until daddy calls the sensei to send them back to bed.  It may be bedtime, but these little ninjas aren't tired. They're sliding, swinging, and slipping out of bed! Can Daddy and the sensei ever tuck them in? Filled with mischievous fun, 10 Little Ninjas will take young readers from playtime to bedtime again and again. Kids will love the astronauts, tigers, cowboys, dragons and more!

    In I Love Cake!, the first picture book featuring irrepressible Moose, orderly Rabbit, and fun-loving Porcupine, Rabbit plans a fabulous birthday party with fun activities and a delicious cake. Porcupine and Moose come to enjoy Rabbit’s big day, but everything goes south when impulsive Moose loses control of his appetite!With hilarious bits of dialogue throughout, I Love Cake! is not only a dynamic read-aloud, it works as an inspiration for a short play. Themes of friendship and forgiveness come through on every page—and the birthday theme makes I Love Cake! an excellent choice for a birthday gift!

    Together, this playful girl and her loving mom are a perfect twosome, whether they are mixing potions, growing magical plants, or dreaming of wild broomstick rides under a full moon.For each dazzling spread, author-illustrator Harriet Muncaster handcrafted three-dimensional scenes out of paper and mixed media, then photographed them for a truly distinctive look. With each turn of the page, parents and kids will love discovering all the rich details in the miniature world Muncaster has created.With plenty of witchy magic and sparkle, this warm story is sure to become a Halloween treat that will be enjoyed throughout the year.

    Postmouse has loaded up his wagon and is ready to deliver the mail. From the lofty heights of the Birds' tree houses to the inky depths of Mrs. Octopus's ship, the intrepid letter carrier lets nothing stand in the way of his deliveries. Each spread features whimsically detailed interiors of creatures' homes, which readers will pore over for delightful surprises. This is a charming introduction to the postal system and an imaginative survey of different types of homes.

    Two turtle doves? THREE French hens?! And just what are they supposed to do with ten lords a-leaping? Kids will love each silly spread in this raucous take on the classic carol that is perfect for reading aloud around the fireplace.

    Apples are red. Lemons are yellow. . . .Clever cutouts in the pages make a simple, original, and utterly beguiling introduction to color.Laura Vaccaro Seeger, whose The Hidden Alphabet dazzled critics and readers alike, introduces young children to color in this unique concept book with die cuts. The opening spread features a big, bright red lemon and the simple text, "Lemons are not RED." When the spread is turned an equally bright yellow lemon appears ("Lemons are YELLOW") across from a luscious red apple ("Apples are RED").And so it goes, from carrots that are not purple through reindeer that are not white, et al. The book ends with "The moon is not BLACK / The moon is SILVER / The night is BLACK / Good night! And the reader sees a tranquil night landscape and a house with the lights turned out.This title has Common Core connections.

    With something different to count on each page, learning to count from one to ten has never been so thrilling! This surprisingly simple counting book with a gripping tale, great for early education and read-alouds, has a hugely satisfying ending that's sure to delight generations.

    Immensely enjoyable." (CCBC Choices)Shapes and colors in your zoo, lots of things that you can do. Heads and ears, beaks and snouts, that's what animals are all about. I know animals and you do too; make some new ones for your zoo.

    . . and all the dogs . . . and all the zoo animals! Only when the two finally arrive does Granddad see why Sam was in such a hurry—and they have the best time playing with everyone in the snow.

    The busy bus driver in Byron Barton's preschool tour-de-force has a job to do. He drives his bus along his route, picks up the cat and dog passengers waiting at the bus stops, and delivers them to their destinations—which in this case include the airport, the harbor, and the train station. Along the way, children are introduced to the concepts of addition, subtraction, and sets. A surprise ending of sorts—what will happen to the very last passenger?—makes this a great read-aloud for story time and bedtime. A companion to Byron Barton's critically acclaimed picture book My Car and a standout addition to this beloved author's body of work. Sure to appeal to fans of Richard Scarry, Donald Crews, and books about cars, trucks, and things that go!Supports the Common Core State Standards

    As their world transforms from neighborhood to pirate's lagoon, they shout, "We be pirates. TRICK ARRR TREAT!" But what's lurking in the shadows? Are the pirates brave enough to defend their treasure?

    Strange creatures skitter along the walls while bats brush past. A wild howl makes the cave feel just a teensy bit darker. But readers are in for a delightful surprise when a beam of light reveals a softer side of the cave.Told in spare rhyming text alongside stunning illustrations, A Dark, Dark Cave will ignite a young reader's imagination and inspire creative play. This just-spooky-enough story is sure to become a read-aloud favorite.

    Round, curvy, pointy, or straight-shapes are all around us.With vibrant illustrations that highlight shapes in all their forms, this informative book reinforces the identification of circles, squares, crescents, diamonds, triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, and ovals while encouraging kids to pair shapes together to make new forms.

    The planet is full of millions of species of plants, birds, animals, and microbes, and every single one -- including us -- is part of a big, beautiful, complicated pattern. When humans interfere with parts of the pattern, by polluting the air and oceans, taking too much from the sea, and cutting down too many forests, animals and plants begin to disappear. What sort of world would it be if it went from having many types of living things to having just one? In a beautiful follow-up, the creators of the award-winning Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes deliver an inspiring look at the extraordinary diversity of Earth's inhabitants -- and the importance of their preservation.

    Kids will love to see their own quirks reflected in these adorably rendered creatures, and perhaps will be comforted to know that—just like them—narwhals can be perfectly happy all on their own and quail also get tired of being told to be quiet.