Come and Play: Children of Our World Having Fun

Come and Play features 32 photographs of children from everywhere. China, Japan, Greece, Wales, Morocco, Oman, Texas, New York, and many more. Each photo is beautiful, thought provoking, and accompanied by lines of children’s poetry that will amuse young readers, and cause adult readers to reflect and laugh as they see the images through children’s eyes. The photographs span the last fifty years; while the children who wrote about them are a diverse group between the ages of 5 and 11.

It’s Moving Day!

Tucked away beneath a big tree on the edge of a field lies a home — a small burrow — for many. In every season, a different creature makes its home here and then moves on, making room for the next occupant. After a long winter’s sleep, the woodchuck relocates to another burrow, but its former home is not left vacant for long. A cottontail rabbit raises her family there. After the kits have all hopped away, a salamander takes refuge in the same safe place. Through this engaging and informative introduction to woodland animals in their habitats, young readers will delight in learning about natural science as it is integrated into an inviting picture book.

The Little Word Catcher

Elise wonders why her grandmother’s words keep escaping her — do they fly off to play tricks on her? Elise’s grandmother used to know many marvelous words, but now she seems to be losing them all the time. Can Elise help her by catching them, like butterflies in a net? This award-winning picture book offers a gentle exploration of the effects of Alzheimer’s on the relationships in a family, and the special bond it creates between a grandmother and her granddaughter. Eventually, Elise comes to believe that her grandmother has used up all her words and has passed them on to her, as a gift. Winner of the 2007 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature Illustration (French language).

The Pencil

The creators of THE RUNAWAY DINNER and PREVIOUSLY team up to imagine the comical world that comes to life when a lonely pencil starts to draw.

“One day that little pencil made a move, shivered slightly, quivered somewhat . . . and began to draw.”

Welcome back Banjo, the boy from THE RUNAWAY DINNER! Once a pencil draws him, there’s no telling what will come next — a dog, a cat, a chase (of course), and a paintbrush to color in an ever-expanding group of family and friends. But it’s not long before the complaints begin — “This hat looks silly!” “My ears are too big!” — until the poor pencil has no choice but to draw . . . an eraser. Oh no! In the hands of Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman, can anything but havoc and hilarity ensue?

Guess What I Found In Dragon Wood

In this twist on the “boy finds lost pet” tale, a young dragon discovers a Benjamin in Dragonwood. The dragon takes the boy home, to school and the playground. The Benjamin is a fascinating creature. He doesn’t have claws or scales and can’t even fly. When the Benjamin gets homesick, the dragon decides to help him get home. How will the other Benjamins react to finding a dragon in their world?

A Gift

Amy receives a gift just in time for Chinese New Year, the most important holiday in the Chinese culture. At this time of year, it’s tradition to spend time with friends and family. Since Amy’s aunt and uncles live in China and are unable to make a New Year visit, they have sent their niece a special gift.

The Last Gold Diggers

In this sequel to “The Last Polar Bears”, Grandfather and his demanding, but delightful, dog Roo journey to Australia in search of Uncle Vincent, last heard of prospecting for gold. Their adventures are told in letters sent back to Grandfather’s grandchild.

Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan

This story introduces readers to children living in Kabul and in rural Afghan villages through photographic portraits and brief narrative profiles that offer a glimpse of their lives and dreams.

Stanley At Sea

Stanley’s thrown his party — and braved his wild ride. Now Stanley and his pals embark on an adventure that makes sea-dogs of them all! It’s picnic time in the park — but not for Stanley. He knows he’s not supposed to beg, but his people are always eating. And Stanley is always hungry! After he’s told to “get,” Stanley wanders down by the river where he runs into Alice, Nutsy and Gassy Jack. Soon their keen noses lead them to a delicious treat on a small boat with no people in sight. When the boat’s mooring comes loose, they float away with the current down the river, under a bridge and then out to sea! It’s a scary new world where the sky stretches in every direction and big waves crash. The dogs know that when you’re Outside, sooner or later you always come to a fence. When suddenly through the mist they see what looks like a very tall fence, they know they’ve come to the End of Outside! But what kind of fence is this?

Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach

Scaredy Squirrel doesn’t like crowds so he doesn’t go to the beach, he builds his own. However, something is missing so he needs to go to the real beach and retrieve it.