The Selfish Giant


Oscar Wilde - 1888
    It was always winter in the garden, for no other season would venture there. Then one morning, a special child brought Spring back, and the giant's heart melted along with the snow.

The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters


Janet Ahlberg - 1986
    Tucked into envelopes are actual letters for children to pluck out. Humorous and engaging, this is the perfect read over a spot of tea. Ahhh!

Not Quite Narwhal


Jessie Sima - 2017
    Sure, he’s always been a little bit different—his tusk isn’t as long, he’s not as good of a swimmer, and he really doesn’t enjoy the cuisine. Then one night, an extra strong current sweeps Kelp to the surface, where he spots a mysterious creature that looks just like him! Kelp discovers that he and the creature are actually unicorns. The revelation leaves him torn: is he a land narwhal or a sea unicorn? But perhaps, if Kelp is clever, he may find a way to have the best of both worlds.

The Princess Who Had No Kingdom


Ursula Jones - 2009
    But what is a kingdom without love?

Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems


Marilyn Singer - 2013
    Now a second book is here with more witty double takes on well-loved fairy tales such as Thumbelina and The Little Mermaid.Read these clever poems from top to bottom and they mean one thing. Then reverse the lines and read from bottom to top and they mean something else–it is almost like magic!A celebration of sight, sound, and story, this book is a marvel to read again and again.

The Gingerbread Man


Jim Aylesworth - 1998
    A new rendition of a beloved classic by award-winning author/illustrator team Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock.Run! Run! Fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man! I've run from a husband! I've run from a wife! I've run from a butcher with a carving knife! I've run from a cow, and a muddy old sow, and I'll run from you, too! I can! I can!Jim Aylesworth's fresh, spirited tale --- to be read LOUD out loud --- and Barbara McClintock's expressive, exquisitely drawn characters combine to create a glorious new rendition of the favorite story about that sassy but delicious little cookie.

Anansi and the Talking Melon


Eric A. Kimmel - 1994
    A spider tricks other animals into thinking a melon can talk.

Hansel and Gretel


Rika Lesser - 1984
    Lesser and Zelinsky retell the story of a pair of children lost in the woods who run into a witch with a very tasty house.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast


Ellen Titlebaum - 2002
    The complete retelling of favorite Disney movies in a true read-aloud style.

The 13 Clocks


James Thurber - 1950
    It is beautiful and it is comic. It is philosophical and it is cheery. What we suppose we are trying fumblingly to say is, in a word, that it is Thurber.There are only a few reasons why everybody has always wanted to read this kind of story: if you have always wanted to love a Princess; if you always wanted to be a Prince; if you always wanted the wicked Duke to be punished; or if you always wanted to live happily ever after. Too little of this kind of thing is going on in the world today. But all of it is going on valorously in The 13 Clocks.

The Treasure


Uri Shulevitz - 1978
    Feeling a little foolish perhaps, but determined to see for himself if the dream is true, Isaac sets out on his long journey. What he finds makes a surprising and heart-warming ending to this retelling of a well-known folk tale. In a few words, Cadelcott Medal winner Uri Shulevitz draws a man who is innocent enough to have faith in a dream, and wise enough to understand the greatest reward of all.Isaac's solitary journey, his arrival at hte vast city, and his discovery there are all enriched by Mr. Shulevitz's beautifully detailed illustrations, which masterfully capture the spirit of the original tale while keeping it simple enough for the very youngest reader.The Treasure is a 1980 Caldecott Honor Book and a 1979 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year.

Ninja Red Riding Hood


Corey Rosen Schwartz - 2014
    Wolf just can’t catch a break! Ever since the three little pigs started teaching everyone Ninja skills, huffing and puffing just hasn’t been enough to scare up a good meal. His craving for meat sends Wolf to classes at the dojo, and soon he’s ready to try out his new moves. A little girl and her tiny granny should be easy targets--right? Not if Little Red has anything to say about it! Kiya!

The Gingerbread Man


Karen Lee Schmidt - 1980
    The gingerbread man outruns everybody, until he meets the quick-witted fox.

The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine


Mark Twain - 2017
    In a hotel in Paris one evening in 1879, Mark Twain sat with his young daughters, who begged their father for a story. After the girls chose a picture from a magazine to get started, Twain began telling them the tale of Johnny, a poor boy in possession of some magical seeds. Later, Twain would jot down some rough notes about the story, but the tale was left unfinished . . . until now. Plucked from the Mark Twain archive at the University of California at Berkeley, Twain’s notes now form the foundation of a fairy tale picked up over a century later. With only Twain’s fragmentary script and a story that stops partway as his guide, author Philip Stead has written a tale that imagines what might have been if Twain had fully realized this work: Johnny, forlorn and alone except for his pet chicken, meets a kind woman who gives him seeds that change his fortune, allowing him to speak with animals and sending him on a quest to rescue a stolen prince. In the face of a bullying tyrant king, Johnny and his animal friends come to understand that generosity, empathy, and quiet courage are gifts more precious in this world than power and gold. Illuminated by Erin Stead’s graceful, humorous, and achingly poignant artwork, this is a story that reaches through time and brings us a new book from America’s most legendary writer, envisioned by two of today’s most important names in children’s literature.

Interstellar Cinderella


Deborah Underwood - 2015
    With a little help from her fairy godrobot, Cinderella is going to the ball--but when the prince's ship has mechanical trouble, someone will have to zoom to the rescue! Readers will thank their lucky stars for this irrepressible fairy tale retelling, its independent heroine, and its stellar happy ending.