In this bold, funny, and unflinching collection, the beloved author-illustrator retains all the emotion and humor of the original fairy tales: the heroes are courageous, the villains are horrible, and the children are tasty. With her sly, simple language and vibrant illustrations, even the scariest fiends become the stuff of shared hilarity and shivery thrills.

    Hoffmann in 1816, has fascinated and inspired artists, composers, and audiences for almost two hundred years. It has retained its freshness because it appeals to the sense of wonder we all share.Maurice Sendak designed brilliant sets and costumes for the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Christmas production of Nutcracker and has created even more magnificent pictures especially for this book. He has joined with the eminent translator Ralph Manheim to produce this illustrated edition of Hoffmann's wonderful tale, destined to become a classic for all ages.The world of Nutcracker is a world of pleasures. Maurice Sendak's art illuminates the delights of Hoffmann's story in this rich and tantalizing treasure.

    But only the girl who proves she can see him will be his bride. The two beautiful but spoiled daughters of a poor village man try their best to be chosen, but it is their Rough-Face-Girl sister, scarred on her face and arms from tending fires, who sees the Invisible Being in the wonder of the natural world.The dramatic illustrations reflect the vibrant earth colors of the native landscape and the wisdom and sensitivity of the protagonist.

    But before she can carve it into a giant, crooked-toothed pumpkin moonshine (or jack-o'Iantern), she has to get it home.

    The addition of darling animals throughout the story and cut-away views of the castle will bring children back again and again to look at the pictures.

    Featuring the only Monster in Cutesville, LOVE MONSTER is a wonderfully warm and witty look at how sometimes, when you least expect it, love finds you… From a phenomenal picture book talent.It can be tough being the only funny-looking Monster in Cutesville, but this Monster is not one to hang around and feel sorry for himself, so he’s off – out into the big wide world to look for someone to love him.He looks high, he looks low and he looks everywhere in-between, but it’s only when he’s just about to give up that he finally finds what he is looking for…Featuring an instantly charming main character who will appeal to children and adults alike, LOVE MONSTER is a warm and witty tale about the power of taking action from a terrific talent new to the HarperCollins list.

    He was there to open his present--a teddy bear--and to watch his older sisters and brother open their gifts. His siblings went off to play with each other's new toys, but nobody wanted to play with Morris's bear. So Morris found something new to play with--a disappearing bag. He jumped right in and became invisible! Now he has something everybody wants to try. But they have to find him first. This warm and humorous story proves that sometimes the littlest bunny gets the last laugh.* "Irresistible . . . The author-artist does some wonderful things with Morris's cars and eyes, expressing exactly the sentiments of a put-out preschool rabbit."--Booklist, starred review

    She had to spin straw into gold. And who should show up to help her but an odd little man named Rumpelstiltskin.According to tradition, the gold-bedazzled king and the miller's daughter are wed. But wait just a minute! This king is definitely not husband material, and there's someone else who is -- a hardworking guy who's supportive and nice looking, and who really comes through in a pinch.Why not marry Rumpelstiltskin?In Diane Stanley's merry rethinking of the traditional tale, Rumpelstiltskin and the miller's daughter are wed...and then sixteen years later their only daughter is stuck in the same dilemma: She's been locked in a room full of straw to spin for a greedy king! She could call for help from her father, but this fairy-tale heroine has some canny plans of her own.How Rumpelstiltskin's daughter sets things to rights in the troubled kingdom, while achieving a unique place for herself, makes for a wise and witty tale of kindness and cleverness rewarded. Diane Stanley's wickedly funny text and zesty illustrations put a delightful new spin on a classic fairy tale.Rumpelstiltskin's daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom.2000-2001 Georgia's Picture Storybook Award & Georgia's Children's Book Award Masterlist01-02 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist (Gr. 3-6) 99-00 Children's Book Award

    Beloved author James Marshall--creator of George and Martha--puts a hilarious twist on a classic tale in his retelling of Hansel and Gretel.Abandoned in the woods, what will Hansel and Gretel - so innocent, so vulnerable, so deliciously plump - do when they come face-to-face with a dastardly, ugly, over-dressed witch?

    But Little Bush Deer is onto Anansi's scheme, and hatches a plan to beat him at his own game.Based on tales originating in West Africa and familiar in Caribbean culture, the five-book Anansi the Trickster series is full of slapstick humor and mischief. Eric A. Kimmel's imaginative energy combined with Janet Stevens' expressive illustrations create the perfect silly stories for fun-loving kids.

    Frankenstein is the scariest of all the monsters in Miss Devel's castle. He can frighten anything--animals, parents, even rocks. Until one night, Miss Devel wakes up and runs downstairs to find that Frankenstein has lost his head!

    and Mrs. Porcupine name their baby Lance? Needleroozer? Quillian? Perhaps they should, but they don't. Instead they decide on the unlikely name of Fluffy. Fluffy's name is a source of sorrow to the sharp-quilled youngster, until he meets and befriends a rhinoceros named . . . Hippo! Munsinger's bright, cheery pictures are as whimsical as Lester's delightfully silly text. Together, they create nicely absurd images, such as a scene in which Fluffy and Hippo roll on the ground, laughing so hard that they start to cry. Lester and Munsingerwho have collaborated on other picture bookstell a sweet story with joyful exuberance.

    The smoothly told story contains the familiar details and a happy ending in which Cinderella forgives her stepfamily." - The Horn Book Club -"This satisfying tale never grows old. Koopman's illustrations are jewel-toned and Cinderella herself is attractive as a person and figure." - Yellow Brick Road -

    Baba Yaga is a witch famous throughout Russia for eating children, but this Babushka Baba Yaga is a lonely old woman who just wants a grandchild?to love."Kids will respond to the joyful story of the outsider who gets to join in, and Polacco's richly patterned paintings of Russian peasant life on the edge of the woods are full of light and color." -- Booklist"A warm, lively tale, neatly mixing new and old and illustrated with Polacco's usual energetic action, bright folk patterns, and affectionate characterizations." --Kirkus Reviews

    "Prelutsky's Nightmares tamed for beginning readers. They're catchy at the most rudimentary level."--Kirkus Reviews.