While he waits, a series of unexpected events occur, involving such things as lightning, a lilac, library books and lima beans. Or rather, “li-ghtning,” “li-lac,” “li-brary books,” and “li-ma beans” because the text on each spread ends with “Red light, green li-,” and the reader must turn the page to see the whole word --- and what's happened. All the while, the lion calmly and helpfully deals with whatever shows up (even loading livestock into a lifeboat!) and wryly muses about the way life can be. “Some days are not like most days,” the lion explains at the beginning. But as all children know: those days are usually the most fun!This charming, sometimes silly, philosophical picture book is inspired by the popular childhood game Red Light, Green Light. Candace Ryan's text is simple, and the repeated refrain allows for guessing what (green) surprise comes next, making for an engaging read-aloud. Jennifer Yerkes's illustrations have a fresh look, with a limited palette and spare, expressive lines. The collaboration of story and design --- using color and muted tones for the refrain --- keeps the concept easy to understand. Important life lessons are shared with simplicity, clarity and beauty: “Some days we get exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.” “And some days, nothing goes the way we thought it would.” This would make a delightful choice for character education lessons on kindness, teamwork and inclusiveness.

    offers a surrealistic view of the natural world. The two-page spreads present artful watercolors paired with such strange possibilities as "If zebras had stars and stripes...," "If the moon were square...," and "If worms had wheels...." Although some of the ideas and pictures are whimsical to the point of being downright creepy ("If caterpillars were toothpaste...," "If toes were teeth..."), the hypotheticals will surely inspire flights of fancy for readers of all ages. What could be more appealing for a 5-year-old than imagining the silliest suppositions and seeing them come to life in realistic paintings? Sculptor Sarah Perry creates a world to make us stop and think. One of her best illustrations depicts a large, hairy warthog with a sparkling crown and the text, "If ugly were beautiful...." With every if idea, the author encourages the kind of mental double take that comes naturally for children. (Ages 4 to 7, and adults, too) --Emilie Coulter

    . . . This clever book introduces young readers to some of the words we use to refer to animals in a group. The ink, watercolor, and fabric collage art is brightly colored and uniquely sets this fun book apart from the crowd. Each page presents information about an animal and its group behavior, such as how geese fly in a V-shape and honk to encourage the leaders, and that sometimes tens of thousand of flamingos meet up in one location. Young readers will have a great time and create a wellspring of new vocabulary words.

    He is well satisfied with the results—until his own stuffed animal disappears. Could it be that he is not the only troublemaker around . . . ?     A case of sibling rivalry is neatly resolved with the “assistance” of a hilarious raccoon in Lauren Castillo’s warm, simple text and gorgeous classic illustrations.

    What follows is a quirky and humorous tale of creativity and perspective, with the beautiful African landscape as a backdrop to this new and unlikely friendship.'The Chalk Giraffe' is Kirsty Paxton and Megan Lötter's first children's book.

    Something important. When she tries to remember, she thinks of all kinds of other things instead. She remembers things she knows and things she doesn't quite know. She remembers things one way, then another. Sometimes she remembers with her ears or her stomach or even her heart. But Nancy knows she's still forgetting something. It's only when Nancy stops thinking altogether that she finally remembers the very important thing she's forgotten. Nancy Knows is the charming story of an elephant who remember lots of things, except the very thing she is trying to remember. Each spread of this whimsical, arresting picture book features fantastic miniature paper sculptures within expressive outlines of a puzzled pachyderm. It's a book not to be forgotten.

     Let's build an insect! In the pages of this book, you'll find a workshop filled with everything you need, including a head, a thorax, an abdomen, and much more. Written by entomologist Roberta Gibson and accompanied by delightfully detailed illustrations by Anne Lambelet, this wonderfully original take on insect anatomy will spark curiosity and engage even those who didn't think they liked creepy, crawly things!

    Not stories about waking up in the morning, or people in space, or fish in the sea, or planes, or trains, or boring old buildings. We see the boy’s experiences play out over the course of his day. The one thing this contrarian boy loves is his cat—whose day is depicted through graphic panels in a funny, parallel side narrative. The cheerful cat searches for the boy all day, chasing anything yellow, the colour of the boy’s bright backpack, and causing mess and mayhem throughout the city. In the end, the boy concedes he might like a story—if it’s the right one (do you know any stories about a cat?). Art in a muted palette is accented with pops of yellow in this charming book about how the stories we tell ourselves have the power to shape our days. The visual details support literacy skills, add humor, and are sure to engage young readers—even those who are sure they don’t like stories.

    Geese hibernate. Squirrels fly south in big figure eights." Fall is all mixed up in this silly book from Bob Raczka! Can you find his mistakes in the words and pictures?Fall Mixed Up is a collection of mixed-up fall images from the imagination of Bob Raczka taken to their visual extremes in the intricate mixed-media illustrations of Chad Cameron.

    Honeybunch comes to stay. She wants to play, but Hopscotch would much rather be alone in his special NO BABYSITTERS ALLOWED fort . . . that is, until he hears Mrs. Honeybunch reading his books all wrong. But explaining the right way to tell the stories would mean leaving his fort, and Hopscotch isn't sure he's brave enough for that.This sweetly funny story about separation anxiety will provide ample reassurance to young children (and their worried parents) facing babysitter night.

    If one moose is this marvelous, then more moose must be even better! Pretty soon, Martha has more moose than she can handle in this playful pet story.

    This is all fine until their home breaks apart, stranding each penguin on its own island.You see, the trouble with penguins is that they don't always know how to say they're sorry. But, with a little help and teamwork, they discover sharing is always the best tactic.

    When they open a mysterious box, hundreds of animals come pouring out! Soon the town is awash in more and more zoo animals, until Erika and Patrick discover that the tables have been turned... and the animals now run a zoo full of humans! With simple text and bright, graphic art, Ariel Cohn and Aron Neils Steinke have created a gentle, fantastical adventure for the very youngest of readers. The Zoo Box will be a terrific introduction to comics for both learning readers and their parents.

    Instead she gets a chicken. But this chicken is no ordinary chicken; it has plans! With a lot of hard work, and help from lots of other animals, this chicken may just end up building the girl the best birthday gift ever!

    Too bad for Bear, his friends are sleepy and shoo him away. So Bear invents a Rolly-Rumpity to wheel the Thingity-Jig home, but then it all gets stuck in the mud! How will Bear tackle this bump in the road? With a Lifty-Uppity, of course!