But they can also show us what we can’t see, what we can only imagine, or how to build something. In Joyce Hesselberth’s Mapping Sam, Sam the cat puts her family to bed, and then—when all is quiet—heads out to explore her neighborhood.As Sam follows her customary path, wandering farther and farther away from home, readers encounter different kinds of maps illuminating different points of view and the various spots Sam visits. Finally, when Sam reaches her favorite place and confirms that all is well, she heads back home, climbs onto a cozy bed, and falls asleep.

    Out of this tank, I must be free.I must explore the open sea!Inky the octopus is bored with aquarium life and wants to escape to the ocean! But just how can an octopus in a tank get to the open seas? Find out in Inky the Octopus, the only tale of the mischievous octopus to be officially endorsed by the National Aquarium of New Zealand.

    Along the way they find friends to guide and support them, and when the new day dawns, it is full of promise. With gorgeous, richly realized illustrations and immense hope at its heart, Rain Before Rainbows holds out a ray of sunshine for anyone looking for light.

     Follow one African-American boy through the course of his day as the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice comes into vivid focus. But the boy dreams of a different life--one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun.

    Some have fur, some have feathers, some have fins, but all are connected. This fact-filled rhyming exploration of the diversity of the animal kingdom celebrates mammals, birds, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and more! It’s a perfect match for budding naturalists and animal enthusiasts everywhere.

    In this irresistibly charming picture book, many different quiet moments are captured, from the anticipation-heavy “Top of the roller coaster quiet” to the shocked-into-silence “First look at your new hairstyle quiet.” The impossibly sweet bears, rabbits, fish, birds, and iguanas are all rendered in soft pencils and colored digitally, and, as in all of the best picture books, the illustrations propel the story far beyond the words. A sure-to-be-a-classic bedtime favorite. Awards: 2011 ALA Notable Children's Book, 2010–2011, New York Times bestseller, 2011 CCBC Choices, 2011 NCTE Notable Children's Trade Book, 2010 New York Times Notable Book, 2010 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, 2010 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

    In his eagerly anticipated debut as author-illustrator, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King honoree Christian Robinson brings young readers on a playful, imaginative journey into another world.What if you…encountered another perspective?Discovered another world?Met another you?What might you do?

    Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it—and you can read it!Kevin Henkes uses striking imagery, repetition, and alliteration to introduce basic concepts of language and the changing of the seasons. And Laura Dronzek’s gorgeous, lush paintings show the transformation from quiet, cold winter to the joyful newborn spring. Watch the world transform when spring comes!

    Kadir Nelson, acclaimed author of Baby Bear and winner of the Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards, presents a resonant, gently humorous story about the power of even the smallest acts and the rewards of compassion and generosity.With spare text and breathtaking oil paintings, If You Plant a Seed demonstrates not only the process of planting and growing for young children but also how a seed of kindness can bear sweet fruit.

    So he decides to go wild. But does he go too far? There is a time and place for everything...even going wild.

    They’re mean. They eat things. Bor-ing. At least that’s how Sophie feels when she sits down to do her homework.   But then something decidedly unboring happens—Sophie is whisked away to the Arctic by a jovial polar bear named Olafur. In a whirlwind of a day, he shows the reluctant Sophie the many brilliant things there are to see in his home, from glacier mice to the northern lights. Sophie begins to learn that the polar bear’s home is so much more than a barren, frozen land. It’s a world filled with life, adventure—and a new friend.  The Bear Report showcases the power of curiosity to fill any blank canvas, whether it’s an incomplete homework assignment or the Arctic ice.

    Watson and Mrs. Watson live ordinary lives. Sometimes their lives feel a bit too ordinary. Sometimes they wish something different would happen. And one day it does, when someone unpredictable finds her way to their front door. In a delightful origin story for the star of the Mercy Watson series, a tiny piglet brings love (and chaos) to Deckawoo Drive — and the Watsons’ lives will never be the same.

    For anyone who's ever wanted to escape real life and live in a nostalgic dream come true, this poignant picture book captures the universal timelessness of treehouses and celebrates all the creativity and adventure they spark.

    It tells the story of a lion who, bored by his rural life in the savanna, seeks excitement and opportunity in the City of Light. Upon arriving in Paris, the lion is disappointed to find that despite his size, people barely pay attention to him, not even when he lets out a ferocious roar on the busy underground Métro. Revealing the sights and sounds of Paris from Montmartre to the Eiffel Tower, this beautifully illustrated book successfully conveys the experience of being a stranger in a new city and the process of understanding one’s own identity.

    Chased away by the grown ups, Fox takes shelter in a greenhouse. A little boy sees this from his window. Without hesitating, he brings a basket of food to the greenhouse, where he leaves it for the fox. His gift is noticed and the night becomes a garden of new life, nourished by compassion and kindness.Princesse Camcam's cut-paper illustrations, along with the beautiful lighting of the sets she creates, make the experience of looking at these illustrations both touching and transcendent. Their beauty and essential simplicity reflect the beauty of the story. The reader is left charmed by the fox and the child and thoughtful about the emotional lives of both humans and other creatures.Princesse Camcam was born in Paris in 1982 as Camille Garoche. Having spent her childhood in southwest France, she left to study the graphic arts at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Cergy. She created her first illustrated book in 2006 and has been living in Germany since 2007.