The Nanny Piggins Guide to Conquering Christmas


R.A. Spratt - 2013
    This is a guide to conquering the Yuletide season! That's right, it is time to take a stand - don't suffer through another year of brussels sprouts, gift-wrapped socks and slobbery kisses from great aunts who forget to put their teeth in. Take control of your Christmas and put the happy back in your holiday, using the handy hints, games and inspiring stories within this book.

Did You Burp?: How to Ask Questions...or Not!


April Pulley Sayre - 2019
    How do questions and answers work? What makes a good question--and what makes a rude one? Who cares about questions?This helpful how-to guide teaches kids what a question is, when to ask one, and how to form one. Friendly tips and pointers (Keep it short! Show interest!) help kids keep their questions appropriate and on point. Above all, the book encourages readers to keep on asking questions--the beginning of learning about the world.

I Think My Mom's a Superhero


Bolaji O. - 2014
    This early reader superhero fiction all starts when Madison is forced to stand up to a bully, when she hears her mother's voice giving her a talking-to about not standing up for herself. There is no one behind Madison. But she does what her "Mom's voice" tells her to do, anyway. She stands up for herself. Back home, things go from weird to weirder. Either Madison is going cuckoo, or her Mom has X-Ray vision, Octo-arms, a stretchy neck, super speed, telepathy, and more! This is a loving tribute to the amazing women everywhere that nurture their households... and the kids that look up to them. If you and your kids love movies like "The Incredibles", and enjoy stories about strong female characters, you'll LOVE "I Think My Mom's a Superhero"! This read along picture book for children is full of belly laughs and warm family moments that you and your little one will cherish. --- Here's what people are saying about our Brave Little Heroes adventures: Colorado Living says: "Bolaji has found a great way to help, inspire and teach... Thanks for tackling this subject for the benefit of kids! :)" Shannon Bynes says: "I read this book to my 4 year old daughter tonight and she smiled or giggled all the way through it. That’s a winner!" I Am A Very Lucky Man says: "I really loved this book; your child will ask you to read it again and again. The graphics are eye popping. It’s easy to read, and great for your child’s self-esteem. I love the imaginative aspect of the book!" Mike Young says: "This is a humorous, short children’s book that is great for bedtime! I am especially fond of the great artwork and the message behind the story. Definitely a keeper for me." Chedy Abboud (Amsterdam) says: "Bolaji has done a good job presenting children the better side of what we humans are. A story without the usual violence is what kids need to hear today. Keeping them away from horrible things on TV. I recommend this to all parents as a nice book for their children." --- Here's what to do next, Moms: 1. Scroll up, 2. Click the buy button, and 3. Watch as you and your kids giggle and cheer through this hilariously wacky adventure! --- Paul Coleman said: "In the world today I think we need all the positive stuff we can get. I love the "can-do" attitude of this book. We can make our lives and the lives of others better. We simply need to decide to do it, be brave, and take action." --- Here's what to do next, Moms: 1. Scroll up, 2. Click the buy button, and 3. Watch as you and your kids giggle and cheer through this hilariously wacky adventure! Thank you for the privilege of being a small part of your child's favorite memories with you. We cherish that role, here at Brave Little Heroes. And we won't let either of you down. Bolaji O. Chief Storyteller at Brave Little Heroes

The Nest That Wren Built


Randi Sonenshine - 2020
    Papa and Mama Wren gather treasures of the forest, from soft moss for a lining to snakeskin for warding off predators. Randi Sonenshine's lilting stanzas, woven with accurate and unexpected details about Carolina wrens, and Anne Hunter's gentle, inviting illustrations reveal the mysterious lives of these birds and impart an appreciation for the wonder of the life cycles around us. Back matter includes a glossary and additional interesting facts about wrens.

Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere


Kira Willey - 2017
    Best of all, these 30 simple, short breathing practices and movements can be performed anytime, anywhere: in the car to the grocery store, during heavy homework nights at home, or even at a child’s desk at school. Based on Kira Willey’s Parents’ Choice GOLD Award-winning CD, Mindful Moments for Kids, this one-of-a-kind book is sure to help kids find calm, gain focus, and feel energized during the day, and encourage families to establish a fun and consistent mindfulness practice, whether at home or on the go.

Who Wants To Play With Little Mouse?: A fun counting story about friendship


Jana Buchmann - 2020
    Little Mouse travels around counting from one to ten, meeting cute little friends along the way. He encounters the world’s three most adorable spiders catching golden rays of sunshine and various other creatures like six slow slimy snails and seven busy buzzing bees. But none seem to care about him. Little Mouse heads home, dejected. The next day, however, his numbered friends arrive to recount all the good times they’ve shared with Little Mouse. So together they count down from ten to one and regain their friendship.Jana Buchmann demonstrates a musician’s timing and a poet’s skill in this perfectly penned book for aspiring little readers. The story, which centers on being disappointed when things don’t go your way, is easy to follow and is relevant for young children. The counting lesson is delivered is such a beautiful and engaging way that kids won’t even realize they are mastering their numbers. The colorful illustrations are divine, embellishing an already wonderful story. I highly recommend Who Wants To Play With Little Mouse? by Jana Buchmann to anyone with toddlers or preschoolers at home, as it is an easy-to-grasp story that teaches counting and important lessons in such a way that every child will be eager to learn.

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland's Good Fortune


P.J. Lynch - 2015
    Lynch brings a Mayflower voyager’s story to vivid life.At a young age, John Howland learned what it meant to take advantage of an opportunity. Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims’ lives in New England?John Howland’s tale is masterfully told in his own voice, bringing an immediacy and young perspective to the oft-told Pilgrims’ story, P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.

Frankenstein (Raintree Short Classics Series)


Diana Stewart - 1991
    If you haven't read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelgänger themes of Mary Shelley's masterpiece. As fantasy writer Jane Yolen writes of this (the reviewer's favorite) edition, "The strong black and whites of the main text [illustrations] are dark and brooding, with unremitting shadows and stark contrasts. But the central conversation with the monster--who owes nothing to the overused movie image … but is rather the novel's charnel-house composite--is where [Barry] Moser's illustrations show their greatest power ... The viewer can all but smell the powerful stench of the monster's breath as its words spill out across the page. Strong book-making for one of the world's strongest and most remarkable books." Includes an illuminating afterword by Joyce Carol Oates.

Library on Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and America's First Bookmobile


Sharlee Glenn - 2018
    As librarian at the Washington County Free Library in Maryland, Titcomb was concerned that the library was not reaching all the people it could. She was determined that everyone should have access to the library—not just adults and those who lived in town. Realizing its limitations and inability to reach the county’s 25,000 rural residents, including farmers and their families, Titcomb set about to change the library system forever with the introduction of book-deposit stations throughout the country, a children’s room in the library, and her most revolutionary idea of all—a horse-drawn Book Wagon. Soon book wagons were appearing in other parts of the country, and by 1922, the book wagon idea had received widespread support. The bookmobile was born!

Glow: Animals with Their Own Night-Lights


W.H. Beck - 2015
    In this fun and fascinating nonfiction picture book, join world-renowned photographers and biologists on their close encounters with the curious creatures that make their own light. Author’s note and bibliography included.

The House That George Built


Suzanne Slade - 2012
    Cleverly written in the familiar format of "The House That Jack Built," author Suzanne Slade supplements her rhyming verse with lively conversational prose, describing how George was involved in this project from beginning to end, from selecting the location to figuring out how to get the thousands of heavy bricks to the construction site. Rebecca Bond’s watercolor illustrations help readers follow the steps to what became the White House as we know it today.

Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton


Sherri Duskey Rinker - 2017
     Everyone in Folly Cove knows Virginia Lee as “Jinnee.” With her magical wands she can draw whatever she imagines, but for her sons Aris and Michael, she draws the most wonderful characters of all: BIG MACHINES with friendly names like Mary Anne, Maybelle, and Katy. Her marvelous magical wands can make anything move—even a cheerful Little House.

A Celebration of Beatrix Potter


Beatrix Potter - 2016
    To mark her milestone birthday, this gorgeous collection features beautiful illustrations of Potter's characters, as interpreted by well-known illustrators. Each illustration is accompanied by text from the artists explaining what that character means to them, making this a true celebration of Beatrix Potter.

The Wompananny Witches Make One Mean Pizza


Jennie Palmer - 2017
    Rarely do the Wompananny Witches venture outside, for they have a crippling fear of the wild children in their neighborhood. One day, a run-in with a few particularly rambunctious kids sends the witches into a panic, so they blow off some steam by cooking up their very favorite meal: a good old-fashioned pizza pie. But they’ve unintentionally baked their anxious, fearful, freaked-out feelings right into the crust and created one mean pizza! The pie escapes the kitchen, wreaking havoc across town, until one group of hungry children devises a plan to show the pizza what they’re made of. A deliciously saucy tale of friendship and courage, The Wompananny Witches Make One Mean Pizza is a wacky Halloween story that packs laughs all year long.

Random Body Parts: Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse


Leslie Bulion - 2015
    The poems pose puzzles in verse (nod slyly to Shakespeare) and give hints for uncovering the body part. Sidebars educate readers on anatomy, while appended notes look at poetic form and Shakespearean works that inspired the verses. Captivating lines will spark interest in poetry and biology alike.