Henry Brown doesn’t know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves’ birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. When Henry grows up and marries, he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous …

This is a book about transformations…from egg to chicken, seed to flower, and caterpillar to butterfly. But it’s also a book about creativity as paint becomes picture, word becomes story…and commonplace becomes extraordinary.

Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggies cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In There Is a Bird on Your Head! Gerald discovers that there is something worse than a bird on your head — two birds on your head! Can Piggie help her best friend?

What do a frisky dachshund and a slightly timid stuffed bear have in common? They’re best friends. In these three sweet, funny, and meltingly tender stories, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, creator of such distinctive concept books as The Hidden Alphabet, Lemons are Not Red, Walter Was Worried, and Black? White! Red? Night!, proves she is as fine a writer as she is an artist and designer. In “Bear in the Chair” Bear wants to go outside and play with Dog, but can’t seem to get down from a very high …

The world needs more quiet heroes! With whimsy and warmth, Bob Graham tells the lesser-known tale of a shy little soul who saves the day. What happened to Humpty Dumpty is the stuff of legend. But how many know of his brave little sister? While the Tumbling Dumpties, the family traveling circus troupe, is doing acts of spectacular daring, Dimity stays far from the spotlight, playing tunes on her tiny flute. But when Humpty falls off the wall where he’s writing graffiti, it’s Dimity who finds her voice and brings …

Seventeen cultures, seventeen gorgeous babies. Appealing color photographs depict diverse traditions and showcase clothing worn by babies from around the world. A simple narrative helps demonstrate that no matter how different babies appear, they are all very much alike — nurtured and loved by those who care for them.

You may never have heard of a lightship. Once, lightships anchored on waters across America,
on the oceans and in the Great Lakes, floating where lighthouses could not be built. Smaller than most ships, but more steadfast, too, they held their spots, through calm and storm, to guide sailors toward safe waters. In these pages one lightship and her crew (and cat) again hold their place. The crew goes again from bow to stern, from keel to mast, to run their engines, shine their lights, and sound their horns. They run …

The numbers are on the loose–hiding and dancing, skipping and laughing through the rhymes of Mother Goose! It’s a good thing Caldecott Medal-winning artists Leo and Diane Dillon have helped gather up all these mischievous numbers in a stunning celebration of counting, rhymes, and imagination. The rhymes, both familiar and lesser known, are ordered from simple (1, 2, 3) to more complex numbers, making this a collection to grow with. The illustrations are filled with surprising wit and whimsy. And this vibrant, playful volume is irresistible as an introduction to …

Once there was a poor girl who had no mama and no papa and nothing at all, not even a name. But then one day an Ogre comes knocking at the town’s gate, threatening to ravage the town unless the townspeople give him one of their fair maidens. Of course they pick this poor girl to be sacrificed. They dress her in a gown and a paper crown, put her in a sack, and leave her for the Ogre. But this brave and clever girl manages to outwit the Ogre …

Told from the point of view of a young child whose parents are divorced, Fred Stays with Me follows a girl and her dog, Fred, from one parent’s house to the other’s, giving her a sense of continuity and stability. With a simple text and childlike language, the story expresses and addresses a child’s concerns, highlights the friendship between child and pet, presents a common ground for the parents, and resolves conflict in a positive way. Tricia Tusa’s charming and whimsical artwork adds a light, happy feel to this poignant–but …