Whimsical illustrations feature other animals entertaining themselves with dart games, cross-country skiing, flying airplanes, and more while Dormouse hibernates. Readers can also follow the friend's journey to Dormouse's house, where she wakes him up for some real life pleasures, including daydreaming. This is the perfect bedtime book to snuggle up with when spring isn't coming fast enough.

    Until his owner brings home a “friend” for Barnaby: a little yellow canary.Barnaby is not happy. When his tantrums don’t convince his owner to get rid of the canary, Barnaby flies away and ends up hopelessly lost. While stopping for a rest, he encounters a flock of wild sparrows. At first, he looks down his beak at the drab, brown birds. But, growing hungrier and thirstier, he realizes he has a lot to learn from them.Soon Barnaby is a part of their flock, scavenging for seeds and riding on the wind. But Barnaby can’t forget his former home, and every night he searches for his owner’s house using tricks the sparrows taught him. Finally, he finds it, and Barnaby returns home a changed bird. With subtle messages about sibling rivalry and jealousy, readers will enjoy Barnaby’s antics and the sweet conclusion to this story.

    He thought it was a good idea. His mother did not. Neither did his bus driver, his teacher, or his soccer coach. What could Josh possibly be hiding?A surprise ending will keep kids giggling–and from taking haircuts into their own hands!

    So she pretends. When she should be brushing her teeth, Elva rehearses for recitals. When she should be learning subtraction or going to sleep, she imagines playing all the music in the world. The years pass, but Elva never forgets her childhood wish, and so one day she takes a deep breath and follows her heart . . .

    Funny, silly and surprisingly cute, Your Birthday Was the BEST! is the perfect blend of downright gross and delightfully entertaining.

    Horsefeathers walks into George Crum's restaurant, he tells the waitress, 'I have a hankering for a heaping helping of potatoes.' Fine cook that he is, George prepares a serving of his most scrumptious, succulent and sublime potato wedges, only to have Filbert send them back. 'Too thick,' he says. So, George makes thinner wedges. But his picky customer sends them back again. And again. Feeling a bit mischievous, George decides to use his sharpest knife to cut paper-thin potato slices, which he fries until they are crackling and then showers with salt. At last, Filbert is satisfied, proclaiming, 'Perfection!' Which they are. Because, quite by accident, George Crum has invented potato chips! This fictional picture book tale by Anne Renaud is based on a real man named George Crum, a cook in Saratoga Springs, New York, in the 1850s, who is purported to have created the first potato chip in response to a demanding customer. Included at the back of the book is a historical note with a list of sources describing the legend and the remarkable and inspiring story of Crum, a trapper of mixed Native American and African American descent, who supplied restaurants with fresh game, then became a chef and successful restauranteur himself. Felicita Sala's gorgeous illustrations accurately portray the historical period but with a lighthearted touch. They work beautifully with Renaud's playful language and quirky characters for a lively and deliciously fun read-aloud. This book is an excellent choice for lessons on inventions and inventors, history, or why we eat the foods we do.

    Author Kate Allen Fox engages readers' senses to help convey the vastness of Pando, the challenges it faces, and how we all can be part of the solution. With lyrical poetry, Fox summarizes the science, action, and compassion needed to save this wonder of nature.

    Written in spare prose and told from an intimate first-person point of view, the story follows Charlotte, a young girl who watches floodwaters rise in her home and is forced to evacuate to a shelter with her parents. Kind people she doesn't know give her food, socks and shoes to keep her feet warm, and a place to sleep. As Charlotte adjusts to the shelter--a strange, crowded place that is not home--she grapples with feelings of anger and sadness. But as the days go by, Charlotte starts to realize how grateful she is for the things that she does have--her parents, a cot to sleep on, food to eat--and starts looking for ways to help others in the shelter. All children deal with sadness and loss in some way, whether it stems from a natural disaster, the death of a pet, or moving to a new place. A Flood of Kindness acknowledges those difficult feelings and helps readers process them in a healthy way. Children will be encouraged to be kind to those who need a friend and to help others in whatever way they can, no matter how small.

    Claire in this laugh-out-loud book about a live-out-loud boy. Dylan's getting ready to audition for the school play, a musical about outer space, and he's got his sights set on playing the star . . . figuratively and literally. But when he ends up being cast as a squirrel, the real theatrics begin. Follow this extremely secure and unique boy through his daily dramas as he tackles each dilemma with the pizazz of an artist and skill of someone who has never tackled anything.Giving a fabulous voice to the kind of boys who are under-represented in children's books, Dylan St. Claire confidently walks between "masculine" and "feminine" behavior: He cries openly and expresses his emotions but also cracks jokes and finds his inner strength when the going gets rough. Full of laughs and a one-of-a-kind character that kids will cheer for, this hilarious story is a celebration of individuality, persistence, overcoming disappointment, and what it takes to be a true star.

    It's time for bed, but he's not ready for night! How many stalls can be used before Momma's little angel is fast asleep and counting sheep?

    But one day she sees a bird unlike any other... Can that really be a dodo? It turns out that dodos make very good friends (and are crazy about doughnuts!). But when Martha's secret gets out and the whole town wants to see her new friend, will Martha have to say good-bye to Mr. Dodo?

    First the wolves try to scare it away, then the bears, boars, and foxes have a turn. Finally the wise owls suggest sending the smallest critters — the insects — to do the job. A cloud of bees, flies, and dragonflies make sure that the Big Blue Thing runs away at top speed!

    The boy likes to think, and his thoughts turn into questions. He brings these questions to the sea. At times, he thinks he can hear the sea whisper to him: Dream. Love. Be. So he does. He dreams—a young boy imagining all that he might do. He loves—a teenager, reaching out from a lonely place to make friends. He allows himself to just be—now grown, sharing the seashore with his daughter.

    She loves celebrating with her family, and she especially loves all the beautiful decorations Kate and Grandma Katherine put up in the dollhouse. She can't wait to have Tiffany and the rest of the Funcrafts over for their very first Christmas. But when the angel topper for the Dolls' tree breaks, Annabelle is convinced the holiday is ruined. And things only get worse when Kate and Nora decide to use the dolls to create a nativity scene downstairs, meaning Annabelle won't be able to keep her special traditions at all! But as Christmas spirit fills the Palmers' home, Annabelle realizes that all she needs for a truly perfect holiday is to share it with her friends and family.Praise for the Doll People series: The Doll People * "[A] marvelous treat." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review The Meanest Doll in the World * "Wrapped in humor and adventure are serious considerations of self-esteem, the power of intimidation, and the nature of friendship." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review The Runaway Dolls * "Fast-paced, satisfyingly developed, the book is doubly enjoyable for its foundation in a solidly imagined doll culture." -Publishers Weekly, starred review The Doll People Set Sail * "A rousing adventure that treats fans to thrilling action (on a miniature scale) and personable new dolls to discover." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

    From earmuffed crossing guards to sweater wearing dogs, from painters of flowers to planters of seeds, Happy Springtime! celebrates the burst of life following the thaw of winter.Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honoree Kate McMullan's jubilant love-letter to this exciting time of year is the perfect book to bring in the season of birth and renewal, especially when accompanied by the riotous watercolor illustrations of Sujean Rim.