Open Up, Please!

Look at that little hamster in a cage, and the other animals, too—a bunny, a squirrel, a bird, a frog, and even a porcupine. All of these little animals want to play outside! Luckily, you, the reader, are in charge of the keys and have only to open the cages to make these critters happy. But wait—what’s in that box that you’re not supposed to touch? Uh-oh.

Hare And Tortoise

Hare (Leapus swifticus) can barely stay still for a minute. He’s the fastest on the farm. Tortoise (Slow and steadicus) can stay still for a very long time. She has occasionally been mistaken for a rock. So when they decide to have a race, Hare is certain to win . . . isn’t he? Through the meadow, around the duck pond, and straight into the carrot field. Carrots? Oh, dear. Whether encountering the classic tale for the first time or tracing the racecourse map to relive it, children will be quick to realize Hare’s folly and eager to join the cheering for easygoing, persistent Tortoise. She may be slow, but watch her go!

Little Brother Pumpkin Head

A boy has a little brother on the way. His mother is eating much pumpkin―pumpkin soup, pumpkin dumplings, pumpkin ravioli and pumpkin pie. At first the boy is happy to think that this pumpkin diet will give his new baby brother red hair, which the boy is very fond of. Then the boy has a nightmare where his brother has a pumpkin head with nothing inside but seeds and pulp!

The Other Rabbit

In a world where everyone has a counterpart, Rabbit is searching for the Other Rabbit. He flies through the air, walks across the land, travels across the sea but still he cannot find him. Finally, he learns that the Other Rabbit is on another island and that the dragon who lives there won’t let him leave because he is afraid of being lonely. Rabbit comes up with the perfect solution and no one is lonely again.

Ada’s Ideas

Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron’s “mad” love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics “poetical science.” Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in “programming” his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world’s first computer programmer.

The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots

Beatrix Potter created some of the world’s most beloved characters, and they will be coming to life in a movie slated for Spring 2018. And this book, written in 1941 but never illustrated, introduces the charming Kitty-in-Boots, who has been imagined by Quentin Blake. When Miss Kitty sneaks out to go hunting in her beautiful boots she gets herself into all sorts of scrapes, but on this particular night she meets the foxiest hunter of them all—Mr. Tod!