Helping mom is no fun for Junjun, so instead of doing as she asks, he utters the "magic" words "rata-pata-scata-fata." By chance or magic, Junjun's wishes come true and all of his chores get done. Is Junjun's magic just a coincidence?
A question scritches and scratches at the back of Emma's throat. Emma is a curious kid. She loves to ask questions,Äîand she loves the silly answers that her grandmother always gives. But now Emma has a very important question, one that she is bursting to ask, one that scritches and scratches at the back of her throat. Her grandmother is sick and has to stay in the hospital. Emma wonders if Grandma will still be able to read to her kindergarten; if she will still make up funny stories over bagels on Wednesdays; if she will still be able to watch her after school. But mostly Emma wonders if Grandma is going to die. Emma,Äôs Question helps families to answer the question that all kids face at one time or another. Geared toward young children, the story uses gentle humor and simple explanations to describe what is happening to Grandma in the hospital. Funny, sweet illustrations show the depth and closeness of Emma and Grandma,Äôs relationship. Dealing With Loss, Family, Intergenerational
Everyone knows that the little kids table is the place to be for any holiday or family gathering. They just know how to have fun! This silly, rhyming story follows a group of rambunctious cousins from table setting to dessert. A universal theme, The Little Kids Table will have kids--and parents!--howling with laughter.
After an especially "busy" day, a preschool-age boy overhears his mother say, "He's been a monster all day." So the little boy starts to fantasize about what life as a monster would be like. "I wonder why Mommy thinks that of me? / I guess if she does then a monster I'll be! / I'm big and strong! / I grumble and growl / and scare people off / with a sneer and a scowl. / Being a monster is fun!" There are no rules to remember or manners to follow. And monsters can stay out as late as they please, scaring everyone away. As it turns out, being a monster isn't all it's cracked up to be. No one wants to be friends with a monster. And who will read a story and tuck a monster into bed? Maybe being a little boy isn't such a bad thing after all.
Sam is a super brother. He can run. He can leap. He can climb tall cliffs! But when his baby brother gets hurt, Super Sam must try his hardest to save the day. This simple, charming story and its bold, energetic illustrations are just right for lap sharing and story hour.
It's easy to appreciate a garden exploding with colorful flowers and fragrances, but what do you do with a patch of ugly vegetables? Author/illustrator Grace Lin recalls such a garden in this charming and eloquent story. The neighbors' gardens look so much prettier and so much more inviting to the young gardener than the garden of "black-purple-green vines, fuzzy wrinkled leaves, prickly stems, and a few little yellow flowers" that she and her mother grow. Nevertheless, mother assures her that "these are better than flowers." Come harvest time, everyone agrees as those ugly Chinese vegetables become the tastiest, most aromatic soup they have ever known. As the neighborhood comes together to share flowers and ugly vegetable soup, the young gardener learns that regardless of appearances, everything has its own beauty and purpose.
Herbie Bear imagines piloting a plane while on a family vacation.
