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.
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.
When a boy is left in the care of his older sister, he begs her to read him his favorite book, but she’s too absorbed in her own reading to pay him any attention. She won’t be distracted, even when the boy finds a ravenous tiger hiding in his soup!
Winnie wants a monster! Some monsters smell like pirate feet and some might read your diary, but they are so darn cute! All Winnie’s friends have one.
On a cold winter’s day, Rabbit leaves his burrow in search of food, but all he can find is a single red apple hanging far out of reach. Rabbit tries and tries to get his animal friends to help him reach it, but none of them can manage it. When they accidentally wake Bear from her hibernation, they all work together to figure out a way to get what they want.
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“When Henrietta’s mother gives her a box of colored pencils, she sets out to draw a terrifying and fantastic adventure”–
Striking red, white, and black illustrations mirror the emotions created by an innocuous comment that escalates into bullying within a school community. The students’ choices when confronted with their behavior create a sensitive and hopeful narrative.
Comprised of fun and playfully surprising contemporary illustrations and a satisfying tall tale, Why Dogs Have Wet Noses is a refreshing and memorable take on an old story. Told with dry humor, this is a secular story of how, not long after the world began, it started to rain, and it was the kind of rain that pounds down and never stops. Wise as he was, a man named Noah decided to build a lifeboat, and he set about gathering as many kinds of creatures as he could think of. And he had the good sense to invite slugs, spiders, and the other slimy, creepy-crawly creatures that most people try to get rid of by spraying or stepping on. He also let a funny looking dog with a big soft nose trudge on board all by himself. Had he not done so, the Ark, as you may not know, would definitely have sunk.
Jackson the donkey works very hard, carrying loads of mielies, carrots and potatoes up the hill to market every week, from the little farm where he lives with the farmer, his wife Beauty and his son Goodwill. But one day Jackson just stops, halfway up the hill. The farmer pushes him, pulls him, shouts at him. But Jackson WILL NOT BUDGE. Just as the farmer is about to beat his donkey, little Goodwill comes running up the hill. Quickly he whispers something in the donkey’s ear – and, straightaway, the old donkey gets to his feet. The farmer is astonished. What could be the secret of the boy’s message? “Well,” says Goodwill, “Mama told me it’s the little things like saying please and thank you, that make a big difference in this world.” And from that day on, the farmer remembers to thank his old donkey for helping him, and Jackson does his work willingly.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
