She imagines the flowers that she'll braid into his beautiful pink mane, and she even picks the perfect name for him: Sparkle. But when Sparkle arrives, his ears are too long, his horn is too short, he smells funny--and oh, he has fleas. Lucy isn't pleased, but in the end she warms up to Sparkle and realizes that even though he wasn't exactly the unicorn she wanted, he might be just the one she needs.

    It's completely unique and one-of-akind. A ladder is nothing like a puffin. A house is nothing like a puffin. A newspaper is nothing like a puffin. . . . But wait! Who would have guessed? Could these things be more alike than you think? Young children will love following this mischievous puffin in an entertaining exercise in creative classification-- and are guaranteed to start looking at everyday things in a whole new way.

    What better thing to do on a grey day than collect some colours? Cat decides to do just that, but where will she find them? A charming, deceptively simple story about making the most of the world around us, and giving something back in return.

    One day, Vincent's mother asks him to go to the store to pick up a few items: "a bunch of carrots, a box of rice, some China tea, a big, firm pear, and a tin of peas" to be precise. "And hurry home in time for tea!" she says. Sounds easy enough.Yet distractions are at every turn, causing havoc with Vincent's memory. All of a sudden, a tin of peas is replaced by a trapeze; a big, firm pear becomes a big furry bear; and a box of rice transforms into a box of mice!Needless to say, Vincent's mother is in for quite a surprise.Told with a playful rhythm for reading aloud and illustrated with exuberance and great child appeal, this humorous picture book will have kids laughing and asking for repeated readings.Praise for Chimpanzees for Tea!"Award-winning British author/illustrator Empson energetically illustrates her tale of ever more outrageous memory lapses with scribbly watercolors full of swooping action and bouncing wildlife that follow the swirling text across the pages. Wild daubs of color emphasize the comically powerful wind and the mounting chaos. As much fun to read as it is to hear, and a real treat for the eyes."—Kirkus Reviews

    In this brilliantly captivating and gloriously illustrated story, a brave young penguin takes a kite flight to a tropical paradise. But in the end, he realizes that home is where his igloo is.

    When his owner, Mandy, is fast asleep, he likes to slip on her dancing shoes and dance the night away. Then one night Mandy catches Rupert in the act. She's not upset; she's thrilled! And she's determined to give Rupert dancing lessons so he can hone his talent. Rupert is horrified. Lessons are for dogs. Cats like to do things their own way. Dismayed, he loses all interest in dancing and goes into hiding. But Mandy comes up with the perfect plan to get Rupert dancing again . . . Michael di Capua Books

    It's time for the little red chicken's bedtime story—and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But the chicken can't help herself! Whether the tale is "Hansel and Gretel" or "Little Red Riding Hood" or even "Chicken Little," she jumps into the story to save its hapless characters from doing some dangerous or silly thing. Now it's the little red chicken's turn to tell a story, but will her yawning papa make it to the end without his own kind of interrupting? Energetically illustrated with glowing colors—and offering humorous story-within-a-story views—this all-too-familiar tale is sure to amuse (and hold the attention of) spirited little chicks.

    From the top of her tiara down to her sparkly studded shoes, Nancy is determined to teach her family a thing or two about being fancy and using fancy words.How Nancy transforms her parents and little sister for one enchanted evening makes for a story that is funny and warm—with or without the frills.Perfect for fans of the Eloise and Olivia books.Ooh la la! Fancy Nancy is starring in her own fabulous TV show on Disney Junior. READ THE BOOKS THAT STARTED IT ALL!Fancy NancyFancy Nancy and the Posh PuppyFancy Nancy: Bonjour, ButterflyFancy Nancy: Splendiferous ChristmasFancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion BoutiqueFancy Nancy and the Mermaid BalletFancy Nancy: Fanciest Doll in the UniverseFancy Nancy and the Wedding of the CenturyFancy Nancy 10th Anniversary EditionFancy Nancy: Saturday Night SleepoverFancy Nancy: Oodles of Kittens

    What happens next is up to you! A delightfully meta picture book that will set imaginations soaring.It begins with an octopus who plays the ukulele. Since this is a story, the octopus has to want something—maybe to travel to faraway galaxies in a totally awesome purple spaceship. Then the octopus sets out to build a spaceship out of soda cans, glue, umbrellas, glitter, and waffles. OK, maybe the octopus needs some help, like from an adorable bunny friend, and maybe that bunny turns out to be . . . a rocket scientist? (Probably not.) But could something even more amazing come to pass? Debut author Maggie Tokuda-Hall, with the help of illustrator Benji Davies, sets up an endearingly funny story, then hands the baton to readers, who will be more than primed to take it away.

    Full-color illustrations.

    Inspired by an Ig Nobel Prize–winning investigation of how cats behave like liquids, it introduces some of the physical properties of liquids—they adapt to fit a container, they flow like fluids—and is just pure fun. Like its inspiration, it makes you laugh, then think. Back matter includes a brief introduction to the different physical states: solid, liquid, gas.

    Broken-down tractors, kites stuck in trees--they're always having problems! It's a good thing they have such helpful farm animals on hand.This time around, the pigs want to pitch in, and boy, do they ever! The Greenstalks soon find, though, that life might just be a little easier without their help... Pigs to the Rescue is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

    Marilyn doesn’t have hers yet, but she can’t just go out and look for one. Your monster has to find you. That’s just the way it works. Marilyn tries to be patient and the kind of girl no monster can resist, but her monster doesn’t come. Could she go out and search for him herself? Even if that’s not the way it works?

    And boy, does it come in handy! Whenever anything scares Oliver--be it a teacher, a classmate, or the prospect of learning "everything"--the alligator makes the problem go away. Quickly, school becomes much simpler . . . and a little lonely. But Oliver knows just what to do! Paul Schmid's gentle, funny tale about overcoming first day of school jitters is destined to become a modern classic that fans of "Olivia" and Kevin Henkes' books will love.

    A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives—a wolf who HATES eating frogs—our hero decides that maybe being himself isn’t so bad after all.