Year after year, everything is comfortingly predictable: the families they see, the rhythm of the days, the stars, the bonfires, and even the pattern the tractor makes as it rakes the sand on their beach. But this year, something is different: the girl, our narrator, meets a new friend who shows her how to dive under the waves and spot satellites in the night sky. When it’s time to go, she’s sad to part ways. But she knows she can look forward to seeing him next year. Illustrated in a restrained, retro palette, this story perfectly captures the timelessness of a summer holiday. The effect is nostalgic and almost hazy, as if seen in a dream, a memory, or through the shimmering air of a hot summer day.

    It accompanies her and her mommy through all the activities of their day, until she outgrows the stroller and is able to pass it down to a toddler in her neighborhood who now needs it. And so the stroller lives on, getting passed from one child to the next, highlighting for preschool readers the diversity of families: some kids with two mommies, some with two daddies, some with just one parent, and all from different cultures and ethnicities. This simple, cheerful book is a lovely portrait of the variety and universality of family.

    And on that swervy-curvy car ride back home Max smiles as the moon tags along, thinking of Grandpa. But when the sky darkens and the moon disappears behind clouds, Max worries that it did not follow him home after all. Yet when the clouds part and light streams through his window, he realizes that Grandpa was right—the moon was with him all along.Floyd Cooper received the Coretta Scott King Award for The Blacker the Berry, two Coretta Scott King Honors for Honey in Broomwheat Tea and I Have Heard of a Land, and an NAACP image award. His books have also been named to numerous best books list and been given many Parents Choice Awards.  In Max and the Tag-Along Moon, his lush paintings perfectly capture the wonder of the moon, the love between grandfather and grandson, and that feeling of magic every child experiences when the moon follows him home.

    . . except when they come from a porcupine.Pearl tries and tries to solve her problem and finally fixes it in her very own way.From the author-artist of A Pet for Petunia comes a prickly new character with a great big heart. Paul Schmid paints Pearl’s world with soft and dreamy colors that reflect just how sweet she is beneath her sharp-quilled porcupine exterior.

    Along the way she faces wire gates, dark shadowy woods, a bull grazing with the cattle, and wickedly cold wind. Will she be able to sing her way through the dark morning? Lilting rhyming text by Caroline Woodward and stunning paintings by Julie Morstad create the look and feel of a classic picture book.

    In fact, Jim doesn't feel like Jim. He feels rather, well, beastly. But he is hungry. Very hungry....This tale of moods from Laurel Snyder and Chuck Groenink offers a depiction of the beastliness that lives inside all of us—and the power we have to put it in its place.

    VERY shy.Her home is in an abandoned mailbox, and she'd rather stay put. Outside kids scream and soccer balls collide, trees look like monsters, and rain is noisy in a scary kind of way. It's much nicer to stay inside, drawing. But then a young boy drops a letter in Willow's mailbox: it's a note to the moon asking for a special favor. Willow knows that if she doesn't brave the world outside, the letter will never be delivered, and the boy will be heartbroken. Should she try? Can she?Cat Min delivers a breathtakingly illustrated story about shyness, the power of empathy, and what it means to make a friend.

    What does Goose need more than anything this Valentine's Day? A hug from a good friend.

    Animals seek food and shelter. And people gather together to celebrate their blessings with family and friends. Cynthia Rylant's lyrical language and Jill Kastner's rich, cozy paintings capture the cherished moments of this autumn month--the moments we spend together and the ones we witness in the world around us.

    One night, a great storm washes a small whale onto the beach. The boy discovers the whale is a good listener. The father discovers the boy is lonely. Together, they return the whale to the sea. And from that day on, the boy learns that the father can be a good listener too, in Benji Davies's heartwarming tale, The Storm Whale.

    Eventually,after climbing mountains, taking trains and going through the air in a balloon, he finally thinks that he has lost them.Or has he?In the process he has managed to get himself lost, and it is only then that he realizes that the cunning lemurs might just be helpful after all...

    There are a few rules, though: No messes. No colors. No surprises allowed. EVER. But when the tour gets to the bar code room, some color has seeped in! It's up to the reader to try and rub it off and tilt the book so that it comes off, but nothing works! The animals then use a giant cleaning contraption and need you to help blow into the nozzle to power the machine, and it starts to work! But there's too much color to clean, and it blows color all over the factory. And the animals love it! But of course, they'll have to change the rules a bit now.

    It's difficult to fit in when plant eaters can be so cruel--just because you ate a relative of theirs that one time! What's a carnivore to do? Aaron Reynolds's roaringly funny text is perfectly paired with Dan Santat's dynamic illustrations, creating a toothsome picture book that's sure to stand out from the herd.

    Tappleton gets up early to prepare the turkey. Mr. Tappleton sets off to buy the pies. Kenny makes the salad, and Jenny mashes the potatoes. Then all the relatives arrive for an enormous Thanksgiving dinner.But this year nothing seems to go right. First the turkey slides down the icy hill and into the pond -- "plop! splash!" Then the bakery sells out of pies. It looks like it's going to be a pretty bleak holiday...until Grandmother reminds everyone that there's more to Thanksgiving than a turkey and trimmings.

    . . .   Bear and his duck family do everything together. That is, until winter arrives. Bear is supposed to hibernate this time of year, but he doesn’t want to miss out on any of the fun. But can Bear really stay awake all winter long? Gentle humor and endearing illustrations bring a delightful twist to a bedtime routine that children and their parents will easily recognize.