La Acequia del Rito y la Sierra in the Mora Valley is the highest and most famous traditional irrigation system in New Mexico. It carries water up and over a mountain ridge and across a sub-continental divide, from the tributaries of the RÃo Grande to the immense watershed of the Mora, Canadian, Arkansas, and Mississippi Rivers. The names and stories of those who created this acequia to sustain their communities have mostly been lost and replaced by myths and legends. Now, when children ask, some parents attribute the task of moving mountains and changing the course of rivers to Juan del Oso, the stouthearted man whose father was a bear.From the mountains of northern Spain to the Andes in South America, Spanish-speaking people have told ancient legends of Juan del Oso and his friends. In this children’s tale, agriculturalist Juan Estevan Arellano and folklorist Enrique Lamadrid share a unique version of a celebrated story that has been told in northern New Mexico for centuries.Reading level: age 10 years and up
Animals
Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice
Skippyjon Jones, the Siamese cat that thinks he is a Chihuahua dog, has an adventure on Mars.
The Mammoth Academy in Trouble!
Oscar, Arabella, and their friends can’t wait to begin their second termat theMammoth Academy. But when they arrive at school on the first day after winter break, there’s a threatening graffiti message waiting for them. It seems the Cave Skool has moved nearby, and its pupils—those wild and dangerous animals called humans—are wreaking havoc. When a huge snowstorm hits and everyone is trapped inside the academy, the humans attack! With a little teamwork and a lot of explosive materials, the mammoths and their friends just might be able to save the day.
Aesop’s Fables
In this elegantly designed volume, more than sixty of Aesop’s timeless fables have been carefully selected, humorously retold, and brought gloriously to life by four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Jerry Pinkney. Included are the Shepherd Boy and The Wolf, the Lion and the Mouse, the Tortoise and the Hare, plus many other characters—and morals—that have inspired countless readers for centuries. With more than fifty magnificent full-color illustrations, this handsome edition is a must for every bookshelf.
Birds of a Feather and Other Aesop’s Fables
An illustrated retelling in verse of ten fables by Aesop, including “The Laborer and the Nightingale,” “The Frogs Choose a King,” and “The Horse and the Donkey.”
Once Upon A Time, Though It Wasn’t in Your Time, and It Wasn’t in My Time, and It Wasn’t In Anybody Else’s Time…
Three folktales–“The Fox, the Hare, and the Cock,” “The Girl and the Geese,” and “Battibeth”–are retold by an expert in fairytales and folklore in a new edition designed to be read aloud.
The Girl, The Fish, And The Crown
Ophelia
As Ophelia rushes to comfort her friend Kevin, who is suffering from butterflies in the stomach, she meets up with various friends who misunderstand the problem, each one adding a new ailment and cure to the growing list.
Aesop’s Fables
Brad Sneed brings his zany and creative talents to the world of Aesop. In his signature style of tricky perspectives, amusing exaggerations, and rich, delicate watercolors, his animal characters are beautifully realistic and yet humorously human, as they mimic a wide range of human feelings . . . and foibles. The stories of Aesop have been told and retold over the centuries; in his lively adaptation Brad Sneed updates the language and infuses these fifteen stories with a sense of humor that children will enthusiastically enjoy. And once again, as in his popular alphabet book Picture a Letter, Brad has included a wordless bonus for sharp-eyed readers of all ages-a sixteenth tale told only in pictures is hidden somewhere between the covers.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Hamelin town has a plague of rats, and if something isn’t done soon, everyone will starve. The people vow to give up everything to rid the town of the rats. And so the help of the Pied Piper is enlisted to dispose of the nasty pests. He plays a sweet tune and the rats, dancing, follow the music to their end. But when the townsfolk refuse to pay the Piper, he takes up his flute and plays an even sweeter tune. This time, it’s the town’s children who follow.