Mantis, Do you pray or simply prey?Do you scout about for victims Or fold your hands all day?In addition to the playful rhyming poems, the supplementary text highlights surprising facts about bugs of all kinds--from familiar ants to exotic dragonflies, cringe-worthy ticks and magnificent fireflies. Melissa Sweet's collage-inspired mixed-media illustrations beautifully render these creatures and compliment the poems' whimsical tones. This is an enchanting and informative look at a perennial topic of interest for kids--cool bugs!A Christy Ottaviano Book

    For fans of Guess How Much I Love You—only funnier!This book extends the saying, “I’ll love you till the cows come home” to the humorous extreme. Along the way there are yaks in cadillacs, sheep setting sail, frogs on big-wheeled bikes, and more, in this great read-aloud.I’ll Love You Till the Cows Come Home is filled with warm, funny art and rhythmic, romping text, perfect for curling up with your little one at the end of the day...or anytime you want to express your love.

    

    Listen as it rushes past big cities and small towns. Listen as it sweeps through forests and fields and into tunnels. Hear the whistle wailing, brakes squealing, wheels rolling, r-o-l-l-i-n-g, stop. Now the train is homeward bound. All aboard!Notable Children's Books of 1991 (ALA)Best Books of 1991 (SLJ)100 Favorite Paperbacks 1994 (IRA/CBC)Notable 1990 Childrens' Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)Children's Books of 1990 (Library of Congress)Favorite Paperbacks for 1994 (IRA/CBC)

    Julie is pleased when her mother decides to take her to visit the most wonderful garden in the world, owned by a great friend of the family. They arrive at their destination, and for this little girl it is like walking in a dreamy world where twisting plants grow as tall as trees. When Julie's dog runs away, she asks the gardener to help find her pet, and soon she and the gardener are friends. But this amiable, bearded old man is a very unusual gardener, for not only does he cultivate his many plants, he also paints beautiful pictures of them. Julie has made a friend of the great impressionist painter, Claude Monet. Based on a true story about the daughter of another fine artist, Berthe Morisot, this charmingly illustrated picture book includes reproductions by author-illustrator Laurance Anholt of a famous waterlilies painting, which Monet completed in his garden at Giverny, a few miles from Paris.