The Day Lenny the Leopard Lost His Spots
by Carm Boffelly
Illustrated & designed by Rhett Ransom Pennell

It was the winner of the 2001 Storytelling Magazine’s young readers category. "It’s what’s in the Heart that counts". That’s what everyone tells Lenny. But how can Lenny believe it? He has no spots! The other leopards won’t play with him because he looks so different. What can Lenny do? What this little leopard learns during his adventures deep in the wild could just as well be true in our own homes and neighborhood.

Ages: 3 - 8

Would You Invite a Skunk to Your Wedding?
by Ginger Pate
illustrated by Maribeth Blonski

Louie Phewie is a young skunk who has a problem controlling his spray. Sometimes, when he becomes nervous, his spraying becomes uncontrollable. Despite his problem, friends invite him to be the ring bearer at their wedding. Unfortunately when a number of things go wrong at the wedding, Louie makes it a wedding to be remembered, for all the wrong reasons.

Ages: 3 - 8

A Cookie for the President
Anita F. Bott

A series of strange after-dinner dessert requests by the President has Amelia, the President's cook, really puzzled.

Ages: 5 - 9

A Pumpkin Story
Mariko Shinju

Once upon a time there was a poor man who lived in a very poor mountain village. One day, while on a mountain path, he discovered some pumpkin seeds. Because pumpkins provide both nourishing food and materials to make tools, he planted the seeds. He was surprised to see how quickly and how very large the pumpkins grew. At first he used them to make soup and the soup bowls and cups he needed. But, as his pumpkins grew bigger and bigger, he was able to make bigger and bigger things — a pumpkin bed, a pumpkin bath tub, even a pumpkin house. After a while, he had so much that he shared his pumpkins and pumpkin seeds with all the people in the village.

This charming story tells us we can sometimes improve our lives simply by using our imaginations to take thoughtful advantage of what nature provides.

Ages: 3 - 8

A World of Numbers
Frances Gilbert

These poems were written for children who do not enter the world of numbers in a linear and abstract way. For these children numbers become individualized, they have their little quirks and characteristics; they stick in the mind as a result of the personal experiences. Beautiful photographs show children experiencing numbers as they go about their daily lives. Each illustration is supported by a short poem linking language to numbers.

Ages: 3 - 8

All The Letters
Michele Pace Hofbauer

A vibrantly colorful and delightfully playful pre-school alphabet book. Specifically designed for early learners, this book serves as an introduction to letter, phonics, object and color recognition.

All of this is accomplished through the clever illustration of big bold letters in combination with associated objects and characters all finished in brilliant color.

Children will delight in the wonderful illustrations!

Ages: 3 - 7

Born in the Heart
Music by Jeffery D. Harris & Maureen McGovern

Piano sheet music to the song "Born in the Heart", sung by Maureen McGovern and based upon the text from the book "Couldn't We Make A Difference" (ISBN # 1-880851-678) published by Greene Bark Press.

All Ages

Camille's Fakes
Mary Jane Overall

Young Camille is an astoundingly talented artist. She can imitate or duplicate just about anything — paintings, drawings, even sculpture. She loves art so much she spends hours and hours studying the many different styles, materials, and techniques of other artists. She is so good her talent wins her a local art contest that is reported in the national press. Unfortunately this publicity brings her to the attention of a gang of art thieves. The two thieves, Ricko and Shorty, devise an elaborate scheme that lands Camille and her mother in Paris at the Louvre, where Camille is tricked into copying some of the works of the great masters. When Camille and her mother finally discover what is happening, Camille devises her own clever scheme to trick the thieves and help arrange for their capture.

This is a wonderful book of art, featuring the work of some famous and not-so-famous artists from Europe, America, and Australia, including spell-binding aboriginal art.

Ages: 3 - 8

Celeste and Regine in the Rain Forest
Frances Gilbert

One day, while two tree-frogs are at play in the Rain Forest, the forest begins to disappear. Feeling the threat, not only to their home but to the very existence of everything that lives within, the two tree-frogs seek help to stop the devastation.

The story is told with rhythm and alliteration, underscoring the importance of phonological awareness, i.e., paying particular attention to the blending of words and sounds.

“Rhythm binds language, language binds emotion, and emotion binds meaning...” — Frances Gilbert, author and educator

Ages: 3 - 8

Charlie's Little Moon Trip
Ellen Craig Perlwitz

Every child's wish is achieved in this exciting adventure as Charlie, his sisters, and their pets take a quick trip to the moon. They eat cheese and cavort; they dance and roller skate; they prance and have loads of fun. It's a delightful story told in rhyme, with colorful drawings done in the art-primitive style.

Ages: 3 - 8

Come, Walk With Me In The Woods
Kathlyn Grannum Hilton

A collection of 18 illustrated poems capturing the beauty of nature while creating moments of rest and contemplation. The author uses her words to paint unusually poignant pictures. Her words are spare but sensitive, and their impact is powerful.

Ages: 14 years and Older
Illustrated Poems of Nature

Couldn't We Make A Difference
Michele Pace Hofbauer

Written by a parent and educator with the express purpose of teaching children the importance of accepting others, this lovely book begins with a world broken and literally deflated. Children of every race, religion, and ethnic background paint, clean, bandage, and work the pumps in an effort to re-inflate the world and restore it to health, harmony, and beauty. Colorfully illustrated and written in simple verse and rhyme, the narrative focuses on children discussing how they, working together, would fix the world's problems.

Ages: 3 - 8

Edith Ellen Eddy
Julee Ann Granger

This vividly painted story of a young girl experiencing the excitement of exploration of her world cautions us as parents about exerting our influences on our children's behavior with all good intentions but perhaps with results we did not intend. Edith Ellen Eddy gives us a mirror as child or parent for introspection, solicits a tear of personal recognition and individual understanding. It presents the joy of overcoming society's ready-made box for us and provides an opportunity for mutual understanding of ourselves and those we mentor.

Ages: 3 - 8

Empty Pockets
Faye Van Wert

Like most small boys, Stevie was a collector. He collected everything. He collected stones, he collected apples, he collected worms. But no matter what he collected, no contraption seemed big enough or strong enough or large enough to hold them for long. So he started collecting pocket things. At the end of each day, Stevie would empty his pockets of all the things he had collected, and he’d put them on his dresser. By the end of the week, his room and dresser were overrun with acorns, snakes, worms, frogs, feathers, and just about anything else his pockets would hold. After a strong lecture from his mother forbidding him from collecting pocket things, Stevie visited his grandmother who gave him a bucket to collect strawberries. Now Stevie collects bucket things.

Ages: 3 - 8

Excuse Me, are you a Dragon?
Rhett Ransom Pennell

Sir Gordon is First Knight and protector of his young nephew, King Edwin. He loves his nephew and tries to please him by giving him anything he wants. So … when the child-King asks for a dragon, Sir Gordon rides off on a quest to find one. There is, however, a slight problem; Sir Gordon doesn't know where to find a dragon, nor has he ever seen one.

Consequently, he approaches all sorts of mythological creatures, none of whom are dragons, but all of whom are friendly enough and willing to help him fulfill his quest. When Sir Gordon does finally find a big, fire-breathing dragon, he has second thoughts about bringing him back home to the young king.

Ages: 3 - 8

Fatuma's New Cloth
Leslie Bulion

Set in contemporary East Africa, a little girl helps her mother do the day's marketing, and looks forward to buying a piece of kanga cloth for a new dress. At the market, she meets many friendly vendors -- the tea-and-spice merchant, the dairy woman, and the pots-and-pans man. Each of them claims that his or her own product is the secret to a perfect cup of chai (tea). Whom should she believe? With her mother's calm guidance and some help from a Swahili proverb printed on her favorite kanga pattern, little Fatuma learns not to trust appearances, but to look deeper for true virtue.

Finding Jane at the Tyrannosaurus rex at Burpee Museum
written by Char Remer
illustrated by Frank Fiorello

A bi-lingual story of Jane, a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex that lived and died 66 million years ago. In the summer of 2001, an expedition from Burpee Museum discovered pieces of fossilized dinosaur bone weathering out from the side of a butte in southeastern Montana. Over the next two years, the team uncovered, mapped, and identified the bones of this dinosaur, which they nicknamed Jane.

This book is written in both English and Spanish.

Ages: 3 - 8

Frankie Big Head Becomes an Artist
Frank Fiorello

Frankie Big Head was a curious child, filling his head with all things seen and heard.

This story reminds us to keep our eyes and ears open, LISTEN, SEARCH, and SEE...and you, too, can become an artist and author!

Ages: 5-9

Hey! There's A Goblin Under My Throne!
Rhett Ransom Pennell

In this sequel to Excuse Me, Are You A Dragon? every month becomes a new adventure as King Edwin and his brave knights protect the Kingdom from mythological creatures from around the world. Giants in January! Goblins in February! Ogres in March! And behind many of these strange creatures is an even stranger sorceress, Slugma, egging them on to mischief.

Ages: 3 - 9

I Can't Talk I've Got Farbles In My Mouth
Mary Vigliante Szydlowski

A family of Farbles takes up residence in James Beechum's mouth intending to stay until their home, under renovation, is finished!

All Ages

If Only I Could Whistle Loudly
Frank Mellen

"If Only I could Whistle Loudly" is a happy and uplifting journey, sweeping us along through the splendors of a day in the life of a circus. It is illustrated from cover to cover in vivid colors by "Flintstone" cartoonist Ray Dirgo.

As we attend this circus or any circus, for that matter, we begin as strangers, watching and enthralled while everyone and things before us-humans and animals-perform their amazing feats of daring, skill and splendor. And when it's all over and done, we're exhausted from excitement and applause.

We go home happy and contented, while quietly and efficiently, the circus roustabouts fold up the tents and load the equipment in preparation of traveling on to the next town and audience.

All Ages

Jaeger Finds a Family
Jennifer Seidel

In this delightful and heartwarming story of Jaeger, a Labrador retriever living in a dog pound, the author sends a clear message to children that regardless of how many parents or siblings live with them, they are still part of a family.

Ages: 5 - 8

Louie Larkey and the Bad Dream Patrol
Linda Kay Weber

While Heather sleeps, her three teddy bears come alive to keep the house safe from bad dreams. Children will understand the faith Heather places in her fuzzy guardians, finding the adventure at once exciting and comforting. Perfectly balanced between what the child knows is real and what he or she likes to imagine, Louie Larkey is sure to chase the Bad Dreams from any child's room.

Ages: 3 - 8

Moonsnacks and Assorted Nuts
Mary Grace Dembeck

Moonsnacks and Assorted Nuts

Ages: 4 - 8

Petronella
Jay Williams

Princess Petronella defies longstanding royal tradition and goes to seek adventure. As she journeys, she finds the oddly somnolent Prince Ferdinand of Firebright, apparently enchanted by the mysterious magician Albion. Determined to rescue the prince, she plans a daring escape—but is she saving the right man? A modern fantasy classic, full of wit and surprise, with an admirable heroine and wondrous new illustrations.

Ages: 3 - 8

Queen of the Kisses
Sheryl Wolff Kayne

Get ready to pucker up and feel the magic when the Queen of Kisses and her helpers solve your kissing problems with kissing potions, pucker dust, and flying kisses.

Feel and share the magic. Close your eyes, stay very still, and pucker up!

Ages: 3 - 8

Queen of the Kisses Meets Sam Under a Soup Pot
Sheryl Wolff Kayne

In this sequel to Queen of the Kisses, Queen Theresa helps a little boy accept his grandmother's good-bye kiss.

Ages: 5 - 8

Superwoman Does Not Exist
Kippie Martin

You can't do it all, not and remain sane. That's the message of Kippie Martin, wife and mother of four, in her 90 pages of wry commentary on the harried life of a modern mom.

Ages: older teens and adults

The Black Regiment of the American Revolution
Linda Crotta Brennan

During the Revolutionary War, an untested, predominatly African- American military unit valiantly faced off against professional Hessian soldiers in the fiercely-fought Battle of Rhode Island. The "Black Regiment" prevented the capture of a large Colonial force, influencing the very outcome of the war and establishing a proud tradition of African-American military service. Of national historical significance, this story has never before been detailed in a children's book. Illustrated with watercolors, maps, and historic images. Glossary, list of sources included.

All Ages

The Bug and the Slug in a Rug
Steve Allen

A bug and a slug meet, of all places, in a rug and find out their differences are not so different after all.

All Ages

The Butterfly Bandit
Ester H. Laurence

A butterfly, for a very just cause, hijacks a truckload of watermelons that are on their way to a pickle factory.

Ages: 6 - 9

The Delmarva Conspiracy
Sharon Miner

A teenager and his family, owners of a horse farm in the Delmarva Peninsula, unwittingly become the center of a Neo-Nazi conspiracy secretly set in motion by a traitorous government agent.

Ages: Juvenile

The Dog Ate My Homework
Carmen Dana Caserta and Marilyn Koenig Nowitz

Stevie always had excuses for never completing his homework. But on the day he actually does complete his homework assignment, it turns up missing. After searching everywhere, his last hope was to seek help from his loyal friend and dog, Sylvester.

Together, Stevie and Sylvester start hunting for the missing homework.

Ages: 4 - 9

The Family Book
Todd Parr

Winner of the 2004 Openheim Toy Portfolio Best Book award, The Family Book is a beautifully illustrated book with lots of color that both parents and children will enjoy. This book explores the many different types of families.

All Ages

The Fine Red Cat
Jennifer Gallagher

If you have ever wondered what your cat thinks about, then you will enjoy reading The Fine Red Cat. Enter the world of a cat's imagination and dreams, where cat surprises and adventures await you.

All Ages

The Hunter and the Ebony Tree
Nelda LaTeef

From the Zarma culture of West Africa comes this folk tale of a hunter who must overcome an impossible challenge before he can marry the girl he loves. Her father wants a strong man as a husband for his daughter. She understands that amiability and intelligence are more important, but her culture forbids her from contradicting her father. Success depends upon a good plan, good friends, superb archery skills...and the girl's clever strategy. Illustrated in a strikingly colorful collage technique.

The Invisible Seam
Andrew William Frew

M istress Shinyo, a renowned but aging kimono maker, values the talents of her new apprentice, Michi. The other apprentices resent Michi's skill, and they attempt to sabotage her work. But Michi has made a promise to always do her best, and she cannot allow peer pressure to break it. This historically accurate and culturally sensitive tale of jealousy, self-discipline, and forgiveness is based on a true incident in Japan around 1900.

The Lady and the Unicorn
Kathleen McCormick Price
illustrated by Robert Tutsky

In a tale inspired by the centuries-old beauty of tapestries, a unicorn is captured and brought to the garden of Princess Clementine, the Lady of Cluny.

Except for a small bunny named Flora, the strange new creature is not welcomed by the other animals and tries to escape back to the forest only to have a terrible accident. Helping the unicorn to recover, the Lady of Cluny and Flora the bunny must prove the true meaning of friendship.

Ages: 3 - 8

The Magical Trunk
Gigi Tegge

When a young girl finds an ordinary-looking trunk, she discovers that it contains all kinds of wonderful things — a wig, fantastic clothing, and jars and jars of face paints.

One at a time, she begins to apply the paints to her face (because that's what you do when you find a trunk full of face paints).

With the addition of each color, however, magical things begin to happen. The colors transform the girl into something new and introduce her to a wonderful new world.

The enchanting combination of clowns and color make The Magical Trunk a magical experience.

Ages: 3 - 8

The Mermaid's Purse
Kathleen Estes

Acolorfully illustrated counting book that follows Salinda, a mermaid, as she negotiates to buy a beautiful pearl from a salty and hard-shelled character by the name of Erastus — an oyster. The items she uses for coin are creatures of the sea, which she takes one after another, incredibly, from her small purse.

Featured at the end of the story is an illustrated glossary of the creatures, real and imaginary, contained in Salinda's purse.

Ages: pre-school to 6 years

The Monster Encyclopedia
Dave Branson

Everything you should know about monsters, including the big five Monster Rules, is here. This encyclopedia not only colorfully illustrates one monster for every letter of the alphabet (except for the letter “A,” which rates two monsters), it also gives special helpful hints on what to do if you should ever meet any of these characters. It also gives a detailed description of every monster, and describes the habitat, favorite food(s), and favorite activities of each. By the time you turn the last page, you will be a true monster expert. Any creatures claiming to be monsters and not listed in this book should be viewed with suspicion: it is doubtful that they are real.

Ages: 3 - 8

The Silly A B Seas
Kathleen Estes

This is an animal alphabet book like no other. The letters are introduced in zany, tongue-twisting rhymes and stories, with the help of lots and lots of well known and not-so-well known sea creatures.

A small fish by the name of Goby Gillis leads us through each of the letters of the alphabet.

An appendix lists all of the sea creatures found in each letter's drawing.

Ages: 3 - 8

Flip Along Fun
WJ Fantasy

A fun-filled flip book with whimsical rhymes and animals. Teaches colors, counting and concentration. Spiral binding.

Age: 3 - 8

The Story of the Christmas Bear
Donna Foreman

This charming and colorful story introduces CB, a child bear living in a people world, who discovers a very special baby in Bethlehem on a special day. The story presents youngsters with alternative ways of confronting and overcoming typical childhood challenges simply by making choices that generate self-respect and promote self-worth.

Ages: 5 - 7

The Travelling Pillow
Beverly Swerdlow Brown

After making a pillow from scraps of material and yarn, Panda gave it to friend Mouse who had no place for it and gave it to neighbor Mole who had no room for it. Thus begins the merriment of the pillow being passed from one friend to another with playful adventures along the way until the final surpise as to who discovers the Travelling Pillow.

Ages: 3 - 8

Turtle on a Summer's Day
Frances Gilbert

Adelightful, original picture story for very young readers that reflects an innocent curiosity children will instantly recognize. Turtle tries to emulate the other creatures in the garden and finds that, in the very end, he is happiest just being himself.

Ages: 3 - 8

To Know the Sea
Frances Gilbert

Far away in a mountain kingdom, lives Isola, a little princess who longs for the Sea. Despite the heroic individual efforts of several young men from the village, no one is successful in bringing the sea to Isola, until Peter, an old sailor, arrives with his pack of books and his memories. He teaches Isola the lore of the sea and when she is ready, she comes down from her mountain home and sets sail in a ship of her own.

An original fairy tale, this book, with its delightful, quirky illustrations, reveals a child's unquenchable spirit and her awakening to the unknown world over the horizon.

Ages: 3 - 8

We All Have A Heritage
Sandy Lynne Holman

Ages: 4 - 8

Where Does My Food Go?
written by Ruth Sundback
illustrated by Frank Fiorello

This is an educational and colorfully illustrated book for children, ages 4-9, that shows food does more than taste good.

Parents are always looking for ways to improve their kids' eating habits. Kids eat better when they know where food goes in their body and how it helps their body work.

The soft cover book includes a separate sheet with activity ideas. The hard cover book is expanded with more pages including recipes, activities and teacher aids.

Ages: 4 - 9

Wright vs. Wrong
Gigi Tegge

And the race is on! Who will be the very first to fly? The clever and calculating Wright brothers? Or the bumbling and not-so-clever Wrong brothers? This story takes us back to a time when flying was only a dream. However, while the misadventures of the Wrong brothers are all fiction, the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright is based on fact.

So...come along and read all about this crazy contest. You will learn a lot about planning, perseverance and, of course, the first flying machine.

Ages: 3 - 8