But one day he gets carried away . . . literally. His tongue accidentally sticks to a dragonfly when he tries to catch a mosquito, and off he’s pulled across the swamp, through town, and into the big city of New Orleans, causing some very funny havoc along the way. When he finds himself stranded at the seashore, far from his mom, will he finally be ready to ask for help? Author/illustrator Steve Breen is a Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Grand Avenue. Stick, his picture-book debut, is rambunctious, silly, and couldn’t be more endearing.

    When the other animals can't take his bullying anymore, they post an ad asking for help.One animal after another tries and fails to defeat Lion. Can no one stop him?Finally a rabbit arrives. No one thinks it will be brave enough or strong enough to defeat Lion. But perhaps this rabbit is smart enough?

    Jitterbug the chipmunk likes it when things stay the same. So when one day Pudding the snail comes into her woods, Jitterbug worries that everything will be different. What if Pudding spoils everything? What if there’s no more room for Jitterbug?With the help of her friends, can Jitterbug welcome the newcomer and learn that kindness is stronger than fear?

    When all the shoppers have gone home for the night, Corduroy climbs down from the shelf to look for his missing button. It's a brave new world! He accidentally gets on an elevator that he thinks must be a mountain and sees the furniture section that he thinks must be a palace. He tries to pull a button off the mattress, but he ends up falling off the bed and knocking over a lamp. The night watchman hears the crash, finds Corduroy, and puts him back on the shelf downstairs. The next morning, he finds that it's his lucky day! A little girl buys him with money she saved in her piggy bank and takes him home to her room. Corduroy decides that this must be home and that Lisa must be his friend. Youngsters will never get tired of this toy-comes-alive tale with a happy ending, so you may also want to seek out Dan Freeman's next creation, A Pocket for Corduroy. (Ages 3 to 8)

    Now a whole new generation can discover one of his most joyous songs in this reassuring picture book adaptation written by his daughter Cedella and exuberantly illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. This upbeat story reminds children that the sun will always come out after the rain and mistakes are easily forgiven with a hug. Every family will relate to this universal story of one boy who won't let anything get him down, as long as he has the help of three very special little birds. Including all the lyrics of the original song plus new verses, this cheerful book will bring a smile to faces of all ages—because every little thing's gonna be all right!

    During dessert, the other guests do not mind their manners, each one taking half of the remaining cake as it is passed around. By the time it reaches Ant, barely a crumb is left for her to share with the King! She promises to make up for it by baking another cake for the King, and not to be outdone, all the other animals in turn offer to make twice as many cakes as the next. By the time the hippo speaks up, he's to bake 256 peanut butter cakes! With McElligott's signature humor and gorgeous mixed-media art, the math concepts of halving and doubling have never been so much fun.

    The crowds cheering, the bright green grass, the tasty roasted peanuts. Sam was an amazing athlete—very strong and fast, a big-leaguer in the making. Jackson, on the other hand, was not very strong or very fast at all. He could throw very far, but that was about it. When Sam makes the team and Jackson doesn’t, he misses having Jackson there on the field with him. And then he sees a poster . . .Tim Egan has crafted a quirky tale of friendship and loyalty, complete with a late-inning nail biter that will keep baseball fans on the edge of their seats!

    . . ' Written by Cressida Cowell, creator of the bestselling How to Train Your Dragon series and with beautiful illustrations by Mark Nicholas, winner of the Carmelite Prize.Tantrum O'Furrily's kittens are hungry and doubt that a story can ease a stray cat's rumbling stomach. However, they soon learn that stories are powerful, and that if you're courageous you might find a saucer of milk at the end of that story.

    And then there are tigers and giants and ominous cracks in the ceiling to keep her up. Will Frances ever go to sleep?

    She is unashamedly, irrefutably, irrepressibly wild. That is, until she is snared by some very strange animals that look oddly like her, but they don't talk right, eat right, or play correctly. She's puzzled by their behavior and their insistence on living in these strange concrete structures: there's no green here, no animals, no trees, no rivers. Now she lives in the comfort of civilization. But will civilization get comfortable with her?In her debut picture book, Hughes brings an uncanny humor to her painterly illustrations. Her work is awash with color, atmosphere, and a stunning visual splendor that will enchant children while indulging their wilder tendencies. Wild is a twenty-first-century answer to Maurice Sendak's children's classic—it has the same inventiveness, groundbreaking art, and unmissable quirkiness.Emily Hughes is a talented young illustrator. Her book Nana Shaped Like a Banana won second prize in the 2012 Macmillan Children's Book Awards.

    When the tadpole, now a frog, returns to tell his friend of the extraordinary things he’s seen, the minnow, now a fish, tries to follow in his footsteps, but quickly finds that land is not what he expected. Friendship truly saves the day in this imaginative tale of a fish out of water.

    Together, the two form a special friendship and enjoy life at sea until both the healing process and the journey must come to an end. In the tradition of the classic Amos & Boris, South is a story about making new friends and the bittersweet process of saying good-bye to the ones we love. It beautifully depicts the power of new beginnings and the freedom in coming home.

    There will be cats and dogs and fish, but strictly no elephants are allowed. The Pet Club doesn’t understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend.Imaginative and lyrical, this sweet story captures the magic of friendship and the joy of having a pet.

    She gives it a shape and a face, and encourages the reader to give it a name, all of which helps to demystify it and distinguish it from ourselves. She suggests activities to do with it, like sitting quietly, drawing, and going outside for a walk. The beauty of this approach is in the respect the book has for the feeling, and the absence of a narrative that encourages the reader to "get over" it or indicates that it's "bad," both of which are anxiety-producing notions.Simple illustrations that recall the classic style of Crockett Johnson (Harold and the Purple Crayon) invite readers to add their own impressions.Eva Eland's debut picture book is a great primer in mindfulness and emotional literacy, perfect for kids navigating these new feelings--and for adult readers tackling the feelings themselves!

    And chew and chew. But he doesn’t chew a boring old bone. Not a squeaky old toy. Not a smelly old sock. Nope. Shoe Dogs chews…well, take a guess! Chewing shoes poses a problem, however, and Shoe Dog needs help to solve it. Good thing there’s...Shoe Cat! With illustrations so lively that Shoe Dog nearly scurries off the page, this is an irresistibly adorable read-aloud ideal for pet owners and animal lovers alike.