Can Anybody Hear Me?

Jack is quiet—which wouldn’t be so bad if the rest of his family wasn’t SO NOISY. No one can hear him over the sound of their own voices. So when Jack tells them he’s going up the mountain one day, nobody hears him. And when night falls, nobody knows where he is. Now Jack will have to find his voice in order to help his family find him. This satisfying story is set against a rural western backdrop and features Jessica Meserve’s vivid illustrations, which burst with color and personality.

What the Rat Told Me

One day, the Great Emperor of Heaven invited all the animals to visit him on the Jade Mountain. Twelve animals came, and they became the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. This porquoi tale explains why the cat is not part of the zodia and why the cat and rat are no longer friends. This ancient porquoi tale is adapted from a Chinese Buddhist legend dating from the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) introduces the Chinese zodiac and the animals of the Chinese zodiac to young readers.

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?

Wild Boars Cook

THE BOARS ARE BACK! But watch out, because this time they’re not only bossy, selfish, and stinky, they’re hungry, too! If you thought Boris, Morris, Horace, and Doris already had bad manners, wait until you see them concoct a Massive Pudding. And if this pudding sounds horrible, the ingredients will leave you speechless! Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall team up again to delightful results in this companion book about the beloved disgusting wild boars. The wild boars have established themselves as forces to be reckoned with, and this second installment will not disappoint—it’s laugh-out-loud funny!

Tweedle Dee Dee

The award-winning creator of HELLO TWINS offers a joyous celebration of nature as it springs to life.Come into the woods, where the green leaves grow around and around and where, high in the branches, a nest is full of cheeping birds. With radiant, expressive artwork, Charlotte Voake captures the essence of a forest as it comes alive in the spring, illustrating a simple text based on the traditional song “The Green Grass Grew All Around.” Includes a musical score to inspire musicians of all ages.

Wanda’s Freckles

Wanda has freckles. Lots and lots of freckles. They make her feel special, until the day in the park when a group of boys point, laugh, and tease her for having spots. All of a sudden, the freckles she’d liked become a problem. Wanda decides to make her freckles disappear altogether! At a time when there’s pressure to conform to someone else’s idea of perfection, this playful story has an important message: individuality and self-acceptance are to be celebrated. The ever-resourceful Wanda puts her imagination to work to try to come to peace with those troublesome freckles once and for all. The critically acclaimed author/illustrator team of Barbara Azore and Georgia Graham bring another Wanda adventure to life with humor and wisdom.

The Sleeping Porch

When the intense heat drives young Brando to sleep on the porch, he is awoken around midnight by a cat from a nearby graveyard. Together, Brando and Graveyard Cat embark upon a rollicking adventure: leaping up to the rings of Saturn, visiting the Arctic seas, scaling cliffs and sliding down slopes. Brando is certain his journey with Graveyard Cat was just a dream, but finds that he can’t be entirely sure . . . This imaginative tale is perfectly complemented by Ian Wallace’s charming illustrations.

Dog Day

Ben and Ellie have a new teacher. But wait a minute – the new teacher is a dog named Riff! With Riff in charge, reading, writing, and arithmetic are abandoned in favor of lessons in barking, scratching, and digging holes – and Ben, Ellie, and their friends couldn’t be happier. Then Mrs. Pink, the principal, comes to check on the class. What will she think of their dog day? High-energy text and bright, graphic illustrations will make readers want to join the fun in this school-day romp.

Where’s My Hug?

Jake doesn’t want to give his mother a hug when he gets to school. All the other kids will think he’s a baby. But when Jake gets home, he finds that his mom has given his hug to his dad, who’s given it to the cat, who’s given it to a witch, and so on . . . Will Jake ever get his hug back? James Mayhew’s gentle story and Sue Hellard’s charming illustrations make this a perfect bedtime story for parents and children to share.

My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School around the World

Ruurs set out to discover the many different, and sometimes unusual, ways that children around the world attend school. In this book, readers get to know students who are pursuing their dreams of a brighter future, and of teachers who are devoted to improving people’s lives.