Ingenuity saves the day in this cleverly constructed board book!

Bestselling author/illustrator Cybèle Young is back with a board book for the very young. The main character of this charming, nearly wordless story is a small unidentified mammal who accidentally loses his ball one day. Too small to look out the window, the little creature is frustrated at first in his attempts to see where his precious ball has gone. But undeterred, he perseveres until he comes up with a solution to his problem, at which point he discovers that an unusual parade is underway. This parade doesn't feature the usual floats and mascots-instead, it is made up of amazing machines and strange hybrid creatures. Our young hero is thrilled, as young readers will be. And best of all? On the very last page of the book, the lost ball is returned to its rightful owner.

This leporello-style board book is designed so that the first half of the story focuses on the attempt to see what is happening out the window, while the second half, revealed only when the book is flipped over, shows a wonderfully inventive parade. Despite its simplicity, this is a story with much humor and many surprises. Nearly wordless, it is a book that even the youngest child will want to read independently as well as enjoy with others.

CYBÈLE YOUNG is an award-winning artist who exhibits her exquisite paper sculpture (Japanese paper printed with etched copperplates) internationally. She has illustrated several books for children, including Pa’s Harvest by Jan Andrews, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award (Illustration) and Jack Pine by Christopher Patton. She has recently written and illustrated A Few Blocks, a Kirkus Best Children’s Book and winner of the Alcuin Award; Ten Birds, winner of the Governor General’s Award (Illustration); and A Few Bites, which received starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and was named an OLA Best Bet. Cybèle lives with her family in Toronto.

CYBÈLE YOUNG is an award-winning artist who exhibits her exquisite paper sculpture (Japanese paper printed with etched copperplates) internationally. She has illustrated several books for children, including Pa’s Harvest by Jan Andrews, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award (Illustration) and Jack Pine by Christopher Patton. She has recently written and illustrated A Few Blocks, a Kirkus Best Children’s Book and winner of the Alcuin Award; Ten Birds, winner of the Governor General’s Award (Illustration); and A Few Bites, which received starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and was named an OLA Best Bet. Cybèle lives with her family in Toronto.

From the first page of this unusual and original collaboration between Jorge Luján and Isol, readers will realize that this is not just another counting book. Whether they are discovering that three is for bedtime kisses, or that five is for secret creatures hiding in a glove, children will delight in the poetic and sometimes surreal text. The illustrations by Isol, winner of the 2012 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, depict a world at once familiar and strange, a place where the three musketeers can suddenly become six, and the ugly duckling is not so ugly after all.

This is a book that presents children with the opportunity to go beyond simply learning to count from zero to ten. The book will encourage very young children (and older ones as well) to create their own meanings and make their own connections between the text and the art.

SUSAN OURIOU is an award-winning fiction writer and literary translator with over sixty translations and co-translations of fiction, non-fiction, children’s and young-adult literature to her credit. She has won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation. Jane, the Fox and Me, co-translated with Christelle Morelli, was named to IBBY’s Honour List. She has also published Nathan, a novel for young readers. Susan lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Celebrating its 30th year in print, now back in hardcover, a classic picture book from renowned author and illustrator Jan Ormerod.

What do you do with a new baby? An imaginative older sister and her parents explore this question in this sweet and authentic depiction of a day in the life of a young family.

Whether Big Sister is feeding, entertaining or dressing her baby brother (in Mom’s hat or Dad’s shoes!), Jan Ormerod illustrates a warm, and occasionally challenging story of family, perfect for older siblings getting to know their new brothers or sisters.

Originally published in 1984, this book is a timeless depiction of family life and the important role older siblings play.

Jan Ormerod was born in Western Australia and grew up with three older sisters. From a young age, she was engaged in visual arts, inspired by many different sources, including comic books. After art school, Ormerod became an Associate of the Western Australian Institute of Technology and Design. She also taught art to talented students in secondary-school enrichment programs.

Jan Ormerod’s first picture book, Sunshine (1981) won the Mother Goose Award. She went on to publish more than fifty books, winning many more awards. Her other well-known works include Moonlight, Goodbye Mousie, Miss Mouse’s Day, Lizzie Nonsense and Water Witcher.

Meet the Tweedles: Papa, Mama, daughter Frances and her brother, Francis. It’s the dawn of a new century—the twentieth century! — and the Tweedles have decided to buy a car. But no gas guzzler for this modern family. Only an electric car will do for them.

Frances is the only member of her eccentric family who is not delighted when Papa decides they need an electric car. She would rather read a book. Frances knows that cars go fast, which can only lead to trouble. She is even less impressed when the family takes possession of the car and faces ridicule from more conventional citizens with their noisy, dirty, gas-fueled machines. But when Mr. Hamm is unable to get to the hospital because his car has run out of gas, Frances saves the day — and falls in love with automobile travel at the same time.

With humorous allusions to the twenty-first century — which is better? Gas or electric? — The Tweedles Go Electric is a charming picture book about an odd and endearing family and their attempts to keep up with the times.

Monica Kulling is the author of over fifty books for children, including Dr. Jo: How Sara Josephine Baker Saved the Lives of America’s Children, illustrated by Julianna Swaney, and On Our Way to Oyster Bay: Mother Jones and Her March for Children’s Rights, illustrated by Felicita Sala. She has also written the popular Great Idea series, and her work has been nominated for many awards, including numerous Silver Birch Express and Golden Oak awards. Monica Kulling lives in Toronto.

Norman, Speak! tells the comical yet thought-provoking story of a boy and his family who adopt a dog that just can’t seem to learn the things other dogs do.

Overwhelmed by dogs in need at their local animal shelter, a young boy chooses Norman, the stray that’s been there the longest. But, upon bringing him home, the family quickly learns that Norman won’t respond to commands. He doesn’t even know his own name.

During a chance encounter with another dog owner in the park, the family is very surprised to learn the reason for Norman’s confusion; he “speaks” Chinese instead of English! And so the family enrolls in a language class, determined to understand their uniquely loveable pet.

The humorous text, from award-winning author Caroline Adderson, and Qin Leng’s delightful illustrations combine to create a picture book that will be enjoyed by readers (and dogs) no matter what language they speak.

CAROLINE ADDERSON is an award-winning author of books for young readers and adults. She is the author of the picture books Norman, Speak! (illustrated by Qin Leng) and I Love You One to Ten (illustrated by Christina Leist), as well as the Jasper John Dooley and Izzy series. Her middle-grade books include Middle of Nowhere, A Simple Case of Angels and The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat. She has won the Sheila Egoff Award, the Chocolate Lily Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award, among many other honors. For more information, see carolineaddersonkids.com.

QIN LENG lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto. She graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has received many awards for her animated short films and artwork. Her picture books include Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki (APALA Award, Governor General’s Literary Award finalist); Away by Emil Sher and A Family Is a Family Is a Family by Sara O’Leary (both USBBY Outstanding International Books); When I Found Grandma by Saumiya Balasubramaniam (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award finalist) and I Am Small, which Qin has written and illustrated.

A little girl and her family have just moved across the country by train. Their new neighborhood in the city of Toronto is very different from their home in the Saskatchewan bush, and at first everything about “there” seems better than “here.”

The little girl’s dad has just finished building a dam across the Saskatchewan River, and his new project is to build a highway through Toronto. In Saskatchewan, he would come home for lunch every day, but now he doesn’t come until supper. The family used to love to look at the stars, and the northern lights dancing in the night sky. But in the city, all they can see is the glare from the streetlights. All the kids used to run and play together, but now older brother Doug has his own friends.

Then one day there is a knock on the door. It is Anne, who lives kitty-corner and is also eight, going on nine, and suddenly living in Toronto takes on a whole new light.

Laurel Croza and Matt James have beautifully captured the voice and intense feelings of a young child who, in the midst of upheaval, finds hope in her new surroundings.

LAUREL CROZA is the author of the picture book I Know Here, illustrated by Matt James. It won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award and the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, among many other accolades. She also wrote the sequel, From There to Here. The Whirlpool is Laurel’s first short-story collection. She lives with her husband in Toronto.

MATT JAMES is a painter, author/illustrator and musician whose many highly acclaimed children’s books include Yellow Moon, Apple Moon by Pamela Porter (New Mexico Book Award); I Know Here by Laurel Croza (Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award) and its companion volume, From There to Here; and The Stone Thrower by Jael Ealey Richardson. Matt’s illustrations for Northwest Passage, a stunning tribute to the iconic Stan Rogers song, won the Governor General’s Literary Award. He also wrote and illustrated the highly acclaimed book The Funeral. Matt lives in Toronto.

Morris is a little boy who loves using his imagination. But most of all, Morris loves his classroom’s dress-up center and its tangerine dress.

Morris is a little boy who loves using his imagination. He dreams about having space adventures, paints beautiful pictures and sings the loudest during circle time. But most of all, Morris loves his classroom’s dress-up center — he loves wearing the tangerine dress.

But the children in Morris’s class don’t understand. Dresses, they say, are for girls. And Morris certainly isn’t welcome in the spaceship some of his classmates are building. Astronauts, they say, don’t wear dresses.

One day when Morris feels all alone, and sick from the taunts of his classmates, his mother lets him stay home from school. Morris reads about elephants, and puts together a puzzle, and dreams of a fantastic space adventure with his cat, Moo.

Inspired by his dream, Morris paints the incredible scene he saw, and brings it with him to school. He builds his own spaceship, hangs his painting on the front of it and takes two of his classmates on an outer space adventure.

With warm, dreamy illustrations Isabelle Malenfant perfectly captures Morris’s vulnerability and the vibrancy of his imagination. This is a sweetly told story about the courage and creativity it takes to be different.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CHRISTINE BALDACCHINO is a writer and artist with a background in early childhood education. She is the author of two picture books, including Violet Shrink, illustrated by Carmen Mok, a love letter to introversion, imagination and protecting one’s own energy; and the Stonewall Honor recipient Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant, which won the CBC Bookie Award for Best Picture Book, was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and has appeared on a number of lists, including Kirkus Best Picture Books That Celebrate Diversity and the American Library Association’s Rainbow Book List. Christine currently lives with her husband and cat in Toronto, Ontario.

ISABELLE MALENFANT was born in the north of Quebec, between gold mines and lakes, in the city of Val d'Or. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Université du Québec à Montréal, then fell in love with illustration. Since then, Isabelle has illustrated more than twenty children’s books, including the highly acclaimed Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino. She lives with her family in Montreal.

Chepito is full of questions. Why is his mother cooking eggs and frying beans? Why is Manuel digging around the corn? Why is Ramón milking the cow? Why is Maria slapping dough between her hands? In this simply told story, a little boy learns all about food and where it comes from.

Following on the success of What Are You Doing? Elisa Amado and Manuel Monroy have created another gem of a picture book, this time about food — where it comes from, how we nurture food plants and animals, and what we eat to be healthy and strong.

Manuel Monroy sweetly depicts Chepito’s world — a rural community where people grow much of their own food and raise chickens and cows — giving young children a clear picture of the origins of foods they consume every day.

Includes a short glossary.

ELISA AMADO is a Guatemalan-born author and translator. She has written My Friend (Mi amiga), illustrated by Alfonso Ruano; Un Barrilete para el Día de los Muertos / Barrilete: A Kite for the Day of the Dead; Cousins (Primas), illustrated by Luis Garay; and Tricycle (El triciclo), illustrated by Alfonso Ruano, which is on the Américas Award Commended List and is a USBBY Outstanding International Book. She lives in Toronto.

In this sweetly funny picture book, a tiny mouse, Chico Canta, saves his entire family from the clever kitten, Little Gato-Gato, when he uses his quick wits and ability to speak another language.

Chico Canta, the youngest of twelve, is a tiny, mischievous, fearless mouse who lives with his family in an old theater. They love to go upstairs to see the plays and echo the audience shouting, “Bravo, bravo!” as the curtain falls.

Mrs. Canta has her hands full trying to keep track of all her children, especially Chico Canta. She is always telling them, “Hurry! Hurry! ¡Pronto! ¡Pronto!” She speaks many languages — not only English, Spanish and Italian, but Spider, Cricket and Moth, as well. And she encourages her children to develop their own language skills. “Bilingual, bravo!” she is always telling them.

One evening, after a wonderful performance of The Three Little Pigs, the mouse family narrowly escapes Little Gato-Gato. But undaunted, and inspired by the production, they decide to mount their own version of the play. A frenzy of sewing costumes and building sets ensues under the direction of Mr. Canta, while Mrs. Canta oversees the cricket musicians, the spider stage crew, and the moths who will be the ushers. But on the night of the play itself, it is tiny Chico who is the star of the show when he spots Little Gato-Gato in the shadows, and uses his own special gift for languages to avert disaster.

Amelia Lau Carling’s charming illustrations show the pleasures, fears, antics and glories of Chico Canta and his family, all against the backdrop of the elegant old theater.

A note from author Pat Mora describes how she and her daughter Libby were inspired to write this story together after she read the kernel of this bilingual joke in a book of Mexican American folktales.

Pat Mora is an award-winning author, the founder of Día (El día de los niños, El día de los libros / Children’s Day, Book Day), and an honorary member of the American Library Association. Her book Abuelos, illustrated by Amelia Lau Carling, won the International Latino Book Award for Best English Picture Book, a Library Media Connection Editor’s Choice Award, and it was named a Críticas Magazine Best Children’s Book. Pat is also the author of The Race of Toad and Deer (La carrera del sapo y el venado) and The Night the Moon Fell (La noche que se cayó la luna), both illustrated by Domi. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Visit www.patmora.com.

Libby Martinez writes children’s books and poetry. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford Law School. Libby lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Visit www.libbymartinez.com.

Amelia Lau Carling is an accomplished author, illustrator and graphic designer. Her previous book with Pat Mora, Abuelos, won the International Latino Book Award for Best English Picture Book, a Library Media Connection Editor’s Choice Award, and it was named a Críticas Magazine Best Children’s Book. Amelia has also written and illustrated the Américas Award winner Mama and Papa Have a Store (La tienda de Mamá y Papá) and Sawdust Carpets (Alfombras de aserrín), which describe events from her childhood in Guatemala. She lives in Westchester County, New York.