Today, Maybe is a story about a little girl who is waiting for someone, a friend. She doesn't yet know who it will be. In a series of surprising and humorous encounters, several well-known characters of children's literature arrive at her door. But none of them are the one she is waiting for, and she graciously sends them all away. With her bird to keep her company and hope filling her heart, weeks and then months pass as she waits and waits. When there is a scratch at the door one night, certainty fills the little girl's heart, and she opens the door to discover true friendship is indeed worth waiting for.
Night is a boy who knows it's much more fun to play than go to sleep. When the sun sets, he travels through the night sky in a spaceship with his teddy. Night's favorite game is hide-and-go-seek, which he plays each evening with his older sister, Day. But why can't he ever find her? Night Boy is a unique playful picturebook about a brother and a sister named Night and Day. The rhythmic text and rich illustrations make for a bedtime story that is sure to lull children who say "I can't sleep" into dreamland. Through the personas of a brother and sister, Night Boy offers a unique explanation of how night turns to day astronomically.
Alice is a good witch. And Greta... well, Greta and trouble are never far apart. Alice spends her time helping others by weaving her enchanting spells. All Greta does is wreak havoc. But when a forgotten spell comes back to haunt her, Greta's stuck learning something she should have learned long ago. Vibrant, colorful, and full of whimsical detail, Cyd Moore's illustrations complete the magic of this clever tale.
Kids are in for Jurassic-size laughs as they follow a boy in his quest to bring a pterodactyl to school. And not just any pterodactyl: this one wards off bullies, loves to read stories, and makes an excellent science display. Hilarious illustrations capture the madcap imagination of the determined hero and his creative pleas to his teacher.
Joe Dumpty, Humpty's brother and private detective, thinks Humpty Dumpty's fall was no accident. But who would have pushed him? Was it Little Miss Muffet? Old Mother Hubbard? Chicken Little? Joe has until five o'clock to question characters and catch the culprit.
After arriving for a visit, Little Red Riding Hood discovers her grandmother doesn't look like herself. She kind of looks like a wolf!
The ugly duckling is a baby duck that doesn't look like his brothers and sisters. In fact, some of the animals call him "ugly" and bully him. But one day everything changes for the ugly duckling.
The mice must try to figure out how to protect themselves from the house cat. One young mouse has a great idea. But will he have the courage to bell the cat?
The poor prince can't seem to find a TRUE princess. Will a tiny green legume save the day?
A mean old woman puts a young girl in a tower with no door or stairs! How will she get visitors? How will she escape?
This Aesop's fable retelling is about two cousins who live in two very different places: the city and the country. They visit each other to try to decide which place is better. Which do you think is better?
This is a fable about kindness and mercy. The mouse is feeling playful and wakes up the lion. At first the lion is angry. But the lion shows mercy on the mouse. And that kindness is returned one day.
The Lord of Luchow was a kind man, but his people are threatened with war. A loyal servant finds a way to protect his master and bring peace to the lands. Themes: bravery, intelligence, devotion.
When the north wind blows away the flour carried by a baker's young son, he sets out on a journey to insist it be returned. This Norwegian tale shows the value of perseverance nd gifts of nature.
When a princess learns a terrible secret about the man she loves, she marries him in spite of the news. Her devotion pays off when she is granted a wish.
Day after day, a poor young girl discovers a lion who needs her help. In time, her care for the lion-in-need and her dreams of a better life intersect.
The king, who loves adventures, is imprisoned during one of his journeys. But when the queen dets out to find her husband, she must travel in disguise. This is a story of ingenuity from medieval Russia.
When a village is terrorized by a lion, the hunter Kambili wishes to track down the beast. But his wife Kumba warns that the lion is an evil wizard. This is an adaptation of a Malinke story.
Tokoyo, a skilled diver, is devoted to her father who has been banished by the emperor. She goes in search of him and in the process kills a sea dragon, breaking an evil spell. Tokoyo and her father are reunited and return to their village. Themes: bravery, devotion.
Read the traditional nursery rhyme Itsy Bitsy Spider first, then enjoy a fun new rhyme. Can you make up a rhyme of your own?
Read the traditional nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle first, then enjoy a fun new rhyme. Can you make up a rhyme of your own?
Read the traditional nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty first, then enjoy a fun new rhyme. Can you make up a rhyme of your own?
Read the traditional nursery rhyme Baa, Baa, Black Sheep first, then enjoy a fun new rhyme. Can you make up a rhyme of your own?
According to this Scottish folktale, long ago sweet-toothed fairies flew into peoples homes and feasted on leftover cake crumbs. But the King of the Fairies was annoyed that crumbs never remained from the very best cakes baked by the talented bakerwoman so he orders the fairies to capture her and bring her down to the Fairy Kingdom. The resourceful woman requests items from her kitchen at home, where her bewildered husband looks on as utensils and ingredients float out of the window, borne by invisible fairies. Eventually she strikes a clever bargain with the impatient Fairy King to win her freedom and return home in return for sharing her tasty cakes.
You may think you know the classic story of the Ugly Duckling, but think again. In the capable hands of his alter ego Maynard Moose, renowned storyteller Willy Claflin takes us on a wacky journey where this Uglified Ducky, a hapless young moose, "blunders away" from his home, is mistaken for a baby duck, and endures endless humiliation as he tries to learn to waddle, quack, swim, and fly. Eventually, he finds his true "fambly," who helps him discover his own beauty. In his fractured Moose English, translated in the glossary at front, Maynard relays a surprisingly tender story that echoes the original tale's theme of the struggle to belong and discover your true self. The Uglified Ducky's quest is playfully but sympathetically interpreted in James Stimson's luminous, droll gouache illustrations.
