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From hatching and feeding to rearing and courting, the everyday adventures of emperor penguins come vividly to life in this unique collection of jovial verse. Young readers will identify with the challenges of childhood these feathered creatures face: waiting to be fed, searching for their mothers, or swimming for the first time.
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Dive, swim, and glide with this delightful pack of penguins as they slip and slide through their icy world.
Judy Sierra, Jose Aruego, and Ariane Dewey invite you into the world of an Emperor penguin family and their wild, slip-sliding, rhyming fun.
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Look out! There's a sleepy, creepy, deeper-than-you'd-think mud puddle on the preschool playground, and it has swallowed up a pizza van, a fire engine . . . even a tow truck! But don't worry, this group of clever preschoolers knows just how to rescue them!
The talented duo who brought readers the popular Counting Crocodiles and The House That Drac Built have created an irresistible playground adventure.
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Welcome to Ballyhoo Bay, where Mira Bella the artist teaches painting and sculpture to grannies and kids. Sun, sea, sand, and sky - what could be more fun?

Until one gray day a billboard goes up, announcing a high-rise building and all kinds of stuff. No more sand or seashells or painting or fun. And absolutely no children and wildlife allowed.

Mira Bella is not one to take this plan lightly. But despite Mira Bella's conviction, can art save Ballyhoo Bay?

Mom's Choice Award winner and E.B. White Read Aloud Award recipient Judy Sierra has created a modern fable for the ages, celebrating art, nature, and community. Derek Anderson's vibrant and buoyant illustrations are as close as you can get to a day at the beach without actually being there.

Come put your toes in the sand at Ballyhoo Beach!...

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The kids in Miss Darling's class are very lucky--what other classroom has its own alphabet zoo?

From the author of the bestselling Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems comes another collection of delightfully playful verse. Every kid will want to join this class!
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Poor Monkey. All she has to eat are sour lemons. One day she spies a banana tree on a faraway island, but the only way to get there is to navigate the crocodile-infested waters of the Sillabobble Sea. That’s no problem when you’re a brave and clever monkey who can count to ten and back!
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DANGER! WARNING! KIDS beware! Bound in the bilious green-spotted fur (100% fake) of an unidentified weird beast, here is a book that kids will love—quite literally—from cover to cover. In the macabre spirit of the Halloween season, funny rhymes range from “Parasite Lost” to “Leap Halloween,” and are illustrated with gruesome graphics. Elementary school kids will want to be the first to own this outrageous fur-clad book, but librarians may prefer the standard library bound edition, minus the fur!


From the Hardcover edition....

THE AWARD-WINNING COLLABORATORS of the New York Times #1 picture book bestseller Wild About Books are back with a new story that promotes books and reading. Told in Judy Sierra’s inimitable read-aloud rhyme, the narrative chronicles the amazing successes of Sam—thanks to his early love of books. The story ranges from Sam’s infancy, when his mother reads him a picture book (“then another, then another, then another . . . such a perfect, patient mother”), to school age, when he cleverly uses some of his favorite books to rid his town of the rampaging baby giant, Grundaloon. “‘Here’s my secret,’ Sam decreed. ‘Readers win and winners read.’” Marc Brown’s playful pictures joyously complement this fun-to-read, upbeat story...

Thelonius Monster once swallowed a fly, and decided that flies would taste grand in a pie. That silly guy!

Judy Sierra’s funny read-aloud romp presents a monster that children will love as he makes a goo-filled crust, lures hundreds and thousands of succulent flies into it, and invites his “disgusting-ist” friends and relations to a gala fly-pie party. “How it glistens! And listen—it hums!” shout the ravenous monsters. But just as his guests are about to dig in—the pie flies off. “Bye, bye, fly pie.”

Judy Sierra’s story in rhyme begs to be read aloud during Halloween season or any season, and Edward Koren’s signature hairy monsters capture all the humor of this deliciously gross tale....

According to legend, Japanese villagers once lived in fear of great hulking ogres called Onis who considered babies' belly buttons the tastiest of all treats. When they raided a village it was the babies they stole. In a delightful retelling of the folktale, Judy Sierra has added a feminist twist in the person of a fearless young heroine, determined to stop them. Little Urikohme, or Melon Princess, was born inside a watermelon and has no bellybutton. She travels to the Onis' fortress island, and with the help of some animal friends, rescues the babies, leaving the Onis crying for mercy. A wonderful short tale to read aloud, children will gleefully join in the Onis' chant and cheer at the triumph of small over large. In cleverly inspired watercolors, Meilo So outfits the Melon Princess in a watermelon-designed kimono and her humorous depiction of the oversized bullies is sure to elicit giggles. An author's note discusses the origin of the tale and its place in Japanese folklore....

In the Spice Islands, where clove and nutmeg trees grow,
a girl named Damura lived long ago.

Damura is a beautiful girl, as kind and lovely as the little green parrot that perches on the nutmeg tree. But Damura's stepmother and stepsister mistreat her. They force her to rise before dawn, carry out all the chores, and sleep on the floor. One day, while down by the river, Damura calls out to the creatures of the wild for help. Rising from the waters, an ancient crocodile answers the call. This unusual fairy godmother, aptly named Grandmother Crocodile, outfits Damura in a sarong of gold, with slippers to match, and sends her to the palace to dance for the prince. Once he sees her, the prince knows that she will be his bride.

But the fairy tale isn't quite over. Damura's wicked stepmother and stepsister are so jealous that they push Damura into the river, where she is swallowed by a crocodile. Too bad they didn't know about Grandmother Crocodile....

The Gift of the Crocodile, a tale from the Spice Islands in Indonesia, offers a colorful and dramatic twist on the universally adored Cinderella story....

The stories of a Cinderella character go far beyond the familiar tales of Perrault and Grimm. Author Judy Sierra presents 24 versions that represent a broad range of cultures and geographical areas, styles, with variations on the theme of the persecuted heroine (or occasionally hero) who emerges victorious, regardless of the circumstances. Each version is accompanied by a short introductory paragraph that summarizes the plot and discusses the cultural background of the story....

Students, heed this little rhyme:

When it's science project time,

Do not make goop,

or glop,

or grime,

And never mess with

mutant slime.

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It started the summer of 2002, when the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo.

In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly introduces birds and beasts to this new something called reading. She finds the perfect book for every animal—tall books for giraffes, tiny ones for crickets. "She even found waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter." In no time at all, Molly has them "forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks," going "wild, simply wild, about wonderful books." Judy Sierra’s funny animal tale coupled with Marc Brown’s lush, fanciful paintings will have the same effect on young Homo sapiens. Altogether, it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys!...

A fun read-aloud for little ones who are learning their ABCs.

It's sleepy time in Alphabet Town. But the twenty-six little letters of the alphabet all have something they need—or want—to do before big-letter moms and dads tuck them in. Not since the classsic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom has there been such an appealing way to teach the youngest child the ABCs while providing a one-minute goodnight story. Of course, Melissa Sweet’s animated watercolor, pencil, and collage illustrations may beg for a little more time to match up all the toys with the right letters, and Judy Sierra’s rollicking rhymed story will want to be heard again and again. Okay, so maybe it’s a three-minute story!


From the Hardcover edition....

"Schoolyard rhymes are catchy and fun. They are easy to remember. In fact, they stick in the mind like bubble gum to a shoe." writes Judy Sierra in her introduction to this lively collection of traditional playground chants. Included are more than 50 verses ranging from the familiar jump rope rhyme about the mythical lady with the alligator purse to less familiar counting-out ones, from funny rhymes for ball-bouncing and hand-clapping games to "Liar, liar, pants on fire, nose as long as a telephone wire" and other choice insults of children. Melissa Sweet includes bright, colorful fabric swatches in her watercolor-and-pencil collages to perfectly capture the spirit of these funky, street-smart verses that children love to recite and chant....

It started the summer of 2002, when the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo.

In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly introduces birds and beasts to this new something called reading. She finds the perfect book for every animal—tall books for giraffes, tiny ones for crickets. "She even found waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter." In no time at all, Molly has them "forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks," going "wild, simply wild, about wonderful books." Judy Sierra’s funny animal tale coupled with Marc Brown’s lush, fanciful paintings will have the same effect on young Homo sapiens. Altogether, it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys!...