Animals

What could be better than a misadventure from that rambunctious flock of sheep in board-book form? Two! Now sized perfectly for even the smallest hands, two of Nancy Shaw and Margot Apple’s enchanting titles from their sheep series are board books. In Sheep in a Jeep, the hapless flock goes for a drive in the country. In Sheep in a Shop, the sheep are off to the store in search of the perfect birthday gift. With these muttonheads, a normal outing is sure to turn into a joyous lark. Rhyming text and disarming illustrations make these shear delights!

Eleven-year-old Marty Preston loves to spend time up in the hills behind his home near Friendly, West Virginia. Sometimes he takes his .22 rifle to see what he can shoot, like some cans lined up on a rail fence. Other times he goes up early in the morning just to sit and watch the fox and deer. But one summer Sunday, Marty comes across something different on the road just past the old Shiloh schoolhouses—a young beagle—and the trouble begins. What do you do when a dog you suspect is being mistreated runs away and comes to you? When it is someone else’s dog? When the man who owns him has a gun? This is Marty’s problem, and he finds it is one he has to face alone. When his solution gets too big for him to handle, things become more frightening still. Marty puts his courage on the line, and discovers in the process that it is not always easy to separate right from wrong. Sometimes, however, you do almost anything to save a dog.

Skippyjon Jones is no ordinary kitten. Oh, no. . . .He’s actually El Skippito, a great sword-fighter ready to battle banditos the world over! With a little imagination and a whole lot of fun, this frisky cat dons a mask and cape and takes on a bad bumble-beeto to save the day. And along the way, he’ll be sure to steal young reader’s hearts, yes indeed-o!

The inventive duo who brought the world such zany tales as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man now offer an inimitable tribute to Aesop. “Fables have been around for thousands of years,” the author explains. “And it’s no wonder. Because even thousands of years ago people were bright enough to figure out that you could gossip about anyone as long as you changed their name to something like ‘Lion’ or ‘Mouse’.” He’s also sure that these tales about squids and dawdling grasshoppers could easily have been created by Aesop “if he were alive today.”

SQUIRRELLY GRAY LIVES in a world without color. His TV is the only fun he has. (And it’s really not much fun.) But tonight is an unusual night for the young squirrel. First he meets the Tooth Fairy, who is very nice. And then he meets the Hungry Fox, who is not so nice. So turn off that TV, Squirrelly Gray - the fun is just beginning! Mixing playful verse with comics-inspired illustration, James Kochalka has created a unique picture book and an imaginative fable that will have kids rooting for the always adorable, sometimes courageous Squirrelly Gray.

Who is this stranger? Why did he arrive after a winter storm and what surprises does he bring?
A delightful book of the animals and birds reaction to a snowman who suddenly appeared in their woods after a winter storm. This tale is beta-carotene for the spirit in everyone!

Here’s a creature who definitely moves to the beat of her own drummer. Every night, the Baby BeeBee Bird lets loose a cacophony of raucous noise that drives the other zoo animals batty! Finally, the zoo residents get together and teach the loud youngster that nighttime is really best for sleeping.

Marjorie is an insecure cow who wishes she had some special talent. She can’t ride a bicycle or do handstands like the other cows. Then one morning (thanks to a bunch of scheming chickens and a paintbrush), Marjorie is astonished to discover something extraordinary: shes laid an egg!