KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE

by Mo Willems

Trixie steps lively as she goes on an errand with her daddy, down the block, through the park, past the school, to the Laundromat.  But, on the return home, she realizes something. Readers will know immediately that her stuffed bunny has been left behind but try as she might (in hilarious gibberish), she cannot get her father to understand her problem.

THE NOISY WAY TO BED

by Ian Whybrow

A sleepy little boy leads readers on a gentle ramble through field and farmyard as he wends his way home and, finally, to bed.  Along the way, he picks up an entourage of noisy animal friends.  Sweet dreams!

KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON

by Kevin Henkes

It is Kitten's first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. She sets out into the world on a quest that leaves her bruised, bewildered, and hungry, but that ultimately leads her back home, where something special is waiting just for her.

MISTER SEAHORSE

by Eric Carle

Starring Mr. Seahorse -- who grows Mrs. Seahorse's eggs inside a pouch in his belly -- Carle's look at sea creatures follows the hero as he floats through the water, talking to other fathers along the way.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD MOTHER GOOSE                                                                          by Nina Crews

No quaint little woman in a tall hat here! This "Mother Goose" is a real goose that lives in a city park. Through the use of photography and children in an urban setting, Crews has cast Mother Goose in whole new light.

SECRET IDENTITY: SHREDDERMAN,  BOOK ONE

by Wendelin Van Draanen

A new series featuring a puny but brainy fifth-grader named Nolan Byrd. Nolan's dorky ways earn him the nickname of "Nerd" from Bubba Bixby, a seemingly unstoppable bully who cheats, lies, steals, and terrorizes little kids. Three cheers for Shredderman! Van Draanen has created a "superhero" who speaks wonderfully to all the underdogs out there looking for justice. 

THE FISH IN ROOM 11                                                                                                          by Heather Dyer

This is the story of Toby, a little boy found in a room at a hotel by the sea. It is also the story of the Flots, a family of mermaids who are marooned under the pier. Together, the Flots and Toby plan how to help each other, find some buried treasure, and outwit Mr. Harris, the mean-minded hotel proprietor. In the process, Toby and the mermaids bring smiles to the faces of everyone they meet! 

THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN                                                                                                      by Philippa Pearce

A young girl's dull life is transformed when she meets and befriends an extraordinary talking mole. The mole likes to be read to, and tells of his own past exploits throughout his long and legendary past-a-past, that includes the death of a king and a pouch of magic herbs. 

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL:  A POP-UP BOOK

by Robert Sabuda

Robert Sabuda again dazzles audiences with his brilliant paper engineering, this time honoring the USA and the legendary text by Katharine Lee Bates. Notable spreads include the Great Plains, featuring a windmill that turns; a Mississippi River steamboat with spinning ribbons that symbolize the water in its paddle wheel; and a large Statue of Liberty set against the New York skyline.

LEAPING BEAUTY:  AND OTHER ANIMAL FAIRY TALES                                        by Gregory Maguire

“Little Red Robin Hood”, “Cinderelephant,” and "Rumplesnakeskin" are three of eight well-known fairy tales entertainingly recast with the aid of animal characters and outrageous puns.  Get ready to meet a gorilla queen and a psycho chimp, seven giant giraffes, and one very bad walrus.

MAGYK: SEPTIMUS HEAP, BOOK ONE                                                                           by Angie Sage

Seventh sons of seventh sons are known to be especially lucky and powerful magical beings. Septimus Heap, a 7/7, died at birth--- or did he? When the midwife carried his apparently lifeless body out of the birthing chamber, all wrapped in burial shrouds, a fortuitous discovery of a little girl baby abandoned in the forest by the dead baby’s father provides an acceptable substitute for the mother. Later we learn the girl is a princess and heir to the throne. That is, if she escapes the attention of the evil Supreme Custodian.

I, JACK                                                                                                                                       by Patricia Finney

Hi! Hi there! I am Jack! Big dog Jack. Wag Tail. I live with a big Pack. This is my Packleader. I love him Huge Amounts! More than steak, even. Yumyum. My Packleader has a Pack Lady and three children. I love them Big Amounts, too. And this is Petra; she lives next door. Isn't she Gorgeous? This is my story. It's So Exciting! Find out how I become friends with Petra, brave the Fierce garage dog, and save Packleader from Huge Scary Metal Monsters. Arrooof Arrooof!

CHASING VERMEER                                                                                                            by Blue Balliett

When a book of inexplicable occurrences brings Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen--- seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal. Drawn, clue by clue, into a mysterious labyrinth, the pair must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem-solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they solve a crime that has left even the FBI baffled?

FISH                                                                                                                                           by L. S. Matthews

On the morning that the family and their Guide are preparing to evacuate, Tiger has rescued a fish from a mud puddle in the unnamed, drought-ridden, and war-torn land where the narrator's parents are relief workers.  The journey would be hard to get across the mountains—to the safety of the border and the people there who could help. . .  I never realized what we would have to face. It never occurred to me to leave Fish behind.

THE DRAGON RIDER                                                                                                             by Cornelia Funke

When their peaceful valley is threatened with danger, Firedrake, a silver-skinned dragon, and his sidekick, Sorrel, set off to find the mythical Rim of Heaven--- the only place in the world where dragons can be safe forever. Along the way they meet an orphaned boy named Ben who volunteers to be their navigator and quickly becomes their friend. But when they learn that an evil dragon hunter is on their trail, their quest quickly turns into a battle for survival. . .

THE SEA OF TROLLS                                                                                                          by Nancy Farmer

The year is A.D. 793. Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. With a crow named Bold Heart for mysterious company, they are swept up into an adventure-quest that follows in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings.

AIRBORN                                                                                                                                    by Kenneth Oppel

In a swashbuckling adventure reminiscent of Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson, Kenneth Oppel creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies.

DOUBLE HELIX                                                                                                                      by Nancy Werlin

Eighteen-year-old Eli Samuels, whose once-vibrant mother is losing her long battle with the ravages of Huntington's disease, is hired at the Wyatt Transgenics Lab. The salary is substantial, the work is interesting, and Dr. Wyatt seems to be paying special attention to Eli. It’s almost too good to be true. Is there a catch?

SNOW-WALKER                                                                                                                     by Catherine Fisher

Snow-walkers drift across great plates of ice, through sleet and snow, in the farthest north, where nothing else lives. When these terrible beings come into contact with humans, they can freeze people with a touch or enmesh them in dreams and steal their souls.

A CRACK IN THE LINE
by Michael Lawrence

It's been two years since his mother died, and Alaric and his father are barely on speaking terms. Withern Rise, their Victorian mansion, is in shambles. Trapped at home during a blizzard, Alaric stumbles into a parallel world; a reality in which his mother is still alive. There's only one problem: someone else is living his life!

THE SIGN OF THE QIN:  OUTLAWS OF MOONSHADOW MARSH, BOOK ONE   by L. G. Bass

A volcanic eruption releases a vanguard of demons, sealed away for centuries beneath the earth. Soon after, the Emperor's first son is born, marked with the sign of the Qin---the brand of the outlaw! Could the child be the new Starlord, destined to restore justice to the land?