Nicholas John Frith

Martha loves birds, so one day when she meets and makes friends with a Dodo, a species supposed to be extinct, in the woods behind her house, she resolves to keep him secret to keep him safe–but sometimes it is hard to keep a big secret.

Hello, Mr. Dodo!

Shannon Hale

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life listening to her aunt’s stories and learning the language of the birds, especially the swans. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady in waiting leads a mutiny during Ani’s journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to help her. She becomes a goose girl and must use her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. From the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible and original tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can lead the people she has made her own.

Goose Girl

Molly Idle

Having mastered ballet in Flora and the Flamingo, Flora takes to the ice and forms an unexpected friendship with a penguin. Twirling, leaping, spinning, and gliding, on skates and flippers, the duo mirror each other’s graceful dance above and below the ice. But when Flora gives the penguin the cold shoulder, the pair must figure out a way to work together for uplifting results. Artist Molly Idle creates an innovative, wordless picture book with clever flaps that reveal Flora and the penguin coming together, spiraling apart, and coming back together as only true friends do.

Flora and the Penguin

The darling, dancing Flora is back, and this time she’s found two new friends: a pair of peacocks! But amidst the fanning feathers and mirrored movements, Flora realizes that the push and pull between three friends can be a delicate dance. Will this trio find a way to get back in step? In the third book featuring Flora and her feathered friends, Molly Idle’s gorgeous art combines with clever flaps to reveal that no matter the challenges, true friends will always find a way to dance, leap, and soar—together.

Flora and the Peacocks

Katherine Coville

Celia Kaspar

Ivy’s grandmother is a healer—to mostly four-legged patients of the forest. Although the woodland creatures love her, the residents of Broomsweep grumble about Grandmother’s unkempt garden. When a kingdom-wide contest is announced to proclaim the tidiest town in the land, the people of Broomsweep are determined to win. That is, if they can get Ivy’s grandmother to clean up her ways. Ivy is determined to lend a hand, but the task proves more challenging when a series of unexpected refugees descends on Grandmother’s cottage. Before the week is over, an injured griffin, a dragon with a cold, and a tiny flock of temperamental pixies will cause a most untidy uproar in Broomsweep . . . and brighten Ivy’s days in ways she never could have dreamed.

In this wordless book with interactive flaps, a friendship develops between a girl named Flora and a graceful flamingo, as they learn to dance together.

Flora and the Flamingo

Andrea Zuill

Right from the start, everyone at the barnyard knew Jasper was different: “What we have here is a gen-u-WINE Business Pig!” No playing in the mud for him; Jasper preferred bookkeeping and charts. Most of all, he longs for a forever home. But no matter how many resumes Jasper hands out, no one adopts him. Can this business pig find that special person who means business, too?

Business Pig

Chris Van Dusen

After courageously swimming to shore when the ship that they are traveling on sinks and the wretched captain does nothing to rescue them, circus animals find a way to become a valued part of a coastal community.

The Circus Ship

Benjamin Strouse

Jennifer Phelan

In the classic style of The Giving Tree comes a touching debut picture book about the unfaltering love between a boy and his pet.

One day a boy finds a dog. He takes him home, already dreaming of the adventures they will have and the games they will play.

But when the boy gets hurt, he and his new best friend are separated. Will the boy be able to grow up quickly enough to get his furry companion back, or will life keep getting in the way?

With dreamily spare text and sweeping yet simple illustrations, Hey, Boy is a reminder that true friends always find their way home to each other.

Hey, Boy

Gabriel Evans

best friends

In a sweet story full of visual humor, first-day-of-school worries take on a new weight when Ollie’s best (and furriest) friend must stay at home. Ollie was small – like a pickling jar or a shoe box.Augustus was big – like a fridge or a table. Ollie and his dog, Augustus, do almost everything together: painting, riding bikes, digging (Ollie’s favorite), and collecting sticks (Augustus’s favorite). So as Ollie is getting ready to start school, he’s a little worried. Won’t Augustus be lonely during the day? Ollie has just the idea: a sign that reads Wanted: Friend for Augustus. But good friends, as it turns out, are hard to find. Luckily, Ollie and Augustus aren’t just any kind of friends – they’re best friends, and nothing will ever change that. Endearingly illustrated with scratch-scratchy appeal, this is a tale for animal lovers and new school-goers alike.

Ollie and Augustus

Yasmine Surovec

From queen cat lady Yasmine Surovec comes a cuddly new chapter book series about a cat in need of a pet human. Oliver is an independent kitty. He has his run of the neighborhood and looks at his animal friends with their fussing humans with pity. But when a freckle-faced girl moves into town, Oliver sees the opportunity to train a human to provide him with a few creature comforts. And if he can help her adjust to her life and make a new friend, that’s just all in a day’s work. The real surprise comes, however, when Oliver needs Freckles just as much as she needs him. Not a comic book and not a traditional illustrated chapter book, My Pet Human is truly a hybrid of text and art that could only come from the whimsical and brilliant mind of Yasmine Surovec.

My Pet Human

Alexandra Boiger

Best friends Max and Marla are back in this charming spring tale of friendship and forgiveness

Max and Marla know how to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. So when the first sunny day of spring comes along, they’ve got the perfect plan–a picnic! They pack up their favorite dishes and their comfiest blanket and then they’re off to the lake. Once they settle in, Max realizes the picnic needs one more thing to be just right: a bouquet for Marla. But while he’s gone, Marla falls asleep, leaving their picnic prey to some thieving squirrels. Max returns to find their spread ruined and says it’s all Marla’s fault. But best friends can’t stay mad for long . . . Max and Marla Are Having a Picnic is another adorable ode to friendship from fan favorite Alexandra Boiger.

Max and Marla Are Having a Picnic

Simon James

A sweetly silly story of a little boy and a dog who make an unlikely (but perhaps perfect) pair.

Everyone knows that owners and their dogs belong together in a unique way. Polly belongs to Molly, Eric belongs to Derek, Berry belongs to Terry. But poor Mr. Scruff, alone in the rescue shelter, doesn’t belong to anyone. Then a boy named Jim walks in, and they seem to get along. Jim and Mr. Scruff don’t look anything alike, and their names certainly don’t rhyme, but they may end up belonging to each other just the same. From author-illustrator Simon James comes a warm, winning story about friendship and finding a home.

Mr. Scruff

Meet Monique! In this true story, online phenomenon Guirec Soudée shares his adventures both unbelievable and heartwarming, sailing around the world with his brave, affectionate red hen, Monique.  Monique is a highly accomplished chicken: she surfs, she skateboards, and she just crossed the world on a tiny boat with her human companion, Guirec, who helped steer. On their three-year journey, together they were unstoppable. When they became stranded in the ice off Greenland for four months, Monique, unruffled as always, kept Guirec alive with her eggs– and they both made it home.  Guirec and Monique are irresistible as unlikely comrades and friends taking on the world, and Guirec documented their journey with his remarkable, comical photographs. A deeply touching portrait of the real-life bond between animals and the humans who love them as well as a thrilling survival story, The Hen Who Sailed Around the World is an adventure for the ages.

Hen Who Sailed Around the World: A True Story

Gaya Wisniewski

A little girl and a bison get to know each other. One spring morning though, the bison has to go join his kin. He promises the little girl to come and see her again each winter. And so, every winter, they meet up, having a chat by the fire, telling each other all about their adventures, or just enjoying the quiet moments. Friendship grows and with it, tenderness. Years go by, the bison and the girl don’t notice the other getting older, but then one season the bison doesn’t appear.

My Bison

Daniel Duncan

When a lonely fisherman finds an injured bird on his boat, he nurtures it back to health and–since the bird can no longer migrate with its family–charts a course to head south for the winter. Together, the two form a special friendship and enjoy life at sea until both the healing process and the journey must come to an end. In the tradition of the classic Amos &amp;amp;amp; Boris, South is a story about making new friends and the bittersweet process of saying good-bye to the ones we love. It beautifully depicts the power of new beginnings and the freedom in coming home.

South

Jean Reidy

Lucy Ruth Cummins

After his best friend Sarah leaves for her first day of school, a tortoise named Truman goes on an adventure across the living room and learns to be brave in this thoughtful and heartwarming twist on a first experience story. Truman the tortoise lives with his Sarah, high above the taxis and the trash trucks and the number eleven bus, which travels south. He never worries about the world below…until one day, when Sarah straps on a big backpack and does something Truman has never seen before. She boards the bus! Truman waits for her to return. He waits. And waits. And waits. And when he can wait no longer, he knows what he must do. Even if it seems…impossible!

Truman

Hannah Cumming

Posy is afraid of her new house and all the unknown that comes with it, but when she and her dog find a red boat in the garden, she imagines all kinds of adventures and gains confidence despite being the new kid.

The Red Boat

Michelle Robinson

Chinlun Lee

Calling all kittens! A little girl longing for a pet of her own gets a bit more than she bargained for in this cat-filled celebration. A small girl wants a cat of her very own: a furry fluffball to cuddle, just like the one in her book or her grandmother’s cat, Hector. So she lays a trail: balls of wool, saucers of milk, cardboard boxes, and anything else that could lure a feline friend. And who should arrive the next morning but somebody furry, warm, soft, and so very purry. It’s Hector, along with dozens of other cats. The girl is happy as can be, but when “LOST CAT” posters show up all over town, she realizes her plan might have worked a little too well. Will she have to give all the cats back? Will she ever get a cat of her own to love? Sweet and playful, Michelle Robinson’s tale of wish fulfillment will strike a chord with anyone who has ever yearned for a pet, while Chinlun Lee’s exuberantly illustrated felines will delight cat lovers of all ages.

The Pawed Piper

David Ezra Stein

A dog without a human companion fetches his own slippers and curls up at his own feet but cannot reach a certain itchy spot in the middle of his back, compelling him to leash a poor lonely human who will loyally offer a helpful scratch.

I'm My Own Dog

Sally Wern Comport

Heather Vogel Frederick

In this tail of mice and menace, young Oz Levinson gets his chance to become a spy when he meets Glory Goldenleaf, a spy mouse with a huge problem: the evil rat Roquefort DuPont has stolen Glory’s secret weapon. Illustrations.

The Black Paw

Theo Heras

Alice Carter

It’s a big day for Patch the puppy as her girl decides to take her for her first walk outside of the yard. Patch needs to learn her manners, but the playful pup is sometimes too excited to listen! With patience and perseverance, Patch’s girl guides her new canine companion through basic commands including “sit,” “stay,” and “down,” making sure to dole out plenty of treats and belly rubs for a job well done along the way. This delightful story from author, performer, and children’s librarian Theo Heras is a great introduction for young children about caring for and training a puppy, complemented by Alice Carter’s warm, inviting illustrations and a sturdy format complete with padded cover.

My Puppy Patch

Rebecca Green

Sy Montgomery

School is not the only place to find a teacher. In this picture book adaptation of Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green’s New York Times best-selling How to Be a Good Creature, learn the many surprising lessons animals have to teach us about friendship, compassion, and how to be a better creature in the world.  

Sy Montgomery has had many teachers in her life: some with two legs, others with four, or even eight! Some have had fur, feathers, or hooves. But they’ve all had one thing in common: a lesson to share.  

The animals Sy has met on her many world travels have taught her how to seek understanding in the most surprising ways, from being patient to finding forgiveness and respecting others. Gorillas, dogs, octopuses, tigers, and more all have shown Sy that there are no limits to the empathy and joy we can find in each other if only we take the time to connect.  

Based on the New York Times best-selling adult memoir, Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green’s beautiful, friendly guide is for readers young and old who wish to be better creatures in the world. Go ahead, pass it on.

Becoming a Good Creature

Jarvis

Dave is a dog. Dave is a dog who loves to sleep all day long. Lilly thinks Dave is the laziest dog in the world! But maybe Dave isn’t as lazy as Lilly thinks. . . . Find out what Dave really does all day in this debut picture book from author-illustrator Jarvis!

Lazy Dave

Caroline Magerl

Where does Cat live, and who can lead the way there? A lyrical, charmingly offbeat tale about wanderlust and family, rescue and finding home. On a roof, as wet as a seal, as gray as a puddle, Cat was rumbling, a rumbly purr. What will lure Cat down? Feather boas? Pretty pink shoelaces? A boatful of fish under a tiny tin sail? Maya finally succeeds, only to watch Cat jump on the roof again, above a thousand lit windows, one of which must be Cat’s own. As the rain keeps coming down, how can Maya help Cat find its home? With whimsical watercolors both fluid and full of expression, Caroline Magerl portrays a child on a mission and an adventurous cat who keeps its mysteries as quiet as its paws in a story that follows a kindly impulse to an unexpected conclusion.

Maya and the Lost Cat

James Proimos

Zoey Abbott

This sweet-natured bedtime book proves that a family is wherever you find love.

When two wolves see a baby floating down a river, what do they do? Why, they take the baby home. Over the moon with joy, they nourish and teach her. And when that baby grows into a child, she and the wolves know that she will be ready to make her way in the world. Because when a child is loved, she has everything she needs.

• A classic fairy-tale premise told with warmth and an inclusive sensibility for all types of families to enjoy
• A touching read-aloud books for families, caregivers, and classroom storytime
• James Proimos has written and/or illustrated over 20 critically lauded children’s books.

This gently humorous story shows that families come in many forms, and that love is about both holding on and letting go.

Fans of Finn’s Feather, Wild, and Wolfie the Bunnie will find Over the Moon a delightful tale for all ages.

Over the Moon

Berkeley Breathed

The Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the hilarious “Bloom County” comic strip is back! To help celebrate, here is the first ever Bloom County picture book, featuring fan-favorite Bill the Cat in an origin story. (Ack ack!) The perfect gift for Bloomers old and new.

An Amazon Best Book of the Year and NY Times bestseller!

Almost thirty-five years ago Berkeley Breathed launched a little-known yet laugh-inducing comic strip called “Bloom County” that was full of characters who instantly entered the public consciousness–none more so than Opus (the penguin) and Bill the Cat. Bloom County’s popularity soared, it was soon syndicated nationally, had millions of daily readers, and before long its creator was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Then, nine years later, “Bloom County” sadly came to a close. It had simply ceased being fun for Berkeley Breathed.

Now, more than twenty-five years after it ended, “Bloom County” has returned in full force and humor online, with an ever-growing fanbase every bit as zealous as it was in the strip’s heyday. For the comic’s youngest fans, and for those who never stopped wishing for its return, here is an all-new, kid-friendly story for anyone who ever wanted to know the origin story of Bill the Cat. “Bloom County” has never been more fun!

The Bill the Cat Story

Davide Cali

Anna Pirolli

Ginger is the weird one. She plays with peas, purrs at artichokes, and has a strange fondness for chicken (but only the neighbor’s chicken). Then there’s Fred. His greatest talent? Sleeping. Oh, and hiding. And when he’s not hiding, he’s conspiring with Ginger to destroy the house! Such is life with cats. . . can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em—if you love them, that is. And yet the question remains: Why are these captivating creatures so marvelously maddening?! From internationally bestselling author Davide Cali, this humorous picture book about a cat owner and his beguiling felines celebrates quirky cat companions, impurrfections and all.

I Hate My Cats (A Love Story)

Inspired by the main character of the Caldecott Honor book Flora and the Flamingo, this new series of board books is perfect for the very youngest Flora fans. When a nest of eggs begins to hatch, how will Flora ever keep up with so many chicks? Featuring fold-out pages and Molly Idle’s graceful artwork, this adorable counting book will delight young children as they master new words and concepts.

Flora and the Chicks

Francois Aubineau

Jerome Peyrat

Both the perspective of the wolf and the shepherd are seen in this flippable picture book.

Both the shepherd and the wolf live on the mountain. They love their home and want to feel safe there. This book tells the same story, in identical words, from both the wolf’s perspective and that of the shepherd. Read the wolf’s story then flip it over and read the shepherd’s story and see the landscape that each of them sees. A good reminder of how humans should behave in the wild and on this earth that we share.

On My Mountain

Artie Bennett

Dave Szalay

sports and recreation

horses

Zippy Chippy is descended from the leading legends of horse racing. He is destined for greatness and glory.

But . . . when the starting bell rings, it’s anybody’s guess what Zippy will do. Will Zippy go for a gentle trot around the track or stop and smell the roses? Or, perhaps, never even leave the starting gate?!

With mischief in his makeup, he’s known to stick his tongue out at people and chew up the hats of passersby. And he’s always trying to break out of his stall. What’s an owner to do? Try and try again! After all, he believes in Zippy–and, besides, the horse is now a part of the family. But as Zippy’s losses mount, a funny thing happens. People start to take notice of the hapless, cupcake-eating horse. Could it be that they’re betting on Zippy to win?

This remarkable story of the famed racehorse who lost every race is sure to win your heart!

True Story of Zippy Chippy: The Little Horse That Couldn't

Wendy Wahman

Otis wants to know about the kids who ride at his stables. Do they sleep in stalls? Do they also get brushed and braided? The older ponies ignore his questions, so Otis heads to the city to see for himself. And he finds answers, but he gets lost, too . . . until some of his favorite friends come to the rescue. Kids will relate to this sweet story about an adorable, inquisitive little pony.

Pony in the City

Jack E. Levin

Norma R. Levin

White with black spots and a black circle around his left eye, Spot barks and chases cats and birds, chews on slippers and bones, and especially likes riding in the car with his head out the window. Jack E. Levin’s charming illustrations and sweet story is as heartwarming as it is timeless.

My Dog Spot

Christine Roussey

Meet Boomer, a roly-poly cat. He’s always in a happy mood, and he’s the best friend of one little girl. But boy is Boomer lazy! From morning to night, Boomer can be found lounging around the house, snoring and snoozing. The little girl, on the other hand, is much too busy for a nap. She’s got judo, swimming, yoga, painting, rugby, and biking to do! She does not have a minute to herself, and she can’t be late! But one particularly jam-packed morning, Boomer accidentally keeps the girl from getting out the door. Instead of panicking, she decides to take the day at Boomer’s pace for once. They spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the garden, and the girl is reminded how nice it is to slow down and appreciate life’s simple pleasures.

My Lazy Cat

William Joyce

Gertrude Lintz loved animals. And she had dozens, never mind that she lived in New York City. But one baby was her favorite, and she took care of this baby just like any other mother would. Except there was one difference: The baby was actually a baby gorilla named Buddy. Gertrude raises Buddy like a civilized human, but can—or, rather, should—wild animals be civilized? Based on the true story of Gertrude Lintz, the most famous dog breeder of the 1930s, Buddy is a moving, high-spirited adventure about a gorilla’s life in the city, and how the urban jungle can’t really compare to a real one.

Buddy

Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

William Munoz

human-animal relationships

nonfiction

dogs

Celebrates the bond between humans and their canine companions, discussing scientific insights that demonstrate how sharing one’s life with a dog reduces stress, provides companionship, and increases safety.

Made for Each Other: Why Dogs and People Are Perfect Partners

Back in a time when people and animals lived together in harmony, a bear-child is stolen away from his mother. A hunter and his wife find the child and, wrapping him in sealskin, they sing him songs of the ice, the wind and the great white bears. One day the child wanders off and a bear comes to take him back to his mother. But by now the hunter is on the trail, determined to kill the creature that has taken his child.    Set in the pristine polar regions of the Arctic, Jackie Morris’s beautiful story reminds us that we are caretakers of these wild creatures and our actions directly affect their future.To listen to a reading of Ice Bear click here

Ice Bear

Colleen Nelson

Tara Anderson

1930's

An adventurous West Highland Terrier follows his nose a little too far from home and becomes desperate for a helping hand. But when he’s taken in by a young boy volunteering at a retirement home, it just might be Harvey who does the helping. A dog’s world is a world of scents, of adventure. When a runaway West Highland Terrier named Harvey wanders out of his old life guided only by his nose and his heart, lives begin to converge. Austin, a young volunteer at Brayside retirement home, quickly finds that the audacious Harvey inspires Mr. Pickering, a bitter resident coping with memory loss, to tell stories of his childhood. Moved by the elderly man’s Dust Bowl recollections of grinding poverty and the perseverance of his friends and family, Austin begins to trade his preconceived notions for empathy. But is it enough to give him the resolve to track down Harvey’s original owner? Supported by striking illustrations from acclaimed artist Tara Anderson, award-winning author Colleen Nelson immerses readers in a rich and unflinchingly human tale of struggle and hope–all inspired by one curious dog.

Harvey Comes Home

Livingstone Crouse

Macky Pamintuan

Join Stella Isabella Harden and her puppy Buster in this lyrical read-aloud and heartwarming story about the first day of kindergarten. Stella Isabella Harden contemplating kindergarten declared she didn’t have to go… because her puppy told her so. School is about to begin, and Stella Isabella Harden decides that kindergarten just isn’t for her. Instead, she decides to spend the day learning from her puppy named Buster. Together these two adventurers plan a day full of playtime, teatime, nap time, and story time. After every “lesson,” Stella gets the best reward: a kiss from her best friend and favorite puppy. But will she change her mind about kindergarten before the first day of school? Join Stella and Buster in this lyrical read-aloud and heartwarming story about growing up. 2017 Mom’s Choice Awards, Gold Award Recipient 2017 NAPPA Winner

Kisses for Kindergarten

Hudson Talbott

How did dog become man’s best friend? Dogs come in such a variety of shapes, sizes, and breeds, that it is hard to believe that they all have a common ancestor–the wolf! Hudson Talbott takes readers on a fascinating journey through history to see how wolves’ relationships with humans sparked their development into the dogs we know and love today. 

Striking paintings, from an adorable wolf pup to a wide range of modern-day dog breeds, illustrate this insightful story of teamwork and friendship. Through the eyes of a prehistoric boy and a lone wolf pup, we see how the bond between our ancestors and these wild animals may have developed. Starting as enemies competing for food, the wolf and the boy realize that they’ll eat better and be safer if they team up. Over time, others catch on, and as many of the wolves become more domesticated, the humans breed them for skills like hunting, herding, pulling, and rescuing. And today, there are more breeds of dog than of any other animal, all thanks to this relationship that started so long ago.

From Wolf to Woof!

Paula Harrison

Sophy Williams

In a land far, far away, a small group of animal lovers work to keep magical creatures safe from the grasp of the evil Sir Fitzroy in this third book in the brand-new Secret Rescuers chapter book series! Talia lives in a tropical rainforest that is home to a flock of magical firebirds. One day she meets a baby firebird and they become best friends. But the firebirds are in terrible danger. Can Talia and her friend Lucas protect the firebirds, and save their home from destruction?

The Baby Firebird

Ann M. Martin

A New York Times Bestseller! Rose Howard is obsessed with homonyms. She’s thrilled that her own name is a homonym, and she purposely gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose’s rules of homonyms, is very special. Not everyone understands Rose’s obsessions, her rules, and the other things that make her different – not her teachers, not other kids, and not her single father. When a storm hits their rural town, rivers overflow, the roads are flooded, and Rain goes missing. Rose’s father shouldn’t have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search. Hearts will break and spirits will soar for this powerful story, brilliantly told from Rose’s point of view.

Rain Reign

Lucy Dillamore

Nipper hates being left alone all day while his best friend Richard is at work. But when he realizes one morning that Richard has left his lunchbox behind, Nipper sets off on a difficult journey to deliver it. Will Nipper find Richard in time? Will he survive the many dangers along the way? And what will happen when he gets there? A touching story from a new talent about the power of determination and the strength of true friendship.

Nipper and the Lunchbox

When Sir Fitzroy and his soldiers march into town and demand that all magical creatures be captured and taken away, Poppy races to help a family of magical foxes escape.

The Magic Fox

Kate DiCamillo

Forging an instant bond with spaghetti-loving horse Maybelline, horseless cowboy Leroy Ninker inadverently risks eternal loneliness when he forgets a vital rule about Maybelline’s care.

Leroy Ninker Saddles Up

Troy Howell

Richard Jones

Wednesday is a whale who lives in a fishbowl smack dab in the middle of a city—it’s the only home she’s ever known. Cars whizz around her and people hurry past; even the sun and moon circle above. But if she leaps high enough out of her bowl, Wednesday can see it: a calm bit of blue off in the distance. When a girl in a paisley dress tells Wednesday “You belong in the sea,” the whale starts to wonder, what is the sea? Readers will cheer—and get all choked up— when, one day, Wednesday leaps higher than ever before and sets in motion a breathtaking chain of events that will carry her to her rightful home. Touching, and ultimately uplifting, here is a story about a lonely creature longing to be free—and longing to find someone just like her.

Whale in a Fishbowl

Emma rescues a baby star wolf who was caught in a trap in this fifth book in the adorable Secret Rescuers series.
Emma lives in a forest full of magical creatures like star wolves! The wolves’ special song makes the stars appear in the sky every night. When Emma rescues a baby star wolf from a trap, she knows she must return the pup to his family.
Can she be brave enough to go on a night-time adventure and help to keep the stars shining?

The Star Wolf

Elise  Broach

Kelly Murphy

“Marvin the beetle is going collecting with his family. All is good and well until Uncle Albert gets hurt. Marvin needs his human friend James’s help to save Uncle Albert before it’s too late”–

James to the Rescue

Fred Gipson

When a novel like Huckleberry Finn, or The Yearling, comes along it defies customary adjectives because of the intensity of the respouse it evokes in the reader. Such a book, we submit, is Old Yeller; to read this eloIquently simple story of a boy and his dog in the Texas hill country is an unforgettable and deeply moving experience. The big, ugly, yellow dog showed up out of nowhere one night and stole a whole side of hanging pork, and when Travis went for him the next morning that dog started yelling like a baby before he was touched. Then he got into the spring water with five-year-old Arliss, Travis took an easy hate to Old Yeller, as they started to call him; in fact, he would have driven him off or killed him if it hadn’t been for brother Arliss’ loud and violent protests, So Yeller stayed, and Travis soon found he couldn’t have got along without him. Pa and Ma and Travis and Arliss lived on Birdsong Creek in the Texas hill country. It wasn’t an easy life, but they had a snug cabin that Pa had built himself, and they had their own hogs and their own cattle, and they grew most of what else they needed. The only thing they and the rest of the settlers lacked that year in the late 1860’s was cash, so the men decided to get together and drive all the cattle up to the new market in Abilene, Kansas, more than six hundred miles away. Travis was only fourteen, but he was proud of his new role as man of the family and determined to live up to his responsibility. It was hard work, too, plowing until his legs ached, chopping wood until his hands were raw and his head was spinning, weeding the garden in the hot sun, toting the heavy buckets tip from the spring, and trying to keep his mischievous little brother in line. But there were pleasant moments, too: his Ma treating him like a man, and deer hunting in the early-morning stillness, and hot summer nights out in the corn patch under the stars with Old Yeller, trying to keep the coons and skunks out of the winter food supply. And there was plenty of excitement, like the fight between the two bulls, and the time Arliss nearly got mauled by the bear, and trying to catch and mark the new hogs. Here the suspense and excitement reach a peak, only to be topped a few pages later when the crazy-sick loafer wolf goes for Ma. Both times it is Yeller who saves them, only the second time it is not lucky for Yeller, as Travis comes to find out. And in finding out, Travis learns just how much he has come to love that big ugly dog, and he learns something about the pain of life, too. Old Yeller is a story that will be read and treasured by many thousands for years to come. In a shorter form, this has appeared as a three-part serial in Collier’s.

Old Yeller

Kathi Appelt

Alison McGhee

Worlds collide in a spectacular way when Newbery and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt and Pulitzer Prize nominee and #1 New York Times bestseller Alison McGhee team up to create a fantastical, heartbreaking, and gorgeous tale about two sisters, a fox cub, and what happens when one of the sisters disappears forever. Sylvie and Jules, Jules and Sylvie. Better than just sisters, more than best friends, they’d be identical twins if only they’d been born in the same year. And if only Sylvie wasn’t such a fast—faster than fast—runner. But Sylvie is too fast, and when she runs to the river they’re not supposed to go anywhere near to throw a wish rock just before the school bus comes on a snowy morning, she runs so fast that no one sees what happens…and no one ever sees her again. Jules is devastated, but she refuses to believe what all the others believe, that—like their mother—her sister is gone forever. At the very same time, in the shadow world, a shadow fox is born—half of the spirit world, half of the animal world. She too is fast—faster than fast—and she senses danger. She’s too young to know exactly what she senses, but she knows something is very wrong. And when Jules believes one last wish rock for Sylvie needs to be thrown into the river, the human and shadow worlds collide. Writing in alternate voices—one Jules’s, the other the fox’s—Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee tell the searingly beautiful tale of one small family’s moment of heartbreak, a moment that unfolds into one that is epic, mythic, shimmering, and most of all, hopeful.

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