Over 20 stories including classic fairy tales and original recent stories.

This wonderful collection includes retellings of five stories by Charles Dickens, one of the most popular authors of all time. Meet dozens of his unforgettable characters in stories bursting with drama, comedy, tragedy and romance, set against the backdrop of Victorian England. Contains Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House all beautifully retold for younger readers. A section at the back introduces the life and times of Charles Dickens. Full of colourful illustrations from the Usborne Young Reading Programme. Now produced in a shrink-wrapped, luxurious gift edition to celebrate Dickens' bicentenary.

A new, interactive approach to storytime, The Whole Book Approach was developed in conjunction with the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and expert author Megan Dowd Lambert's graduate work in children's literature at Simmons College, offering a practical guide for reshaping storytime and getting kids to think with their eyes. Traditional storytime often offers a passive experience for kids, but the Whole Book approach asks the youngest of readers to ponder all aspects of a picture book and to use their critical thinking skills. Using classic examples, Megan asks kids to think about why the trim size of Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline is so generous, or why the typeset in David Wiesner's Caldecott winner,The Three Pigs, appears to twist around the page, or why books like Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express and Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar are printed landscape instead of portrait. The dynamic discussions that result from this shared reading style range from the profound to the hilarious and will inspire adults to make children's responses to text, art, and design an essential part of storytime.

An Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Indie Bestseller * An Indie Next List Selection Feeling fried? Peel yourself on the couch and meet your new pal-tato! The winning fourth picture book from the #1 New York Times bestselling creators of The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, and The Cool Bean, Jory John and Pete Oswald, will get you and your kids moving! The Couch Potato has everything within reach and doesn't have to move from the sunken couch cushion. But when the electricity goes out, Couch Potato is forced to peel away from the comforts of the living room and venture outside. Could fresh air and sunshine possibly be better than the views on screen? Readers of all ages will laugh along as their new best spuddy learns that balancing screen time and playtime is the root to true happiness. Check out Jory John and Pete Oswald’s funny, bestselling books for kids 4-8 and anyone who wants a laugh: The Bad Seed The Good Egg The Cool Bean The Couch Potato The Good Egg Presents: The Great Eggscape! The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, the Spooky! The Cool Bean Presents: As Cool as It Gets That’s What Dinosaurs Do

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: "Monsters! Meet here for final test." Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying under the covers, until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from beneath the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there so he falls asleep—which as everyone knows, is the real reason for monsters under beds. With its perfect balance of giggles and shivers, this silly-spooky prequel to the award-winning I Need My Monster and Hey, That's MY Monster! will keep young readers entertained.

Isaac Bashevis Singer is known for his mastery of storytelling - but it was not until 1966, at the age of sixty-two, that he published his first children's book, Zlateh the Goat, a Newbery Honor Book and instant classic. Singer went on to write many stories for children, most of which are included in this volume, along with a brief introduction and a special epilogue, "Are Children the Ultimate Literary Critics?" The collection presents exuberant and timeless tales for children rich in fantasy and deeply rooted in the lost cultural tradition of his native Poland. A number of the stories appear in book form for the first time - and all have been translated from the Yiddish with the author's personal supervision.

An exuberant infant is lifted high in the air by Mommy, kissed on the tummy by Daddy, and snuggled by a puppy.