When Jasper the cat plants a bean, he has the highest of hopes. But after he lavishes care on his bean for a week and nothing happens, Jasper fears it will never grow. So when it finally does sprout, and grows into an enormous beanstalk, Jasper is jubilant. He's also "sure" that there's a giant at the top! Full color.

With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden fairy tale creatures for kids to find), this retelling of a favorite story is sure to have children rolling with laughter till Bessie the cow comes home. Full color.

A bright, colourful picture book for very young children in which the reader helps Jasper choose how to spend his birthday money. Jasper plays with just about everything in the toyshop. But what will he eventually buy? Simple text with appealing illustrations.

It's suppertime, and a little girl named Ann has just enough time to sketch Merl and Jasper, an adorable cat and dog, before being called to dinner. But Ann isn't the only one who's hungry, so are Merl and Jasper! And since supper isn't brought to them, they have to go find supper. What better place for a paper dog and cat to look than on the pages of Ann's favorite books. Young readers will love seeing familiar fairy tale characters as Merl and Jasper follow their noses (and stomachs) up the beanstalk and down to the bottom of the sea--until they discover that the perfect supper is up to them and their imaginations. Without sacrificing the pure fun of a good story, memorable characters, and exhilarating illustrations, Laura Rankin ("Handmaid Alphabet) cleverly conveys the idea that books are food for the soul.

Welcome to the seedy underbelly of nursery crime. From the New York Times bestselling author of the Thursday Next series comes a rollicking novel—“as if the Marx brothers were let loose in the children’s section of a strange bookstore” (USA Today). “A wonderfully readable riot . . . cleverly plotted, magically overstuffed yet amazingly digestible . . . [for] anyone who wants the thrill of a good crime novel larded with highly literate humor.”—The Wall Street Journal Meet Inspector Jack Spratt, family man and head of Reading’s Nursery Crime division. He’s investigating the murder of ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Dumpty, ex-convict and lover of women, found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. Yes, the big egg is down, and all those brittle pieces sitting in the morgue point to foul play. Spratt and his new partner, Sergeant Mary Mary, search through Humpty’s sordid past in hopes of finding the key to his death. Before long, Jack and Mary find themselves immersed in a bizarre case that reaches into the highest echelons of Reading society and business.

Once there was a baby in the house - and to that baby, Mum and Dad and Jill and John and Uncle Tom were giants. But little by little, that baby grew up - until she became a giant too. This book explores the stages of life and development.

Written by a leading author, this popular book explains schemas - a key early childhood concept - in an accessible manner, making it perfect for any early childhood course.