But you can plant a farm anywhere you like! A box or a bucket, a boot or a pan almost anything can be turned into a home for green, growing things. Windows, balconies, and front steps all make wonderful spots to start. Who knows what plants you may choose to grow and who will come to see your new garden? Phyllis Root delivers a modern rhyming mantra for anyone hoping to put their green thumbs to good use, while G. Brian Karas s cheerful urban illustrations sprout from every page. After all, anywhere can be a farm all it takes is one small seed and someone to plant it."

    A cumulative rhyme relating how Ki-pat brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain. Verna Aardema has brought the original story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of “The House That Jack Built.”

    The steps are described in simple but evocative text, each starting with “Before . . .” for a rhythmic telling. For example, “Before we stood tall, we clothed ourselves in bark and crowned ourselves in leaves, waving eagerly at the sun.” Particular attention is paid throughout to what's happening underground and how that links all life in the forest. Beginning with mature giants, “mighty in the kingdom of trees,” and ending with the promise of new life on the branches that are “hoping to be mighty in the kingdom of trees,” it's a beautiful and loving celebration of the circle of life.Jessica Kulekjian's skill at seamlessly blending nonfiction information with a poetic narrative sets this informational picture book apart. She also uniquely incorporates intriguing new research on how trees communicate with each other using an underground network of roots and fungus that connects the forest and helps the trees to thrive. Madeline Kloepper's rich artwork with its deep earth tone palette brings the forest and all its inhabitants alive on the page. The material has been vetted by several scientists, including experts on trees, insects and mushrooms. Supported by well-researched backmatter, the book has strong curriculum links to early elementary earth and life science topics, including plants, ecosystems and soil.

    Meet Tiny, a diminutive but determined T-Rex in a big world, as he embraces all obstacles against him in his quest to learn how to hug.

    . . to play! Follow the otters through the seasons as they chase one another, slide down a mudbank, jump in a pile of leaves, and learn to swim. Even while catching fish for their dinner or grooming themselves in the snow, otters love to play — and Jonathan London’s lively text and Meilo So’s fluid watercolors invite you to share in the joy.

    Glorious illustrations of water, sun, and sky accompany brief, evocative verses, making this a perfect keepsake of a seaside vacation or a striking introduction to the pleasures of a day by the ocean.Pam Muñoz Ryan drew on her children's and her own experiences of the ocean in writing the poetic text of Hello Ocean. She is the author of many books for children, including The Flag We Love, California, Here We Come!, Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (Scholastic), and Esperanza Rising (Scholastic). She lives in Leucadia, California.Mark Astrella lived by both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans while illustrating this book. He is the illustrator of The Desert Alphabet Book and The Butterfly Alphabet Book. He now lives in Hawaii.

    He dedicated this book to his children, even if his daughter is a little skittish on the subject since a flock of pigeons descended on the family during a visit to London’s Trafalgar Square. He says he considered painting the pictures here on roofing material (because pigeons flock to roofs) but settled instead for painting on a pigeon-blue Fabriano paper, the kind used by Picasso.

    Bouncy, alliterative rhyme and simple phrases keep readers entertained, while a glossary at the back provides more in-depth information on each featured animal.

    Is he a bird? Or a moose? A fox perhaps? Or even a squirrel? No! He's definitely a bear, and it's time this bear went back to sleep...

    Seed becomes flower, paint becomes picture, word becomes story--and the commonplace becomes extraordinary as children look through and turn the pages of this novel and winning book.First the Egg is a 2008 Caldecott Honor Book and a 2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year.

    BOOMALACKA BOOMALACKA! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!--in paperback! (ages 4-8)What did the dinosaurs do for fun? What really happened when the Jurassic gang wanted to let off some steam? They danced, of course! They rocked and rolled; they twirled and tromped! They had themselves a Dinosaur Stomp! With illustrations by Scott Nash that leap off the page like a raptor doing the fandango, Carol Diggory Shields tells dinosaur devotees all about reptilian revelry with a foot-tapping, tail-whacking beat.

    And leaves you feeling great no matter what the answers are!"Who'd have dreamed that produce could be so expressive, so charming, so lively and so funny?...Freymann and...Elffers have created sweet and feisty little beings with feelings, passions, fears and an emotional range that is, well, organic."-The New York Times Book Review

    Rather than focusing on going to bed—and what kid wants to think about going to bed?—this book explores all of the dreamy, wonderful, strange things the next day might bring.

    But what do they do in winter? Honeybees huddle in their hive. Monarch butterflies fly south. Woolly bear caterpillars hide under leaves and snow. This book shows what twelve different insects do to survive winter's chill.

    It takes much more than ONE.This is an exploration of the many types of work that go into building our world--from the making of a bridge to a wind farm, an amusement park, and even the very picture book that you are reading. An architect may dream up the plans for a house, but someone has to actually work the saws and pound the nails. This book is a thank-you to the skilled women and men who work tirelessly to see our dreams brought to life.