamin and Karl wonder what’s so special about some old blocks. So Max shows them. With some clever twists of both blocks and imagination, he constructs not only a castle but an entire adventure, complete with pirates and knights, a dark dungeon and a dragon. This ingenious sequel to Max’s Words and Max’s Dragons shows readers just how much fun wordplay can be.

    It’s time to sleep! Who dozes standing on one leg without falling over, snores while flying, or snuggles together in a big sleepy pile?

    She wanted to be an artist in 1860, a time when proper girls certainly weren't artists. It wasn't polite. But Mary herself wasn't polite. She pursued art with a passion, moving to Paris to study, painting what she saw. Her work was rejected by the Salon judges time and time again. One day, the great painter Edgar Degas invited her to join him and his group of independent artists, those who flouted the rules and painted as they pleased—the Impressionists. Mary was on her way."I began to live," said Mary. Today, her paintings hang in museums around the world and she is recognized as one of the most celebrated female artists of all time.

    What's a little lamb to do about a fierce coyote that wants to eat her? Why, trick him, of course...and and trick him again...and trick him one more time! Here's a lively retelling of a Mexican folk tale by master story teller Verna Aardema, illustrated in bold, winning colors by Petra Mathers.

    One morning, on his daily trip to the junkyard, he discovers a pink refrigerator.There’s not much to say about a pink refrigerator, except this one had a note on it. The note said, “Paint pictures.” And so Dodsworth did.The next day, a new note appeared on the pink refrigerator. And the day after that, and the day after that.Dodsworth liked doing as little as possible. But the pink refrigerator had big plans for him . . .

    Illustrations.

    Measuring comets and gathering moondust is nothing compared to floating weightless and meeting the three-eared bunnies from another planet! But no matter where astro bunnies roam, they will always come back home, especially when it's time to snuggle down for the night. A lilting, refreshing alternative to earthbound bedtime books, this new collaboration features art by an award-winning artist who has an uncanny ability to create the most sophisticated, childlike world you've ever seen.