Messy hair? Beaver breath? So what! Here's a little girl who knows what really matters.At once silly and serious, Karen Beaumont's joyous rhyming text and David Catrow's wild illustrations unite in a book that is sassy, soulful--and straight from the heart.About the Author:KAREN BEAUMONT's picture books include Being Friends, illustrated by Joy Allen, and Louella Mae, She's Run Away!, illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger. She lives in Capitola, California.DAVID CATROW is a political cartoonist and the illustrator of many popular books for children, including the Book Sense 76 Top Ten selection Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll by Karin Ireland. He lives in Springfield, Ohio.

    Spend the holidays with your favorite blue cat! In this rockin' spin on the traditional tale The Night Before Christmas, Pete the Cat proves that giving your all in the spirit of Christmas is the totally groovy thing to do.

    With very spare, incredibly lively language, this is an entertaining read-aloud, with two amazing and oh-so-adorable characters at its heart. When a greyhound meets a groundhog, wordplay and crazy antics ensue. The two animals, much like kids, work themselves into a frenzy as they whirl around and around one another. ("Around, round hound. Around, greyhound.") The pace picks up ("Around and around and astound and astound"), until they ultimately wear themselves out. Jenkins s masterful text is deceptively simple. NPR on "Toys Meet Snow" by Emily Jenkins Appelhans, whose career up to now has been in animated films such as "Coraline, " is a revelation. "Booklist, " Starred, on "Sparky!, " illustrated by Chris Appelhans Appelhans makes an auspicious picture book debut with strikingly beautiful watercolor and pencil illustrations. His style, reminiscent of Jon Klassen s, incorporates a muted color palette, but with a slightly softer, rounder quality, while also weaving in visual deadpan humor. "The Horn Book""

    As soon as the sun goes down, the animals are up! ("Sheep can't sleep. Sheep can't sleep. Sheep can't sleep 'cause they got that beat!") Before long, there's a giant farmyard dance party, complete with funny animal sounds. But what happens when all the racket wakes up Farmer Sue? Here's a colorful bedtime story that begs to be read aloud.

    Sister's hands snap. Granny sings scat. Uncle soft-shoes--and Baby keeps the groove. Things start to wind down when Mama and Daddy sing blues so sweet. Now a perfectly drowsy baby sleeps deep, deep, deep. Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie pair up for a celebration of music, imagination, and big families--but they know that even a jazz baby needs to snooze. Oh yeah.

    In this very funny, cumulative song, each page tells us something new about the donkey until we end up with a spunky, hanky-panky cranky stinky dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey, which will have children in fits of laughter! There is much fun to be had by listening to the song and trying to predict the new word for each clue given!

     Mama says, "Lollipop, stop! Stop!Jumping snapping nonstop."Arms and shoulders pop 'n' lock.Lollie's dancing hip-hop.Watch as Lollipop grooves her way through her bedtime routine, brushing her teeth to the beat and shimmying into pjs. She sways along with her sister, her parents, and even some enthusiastic pets until, finally, Lollie closes her eyes and dances through her dreams. Susan Montanari and Caldecott Honor winner Brian Pinkney offer a playful bedtime read-aloud that perfectly captures the joy of music, movement, and family.

    What is there to do today? Go to the library, of course! Who will we meet there? Let's find out!

    So he put on his hat, and his shoes made in France...and opened a jar and put ants in his pants! So begins this monstrously funny, deliciously disgusting, horrifyingly hilarious story of a monster who follows his dream. Keith Graves' wacky illustrations and laugh-out-loud text will tickle the funny bone and leave readers clamoring for an encore.

    But not Fred. He has far too much to do!Armed with plenty of imagination, this determined little boy resists bedtime with adventurous flair. Drowsy animals of all stripes look on in disbelief as he just keeps going and going and going, until...Could it be that, after so much activity, even Fred needs to rest? Shhh. Close the book softly, and please let Fred sleep.

    Featuring a range of zippy characters from Acrobat Peas to Zoologist Peas, this picture book highlights a variety of interests, hobbies, and careers; each one themed to a letter of the alphabet and gives a wonderful sense of the colorful world we live in.

    . . he'd fall upon his bottomus!Calamity ensues when an elephant, a centipede, and a rhinoceros try finding a cure for hippo's colossal case of hiccups. Zenz's creativity shines through with his use of colored pencil in this off-the-wall read-aloud. HIC! HIC! HIC!

    The short rhyming text makes it a perfect read-aloud treat, and with vivid illustrations from a breakout DreamWorks animator, readers and listeners alike will be thrilled to see what happens one night on Easy Street when a pair of cats start to groove to the beat.

    He would rather be El Skippito, the great sword fighter, who can do anything. Like saving a roving band of Mexican Chihuahuas from a humongous bumblebeeto that is tormenting them.Join Skippyjon Jones on his first great adventure. He's fearless, he's fun, he gets the job done - yes, indeed-o.

    Lots of aisles. Long lines. Mama is too busy to notice that Llama Llama is getting m-a-d! And before he knows it, he's having a full-out tantrum! Mama quickly calms him down, but she also realizes that they need to make shopping more fun for both of them. Parents and children are sure to recognize themselves in this fun-to-read follow-up to the popular Llama Llama Red Pajama.Watch a Video