Geraldo Valério is an artist who loves birds, from majestic golden eagles and snowy owls to brilliant cardinals and jays to the tiniest of hummingbirds. Here he presents his favorites, with beautiful collage illustrations and brief descriptions that highlight intriguing facts about each one.
Early Years (ages 2-6)
Manners Are Not for Monkeys
The old zookeeper has no idea how much trouble it will cause when she moves the monkeys into a cage near the picnic and play areas. Now the monkeys can watch the children up close, and they find the children so fascinating that before long, they start behaving just like them!
Miss Moon: Wise Words from a Dog Governess
Miss Wilhelmina Moon is a dog governess. At her first placement, on a small island off the coast of France, her new charges – sixty-seven dogs of all shapes, sizes and colors – run wild. But armed with patience and a passion for teaching, as well as her companions, Mitford the monkey and Petunia the French bulldog, Miss Moon soon imparts twenty important lessons to her furry brood. Some are practical, some are playful, one or two are a little unusual, but all are necessary for the raising of happy, healthy and well-mannered dogs (and humans).
Greenling
Mr. Barleycorn picks a green baby growing on his land, unleashing the incredible power of nature. When zucchinis flower in the kitchen and carrots sprout out of their television, Mr. Barleycorn’s wife insists that the Greenling has to go. But the bounty and beauty of nature have a strange power — the power to bring a whole community together.–Amazon.com.
Mom, Dad, Our Books, And Me
Mom, Dad, Our Books, and Me follows a young boy and those around him — parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and neighbors — as they all read, immersed in what moves them.
Mr. King’s Machine
When Mr. King the cat discovers that one of the pretty flowers near his home has been chewed by a caterpillar, he is NOT happy. He decides to build himself a Caterpillar-Catcher to track down the culprit who did it.
Pinny In Summer
This engaging story, told in chapter-like episodes, follows Pinny on a long, lazy summer day. As sunshine turns to rain and back to sun again, Pinny searches for a wishing rock, watches clouds, picks wild blueberries, feeds a seagull, and bakes a cake to share with her friends.
The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head
Isabel has a best friend named Simon, who is very good with newts. But one day Simon moves away in a truck and never comes back. For a while Isabel hates everything and decides it’s better to be by herself. After all, she has a parrot who likes to sit on her head, and she has a system, sorting all the things in her room into boxes. But now she faces a new problem: the parrot worries about the box that is full of wolves, and Isabel secretly worries too.
The House That Zack Built
Follows Zack and his dog Rufus as they share a day on the farm, building a house out of blocks, before a wandering fly attracts the attention of a determined feline, inadvertently wreaking havoc.