Gail Carson Levine

Scott Nash

Betsy is finally old enough to take cupcakes to Grandma all by herself—with the company of her faithful sheep, of course. And although wolves aren’t good for grandmas, Betsy lets her best friend, Zimmo, come along too. But will Zimmo’s wolfish instincts make Grandma the tasty treat instead? In her second picture book starring the feisty young shepherd Betsy, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine teams up once again with Scott Nash to put a hilarious twist on an old favorite. This reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood is sure to delight readers from little lambs to cupcake-loving grandmas.

Betsy Red Hoodie

Kevin Henkes

Billy Miller is back! The stand-alone companion to two-time Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes’s award-winning, acclaimed, and bestselling The Year of Billy Miller, Billy Miller Makes a Wish is a laugh-out-loud funny and accessible story about summer, family, and wishes that (almost) come true. A great choice for young middle grade readers.Billy Miller Makes a Wish is illustrated in black-and-white throughout by the author, and is perfect for fans of the Ramona books and the Clementine series. On his birthday, Billy Miller wishes for something exciting to happen. But he immediately regrets his wish when an ambulance rushes to his neighbor’s house. Is Billy responsible? Award-winning author Kevin Henkes delivers a short, funny, and emotionally complex novel complete with misplaced love letters, surprising critters, art projects, misguided tattoos–and another surprise for Billy and his family, maybe the best one yet! Illustrated throughout with black-and-white art by the author, this is a perfect novel for the early elementary grades and an essential choice for summer reading. A stand-alone companion to The Year of Billy Miller, a Newbery Honor Book.

Billy Miller Makes a Wish

Erica Sirotich

Come along on Mail Duck’s delivery route for a day full of lift-the-flap surprises!

Mail Duck is delivering differently shaped packages to all his friends on his mail route. (Trudy likes triangles, and Harry likes hearts!) Lift the flaps to peek inside and guess what each friend received. Then head back to the post office for a big surprise: a thank-you celebration for Mail Duck planned by all his pals using the various packages they received throughout the story! Sixteen flaps and a final double-gatefold spread give readers plenty of sweet and silly details to unpack in this charming board book.

Mail Duck: A Book of Shapes and Surprises

George Bates

Nancy Raines Day

On a windy Halloween night, as a little boy makes his way home after trick-or-treating, he hears a voice:
“Cracklety-clack, bones in a sack. They could be yours—if you look back.” As his heart flip-flops with fear, the boy dashes through woods and fields that seem full of haunting shapes—owls, ghosts, skeletons, and more. The detailed illustrations are packed with visual tricks for children to discover. Are those skeletons or cornstalks? Ghostly hands or tree branches? The playful tone of the text makes this a perfect, not-too-scary read-aloud, with an enjoyable surprise ending.

On a Windy Night

Jean Reagan

Lee Wildish

From the creators of the New York Times bestsellers HOW TO BABYSIT A GRANDPA and HOW TO BABYSIT A GRANDMA comes a charming HOW TO book that’s all about surprises!

So you want to surprise your dad? You’re in luck! The pages of this book are full of tips on how to become a super dad surpriser, including tips for things you can make, do, or find—just for your dad.

Be sure to read up on:
·      Yummy treats and presents for a dad
·      What to do if he starts getting suspicious
·      How to prepare for the big moment (where to hide everyone, and how to practice whispering “Surprise!”)

From the author-illustrator team behind the New York Times bestselling HOW TO… series comes an adorable, funny, surprising celebration of dads!

How to Surprise a Dad

Jon Agee

Milo the Magnificent’s magic act isn’t so magnificent after all, until he meets a bear who teaches him the secret to the perfect hat trick in this classic and critically acclaimed picture book, perfect for fans of Oliver Jeffers and Jon Klassen Milo the Magnificent is the world’s least magnificent magician. He can’t even pull a rabbit out of his hat! When Mr. Popovich gives him one more chance, Milo knows he has no choice: he has to go out and catch a rabbit for his act. Instead, he catches a bear. And the bear promises to help! Into the hat he dives. Milo rides the train home, sure his act will go off perfectly tonight. But when he arrives in his dressing room, he discovers that he left his hat–and the bear!–on the train. Meanwhile, across town, a man in a restaurant has a very familiar hat . . . Can Milo get his hat back in time for his act?

Milo's Hat Trick

Good and bad luck accompany Ned from New York to Florida on his way to a surprise party.

Fortunately

Cocoretto

Peekaboo! Who’s hiding on the farm? Lift the flap to find out! Perfect for guessing, prediction and memory skills – and simply joining in!

Peekaboo! on the Farm!

Linda Ravin Lodding

Michael Robertson

A tickly feather. Roosters crowing. Even a marching band. Will ANYTHING wake Elephant? How do you make a snoozing, sleepyhead Elephant get up? Edgar tries everything, from putting a silly hat on Elephant’s head to dancing a cha-cha on the bed. Nothing works . . . until Edgar whispers something very special in his friend’s ear. SURPRISE! It’s Elephant’s birthday–and he’s ready to party. Lively, silly, and full of fun, this picture book is a joyful celebration.

Wakey, Wakey, Elephant!

Doreen Cronin

Betsy Lewin

Little Duck learns how to celebrate his birthday with a little help from all the other animals on the farm in this charming picture book from the award-winning duo, Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin. Happy first birthday, Little Duck! Everyone wants to look their best for the party. But Little Duck has never had a birthday before—so how better to learn how to prepare than to do what all the other animals do! The sheep trim their wool—so Little Duck trims her feathers. The pigs need a mud bath—so Little Duck quish and quashes, too. All over the barnyard Little Duck snips, slurps, squishes, and shimmy shakes herself ready until…WHOOPS! It’s party picture time—and Little Duck is a big mess. No matter—it’s not something Farmer Brown’s frosted maple cake can’t fix!

Click, Clack, Surprise!

David Ezra Stein

father-daughter relationships

books and reading

It’s homework time for the little red chicken, who has just learned about something every good story should have: an elephant of surprise. Or could it be an element of surprise (as her amused papa explains)? As they dive in to story after story, looking for the part that makes a reader say “Whoa! I didn’t know that was going to happen,” Papa is sure he can convince Chicken he’s right. After all, there are definitely no elephants in “The Ugly Duckling,” “Rapunzel,” or “The Little Mermaid”—or are there? Elephant or element, something unexpected awaits Papa in every story, but a surprise may be in store for the little red chicken as well. Full of the same boisterous charm that made Interrupting Chicken so beloved by readers, this gleeful follow-up is sure to delight fans of stories, surprises, and elephants alike.

Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise

Amy Ignatow

Hsinping Pan

An adorable and hilarious picture book filled with the cutest things imaginable This wacky, imaginative picture book sets out to answer a big question: Wanna see the cutest thing EVER? Just when you think you’ve seen it, there’s more! Is it a kitten? A unicorn? Bunny astronauts? These things are cute, but are they really the cutest thing ever? After being paraded through a colorful world of cuteness, young readers will discover a mirror on the final page, which reflects the actual cutest thing ever and makes them shout–it’s me! With charming illustrations and laugh-out-loud text, The Cutest Thing Ever is a fun read-aloud for parents and children to share together.

The Cutest Thing Ever

Paul Czajak

Wendy Grieb

Disappointed when none of his friends can attend his pirate birthday, Monster cheers up when he goes to a pirate theme park, instead.

Monster Needs a Party

Lucy Ruth Cummins

Members of a large group of animals, including a penguin, two rabbits, and a koala, disappear at an alarming rate but the hungry lion remains.

A Hungry Lion, Or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals

Elanna Allen

What do you do when you’re so tiny that the bigger ocean creatures think you might even taste adorable? An itsy-bitsy, glasses-wearing fish is minding his own business when a playful (and hungry) octopus snatches him right up. Luckily, this poor little guy is not quite as innocent as he seems…and he has a BIG surprise up his sleeve!

Poor Little Guy

Natasha Wing

Mindy Pierce

The 100th day of school is almost here and one student is desperate to find 100 of anything to bring to class. Then all of sudden inspiration strikes, and he comes up with a surprise that makes the 100th day celebration one to remember! This hilarious story of a popular school tradition offers a perfect modern twist on Clement C. Moore’s classic poem.

The Night Before the 100th Day of School

Eileen Browne

Tony Bradman

feeling sick

surprises

This special edition commemorates the 30th anniversary of this classic multicultural picture book. Jo is ill and has to stay in bed for the day, but her mum promises to bring her home a surprise to make her feel better. All day long Jo looks out of the window waiting for her mum to return, and in the meantime sees all her friends from the neighbourhood, including the postman, the window cleaner and Mrs Ali from next door. But when will Mum be back with her surprise for Jo?

Through My Window

Stephen Savage

A rhyming Halloween counting board book sure to delight the youngest trick-or-treaters

Now in a board book edition for the youngest reader, join a sneaky spider, a wily witch, a silly scarecrow, and other favorite spooky creatures as seven orange pumpkins disappear in a countdown to a Halloween surprise. Bright, bold, and fun, Seven Orange Pumpkins is a perfect read-aloud and is sure to capture the imagination of the littlest trick-or-treaters.

Seven Orange Pumpkins Board Book

Amy Wummer

It’s the night before Father’s Day, and Mom and the kids have a plan to surprise Dad with a special gift. When Dad goes for a bike ride, everyone gets to work. Dad wakes up the next day to find his garage newly organized and his car sparkly clean. So, of course, he celebrates by taking everyone for a spin!

The Night Before Father's Day

Kate Jackson

Mattia Cerato

Help Santa save Christmas in this spot-the-difference board book adventure! Santa needs your help! It’s almost Christmas and Santa’s workshop is topsy-turvy thanks to one very naughty elf! Can you help Santa find all of the messes his elf has made before it’s too late?

A Surprise for Santa: A spot-the-difference Christmas adventure!

Mike Henson

Badger wants to show Rabbit something. But why do the lights keep going on and off? There are plenty of surprises in store for the animals in this simple, vibrant picture book which is both a mystery and a guessing game. As young readers prepare to turn the pages, they can try to predict what will happen next.

Surprise!

Cari Meister

Stephen Park Gilpin

It’s Snowy’s birthday! Seb and Princess plan a special surprise trip to the movies. But how will they get in without anyone seeing them? And what happens when the three horses get scared in the theater? Let’s just say, it could be a stinky situation! Download the Capstone 4D app to access a variety of bonus content.

Movie Madness

Brandi Dougherty

Renee Kurilla

The second installment of the Wild Fairies series, Lily’s Water Woes, follows wild fairy (and mermaid) Lily, who is feeling left out. While her fairy friends get to travel to beautiful beaches and lush forests, Lily is always stuck at home, unable to be away from the water for very long. Her froggy pal, Splash, tries his best to cheer her up, but Lily still wishes she could stay out late and play like the other fairies. Wanting to help their friend, the fairies come together to build an awesome surprise for Lily that just might make it easier for her to travel beyond her small pond. The Wild Fairies series features a group of magical fairy friends who love playing and learning in the beautiful and bountiful forest they call home. With their reliable sidekick critters alongside, Daisy, Thistle, Heather, Celosia, Poppy, Dahlia, Indigo, and Lily care for the natural world around them using their unique and diverse set of special skills. Infused with ecology, botany, and magic, the wild fairies’ whimsical adventures will inspire in kids a sense of wonder and curiosity for nature, as well as inform them about the wildflowers and critters behind the fairies through young-reader friendly nonfiction pages in the back of each book.

Lily's Water Woes

Cecilia Ruiz

In her first book for children, Cecilia Ruiz illuminates how things can change – and the importance of holding on to our dearest relationships when they do. The first time Abuela holds Nina, her heart overflows with tenderness. And as Nina grows up, she and Abuela spend plenty of time together. Abuela can’t help thinking how much she’d like to give Nina a very special treat, so she saves a little bit of her money every week – a few pesos here, a few pesos there. When the world turns upside down, Abuela’s dream of a surprise for Nina seems impossible. Luckily, time spent together – and the love Abuela and Nina have for each other – could turn out to be the very best gift of all. With a soft and subtle hand, author-illustrator Cecilia Ruiz draws from her own history to share a deeply personal tale about remembering what’s most important when life starts to get in the way.

A Gift from Abuela

Lynn Jenkins

Kirrili Lonergan

Ollie’s Treasure is tale of mindfulness for young, developing minds. Ollie’s grandma sends him a treasure map that promises to lead him to ‘something that will make him happy always’.

Of course, Ollie thinks this ‘something’ will be a toy of some sort, but he gets both a rude shock and a big surprise when his treasure turns out to be him!

Ollie's Treasure

Pat Schories

Have you ever known a dog that didn’t want a snack? When Jack sees the tea party, he decides to join. He wants a snack. Just one . . . well, maybe more than one. But Jack isn’t alone. A chipmunk wanting a snack—or more than one—disrupts the party and the little girl joins Jack on a chase to set the tea party right. The unexpected outcome will surprise and delight the board book audience.

Jack Wants a Snack

Jeanne Birdsall

With over one million copies sold, this series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family, from National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller Jeanne Birdsall, is perfect for fans of Noel Streatfeild and Edward Eager.

Springtime is finally arriving on Gardam Street, and there are surprises in store for each member of the family.

Some surprises are just wonderful, like neighbor Nick Geiger coming home from war. And some are ridiculous, like Batty’s new dog-walking business. Batty is saving up her dog-walking money for an extra-special surprise for her family, which she plans to present on her upcoming birthday. But when some unwelcome surprises make themselves known, the best-laid plans fall apart.

Filled with all the heart, hilarity, and charm that has come to define this beloved clan, The Penderwicks in Spring is about fun and family and friends (and dogs), and what happens when you bring what’s hidden into the bright light of the spring sun.

The Penderwicks in Spring

Megan McDonald

Erwin Madrid

Pee! Gee! Wee! Gee! What’s that sound?

With her birthday coming up, Jessica hopes that, just maybe, her present will be a real-live potbellied pig. Jessica can hardly wait for her party with Judy Moody and all their friends. But Judy Moody is acting like a pig-head, and Jessica UN-invites her from the party. To make matters worse, Jessica has snooped around the house and has found zero sign of a pig present. Could her birthday be any more of a disaster? Geared to newly independent readers, this story will have Judy Moody fans in pig heaven.

Jessica Finch in Pig Trouble

Karma Wilson

Jane Chapman

Bear tries his best to be patient in this newest addition to the bestselling Bear Books series. Patience might be a virtue but waiting is so hard! On a beautiful sunny afternoon, Bear can’t sit still because he’s got a surprise planned for his good friend Hare. He hustles and bustles and scuttles about. But when, in his excitement, he makes a mess of things, can he set it all right before Hare shows up? With millions of Bear books sold–it’s hard to wait for the newest!

Bear Can't Wait

Alexandra Day

Happy birthday, Carl! But can Mom surprise him? No way. As hard as Mom tries, Madeleine and her canine babysitter extraordinaire are hot on her trail, tasting the party punch, peeking at presents, and adding some of their own favorite decorations.

Carl's Birthday

Mo Willems

Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.

Gerald and Piggie are best friends.
In I Will Surprise My Friend!, Gerald and Piggie want to play a game and surprise each other-but the biggest surprise is the one they least expect.

I Will Surprise My Friend!

Carole Lexa Schaefer

Galia Bernstein

Shh! It’s Monkey’s birthday–but that’s a secret. Can Elephant keep the big news under his party hat for one whole day? Monkey and Elephant are very good friends–such good friends that Monkey lets Elephant in on a secret. The secret is that it is Monkey’s birthday, and Monkey does not like birthdays. But Elephant also has a secret: he has trouble keeping secrets. And keeping such a happy secret is especially hard. When Elephant learns that Clever Rat has made some party hats and is inviting friends over to see them, Elephant wants to turn their gathering into a party for Monkey. But how will he do it without giving away Monkey’s secret?

Monkey and Elephant and a Secret Birthday Surprise

Algy Craig Hall

Join Little Santa in delivering Christmas gifts to every good boy and girl! Who’s that wriggling down the chimney, and rustling behind the Christmas tree? It’s LITTLE SANTA, flying on her sled with a sack full of surprises–like drums, choo-choo trains, and a bouncy ball. And when Little Santa finishes her busy Christmas ride there’s something special waiting for her at home: cookies, milk, and a BIG hug! This sweet and simple holiday story will delight small children.

Little Santa's Christmas

Lauren Forte

An exciting leveled reader featuring Masha and the Bear! After the Bear’s birthday, Masha gets excited about her own special day—and all of the presents she’ll get. But when her birthday finally arrives, she can’t find her friends. Where are they? Did they forget?!

Masha and the Bear: Reader #2

Alessandra Psacharopulo

Balloons, treats, and gifts: someone must be having a happy birthday in this fun board book!
Something exciting is happening here Adorable animals are baking a BIG cake, decorating the room, and wrapping presents. Plus, Jack Rabbit’s practicing his magic and the monkey band is getting into the swing of things. What could it be? It’s a surprise birthday party! Kids will happily join the festivities in this vibrantly illustrated, delightful story.

Happy Birthday

Eric Hill

Grocery shopping is a treat with Spot!

Spot is helping his mom shop at the grocery store. He gets to have his very own shopping cart, and helps pick out the cheese, eggs, cereal, and juice. His mom may even have a tasty surprise for him since he helped out so well!

Spot Goes Shopping

Jonathan London

Frank Remkiewicz

It’s Froggy’s birthday, but it seems that everyone has forgotten… 

No one seems to remember that it’s Froggy’s special day. Mom and Dad don’t say a word, and all of his friends are busy elsewhere. Until he gets back home to find everyone waiting to surprise him with a party, complete with a piñata filled with chocolate-covered flies!

Froggy’s Birthday Wish

Agnese Baruzzi

Quick—who’s  at  the  window?  Could  it  be  a  drooling,  hungry  WEREWOLF?  No!  Turn  the  page  and  you’ll  find  a  nest  of  adorable  baby  birds.  Nothing  is  what  it  first  seems  in  Agnese  Baruzzi’s  fun  novelty  book,  which  has  a  die-cut  windowpane  that  shows  just  a  glimpse  of what  lies  beyond.  Children  will  love  this  guessing  game  that’s  full  of surprises!

Who's at the Window?

Sue Bentley

Angela Swan

Molly is so excited to spend Christmas with her family. . . she can?t wait for the snow, food, and presents! But Molly just can?t seem to keep herself out of trouble. Luckily, she finds a distraction in Flame, the snow white kitten. With his magical help, it looks like Molly may get the best Christmas present ever!

A Christmas Surprise

Excited about the big Easter egg hunt at his grandparent’s house, Spot and his friends search for the hidden treats, but when he sees something special in the bushes, Spot knows that it is the perfect gift for his grandparents. On board pages.

Top 10 Surprises Books