In a time before alarm clocks, Mary Smith, a “knocker-up,” walks through the town early in the morning, waking people up by shooting at their windows with her peashooter.
Mary Smith
Fiction
Fiction genre
Ndito Runs
Every day many children in Kenya run miles to school–so does Ndito. From her village in the highlands she runs barefoot, across ridges and down hills, under baobab trees and through tall grass
Spirit of Hope
When the Fairweather family almost gives up hope of finding a place to live, the youngest child gives them an idea for a great location.
Pink Fire Trucks / Los camiones de bomberos de color rosado
Spirited Gladys Elizabeth is at it again! It is career day at school and Gladys Elizabeth boldly announces that she is going to be a firegirl. After a classmate tells her that girls cannot fight fires.
The Cucuy Stole My Cascarones/El Coco Me Rob Los Cascarones
Mighty Monster Mysteries! Roberto and his mother made thirty dozen confetti-filled eggs, or cascarones, for his birthday party. Roberto can’t wait to crack the hollowed, painted and confetti-stuffed eggs over his friends’ heads. But, when he goes to the kitchen to get the cascarones, they’re gone! The only clue they ever existed is a trail of confetti that leads to a shadow.
Help! We Need A Title!
What if you picked out a book to read, but the characters weren’t ready for you yet
Take a peek inside this book and you’ll find some characters (though they’re still a bit sketchy). They’ll be perplexed to see you, so they’ll quickly try to track down their author (who has a lot more work to do). What you won’t find is a story, or a title, because — guess what? The book isn’t finished yet! But surely the author must have a story to tell? In this charming “meta” picture book, children of all ages are encouraged to interact with a book still in the process of being invented. And that’s a story in itself!
Mermaid’s Shoes
A little girl follows her dream of becoming a mermaid after finding “mermaid shoe” scuba flippers on the beach, a pursuit that has her searching for the sea at the local aquarium, at a river in town, and elsewhere.
Sleep Tight, Anna Banana!
Anna Banana can’t settle down tonight, even though her stuffed animal friends are tired and just want to sleep. They suffer through delay after delay and excuse after excuse, until Anna Banana is finally sleepy. And then, it’s time for their revenge! Her stuffed animals decide to teach her a lesson about respecting others at bedtime.
City Cat
A plucky stray cat takes a Grand Tour in Kate Banks’ story of a family on a European vacation. As the family travels from one city to the next, the cat finds its own means–by bus, boat, train, truck, and bike–to tag along on the trip, visiting historic landmarks like Buckingham Palace and the Cathedral of Notre Dame along the way. Readers will pore over the spreads to find where City Cat is hiding in each city, and detailed backmatter explains the history behind the sites in each locale.
The Camel in the Sun
The camel has worked its entire life for a man called Halim, carrying bundles of spices, dates, incense, silver and wool on long journeys across the desert east of the Red Sea. It often has to climb steep dunes, run when it is exhausted, and wait in the hot sun while Halim sits in the shade talking to the other merchants. One day the camel is overwhelmed by sadness and finds itself in tears. But still Halim shows no sympathy. When they arrive in the beautiful garden-filled city of Medina, where the Prophet lives, the merchant refreshes himself with food and drink and then naps on a pillow of sand, once again leaving the tired camel to stand alone in the burning sun. But when the Prophet sees the camel’s plight, everything changes. Halim finally empathizes with the camel’s pain and suffering.