Humorous Nature

Lois Ehlert is the celebrated author of numerous best-selling picture books. Would you believe that Ralph the dog can talk? Yip, yip, yip - it's true. With Ehlert's simple, funny, call-and-response text, this fresh, engaging book is sure to get little ones laughing (and talking to their dogs!).

Carolyn Crimi scored a big hit with her first pirate bunny tale, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, starring a rabbit named Henry, who is more interested in reading than pirating. The rest of the Salty Carrot's crew is too busy bowling with coconuts, shooting themselves out of cannons, and otherwise goofing off to care about a threatening letter received in a bottle. But Henry thinks there's something sinister behind the letter. Soon his fears become realized when the ship is attacked by crazy chickens!

Farmer Brown is busy decorating his home in preparation for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve! But once again Duck has gotten the whole barnyard stuck in quite a predicament! Will anyone be able to unstick Duck and save Christmas?

It's time for the annual Corn Maze Festival. The farm is bursting with activity. Cluck! Whack! The chickens build a fence around the cornfield. Moo! Thwack! The cows give the barn a fresh coat of paint. Thump. Quack! Duck builds the ticket booth for the hot-air balloon ride. Everyone is excited. Well, Duck is not excited, exactly. But he has a plan.

Farmer Brown does not like Halloween, so he draws the shades, puts on his footy pajamas, and climbs into bed. But do you think the barnyard animals have any respect for a man in footy pajamas? No, they do not. For them the Halloween party has just begun. And we all know these critters far prefer tricks over treats. There are big surprises in store for Farmer Brown!

Poor Groundhog just can't sleep. He tosses. He turns. Finally, he gets out of bed and goes exploring. Outside his burrow, he finds amazing sights he has never seen before: glowing jack-o'-lanterns, gobbling turkeys, and sparkling holiday lights. But shouldn't Groundhog be in bed? With no sleep, how will he be able to get up for his big day?

Billy and Goat are best friends, but they have different styles. Billy likes to smell the roses - Goat likes to eat them! So it's no surprise that they have different ideas of how to enjoy the state fair. For Billy the crowds and the noise are pretty intimidating. He's happy to wait in the livestock pens until the best goat contest begins. But Goat's not one to sit when he could run. Faster than you can say butter sculpture, Goat's out of the pen and leading Billy on a merry chase. When Billy finally catches up to him, he's relieved but also amazed. The fair is awesome!

Award-winning Karma Wilson, author of Bear Snores On, has created the delightful Hilda Hippo - a hippo who loves to dance despite all the noise she makes while doing so. It’s just that the Ka-bump! Ka-bump! Crash! Crash! Crash! noises disturb her jungle friends. Maybe Hilda could take up knitting? But knitting doesn’t quite suit the would-be ballerina. Perhaps she and her friends can find some sort of compromise!

Uh oh! A librarian has left the window open, and now it’s time for fun-loving bats of all ages to fly in for a night in the stacks. Bats at the Library is a recipient of starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Horn Book Magazine.

When the Peabodys leave their home to buy goodies for a spring tea, a pesky fly zooms in. Trying to escape, he bashes into some glass and lands bellyup on the windowsill. If the Peabodys find him before he recovers, they will overreact and call the dreaded exterminator. With the fate of fellow housemates in her hands - and with chocolate cookies beckoning - what's a little cockroach to do?

Happy first birthday, Little Duck! Everyone wants to look their best for the party. But Little Duck has never had a birthday before - so how better to learn how to prepare than to do what all the other animals do! The sheep trim their wool - so Little Duck trims her feathers. The pigs need a mud bath - so Little Duck quish and quashes, too. All over the barnyard, Little Duck snips, slurps, squishes, and shimmy shakes herself ready until...WHOOPS! It's party picture time - and Little Duck is a big mess.

Children’s author and illustrator Philip C. Stead counts a Caldecott Medal among his many literary accomplishments. A Home for Bird is a touching tale of friendship and determination. Out one day, Vernon the toad happens upon a tiny blue bird who is oddly silent. Vernon introduces Bird to his friends and tours him around to many of his favorite places, but Bird still won’t talk. Thinking that Bird is quiet because he is homesick, Vernon takes his new friend on an exciting journey to find him a home.

"I have lost my new blue socks. Did I put them in my box?" Simple rhymes - including "socks", "box", "fox, " and "ox"! - spin the tale of a small duck who waddles through the countryside, forlornly searching for his blue socks. "I'm trying not to be depressed. / Without my socks I feel undressed." Finally, a sharp-eyed peacock sees a bit of blue peeking out of duck's lace-up shoes and the mini-mystery is solved! This winsome story shares the familiar experience of not really losing something after all.

Meet DJ Funkyfoot! He’s not actually a DJ - he’s a chihuahua and a butler! Meet ShrubBaby! She’s an adorable baby shrub with a taste for thrills, fertilizer, and fame. Finding a butler gig is hard these days, so DJ Funkyfoot takes a job that’s almost like being a butler.... He becomes a nanny for ShrubBaby! A nanny might say no to this baby’s whims, but a good butler always says yes. So when adventure calls and ShrubBaby says, “Let’s go!”, DJ Funkyfoot says, “Very good, m’lady, I’ll fetch your stroller”.

Best-selling author Katherine Applegate returns for another hilarious life lesson with the antics of well-meaning Roscoe Riley. It seems everyone is winning trophies lately - except Roscoe. A dog trick contest could turn things around, but Roscoe's goofy dog can't learn any neat tricks. So he decides to trade the sweater his grandmother knitted him to borrow his neighbor's genius dog. Roscoe didn't much like the sweater before, but now that it's gone, he's starting to wonder if he made the right decision.

Everyone in town knows Edwina. She is the dinosaur who plays with the kids. She is the dinosaur who helps little old ladies cross the street. And best of all, she bakes yummy chocolate-chip cookies. Everyone loves Edwina except for Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie. Reginald knows dinosaurs are extinct and is ready to prove it. But will anyone listen? And if they do, what will happen to Edwina?

Hi there, I'm Hank. Here’s what you need to know about me: I don’t try to make the kids in my class laugh, but somehow I do. Spelling is my worst subject. (Come to think of it, so are math and reading!) I try hard - I really do. So why does my brain always freeze into a popsicle? More than anything, Hank wants a dog. But before he can get one, his dad is laying down some rules. First, Hank has to improve his grades. Next, he has to prove that he’s a responsible pet owner. Can Hank get his brain to cooperate, so he can get his new furry best friend?

Everyone wants to give their friend Clifford a special birthday present. But the blow-up ball pops, the pinata gets smashed, the sweater is much too small, and the beauty parlor gift certificate just didn't seem right. Finally, Clifford gets the best present of all - his family there to celebrate with him.

Sally May is planning to host a dance in her yard and launches a major Spring Cleaning Offensive! When a grumbling Slim is drafted to haul trash to the burn barrel, Hank decides it might be a good idea to keep an eye on him. He was right! Later, Miss Viola’s pickup breaks down in front of Slim’s house, and she needs Slim’s expert help as a mechanic. Will the bachelor cowboy take theopportunity to ask her to the dance or will the Head of Ranch Security have to take her to the dance? Miss Viola sings “Silly Old Maid.”

Harriet Hamsterbone is not your typical princess. She may be quite stunning in the rodent realm (you'll have to trust her on this one), but she is not so great at trailing around the palace looking ethereal or sighing a lot. She finds the royal life rather...dull. One day, though, Harriet's parents tell her of the curse that a rat placed on her at birth, dooming her to prick her finger on a hamster wheel when she's 12 and fall into a deep sleep. For Harriet, this is most wonderful news: It means she's invincible until she's 12!