Grade: K

In this inventive take on the traditional Cinderella tale, Fanny Agnes is a sturdy farm girl with a big dream. Someday, she believes, she will marry a prince. When the town mayor announces he is throwing a grand ball, Fanny is convinced her time has come. She puts on her best calico dress and goes out to the garden so that she’ll be ready when her fairy godmother arrives. As the seconds tick by, Fanny waits and waits. Finally, she hears a voice. It isn’t her fairy godmother-but it is someone who will change her life forever.

Up, up, and away! When Tom Tate hears that Wilbur and Orville Wright are building a flying machine, he can’t wait to try it. Tom’s dad thinks it’s dangerous. Some people think the Wrights are crazy. Can Tom help the brothers get their dream off the ground?

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.

As soon as they say good night to Mama, the five little monkeys start to jump on their bed. But trouble lies ahead as, one by one, they fall off and hurt themselves.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late.”Get ready for some wicked fun as these five pumpkins run and roll! Toddlers will want to chant along with this popular rhyme again and again. Dan Yaccarino’s vibrant and bold illustrations bring these pumpkins to life with personality and style. Toddlers are sure to laugh out loud as these pumpkins roll out of sight!

Stanley might be flat, but his story sure isn’t. This is the first in a series of books about a boy who is flattened to a mere half inch of thickness by his bulletin board. Quicker than you can say, “poor Stanley,” he discovers life as a pancake does have its advantages. Stanley can slip under locked doors, fly like a kite, and get to California cheaply via U.S. mail. Despite his exciting adventures, like helping capture art thieves, Stanley eventually wants to be normal thickness again. Stanley’s brother finds a way to help him out. The back of the book has a cardboard Stanley for kids to cut out and mail to their friends. Send Stanley on some new adventures!

Eight-year-old Maxine doesn’t create a world, but gets a glimpse of her own from a new perspective–she blasts into space. Despite extensive training, she’s unprepared for the awe-inspiring moment when she sees the Earth from her capsule. As Max gazes on the planet, she observes that, unlike maps, “The Earth has no lines to divide it into states and countries . . . . It’s just one Earth.”

Let’s face it: Freckle phobia is no fun. Red-headed actress Julianne Moore knows from personal experience that fretting over these scarlet-colored beauty marks can become a silly preoccupation. The four-time Academy Award nominee joins with illustrator LeUyen Pham to create an endearing picture book about a common childhood experience.