Fred and Helen Martini longed for a baby, and they ended up with dozens of lion and tiger cubs! Snuggle up to this purr-fect read aloud about the Bronx Zoo's first female zoo-keeper. When Bronx Zoo-keeper Fred brought home a lion cub, Helen Martini instantly embraced it. The cub's mother lost the instinct to care for him. "Just do for him what you would do with a human baby," Fred suggested...and she did. Helen named him MacArthur, and fed him milk from a bottle and cooed him to sleep in a crib. Soon enough, MacArthur was not the only cub bathed in the tub! The couple continues to raise lion and tiger cubs as their own, until they are old enough to return them to zoos. Helen becomes the first female zookeeper at the Bronx zoo, the keeper of the nursery. This is a terrific non-fiction book to read aloud while snuggling up with your cubs! Filled with adorable baby cats, this is a story about love, dedication, and a new kind of family. Gorgeously patterned illustrations by Julie Downing detail the in-home nursery and a warm pallet creates a cozy pairing with Candace Fleming's lovely language. Backmatter includes a short biography of Helen Martini and a selected bibliography. A Junior Library Guild Selection A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year Named to the Texas Topaz Reading List

A bear cub rubs too much dirt on himself and requires a bath. This simple story for beginning readers teaches the 'ub' sound through rhyming text and bright, original illustrations. Additional features to aid in comprehension include a word list for review, a note to parents and educators, and an introduction to the author and illustrator.

Bear likes going to the beach, but Chipmunk says "Not me!" in this Guided Reading Level D story, perfect for beginning readers. Summer is here, and Bear and Chipmunk are headed to the beach. Bear likes the sun, and the sand, and swimming. But Chipmunk doesn't. The sun is too bright, the waves are so big, and the big fish are scary when you're so small! Full of humor, Valeri Gorbachev's colorful illustrations add detail and help support understanding of the text—and they're sure to make young readers laugh, as Bear floats serenely past Chipmunk, who's stuck upside-down in a float. "Why did you come?" asks Bear finally, as Chipmunk tries to help collect their things. "I came to be with you," replies Chipmunk. Sometimes it doesn't matter what you're doing—as long as you're with your friends! Bear and Chipmunk enjoy winter weather, too, in Me Too!, another I Like to Read® book. The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors—create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own! Suitable for late kindergarten readers, Level D books feature wider vocabulary, longer sentences, and greater variety in sentence structure than levels A, B, and C. When Level D is mastered, follow up with Level E.

In five simple stories, Bobby Bear enjoys a day at the lake, a slumber party, and other activities with his family and friends.

A child tries to catch a fish in this story for beginning readers. Includes a word list.

A child must chase a windblown wig that eventually lands on a pig. This simple story for beginning readers teaches the 'ig' sound through rhyming text and bright, original illustrations. Additional features to aid in comprehension include a word list for review, a note to parents and educators, and an introduction to the author and illustrator.

A little bug crosses a rug in search of her friend, the slug. This simple story for beginning readers teaches the 'ug' sound through rhyming text and bright, original illustrations. Additional features to aid in comprehension include a word list for review, a note to parents and educators, and an introduction to the author and illustrator.