cleverness

The entire book, with its unconventional page arrangement and eclectic, frenetic mix of text and picures, is a spoof on the art of book design and the art of the fairy tale. The individual tales, such as he Really Ugly Ducklingand ittle Red Running Shorts,can be extracted for telling aloud, with great success. Another masterpiece from the team that created The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! -Horn Book

Joseph had a little overcoat, but it was full of holes—just like this book! When Joseph's coat got too old and shabby, he made it into a jacket. But what did he make it into after that? And after that?
As children turn the pages of this book, they can use the die-cut holes to guess what Joseph will be making next from his amazing overcoat, while they laugh at the bold, cheerful artwork and learn that you can always make something, even out of nothing.

"'Will you walk into my parlor,'
said the Spider to the Fly..."
is easily one of the most recognized and quoted first lines in all of English verse. But do you have any idea how the age-old tale of the Spider and the Fly ends? Join celebrated artist Tony DiTerlizzi as he -- drawing inspiration from one of his loves, the classic Hollywood horror movies of the 1920s and 1930s -- shines a cinematic spotlight on Mary Howitt's warning, written to her own children about those who use sweet words to hide their not-so-sweet intentions.

Farmer Brown
has a problem.
His cows like to type.
All day long he hears

Click, clack, MOO.
Click, clack, MOO.
Clickety, clack, MOO.

Farmer Brown thinks it's odd when he hears typing sounds coming from the barn. But his troubles really begin when his cows start leaving him notes. First they demand better working conditions, then they stage a strike.

This picture book begins placidly (and familiarly) enough, with three pigs collecting materials and going off to build houses of straw, sticks, and bricks. But the wolf s huffing and puffing blows the first pig right out of the story . . . and into the realm of pure imagination. The transition signals the start of a freewheeling adventure with characteristic David Wiesner effects: cinematic flow, astonishing shifts of perspective, and sly humor, as well as episodes of flight.

Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. But the exciting adventure takes a dramatic turn when Trixie realizes somebunny was left behind'¦ Using a combination of muted black-and-white photographs and expressive illustrations, this stunning book tells a brilliantly true-to-life tale about what happens when Daddy's in charge and things go terribly, hilariously wrong.

The bus driver has to leave for a while, and he makes one request of readers: "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus." It's the height of common sense, but the driver clearly knows this determined pigeon and readers do not — yet.

"Hey, can I drive the bus?" asks the bird, at first all sweet reason, and then, having clearly been told no by readers, he begins his ever-escalating, increasingly silly bargaining. "I tell you what: I'll just steer," and "I never get to do anything," then "No fair! I bet your mom would let me."

This book is about a book. A magical red book without any words. When you turn the pages you’ll experience a new kind of adventure through the power of story.Winning a Caldecott Honor for its illustrations of rare detail and surprise, The Red Book crosses oceans and continents to deliver one girl into a new world of possibility, where a friend she’s never met is waiting. And as with the best of books, at the conclusion of the story, the journey is not over.

In this picture book biography, Bryant's engaging prose and Sweet's stunning mixed-media illustrations celebrate the amazing man who finds a way to earn a living and to honor his calling to be a poet.

A 2009 Caldecott Honor Book

Fifth grader Nick Allen knows just how to make school more cool . In third grade, he transformed Miss Deaver's room into a tropical paradise with some paper palm trees and a sandy beach. In fourth grade, he taught his classmates to mimic the high-pitched calls of blackbirds. But now, in fifth grade, he's come up with his most ingenious idea yet. After learning about the origins of words, he decides to change the word pen to frindle . At first, it seems like a harmless prank, a way to annoy his dictionary-obsessed teacher.

The outlawed princess of the Dragon Clan and her young human companion undergo fearsome trials in their quest for an evil enchantress. ‘Dramatic tension stays high. Weaves Chinese legend into an exciting tapestry of myth and folklore.’ —BL.
Notable Children's Books of 1982 (ALA)
100 Favorite Paperbacks of 1989 (IRA/CBC)

This quirky fantasy story reveals how a restless and precocious ten-year-old boy learns to appreciate the ordinary things in life after he embarks on a wondrous journey.

In a remarkable world where many people are blessed with a special Talent, eleven-year-old Cady is an orphan with a phenomenal ability for cake baking...and no idea of the journey that Fate set in place for her the moment she was born. But when Cady moves into an upstairs room in the town's Lost Luggage Emporium, she meets a curious cast of characters whose lives are tangled with her own in ways she never could have imagined. There's a ragtag group of siblings struggling to grow beyond their Talents, the woman without any words, and the devious thief on a single-minded mission.