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This Little Piggy: Lap Songs, Finger Plays, Clapping Games and Pantomine Rhymes |
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| Author: |
Jane Yolen (Editor) |
 Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0763613487 |
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From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreS–A beautifully crafted, oversized anthology of approximately 60 lap rhymes, songs, clapping rhymes, and finger and foot rhymes, all presented with explanations and simple instructions for parents to play with their babies and toddlers. Most are familiar, but there are also a few that are less well known. Hillenbrand has framed the rhymes with lovely mixed-media pictures in an array of sherbet pastel colors with happy piggy families acting out the rhymes. The songs include simple musical arrangements for guitar and piano. A delightful accompanying CD includes 13 songs from the text, beautifully done with vivacious accompaniment. The result is a perfect book for one-on-one sharing–a feast for the eyes and the ears–as well as a wonderful compendium of first rhymes for... |
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The Journey of the One and Only Declaration of Independence |
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| Author: |
Judith St George |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0399237380 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. St. George (So, You Want to Be President?) offers readers another engaging foray into U.S. history as she chronicles the journey of one of the nation's most hallowed documents. "The Declaration of Independence has had more homes than a traveling circus." Though lengthy and far-reaching in scope, the account moves swiftly, thanks to a conversational style and a sprinkling of interesting, little-known facts. Readers follow the document from its creation ("Every S looked like an F, but since that was the way people wrote back then, nobody minded") to the many times it was spirited off to secret locales during wartime (e.g., Fort Knox during WWII) to the argument over its ultimate home in Washington D.C. An often tongue-in-cheek tone (a running joke reiterates that "parchment should never be... |
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Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story |
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| Author: |
Rebecca Hickox |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0823415139 |
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Book Review
What do you get when you take Cinderella's glass slipper and transport it to the Middle East? The Golden Sandal! Rebecca Hickox's delightful retelling of an Iraqi folktale "The Little Red Fish and the Clog of Gold" has all the makings of any good Cinderella story--the mean stepmother, the young oppressed girl, a big shindig, a kind, magical creature who helps the girl dress up for the event, an enamored young man, a lost-and-found shoe, and the promise of a happy ending. However, with the Arabian twist, the girl's name is Maha, the benevolent creature is a fish, the shindig is a "grand henna," and the shoe that ultimately saves Maha from a cruel fate is none other than a golden sandal. Rebecca Hickox, author of Zorro and Quwi, Per and the Dala Horse and Matreshka, teams up with the well-loved... |
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The House That Drac Built |
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| Author: |
Judy Sierra |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152000151 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 3-4 days. |
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-A Halloween version of the familiar cumulative rhyme. Things get a little out of hand at Count Dracula's house- "This is the mummy from days of yore/that rose from the coffin under the floor/that fell on the monster whose bloodcurdling roar/startled the fearsome manicore..." It is only when a group of trick-or-treaters comes on the scene that all is carefully put back to rights. The darkly muted oil pastel illustrations augment the ghoulishness of the tale, with a hidden clue leading readers from one double-page spread to the next. The creatures are suitably gruesome, but because of their friendly expressions should be nonthreatening. A definite hit for holiday story programs.Beth Irish, Orange Public Library, CACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Seabiscuit: An American Legend |
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| Author: |
Laura Hillenbrand |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0641637748 |
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Counting Crocodiles |
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| Author: |
Judy Sierra |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152001921 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 3-4 days. |
Book Review
Counting Crocodiles may feel familiar to you, perhaps due to its folktale roots, maybe because Will Hillenbrand's artwork is so marvelously, comically, stylistically perfect, or perhaps because the delightful rhyme is so much like that of Lewis Carroll or Edward Lear. Here's a sample: "On an island in the middle of the Sillabobble Sea / lived a clever little monkey in a sour lemon tree. / She ate lemons boiled and fried, / steamed, sauteed, pureed, and dried. / She ate lemons till she cried, / 'I'm all puckered up inside!'" Meanwhile, Hillenbrand's full-page illustrations provide unending delights. In the first, most lemony of spreads, the snail is holding a whole lemon in her mouth, the fox has a glass of lemonade, and the lemon tree is laden with a blender, juicer, rolling pin, peeler, spatulas, and pans.... |
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Seabiscuit: An American Legend |
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| Author: |
Laura Hillenbrand |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0345465083 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review's Best of 2001
He didn't look like much. With his smallish stature, knobby knees, and slightly crooked forelegs, he looked more like a cow pony than a thoroughbred. But looks aren't everything; his quality, an admirer once wrote, "was mostly in his heart." Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of the horse who became a cultural icon in Seabiscuit: An American Legend. Seabiscuit rose to prominence with the help of an unlikely triumvirate: owner Charles Howard, an automobile baron who once declared that "the day of the horse is past"; trainer Tom Smith, a man who "had cultivated an almost mystical communication with horses"; and jockey Red Pollard, who was down on his luck when he charmed a then-surly horse with his calm demeanor and a sugar cube. Hillenbrand details the ups and downs of "team Seabiscuit," from early... |
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The Many Troubles of Andy Russell |
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| Author: |
David A. Adler |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152012958 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From Publishers Weekly
Seven of Andy's gerbils have escaped from their cage at home (and his mother hates animals). At school, preoccupied with thoughts of his pets on the loose, the boy offers "China" as the solution to a math problem. And just when he's about to ask his parents if his friend Tamika (whose foster parents are moving away for a year) can come live with the Russell family, he learns that his mother is pregnant. Such are the woes of Andy Russell, whom Adler (author of the Cam Jansen books) introduces in this jaunty novel, the first of a series. Displaying a knack for creating credible characters and amusing dialogue, Adler shapes a cast that youngsters will want to follow up on in future tales. Among them are Tamika, whose birth parents are recovering from a serious car accident; and earnest Bruce, Andy's best friend.... |
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Andy and Tamika |
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| Author: |
David A. Adler |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152017356 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-4-Andy Russell's active brain is always busy but rarely tuned into what is going on in his fourth-grade class. While the other students are hard at work, he chooses names for what he hopes will be a new brother, worries about a stray cat hanging around the playground, and thinks about his pal Tamika or his enemy Stacy Ann Jackson. Fractions may not be Andy's bag, but he makes top grades at caring for animals and for friends in need. He willingly offers some of his 50 baby gerbils as prizes for the school carnival but insists the new owners sign a contract promising proper care for their new pets. When Tamika loses her foster family, Andy's family takes her in and he arranges a celebration to welcome her. Andy is an unusual male character because his exploits deal with emotions and relationships... |
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Seabiscuit: An American Legend (Special Illustrated Collector's Edition) |
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| Author: |
Laura Hillenbrand |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
1400060982 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review's Best of 2001
He didn't look like much. With his smallish stature, knobby knees, and slightly crooked forelegs, he looked more like a cow pony than a thoroughbred. But looks aren't everything; his quality, an admirer once wrote, "was mostly in his heart." Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of the horse who became a cultural icon in Seabiscuit: An American Legend. Seabiscuit rose to prominence with the help of an unlikely triumvirate: owner Charles Howard, an automobile baron who once declared that "the day of the horse is past"; trainer Tom Smith, a man who "had cultivated an almost mystical communication with horses"; and jockey Red Pollard, who was down on his luck when he charmed a then-surly horse with his calm demeanor and a sugar cube. Hillenbrand details the ups and downs of "team Seabiscuit," from early... |
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Down by the Station |
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| Author: |
Will Hillenbrand |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152018042 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
Book Review
"Down by the station, early in the morning," before any visitors arrive, who exactly is riding that zoo train? Hop aboard and find out! See the elephant calf waving good-bye to Mommy and Daddy. And there's a pink flamingo chick, ready to ride. Who's this sleepy black-and-white cub? Still wrapped in a blanket, the panda isn't quite awake yet. The train chugs merrily along, picking up baby animal passengers. But beware! There's danger in the pond beside the tracks. Will the seal pup and baby penguin escape from the circling crocodiles? Will Hillenbrand, illustrator of Counting Crocodiles and The House That Drac Built, has always been curious about what goes on in a zoo before opening hours. Adapting a traditional children's song, Hillenbrand depicts his charming vision, and presents a parallel journey of a school bus... |
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Down by the Station |
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| Author: |
Will Hillenbrand |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0152167900 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
"Down by the station, early in the morning," before any visitors arrive, who exactly is riding that zoo train? Hop aboard and find out! See the elephant calf waving good-bye to Mommy and Daddy. And there's a pink flamingo chick, ready to ride. Who's this sleepy black-and-white cub? Still wrapped in a blanket, the panda isn't quite awake yet. The train chugs merrily along, picking up baby animal passengers. But beware! There's danger in the pond beside the tracks. Will the seal pup and baby penguin escape from the circling crocodiles? Will Hillenbrand, illustrator of Counting Crocodiles and The House That Drac Built, has always been curious about what goes on in a zoo before opening hours. Adapting a traditional children's song, Hillenbrand depicts his charming vision, and presents a parallel journey of a school bus... |
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Last Snake in Ireland: A Story about St. Patrick |
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| Author: |
Sheila Macgill-Callahan |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0823415554 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
Those pesky Irish snakes! Patrick (pre-sainthood) could ignore their naughty behavior for a while, but when they start teasing his poor old dog Finbar, well, that is just the last straw. It is clearly time to haul out his magic bell and rid the land of this pestilence! But before Patrick can rest too heavily on his laurels, he discovers that the biggest, oldest, sneakiest snake in all of Ireland has resisted his magic and is now bound and determined to make his life miserable. Whenever Patrick's back is turned, the sly serpent steals swigs from his mug of buttermilk, peeks in the window while he is entertaining friends, or hides under his quilt at night. Patrick's attempts to outsmart and outrun his sinuous enemy through all of Ireland and Scotland culminate in a surprising, indeed extraordinary, turn of events. Sheila... |
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Twas the Fright Before Christmas |
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| Author: |
Judy Sierra |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152018050 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
Book Review
Judy Sierra and illustrator Will Hillenbrand (The House That Drac Built, Counting Crocodiles) trick us with a treat: the deliciously Halloweeny Christmas book 'Twas the Fright Before Christmas. In this rhyming yuletide treasure, Santa is a mouse, and his sleigh is pulled through the night sky by the cutest bats on the planet. The stage is set: "'Twas a midwinter eve / at the old haunted house. / Not a creature was stirring... / Well, maybe a mouse." The story continues, "The dragon had fallen asleep on the stair. / The manticore snoozed in his favorite chair. / In a pot by the fireplace the fiend's stew was steaming. / Beside it the bat dangled upside down, dreaming." Somehow this talented team manages to conjure a holiday season that is creepy but utterly cozy—-a mummy clutches his Christmas list as an old... |
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Biggest, Best Snowman |
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| Author: |
Margery Cuyler |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0439669405 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
A little girl accomplishes big things in this winning picture book. "Big Mama, Big Sarah, and Big Lizzie" tell Little Nell she's too small to be of help, so Little Nell spends her days in the snow playing with her forest friends. When Reindeer, Hare and Bear Cub urge her to make a snowman, she thinks she's too small. But prodded by their encouraging words and offer of help, Little Nell constructs a splendiferous snowman that makes her family realize she's not so small or helpless after all. As crisp and delicately patterned as a snowflake, Cuyler's (That's Good, That's Bad!) tale brims with rhyming words ("She carefully patted and matted and batted the snow into a tiny ball") and recurring phrases ("She rolled it and rolled it and rolled it to Reindeer") with which children will gleefully chime in. She explores... |
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The House That Drac Built |
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| Author: |
Judy Sierra |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0152018794 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-A Halloween version of the familiar cumulative rhyme. Things get a little out of hand at Count Dracula's house- "This is the mummy from days of yore/that rose from the coffin under the floor/that fell on the monster whose bloodcurdling roar/startled the fearsome manicore..." It is only when a group of trick-or-treaters comes on the scene that all is carefully put back to rights. The darkly muted oil pastel illustrations augment the ghoulishness of the tale, with a hidden clue leading readers from one double-page spread to the next. The creatures are suitably gruesome, but because of their friendly expressions should be nonthreatening. A definite hit for holiday story programs.Beth Irish, Orange Public Library, CACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the... |
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Fiddle-I-Fee |
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| Author: |
Will Hillenbrand |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152019456 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
From Publishers Weekly
Hillenbrand (Counting Crocodiles) gives a new angle to a favorite farmyard folk song in this jaunty adaptation. The cumulative lyrics begin, "I had a cat. My cat pleased me. I fed my cat under yonder tree. My cat plays fiddle-i-fee." Subsequent verses feature a duck, goose, hen, pig, cow and so on, introducing the various barn-dwellers and the musical sounds each can play. But as the animals prepare for a jam session, a human family (an obviously pregnant young woman and hard-working young farmer) prepare for another special event: the arrival of their baby. Hillenbrand's mixed-media illustrations depict a warm, bucolic life as it changes month to month and season to season. Scenes of scampering animals and the busy couple (shown knitting, quilting, chopping wood, etc.) employ a wide array of tones, from bold and... |
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Down on the Farm |
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| Author: |
Merrily Kutner |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0823419851 |
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| Availability: |
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From Booklist
PreS. From sunup to sundown, this buoyant picture book introduces animals on the farm and offers opportunities for children to chime in on the chorus. The text celebrates barnyard life in brief lines studded with rhymes, near rhymes, animal sounds, and the repeated refrain "Down on the farm, / DOWN ON THE FARM." The large-scale artwork features birds and beasts defined in broad, black outlines in scenes that glow with warm colors. The bold, simplified forms are well suited to a very young audience, particularly in a group setting. Children who look closely at the details will soon notice a little mouse somewhere on each spread as well as plenty of activity, including some comic bits in the illustrations. An amusing romp for young children. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All... |
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My Book Box |
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| Author: |
Will Hillenbrand |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0152020292 |
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| Availability: |
Your order will ship upon release. |
Book Description
What can you do with a box? You can make a bug box or a hatbox or a hide-and-seek box. But just imagine all the fun and adventure you can have with a book box. You can explore the world and beyond! That's just what a creative little elephant discovers. And with the help of his frog friend, there’s no limit to where they can go.
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