Giraffe and Bird are not friends. Not even a little bit. The bird pesters the giraffe with his face-making, feather-pruning, and disgusting eating habits. The giraffe annoys the bird with his bad breath, ear-swatting, and lack of respect for personal space. Of course they are always fighting. Of course they would be better off without each other. Except, it turns out, maybe they wouldn’t be.
In this story without words, a child is sleeping while outside people carry on with their lives–working, eating, walking their dogs, and even star gazing.
When Holland is arrested for the thirty-seventh time for stealing beautiful things, he must make a very difficult decision. A police officer says that he must either go to jail or become a soldier. He chooses to join the army and is sent south, where he finds himself surrounded by beautiful things: palm trees, parrots, flowers and big blue waves…and fish! Holland starts painting pictures of the fish, which he sells at the market on the weekend. Soon, he has money to send home to his parents. They are worried that he’s gone back to his stealing ways, so his father writes to ask if he earned the money honestly. Holland writes back to reassure him that he has decided to paint instead of steal because “not everything that’s pretty can be stuffed in your pockets!” Based on a true story about JonArno Lawson’s uncle, and accompanied by Natalie Nelson’s collage illustrations, this quirky picture book is about making choices – and art.
Lila might seem quiet, but that’s because she’s off on a pretend adventure . . . Only Lila can see that she’s wrestling an octopus, racing along in a winged chariot, and flying with birds over a noisy jungle. But playing by yourself can get lonely. So Lila’s grandpa decides to join her–because using your imagination is even more fun when you play together.
Yikes! Eddie’s in for the surprise of his life when he discovers that his teddy bear has grown much too big to cuddle! But there’s fun in store when Eddie meets up with a real bear who’s got just the opposite problem—his lost teddy bear has shrunk to a size that’s much too small for such an enormous bear to cuddle. Could it be a case of mistaken identity? This fast-paced comedy of errors, illustrated with Jez Alborough’s quirky artwork, is guaranteed to have children—and bears alike—reaching for their teddies!
Love shines through in the sticky notes shared between a mother and daughter in this picture book about making time for family in the midst of our busy lives.Between work and school, homework and housework, a mother and daughter don’t always get to spend as much time together as they’d like. Add to that a little girl’s fears about leaving home for the first time, and the need to stay close through handwritten notes becomes even more important. As the camp departure date gets closer, Mom does her best to soothe her daughter’s nerves. A visit from her grandmother helps to calm her fears and convince her that she’ll have a good time, even away from her mother and beloved cat. Camp ends up being a wonderful adventure but nothing is sweeter than a back-at-home reunion. Qin Leng’s watercolor illustrations are the perfect complement to Emil Sher’s simple text. This nuanced story about a parent and child’s unconventional way of connecting is full of humor and affection. Young readers will enjoy spotting Lester the cat as he paws his way into the story.
Size is just a matter of perspective in this story about a little lion who is much, much smaller than the rest. The other animals laugh at him and tell him that real lions are so very big, they can touch the moon with a paw. When a friendly raven discovers the little lion atop a hill, sadly gazing at the moon, the wise bird tells him that to touch the moon, he must reach for it. The next night, Raven brings all the animals to the base of the hill, where at the tippy-top, Little Lion stretches his paw as far as he can. From where the animals are standing, it is clear: Little Lion can touch the moon . . . and no one ever doubts him again.
Sammy is a leopard with 500 perfect spots. But one morning a spot is missing. It’s a runaway spot! Sammy tries to catch it and stick it back on with tape, but the spot hops out the window and escapes. The spot is free!
For the rabbits, birds, and squirrels, the big tree is home. But then come two new arrivals with wonderful plans, all ready to create their dream house. What will it mean for the animal families if their tree is cut down? With empathy and imagination, Neal Layton offers a hopeful outlook in this simple and powerful fable about the harmony of the natural world.
Once upon a time, a wolf lived in a forest all by himself. All the other animals lived in pairs, and, as spring approached, the Wolf started to despair―and decided to go looking for love.