Humorous Nature

Mysterious noises keep waking up the Wimbledon family. "That's very odd," says Mr. Wimbledon each time, but when he returns from checking on the sounds, he's always reassuring: "It's only Stanley; he's fixing the oil tank." "It's only Stanley; he's clearing the bathtub drain." But what Stanley the dog is actually doing while his oblivious family goes back to bed is deliciously absurd: He's preparing for an interplanetary trip! And guess who's going along for the ride!

For newly hatched dinosaur Dinah, the world is an exciting place. There is so much to see and do. She tries this - STOMP! And she tries that - CHOMP! Then she sees a kiss and knows just what she wants to try next. Who can she kiss? And after a few disastrous attempts, can she figure out how to give someone a kiss without whomping, chomping, or stomping them first? Young children will chuckle and cheer when Dinah finds just the right creature for her dinosaur kisses in this funny new audiobook from David Ezra Stein.

A persevering penguin is determined to fly in this adorably inspiring audiobook from the creator of Red Hat and Red Sled. Although little Penguin has the soul of an eagle, his body wasn't built to soar. But Penguin has an irrepressible spirit, and he adamantly follows his dreams to flip, flap, fly! Even if he needs a little help with the technical parts, this penguin is ready to live on the wind.

Milo the Magnificent isn't magnificent at all. His card trick is hopeless. His rope trick is a mess. So the theater manager gives him one last chance: Milo has to pull a rabbit out of his hat at the next performance - or else. With carrot, string, and stick, Milo heads for the woods in search of a rabbit. Instead he catches a bear, a very clever bear, whose sensational hat trick just might save Milo's magic act.

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.

In this series opener, Koko Dodo the cookie chef has a big problem. Today is the day of the royal cookie contest, and someone has stolen his top-secret fudge sauce! Luckily, a spy enters the scene just in time (or rather, crashes in on her roller skates): Didi Dodo! This might be Didi's first case ever, but she has a daring plan to help Koko. Koko would prefer a safe, simple, sure-to-work plan, but without another option, he and the amateur sleuth take off on a wacky caper full of high-speed chases and big belly laughs....

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”.

Something weird is going on! Miss Suki is a famous children's book author - and she's coming to A.J.'s school! She lives in the rainforest and writes about endangered animals. But when her pet raptor gets loose in the classroom, it's the kids who are going to be endangered! Yikes!