A story of woodland creatures discovering a lost doll is transformed into the perfect parable of love in this sweet, timeless picture book for fans of Corduroy and The Velveteen Rabbit.\nThe wood mouse and the rabbit find a rag doll in the woods. Nothing about it is familiar: it doesn't smell like the fresh air of spring or feel like the rough bark of a tree. As the group of animals grows and searches for a clue to where the doll came from, they encounter more mysteries—and discover the one thing their hearts know to be true.\nWhether between parent and child, siblings, or friends, this beautifully illustrated story is about the way we show one other how much we care.\nFrom School Library Journal\nK-Gr 2—From deer to otter on down to wood mouse, the animals are flummoxed by a rag doll they find in the forest. She has brown yarn hair and floppy arms and legs and appears to be sleeping blissfully. But her smell and feel and lack of a tail or wet nose are unfamiliar. When the gang follows footprints that lead away from the doll, they come upon their first road, first house, and first child, who looks remarkably like the rag doll. They leave the doll on a swing and return the next night, drawn to a lit window, through which they see the little girl reading tenderly to her doll. At last the animals see something they do recognize: the embodiment of love. A fine pen line and spare palette make the crisp illustrations pop off the white background. Children will love the facial expressions of the animals as they progress from consternation to surprise over things that are ordinary to a human child. The dialogue among the animals is charming, while the narration features lyrical descriptions of their world. VERDICT A sweet story touched with humor that will encourage listeners to view their daily doings from an animal point of view.—Jan Aldrich Solow, formerly with Fairfax County Public Sch., VA

Lost and Found

Children's Books

BANKS, KATE

Animals

Clarion Books

A little tiger takes an imaginative journey
The little tiger lay on his back in the tall grass. "Close your eyes, little tiger," said his mother, "and go to sleep."
But the little tiger is worried about what sleep might bring. His mother reassures him that once he closes his eyes, he will dream of magical places. And when he awakens, she will be right there, waiting for him.
Alternating between real-life scenes with the baby tiger and his mother and enchanted dream scenes of sleep's possibilities, Kate Banks's simple, comforting text and Georg Hallensleben's bright, colorful illustrations make this a charming bedtime story for small children. 
Close Your Eyes is a 2002 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2003 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Close Your Eyes

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

And If the Moon Could Talk

It is night. Inside a house, a child is getting ready for bed. A hall light is switched on, toys and animals are settled in their places. Papa reads a story, Mama comes in to say good night, dreams wait to enter sleep...And if the moon could talk, it would tell of the many different nighttime activities that it sees from its vantage point, outside the house and high, high above. In this tranquil, evocative picture book, text and pictures illuminate interior and exterior nighttime scenes, showing us what the moon might see-and say, if it could talk. And If the Moon Could Talk is the winner of the 1998 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Picture Books.

Literature & Fiction

On his first trip into the world, a baby baboon meets a very slow turtle and concludes that the world is slow. But then, as his mother takes him farther afield, he sees much more: he watches a hungry crocodile, a thundering herd of elephants, a swift gazelle, a rhinoceros. He feels the heat of a fire, the softness of grass, the warmth of the sun. Throughout the day, everything he experiences expands his understanding, and when night falls, he has seen with his own eyes that the world is a big and varied place. With its simple, rhythmic text and bold, impressionistic jungle pictures, Baboon is a book to share with children as they explore their own new worlds.

Baboon

It's time for bed, and a little boy chooses his favorite book for his mother to read to him. The bear in the book is preparing for his own deep slumber, hibernating through the winter while humans and other animals explore the snowy landscape around him. Just when the bear wakes up to greet the spring, the boy drifts off to sleep. Kate Banks' soft and rhythmic text is brought to life by Georg Hallensleben's strong, expressive paintings in this bedtime read that will carry young readers through the seasons.

The Bear in the Book

This is a story in words and pictures about a bird, a monkey, and a snake who have an adventure together. Along the way they meet a family of squirrels, a hungry alligator, an enormous spider, a fierce tiger, and a friendly frog--and they find a new home.

The Bird, the Monkey, and the Snake in the Jungle

A plucky stray cat takes a Grand Tour in Kate Banks' story of a family on a European vacation. As the family travels from one city to the next, the cat finds its own means--by bus, boat, train, truck, and bike--to tag along on the trip, visiting historic landmarks like Buckingham Palace and the Cathedral of Notre Dame along the way. Readers will pore over the spreads to find where City Cat is hiding in each city, and detailed backmatter explains the history behind the sites in each locale.

City Cat

Farrar. Straus and Giroux

What kind of parents would name their child Dillon Dillon? For his tenth birthday, Dillon's parents give him a red rowboat with his name painted on the stern: Dillon Dillon. Why did his parents give him a name like that? To Dillon, it seems like the right time to find out. The truth alters everything Dillon has ever known or felt about himself and his family. But with the rowboat Dillon finds a new freedom as he embarks on a journey that takes him back to his beginnings. His discovery of an island and his memorable encounters with a pair of nesting loons bring him face-to-face with the magic and wonder of life. And though he cannot decipher all its mysteries, Dillon acquires, through these legendary birds, an understanding and acceptance of the world and his place in it. In a powerful story full of questions, Kate Banks creates a character full of hope and courage. He lets us know what he is thinking - and it's this inner dialogue that we respond to, his constant bewilderment at the way things are that makes us love Dillon Dillon, from his crazy name to his tenacious spirit.

Dillon Dillon

A friendship transcends distance and time Ollie is a great whistler, while Lucrezia can’t whistle at all. Ollie has traveled the world, but Lucrezia is afraid of the dark and hates goodbyes. Yet, despite their differences, Ollie and Lucrezia have been best friends forever. When Ollie is eight, he moves from Rome to Milan, and Lucrezia feels as though her world has ended. But their friendship blooms, against the backdrop of beloved family and beloved places, until their thirteenth summer together, when a change in plans alters Lucrezia’s life forever. Narrated by Lucrezia, this haunting novel exquisitely captures through vivid language and sense of place both the beauty and enduring nature of human relationships. Set in modern-day Italy, this is a book about journeys to places new and old, toward self-discovery, toward adulthood, and toward things bigger than ourselves.

Friends of the Heart / Amici del Cuore

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BANKS, KATE. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by BANKS, KATE

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BANKS, KATE. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Lost and Found

Close Your Eyes

And If the Moon Could Talk

Baboon

The Bear in the Book

The Bird, the Monkey, and the Snake in the Jungle

City Cat

Close Your Eyes

Dillon Dillon

Friends of the Heart / Amici del Cuore