Here is the best and worst of any hike: from picnics to puffing and panting, deer-sighting to detours. Featuring a glossary, a sketchbook by one of the characters, abundant labels throughout, and scientific backmatter.

    I'll take her for walks. I'll read stories to her and draw her pictures.Petunia knows she can take care of a pet, but what happens when the pet she most desires is a skunk?

    But you can plant a farm anywhere you like! A box or a bucket, a boot or a pan almost anything can be turned into a home for green, growing things. Windows, balconies, and front steps all make wonderful spots to start. Who knows what plants you may choose to grow and who will come to see your new garden? Phyllis Root delivers a modern rhyming mantra for anyone hoping to put their green thumbs to good use, while G. Brian Karas s cheerful urban illustrations sprout from every page. After all, anywhere can be a farm all it takes is one small seed and someone to plant it."

    Watson and Mrs. Watson live ordinary lives. Sometimes their lives feel a bit too ordinary. Sometimes they wish something different would happen. And one day it does, when someone unpredictable finds her way to their front door. In a delightful origin story for the star of the Mercy Watson series, a tiny piglet brings love (and chaos) to Deckawoo Drive — and the Watsons’ lives will never be the same.

    She gets the chance to prove herself and find what she's good at when puppy Ooh-la-la goes missing.

    Not books. Not magazines. Not even the menu on the ice cream truck.Fortunately, Madeline Finn meets Bonnie, a library dog. Reading out loud to Bonnie isn't so bad. When Madeline Finn gets stuck, Bonnie doesn't mind. Madeline Finn can pet her until she figures the word out.As it turns out, it's fun to read when you're not afraid of making mistakes. Bonnie teaches Madeline Finn that it's okay to go slow. And to keep trying. And to get support from a friend.

    Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it—and you can read it!Kevin Henkes uses striking imagery, repetition, and alliteration to introduce basic concepts of language and the changing of the seasons. And Laura Dronzek’s gorgeous, lush paintings show the transformation from quiet, cold winter to the joyful newborn spring. Watch the world transform when spring comes!

    Rather than focusing on going to bed—and what kid wants to think about going to bed?—this book explores all of the dreamy, wonderful, strange things the next day might bring.

    Wednesday chases squirrels while the two friends discuss fishing and war and how back before the neighborhood was there enormous woolly mammoths roamed where houses now sit.Thoughts open up to other thoughts, and ideas are born and carried forward, often transforming into other ideas until he finds that ideas really are all around, you just have to know what to do with them.

    After her cat, Tiger, dies, Kate needs another companion to love, someone to keep her feet warm at night. "Let's get a pup!" she proclaims as she bounces in bed with Mom and Dad. The young parents are quite cool with the idea and scan the papers until they find a Rescue Center. There they find a wide assortment of pooches: "sniffers, sleepers...fighters and biters...happy dogs, sad dogs." And then they see Dave. Dave is perfect -- small, cute, and brand-new. Content to leave with the new member of the family, they spot another dog, Rosy, who is old and gray and can barely stand up. But, as Graham so beautifully states, "she radiated Good Intention." Now they want Rosy too, but they can't save every dog, right? So, they reluctantly leave. That night the family can barely sleep, and only due in part to Dave's crying. They know what they have to do -- they go to the shelter and get Rosy.Graham uses pen-and-ink and watercolor to reveal the close-knit and very hip family. With Mom's tattoo and nose ring, and Dad's ear-pierced, funky look, this parental duo reflects the times. And their house, filled with the tiny details that make up our lives, makes for cozy reading. Uneaten toast on the counter, with shoes and toys strewn on the floor, will be familiar to young readers who don't have Donna Reed as a mother. Graham's signature watercolors are a perfect match for this easygoing and loving group. The text also complements the pace of the story. When they see their new pup, the name "Dave" is in bold, and is the only word on the page. And when they leave Rosy behind, white space and a minimum of words convey their heartbreaking decision.With expert storytelling and humorously endearing illustrations, Graham once again creates a loving family with unconventional folks. Their love of pups, and each other, is sure to tug at the heartstrings of every young reader. (Amy Barkat)

    My name is Nicholas. I live in a hollow tree. This classic Golden Book, illustrated by Richard Scarry, celebrates its 50th anniversary with the story of Nicholas, a bunny clad in red overalls. In the spring, he picks flowers, and in the summer, watches the frogs in the pond. In the fall, he sees the animals getting ready for winter. And when winter comes, he watches the snow falling from the sky...then curls up in his hollow tree to dream about Spring. No child's library is complete without this gentle story of the seasons.

    Encouraged by the little yellow bird to look closely at the world around him for inspiration, Rocket sets out on a journey. Along the way he discovers small details that he has never noticed before, a timid baby owl who becomes his friend, and an idea for a story. Declared a best children's book of the year by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, this book is sure to appeal to kids, parents, teachers, and librarians.

    This beautifully illustrated, humorous, and insightful picture book offers a new twist on the classic boy-and-his-dog story!On a rainy day, Frank’s parents take him to the shelter to get a new dog. That’s how Frank finds Lucky, and from that moment on, they’re inseparable. As Frank and Lucky venture out into the world around them, they discover they both have a lot to learn. Exploring their neighborhood teaches them about biology: Lucky learns all about squirrels, deer, and—unfortunately for Frank—skunks. Sharing a bed teaches them about fractions—what happens when one dog takes up three-quarters of the bed, or even the whole thing? They even learn different languages: Frank makes a friend who speaks Spanish and Lucky tries to learn Duck! Who knew you could learn so much without ever setting foot inside a classroom?

    He just had a yard — a yard he didn’t want to mow. But under the direction of the wise (and ecologically sensitive) Little Red Hen, Mac learns to look at the environment in a very different way, and whole new worlds start to bloom with the help of some mud, garbage, horse poop, and worms! Judy Sierra’s spirited verse, paired with Matthew Myers’s exuberant illustrations, yields a fresh take on a children’s classic, complete with raised-bed gardens and an organic farmers’ market—making this a perfect story for armchair gardeners and devoted locavores of all sizes.

     You are not my mother, said the wolf pup. I am not your mother, said the polar bear, but I can cuddle you and keep you safe.Here is a picture book that celebrates differences and promotes kindness, sure to resonate with the many fans of the beloved classic, Mama Do You Love Me? During the ice melt that follows an Arctic winter, a wolf cub finds himself spinning out to sea on a sheet of ice. He awakes lost and alone to an unfamiliar smell: a polar bear. And while the polar bear is not the wolf's mother, she takes him on her back to her den, where she feeds him, keeps him warm, and does everything a mother would do. Time passes, the cub grows into a wolf, and soon it's time for him to venture out into the wide world alone. Years later, the now grown wolf comes upon a tiny lost polar bear cub--and the cycle begins again. With poetic prose this beautiful picture book about the love and kindness of a stranger is sure to touch a deep chord, particularly with parents and children who have found each other in unexpected ways.