Amazing Cows: Udder Absurdity for Children


Sandra Boynton - 2010
    From Sandra Boynton—as it could only come from Boynton—an inventive exuberant jumble of a book for the young reader. Amazing Cows is a picture book, a storybook, a book of fun and games—it’s all those things in one. Plus it even includes a startling recording of Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero Completely Unraveled for Orchestra and Kazoos” performed by Sandra Boynton & The Highly Irritating Orchestra, for download. (Running time is 17:14, but seems MUCH longer.) A work of pure obsession, Amazing Cows celebrates cows and offbeat cowness with a miscellany of cow stories, cow poems, cow jokes, and other bovine ephemera. Along the way, expect lively guest appearances by ducks, pigs, and excessive numbers of chickens. There’s a song: "It Had to Be Moo." A game: "Find the Hidden Cows." Famous Barnyard Composers (surely you’ve heard of Wolfgang Amadeus Moozart and Johann Sebastian Bockbockbock). Knock-knock jokes, a cow myth, and an Amazing Cow comic-book adventure: "Trouble on Zebblor 7." Cow fashion. Cow Limericks. How to Speak Cow. Plus so much mooer.Amazing Cows is full-color, 96 pages long, and packed with the kind of silly fun that young readers adore, especially when they can read it to themselves—and then read it to their parents, and then to their little brothers, and then to the family dog. Or the family cow.

Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox


Michael Buckley - 2020
    . . like a seven-foot-tall robot and a strange, blinking device that glues itself to his chest. The lunchbox also opens wormholes--shortcuts through space--that take Finn to the farthest corners of the galaxy.Sounds awesome, right?Not so much. Rocketing through the cosmos attracts the attention of the Plague, a race of gigantic bugs. The thing on Finn's chest belongs to them--it's the most dangerous weapon in the universe--and they want it back.To fight the Plague, Finn will need the lunchbox, as well as an unlikely squad of assistants: Lincoln, the bully; Julep, the coolest girl in school; Kate, Finn's unicorn-obsessed little sister; and Highbeam, a robot spy from another galaxy. If they can learn to work together, they just might have a chance, but the bugs are coming, and they'll stop at nothing to get their weapon--even if it means destroying the world.

Florence Nightingale: The Courageous Life of the Legendary Nurse


Catherine Reef - 2016
    This riveting biography explores the exceptional life of a woman who defied the stifling conventions of Victorian society to pursue what was considered an undesirable vocation. She is best known for her work during the Crimean War, when she vastly improved gruesome and deadly conditions and made nightly rounds to visit patients, becoming known around the world as the Lady with the Lamp. Her tireless and inspiring work continued after the war, and her modern methods in nursing became the defining standards still used today. Includes notes, bibliography, and index.

Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom


Matthew Swanson - 2021
    Immediately, he begins drafting a bucket list of unfinished tasks and lifelong dreams (finish his 1000-piece model of the Taj Mahal, eat an entire cake, etc....). As Ben marches himself in and out of trouble, takes useful risks, and helps both his parents to see the bigger picture, readers discover how something that seems scary can instead be empowering--leading to friendships that might never have been made, neighbors that might never have been known, and apple pies that might otherwise never have been baked.

Bernard Pepperlin


Cara Hoffman - 2019
    But when a girl in a blue dress crashes the Hatter’s tea party, the Dormouse feels more awake than he has in a long time. He wishes he could follow her and be a part of her adventure.As luck would have it, a surprising twist of fate sends the Dormouse on an adventure of his own, where he must not—cannot—fall asleep. For he is destined to save a magical world outside Wonderland, and it will take all his courage (and a few new friends) to do it.

Raya and the Last Dragon: The Deluxe Junior Novelization (Disney Raya and the Last Dragon)


Random House Disney - 2021
    Awkwafina lends her voice to Sisu, the last dragon, who was left in case dark forces return to the world. Exploring themes of community and hope, and inspired by the beautiful and diverse cultures of Southeast Asia, the fantasy-action-adventure Raya and the Last Dragon opens in U.S. theaters on March 12th, 2021. The Deluxe Junior Novelization retells the whole exciting story and includes a poster and eight pages of full-color scenes from the movie in this eye-catching hardcover edition. It's perfect for readers ages 8 to 12!

Weird Little Robots


Carolyn Crimi - 2019
    But life may be a bit more magical than they thought.Nine-year-old Penny Rose has just moved to a new town, and so far the robots she builds herself are her only company. But with just a bit of magic, everything changes: she becomes best friends with Lark, has the chance to join a secret science club, and discovers that her robots are alive. Penny Rose hardly remembers how lonely she used to feel. But then a fateful misstep forces her to choose between the best friend she’s always hoped for and the club she’s always dreamed of, and in the end it may be her beloved little robots that pay the price.

Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana


Patti Wheeler - 2010
    After receiving word that a poacher has shot and wounded a lioness, they set off into the wild in the hopes of saving the mother and her cubs before the poacher finishes the job. While on this amazing journey, they encounter Africa’s Big Five — elephants, rhinos, cape buffalos, leopards, and lions — only to discover that the most dangerous predator in the African bush is not the king of beasts, but man himself.In the tradition of the historic journals kept by explorers such as Lewis and Clark, Dr. David Livingstone, and Captain James Cook comes the adventure series Travels with Gannon and Wyatt. From Africa to the South Pacific, these twin brothers have traveled the world. You never know what they will encounter as they venture into the wild, but one thing is certain — wherever Gannon and Wyatt go, adventure is their constant companion.You can find Gannon and Wyatt’s blog, photographs, and video footage from their real-life expeditions at travelswithgannonandwyatt.com.

The Hero Next Door


Olugbemisola Rhuday-PerkovichR.J. Palacio - 2019
    J. Palacio ( Wonder ), Rita Williams-Garcia ( One Crazy Summer ), Linda Sue Park ( A Long Walk to Water ), and many more. Not all heroes wear capes. Some heroes teach martial arts. Others talk to ghosts. A few are inventors or soccer players. They're also sisters, neighbors, and friends. Because heroes come in many shapes and sizes. But they all have one thing in common: they make the world a better place.Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this vibrant anthology features thirteen acclaimed authors whose powerful and diverse voices show how small acts of kindness can save the day. So pay attention, because a hero could be right beside you. Or maybe the hero is you.AUTHORS INCLUDE: William Alexander, Joseph Bruchac, Lamar Giles, Mike Jung, Juana Medina, Ellen Oh, R. J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park and Anna Dobbin, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Ronald L. Smith, Rita Williams-Garcia, and short-story contest winner Suma Subramaniam

Hot Dog!


Anh Do - 2016
    Meet Hotdog , the sausage dog, and his friends!Theres Kev, the goofy cat, whos always dressed up in some silly costume, and Lizzie, the gutsy lizard, who eats bug burgers for breakfast!Together theyre going on a mad adventure to help a baby bird find its missing mum!Hotdog and his friends will go to any lengths, and dizzying heights, to find her!But can they handle dirty nappies and karate-chopping roosters along the way?

Rats on the Roof


James Marshall - 1991
    An illustrated collection of seven stories about various animals, including a frog with magnificent legs, a hungry brontosaurus, and a mouse who gets married.

I Was the Jukebox: Poems


Sandra Beasley - 2010
    They are decisive and fearless. Every object, icon, or historical moment has a soul with a voice. In these poems these soulful ones elbow their way to the surface of the page, smartly into the contemporary now.”—Joy Harjo, prize citationfrom “The Piano Speaks”     For an hour I forgot my fat self,     my neurotic innards, my addiction to alignment.     For an hour I forgot my fear of rain.     For an hour I was a salamander     shimmying through the kelp in search of shore,     and under his fingers the notes slid loose     from my belly in a long jellyrope of eggs     that took root in the mud.

Wonder Woman: The Junior Novel


Steve Korté - 2017
    But that’s not who she truly is. Diana is an Amazon princess from the island of Themyscira. She is also Wonder Woman. From a secret hidden island to the frontlines of battle, Diana is ready for the role of a lifetime—to become the hero the world needs most.Based on the major motion picture, Wonder Woman: The Junior Novel retells the exciting story of Diana’s journey to become one of the world’s greatest heroes and features eight pages of full-color images from the film.

BBXX: Baby Blues: The First Two Decades


Rick Kirkman - 2010
     A comprehensive and commemorative edition of all things Baby Blues, creators Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott share personal reflections and never-before-published essays, drawings, and photographs, along with more than 1,000 of the best Baby Blues strips from the last two decades.Named Best Comic Strip of the Year in 2002, Baby Blues follows young parents Darryl and Wanda MacPherson as they raise children Zoe, Hammie, and Baby Wren.  From temper tantrums to toilet training, everyday experiences that all parents agonize over and laugh about serve as fertile comedic ground as Baby Blues: XX takes readers on a relevant and timeless journey through twenty years of Baby Blues. What results is a truthfully fulfilling romp through the daily aspects of family life as well as a carefully nuanced tug at the heartstrings.

The Invisible Manuscript


Alfian Sa'at - 2012
    Bearing passionate testimony to private and public memories, this gathering of poems and prose fragments documenting the intimate challenges of homosexual longing gives voice to an invisible minority still struggling to be recognised today. Now published at last, this book, full of fierce confessions, ambivalences and flinty epiphanies, will shock and devestate. Here is an uncompromising confluence of unfulfilled desires wrought through language by one of Singapore's most outspoken and critical voices.