With wit, sublime humor, and beautiful art, The Secret Lives of Princesses introduces a bevy of royal daughters to the court of young readers.  While it alludes to some of their more famous sisters, this large and lusciously illustrated compendium presents such unique and unforgettable characters as the petite Princess Claire Voyant, who can see very far into tomorrow (but muddles her predictions); Princess Oblivia, who forgets everything and misses all her appointments; Princess Tangra-La, who does the tango, the fandango, and any dance that comes her way; and Princess Babbling Brooke, who chatters on and on about everything and nothing. Plus, you’ll learn about such princessy matters as the language of fans; coats of arms; and how not to offend dangerous fairies who cast evil spells.Poetic, often humorous, and always enchanting, this is the perfect collection for princess-loving girls who long for more than just the traditional fairy tale.

    During the process of being translated into a Disney film, Beauty and the Beast had several false starts. It was originally conceived as an eighteenth-century period piece, directed by the British husband-and-wife team of Richard and Jill Purdum. After some changes, two new directors, Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, were put in charge of the project. Although he was initially reluctant to do another animated film after The Little Mermaid, the late Howard Ashman came on board shortly after the new directors did. Over many months, the characters and story evolved further, but there were many changes, and wrong turns. Sequences were created, reworked, cut, and added as the film gradually emerged, like a statue from a block of marble. After all of the ups and downs, Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991 to rave reviews and record-breaking box-office business. The film was widely hailed as a technical and aesthetic breakthrough and remains the only animated feature ever to be nominated for an Oscar for best picture. This authoritative book features interviews with artists, voice-over actors, and executives, and transcripts of meetings and story sessions. Illustrations abound throughout, including sketches, caricatures, sequences of animation drawings, and preliminary artwork from discarded scenes. This book will be a must-have for any fan of the "Tale as Old as Time."

    Full color.

    This charming allegorical tale is once again available in a new edition. 18 color illustrations.

    How could everyone in a castle - even the flies on the walls - sleep for a century and then wake up? This magical, beautifully illustrated tale begins when the king excludes the most difficult fairy of the kingdom from a feast celebrating the birth of his beautiful daughter Briar Rose. Furious, the fairy storms in and curses the baby, pronouncing that on her fifteenth birthday she will be pricked by a distaff (from a spinning wheel) and fall down dead. The youngest fairy softens the curse to a century-long sleep. Despite the fact that the king burns all the spinning wheels in the kingdom, 15-year-old Briar Rose finds herself in the tower where the evil fairy and her fate await her. The drama of the spell unfurls as she and the other inhabitants of the castle fall instantly asleep, from courtiers to kitchen maids. Thorny briars - moodily captured by Trina Schart Hyman's masterful paintbrush - grow up around the castle. Hyman depicts those who died attempting to break through the maze of thorns to reach the legendary sleeping beauty in a nightmarish illustration. But goodness and true love prevail when the perfect prince does finally find his way through the thick vines.Hyman won a Caldecott Medal for her work in Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, and her version of The Sleeping Beauty makes us believe in the magic of the spell. The scenes inside the castle are alive with color and movement and rich with details that children will devour eagerly. Moods and expressions are rendered exquisitely, especially those of the wild, red-haired beauty Briar Rose. This wonderful read-aloud classic is one of Hyman's best.

    Illustrator Emma SanCartier captures the bizarre and hilarious elements of 17 monsters from around the world in a light, tongue-in-cheek tone, from the Japanese dream-eater Baku and the Persian carnivorous unicorn Shadhavar to the Eastern-European Shurale, a literal tickle monster. Packaged in a textured three-piece case and illustrated in lush watercolor, Monsters You Should Know is a perfect primer for the many strange, frightening, and compelling things that go bump in the night.

    a rhyming picture bookWhat happens when the traffic lights break down at the intersection? All kinds of vehicles in a whole lot of trouble and a great big traffic jam!A fun and colourful book for kids who love cars, especially broken ones.Elements include: Cars, trucks, motorbike, bus, van, fire engine, tow truck, RV, police car, traffic lights, a bird.245 words21 pages

    Ruth Sanderson retells and illustrates the classic Brother Grimm tale with lavish full-color oil paintings.

    The castle was inside a museum. When children visited, they’d press against the glass globe in which the castle sat, to glimpse the tiny girl. But when they went home, the girl was lonely. Then one day, she had an idea! What if you hung a picture of yourself inside the castle inside the museum, inside this book? Then you’d able to keep the girl company. Reminiscent of “The Lady of Shalot,” here is an original fairy tale that feels like a dream—haunting, beautiful, and completely unforgettable.

    She wanders the woods, chasing squirrels and rabbits and climbing trees. Free-spirited and independent Lillian is a kindred spirit to the many wild cats who gather around the ancient beech tree. One day, while she is under the beech, Lillian is bitten by a poisonous snake. The cats refuse to let her die, and use their magic to turn her into one of their own. How she becomes a girl again is a lyrical, original folktale. Set in the countryside north of de Lint's fictional Newford, with some of the same characters as the duo's recent, acclaimed "Seven Wild Sisters," "A Circle of Cats" is the long-awaited first picture book by long-time friends Charles de Lint and Charles Vess, whose masterful art is as magical as the story.

    This is a retelling, set in the Art Deco period of the 1930s, of the familiar story of a girl who is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, but still manages to meet her prince with the help of a fairy godmother.

    He sings, dances, exercises, and has a good time with his friends. He usually sleeps during the day, and during the evening, when most of the creatures are taking a rest or sleeping, he has fun doing his colorful activities.One day he woke up early, and as bored as he was, he set foot on another adventure. Poor Froblicious (Maybe not)! He tripped on a seesaw and sailed through the window of a little girl’s bathroom. The girl, called Ruby, wanted Froblicious to feel at home. But what happened to Froblicious? What did he think about Ruby? Was he scared? In this fun rhyme geared towards 2- to 6-year-olds, children will enjoy the beginning of a friendship between a little girl and a silly frog while learning through play. This story helps children: Build oral concepts Develop listening skills Nurture imagination and artistic skills Download you copy today!

    This much loved story is joined by the following classic titles, to give a collection that has something for everyone, whatever their age: Black Beauty, Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, Robin Hood, The Wind in the Willows, The Railway Children, The Jungle Book and Peter Pan.

    This hilarious 233 page full-color book contains over 400 of cartoonist, Chad Carpenter's latest comic creations. Consisting of anything animal, vegetable or mineral, but with a decidedly outdoorsy slant, this award-winning comic strip takes an offbeat view of the woodsy side of life. Find out for yourself why TUNDRA is one of the fastest-growing comic strips on the planet!

    Now she has to do her best to pick up the pieces, put her life back together, and move on, which is difficult when she's cut off from the demesne for the summer. Stuck with Aunt Agatha again, Celia quickly realizes that things still aren't what they seem, and while she's seeking answers and information, those are in short supply.Returning to the demesne doesn't bring the result she expected, but then everything shifts again with the discovery of a new puzzle, one that has Celia looking for pieces of a different sort. Her search brings her to new people and new places, but now she has to balance all the demands on her time and attention even as she struggles to master new abilities and keep up with her schoolwork. The stakes are higher than ever and Celia can't afford to fail, because now she's searching for more than just answers.