One, two three.Why won't someone play with me?Heidi is a stick insect, long and thin like the twig of a tree. It's her first day at Bug School, where she hopes to learn lots and make new friends. But no one will talk to her . . . and no one will play with her at lunch. No one notices her at all - not even her teacher Miss Orb. Perhaps she's blending in with the branches a little too well! Finally, Heidi speaks up for herself and Miss Orb comes up with a plan to help Heidi stand out.

    Duck doesn’t like water and is perfectly fine alone, thank you very much. But then, one dark and stormy night, an outgoing, water-loving, and very lost Frog turns up at Duck’s door. Can this odd couple find Frog’s home? And will they find friendship along the way?

    He appears to have everything he needs, but one day he signs that he is sad and needs a friend. His keepers bring him a tiny cat called Beauty and the two of them become inseparable.

    Will he ever find someone to talk to? Someone just like him? With a subtle and witty interplay between words and illustrations this introduction to colours and shapes (and chameleons ) is sure to delight everyone, from the youngest child upwards. Another triumph by prize-winning Emily Gravett.

    Twelve-year-old Ailis and her younger brother, Quinn, survive, but their family does not. Ailis and Quinn are taken by a family acquaintance to live in a boarding house in Chicago, where they meet six-year-old Nettie, an orphan displaced by Chicago's fire. But the woman who runs the boarding house makes their lives miserable, and Ailis vows to find a way for the three of them to leave. Ailis finds a job at a millinery shop and Quinn plays his fiddle on the streets so they can save money. Then Nettie disappears, and Ailis and Quinn discover she's been kidnapped by a group that forces children to work in the sewers killing rats. Can they find a way to rescue her?

    But then he scolds her, and suddenly—Worst. Day. Ever. Will puppy be able to make amends and turn their day back around? Join an exuberant, boundary-pushing pup and her exasperated boy in this reassuring story about unconditional love and the challenges of trying to always be on your best behavior.

    Beetle thinks that's terrific! He brings Stick Bug all over town, happily boasting and bragging (while Stick Bug waits behind a tree, in a pile of leaves, or under a bench). Oh, dear--maybe Stick Bug isn't as wild about the purple puffy coat as Beetle is! What can the two friends do? Charming illustrations bring to life both characters' endearing struggles in this warm and humorous story about learning to pay attention to what makes your friend happy rather than what makes you happy.

    . . but not quite. Follow a pair of birds on a snowflake-filled journey though a gorgeous winter landscape to explore how everything, everywhere is wonderfully unique--from branches and leaves to forests and trees to friends and loved ones.

    . . but every time he turns around, his tasty treasure seems to be shrinking! Who's stealing his favorite meal from right under his snout? To make the tedious job of standing guard by the clover patch day and night more bearable, Roy's neighbor Jarvis the gopher helps by lending his never-ending stash of fascinating books that absorb Roy's attention—as the patch disappears bit by bit. All of that reading makes for a very smart boar, though . . . and in a surprise table-turning twist at the end, Roy might just get the better of that sneaky clover thief!

    Yes, a dandy whoop-de-do!But Xander was the only panda. Just one panda at the zoo.The zoo’s paucity of pandas doesn’t impede Xander’s party planning for long. He decides to invite all the bears. But Koala protests. She’s not a bear—she's a marsupial! Does that mean she can’t come? Xander rethinks his decision to invite only bears, and “Calling all bears” evolves into “Calling all creatures.” The Newbery Medal author Linda Sue Park introduces animal taxonomy in a wonderfully engaging way, and the celebrated artist Matt Phelan’s charming ink and watercolor paintings are the icing on the cake. A read-aloud whoop-de-do!

    He has terrible teeth, and knife like claws, and huge, horrifying hungers . . . at least that's how Squirrel sees him. But where Squirrel sees trouble, Chamomile sees a new neighbor just trying to be friendly. Who is right.....and who is really causing trouble?

    Kadir Nelson, acclaimed author of Baby Bear and winner of the Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards, presents a resonant, gently humorous story about the power of even the smallest acts and the rewards of compassion and generosity.With spare text and breathtaking oil paintings, If You Plant a Seed demonstrates not only the process of planting and growing for young children but also how a seed of kindness can bear sweet fruit.

    . .In a book as cheerful and charming as Snail himself, Corey Tabor tells a winning tale of a slow but steady snail, whose determination and kindness bring him the best reward of all: friendship.

    He is also a finder. The occupants of Offley Street are delighted when their missing items are found, but not so happy to learn that their brilliant detective is a mouse! What will happen to Hermelin? Will his talents go unrewarded?

    At school, her teacher tells the class to look for the helpers—the good people working to make things better in big and small ways. She wants more than anything to help in a BIG way, but maybe she can start with one small act of kindness instead . . . and then another, and another. Small things can compound, after all, to make a world of difference.The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul touches on themes of community, resilience, and optimism with an authenticity that will resonate with readers young and old.