Crispin is a dignified cat with an undignified lifestyle. He lives with a family that simply doesn't appreciate him. (He feels.) If he's not blamed for things that he didn't do, then he is treated like a toy. Or worse, ignored as if he were a piece of furniture. In this witty picture book, children will be amused by Crispin's arch tone of voice and amazed by the adventures he dreams up in his intrepid, albeit imaginary, quest for an independent life, away from his "tormenting" family. Along the way, children will also learn, together with Crispin, a valuable lesson about the importance of a family's love over more selfish desires. The watercolor collage paintings that run throughout are absolutely magnificent. In each scene Crispin's naughty but lovable character shines as he embroils himself in humorous shenanigans. Children will love picking out all of the details in his varied surroundings. Parents will be delighted that Crispin The Terrible is not only a thoroughly enjoyable book, but touches on a child's first feelings of independence; and, at heart, promotes the message of family love.

Crispin the Terrible

Children's Books

Morris, Bob

Animals

Callaway Children's

From Hilary Knight, co-creator of the ever-popular Eloise series, and Charlotte Zolotow, a Caldecott Award-winning author, these two masterpieces of children's literature are relaunched in an unusual 2-in-1 flip-flop edition. Now, they appear for the first time in full color with water colors hand-applied to the original drawings by Hilary Knight himself. In When I Have a Little Girl, a little girl (reminiscent of the irrepressible Eloise) daydreams about when she will have a child of her own. She fantasizes that her daughter will be allowed to do all the things that she could never do. Like wearing a party dress to school every day. Or having a bath only once a week. In When I Have a Little Boy, a little boy imagines how he would behave if he had himself as a father. He gets away with a good deal more than he ever has. He stays up late to hobnob with the adults at his parents' parties. He eats ice cream sundaes all the time and sleeps in the yard whenever he wants. Intended to be read by parents and children together, both stories hold a tender message both about being a child and having a child of one's own.

When I Have a Little Girl/When I Have a Little Boy (Flip-Flop Book)

ZOLOTOW, Charlotte

Humor

When a boy and his family go to another planet for a vacation, they discover that things are not so different from the way they are on Earth.

Visit to Another Planet

Delhomme, Jean-Philippe

Counting up from one to ten is old news -- the real fun is in a countdown! With cool, super-bold illustrations, Start Your Engines takes kids on a joyride through their first numbers. The goofy animal characters, all busy getting their unique four-wheel contraptions ready for the race, engage the reader in their roadway high-jinks while the simple text coasts along with a delightful tongue-twisting twang.

Start Your Engines: A Countdown Book

Todd, Mark

Cars, Trains & Things That Go

Wizards, skeletons, spells, sorcerers, and dragons &amp;Mac222;ll this second lavishly produced children's book by acclaimed New Yorker-cover artist Michael Roberts. In verse and in cutout collages, Roberts takes children on a mystical journey through the alphabet from "Abracadabra" to "Zombies." For each letter in the alphabet, Roberts composes a full-page image created with scissors and colored paper. Across from each image, Roberts contributes a poem, ranging from the epigrammatic to the mini-epic. The poem for the letter Y goes like this: I met a yeti in Tibet. Took him home to be a pet. Ate my friends and family. Think he's saving me for tea. Then there's the one about Mabel the witch, the sneezing dragon, Pumpkin Man, and eyeball stew.... Mumbo Jumbo tickles and chills older kids with its witty verse and helps younger children learn the alphabet by matching up letters and pictures.

Mumbo Jumbo

Roberts,Michael

Literature & Fiction