. . until the day he meets the coyote. The coyote gives Slim his special hat and asks him to deliver a letter to the sheriff of Fire Gulch City. Slim has never been to Fire Gulch City, but he figures he can handle it. As Slim travels from town to town, disaster seems to follow. Pretty soon Slim learns that his new hat is NOT your average cowboy hat. Will Slim ever make it to Fire Gulch City? And what did the wily coyote put down in that letter, anyway? Watercolor illustrations add lively humor to this original tall tale.

    But now Miss Lina has a new surprise for them – a boy will be joining their class and performing in their end-of-year show.The girls have grand visions of dancing their first pas de deux with a prince. But when he finds himself surrounded by so much pink and so many girls, he turns quite shy, and dances his way out the door!

    She eats them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When her grandmother catches a cold, Little Red makes her a hot pepper pie that will “knock those cold germs right out of her.” But before Little Red shares her pie with Grandma, she meets Señor Lobo – and the pie comes in very handy when the wily wolf tries to trick her into thinking he’s her grandmother.

    Wolf has a busy day. Starting his daily routine at seven o'clock, his schedule is packed from breakfast to bedtime. At nine o'clock the mail arrives, and he goes shopping at noon. Four o'clock is naptime, and surprise! . . . At six o'clock there is a big party in Mr. Wolf 's honor. Special guests include Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Little Pigs, the Cat and the Fiddle and many more characters readers are sure to recognize. Huffing and puffing new life into favorite nursery rhymes, this charming story introduces telling time while showing readers that the Mr. Wolf isn't so big or bad after all.

    In Me and My Family Tree, a young girl uses simple language, her own childlike drawings, and diagrams to explain how the members of her family are related to each other and to her. Clear, colorful, detailed artwork and a fill-in family tree in the back help make the parts of the family--from siblings to grandparents to cousins--understandable to very young readers.

    Sailing by dolphins, tootling to the zoo, flying with birds, even sipping tea with the queen are all in a day's play — until a noisy one-shoed giant stomps by and a giantess sobs that she's lost her baby, "Boo-hoo-hoo." Is it finally time to shout "peekaboo"?

    Sometimes the hole is an eye the reader can look through; sometimes it is a mouth and the reader's fingers make the teeth! The next minute it is a plate (with food drawn by the reader on a sheet of paper behind the book), an obstacle to jump across, or a saucepan. It's crazy! It's a Book with a Hole!Packed full of Hervé Tullet's zany drawings and inventive ideas, this is bound to enchant children of all ages.

    Free-verse text describes the transition from day to night and from night to day, revealing the magic in these everyday moments.

    Featuring whimsical, comforting text and vibrant collage illustrations from Caldecott Honor medalist Lois Ehlert, this engaging story puts a fresh spin on the classic cat-and-mouse dynamic.

    . . .   Bear and his duck family do everything together. That is, until winter arrives. Bear is supposed to hibernate this time of year, but he doesn’t want to miss out on any of the fun. But can Bear really stay awake all winter long? Gentle humor and endearing illustrations bring a delightful twist to a bedtime routine that children and their parents will easily recognize.

    Come along for the ride as he recreates the dream for his little friend. How far will Hank fly? What will he see? How high will he go? These dreamland mysteries capture his friend’s imagination and they will capture yours too. The enchanting images of Rebecca Dudley’s meticulously crafted dioramas set the scene for this gentle fantasy. Readers will set sail, gliding through Hank’s world as he discovers the wonders of flight and the magic of friendship.

    They say "please" and "thank you," they wait their turn patiently, and they always help to clean up when playtime is over. But one day, Polly Penguin decides that being polite is boring. So she interrupts when others are talking, refuses to clean up, and makes a mess at the dinner table. Soon, all of the penguins copy Polly and lose their good manners, too! Can Polly help make things right again?

    So maybe balancing on top of a tower of chairs to dip candles wasn't such a good idea. And perhaps her biscuits worked better as doorstops than dessert. Still, does her mama really need to hire a mother's helper? Then Fannie Farmer steps into their kitchen, and all of a sudden the biscuits are dainty and the griddle cakes aren't quite so...al dente. As Fannie teaches Marcia all about cooking, from how to flip a griddle cake at precisely the right moment to how to determine the freshness of eggs, Marcia makes a wonderful new friend. Here's the story "from soup to nuts" -- delightfully embellished by Deborah Hopkinson -- of how Fannie Farmer invented the modern recipe and created one of the first and best-loved American cookbooks. Nancy Carpenter seamlessly incorporates vintage engravings into her pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations, deliciously evoking the feeling of a time gone by.

    She sees a bee, a yellow forsythia bush, and a tiny toad, but no robin. Then she hears a cheerful song, and she knows the robin is back. Bold, simple paintings complement the briefly told story. Full color.

    As soon as their ninja moms and ninja dads have left: KABOOM! KAPOW! The ninja boys and girls kick, push, punch, and quickly turn the place upside down in a full-blown ninja riot. Try as he might, the hapless master can’t control the children, and the disaster plays out through lunchtime and story time. No one heeds the master’s repeated mantra of honor, kindness, and respect — until one little ninja steps up and rallies his ninja pals to undo all that they have done, just in time for pickup.