Will you cuddle me, Lou?' 'What? With those spikes? Get away from me! Shoo!' All this little porcupine wants is a hug. But with such prickly spikes, will she ever get the cuddle she craves?

    At the command of the Boss, the work beings, Digging, lifting, carrying, dumping, moving, and shaping are important tasks to accomplish. In this exciting follow-up to the critically acclaimed Drive, Nathan Clement once again pairs his striking illustrations with spare, succinct prose, offering construction buffs a close-up view of the action and anticipation at the job site.

    She also loves napping with her head in the trees. But when Mama Bird decides Jelly Bean is the perfect place for her nest, the giraffe suddenly has a big responsibility as she waits for the baby birds to hatch. Can Jelly Bean be patient and still enough, day and night? Yes, with a little help from her friends.Working with collage and torn tissue paper, Toni Yuly brings charm and humor to her bold, colorful artwork in this gentle story about friendship, The Jelly Bean Tree.

    Every other spread has an interactive gatefold which extends the original picture to three pages, revealing something new about each situation.The last spread diagrams each city machine, providing additional information for young readers to pore over again and again.William Low's classically-trained artist's eye adds a new layer to this genre, and both parents and children will appreciate the beautiful illustrations, the attention to detail, and the clever situational twists revealed by lifting the flaps.

    But he won't be alone for long . . . Count from one to ten, as each fish chomps up the next. Just be careful--this book might bite!The fun, offbeat humor, appealing artwork, and interactive die-cuts with a counting theme will have young readers gobbling up this title again and again.

    . . .”  Nothing takes the place of splashing in a puddle or jumping into a pile of autumn leaves. Along with the mud and sand that gets tracked indoors come memories that live forever! Mary McKenna Siddals has written a joyous anthem that encourages children to play in the dirt. It will surely resonate with today’s overscheduled as well as sedentary kids, and their parents.

    Bursting with energy, noise, and a splashy, surprising ending, this is an absolute riot of a book.

    But Mommy says this bed is for sleeping, not jumping! What happens when he can't resist jump, jump, jumping on his new fluffy, bouncy bed?

    Ready, set, go!Little Green is ready to rumble.He is a happy, busy little pickup truck who loves helping out on the farm.Until...He wakes up one morning to find a big new blue truck ready to take his place.But can Big Blue take on all the jobs? Even the small and gentle ones?With some love, care, and paint...Ready, set, go!Little Green is ready to rumble again, all the way to the farmers' market.

    She imagines the flowers that she'll braid into his beautiful pink mane, and she even picks the perfect name for him: Sparkle. But when Sparkle arrives, his ears are too long, his horn is too short, he smells funny--and oh, he has fleas. Lucy isn't pleased, but in the end she warms up to Sparkle and realizes that even though he wasn't exactly the unicorn she wanted, he might be just the one she needs.

    In a series of conversations with everything from the melting brook to chirping birds, they say goodbye to winter and welcome the lushness of spring.

    Brian Karas share the nighttime experience of a father and child.When the sun sets, Dad's job as a school custodian is just beginning. What is it like to work on a Friday night while the rest of the city is asleep? There's the smell of lilacs in the night air, the dusky highway in the moonlight, and glimpses of shy nighttime animals to make the dark magical. Shooting baskets in the half-lit gym, sweeping the stage with the game on the radio, and reading out loud to his father in the library all help the boy's time pass quickly. But what makes the night really special is being with Dad. Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse's quietly powerful story of a boy and his father is tenderly brought to life by G. Brian Karas in this luminous tribute to an enduring, everyday sort of love.

    He’s orange. He's a carrot! He’s nothing like Lee, a round green pea. He can’t do any of the things Lee and his pea pals can do. How can Colin and Lee ever be friends? A charming celebration of embracing differences and standing out in a crowd.

    Will this trio find a way to get back in step? In the third book featuring Flora and her feathered friends, Molly Idle's gorgeous art combines with clever flaps to reveal that no matter the challenges, true friends will always find a way to dance, leap, and soar—together.

    With very spare, incredibly lively language, this is an entertaining read-aloud, with two amazing and oh-so-adorable characters at its heart. When a greyhound meets a groundhog, wordplay and crazy antics ensue. The two animals, much like kids, work themselves into a frenzy as they whirl around and around one another. ("Around, round hound. Around, greyhound.") The pace picks up ("Around and around and astound and astound"), until they ultimately wear themselves out. Jenkins s masterful text is deceptively simple. NPR on "Toys Meet Snow" by Emily Jenkins Appelhans, whose career up to now has been in animated films such as "Coraline, " is a revelation. "Booklist, " Starred, on "Sparky!, " illustrated by Chris Appelhans Appelhans makes an auspicious picture book debut with strikingly beautiful watercolor and pencil illustrations. His style, reminiscent of Jon Klassen s, incorporates a muted color palette, but with a slightly softer, rounder quality, while also weaving in visual deadpan humor. "The Horn Book""