Whether it's conducting an orchestra, painting a masterpiece, or slaying a dragon—give a child a stick and let imagination take over and the magic begin.

    Through his energetic images, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Buttons are dots. Wheels are dots. Ladybugs have dots. And so do the fried eggs on your plate. Lots of Dots is lots of fun!

    Did I put them in my box?” Simple rhymes—including socks, box, fox, and ox!—spin the tale of a small duck who waddles through the countryside, forlornly searching for his blue socks. “I’m trying not to be depressed. / Without my socks I feel undressed.” Finally, a sharp-eyed peacock sees a bit of blue peeking out of duck’s lace-up shoes and the mini-mystery is solved! Soft-hued, adorable pen-and-ink and watercolor paintings adorn this winsome story that shares the familiar experience of not really losing something after all.

    But look out—here comes a pack of twenty pigs ready to prove that sharing makes everything twice as fun! This seriously silly picture book with artwork by the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site irresistibly combines the concepts of counting and sharing.

    Can two fish, tails going swish, help? What about three moose, munching on spruce? Will four crickets, chirping in the thickets, be able to pull the unlucky duck out of the muck? With bright, spirited illustrations by Jane Chapman, this counting tale by Phyllis Root is a feast of sounds and numbers that will have young listeners scrambling to join the slippy, sloppy fun.

    Grant Snider's beautiful debut picture book explores the wonders—and colors—of nighttime. For night is not just black and white. Ending in colors yet unseen, and a night of sweet dreams, this lilting lullaby is sure to comfort those drifting off to sleep. With luminous art as spare and glowing as the moon, and lyrical text that reads like a friend leading the way through the wilderness, What Color Is Night? is a rich and timeless look at a topic of endless fascination, and a perfect bedtime read-aloud.

    But how? Well, by knocking it down with his shoe, of course. But strangely enough, it too gets stuck. And the only logical course of action . . . is to throw his other shoe. Only now it's stuck! Surely there must be something he can use to get his kite unstuck. An orangutan? A boat? His front door? Yes, yes, and yes. And that's only the beginning. Stuck is Oliver Jeffers' most absurdly funny story since The Incredible Book-Eating Boy. Childlike in concept and vibrantly illustrated as only Oliver Jeffers could, here is a picture book worth rescuing from any tree.

    Is it a rabbit, a bird, or just spilt milk? In this childhood classic, kids are kept guessing until the surprise ending and they're encouraged to improvise similar games of their own. This beloved classic picture book teaches that, with a little imagination, something ordinary could become something extraordinary.Supports the Common Core State Standards

    At bedtime, a young boy who cannot find his favorite book imagines the various creatures that might have taken it from him.

    The story of a package that gets lost, then found and an in-depth behind the scenes look at what happens at the post office.

    With appealing art and a universal theme, this book is sure to delight young readers. Full color.

    Yes, a dandy whoop-de-do!But Xander was the only panda. Just one panda at the zoo.The zoo’s paucity of pandas doesn’t impede Xander’s party planning for long. He decides to invite all the bears. But Koala protests. She’s not a bear—she's a marsupial! Does that mean she can’t come? Xander rethinks his decision to invite only bears, and “Calling all bears” evolves into “Calling all creatures.” The Newbery Medal author Linda Sue Park introduces animal taxonomy in a wonderfully engaging way, and the celebrated artist Matt Phelan’s charming ink and watercolor paintings are the icing on the cake. A read-aloud whoop-de-do!

    Two fuzzy creatures can't agree on who is small and who is big, until a couple of surprise guests show up, settling it once and for all!The simple text of Anna Kang and bold illustrations of New Yorker cartoonist Christopher Weyant tell an original and very funny story about size -- it all depends on who's standing next to you.

    Off flies the fly! The teasing insect easily misses the rhino’s roll, squash, roll and the tiger’s swat, swoop, snatch too. Michael Rosen’s simple language is a joy to read aloud, while Kevin Waldron’s whimsical images match his playful rhythm beat for beat, offering a fly’s-eye view of each favorite animal before revealing the energized creature in full. How will this gently suspenseful adventure end? Fly, fly, fly!

    Next, some oil is generously applied. (It's really water.) And then some tomatoes. (They're really checkers.) When the dough gets tickled, it laughs like crazy.