Books with author Margery Cuyler

Readers who love stories about friendship, school, and little monsters will love this clever and humorous picture book about a skeleton who is falling to pieces and needs help pulling himself together. Perfect for Halloween! Bonaparte is having a tough time. It’s hard for this young skeleton to just hang loose when he can’t keep hold of himself. When he plays catch, his throwing arm literally takes a flyer. Eating lunch can be a real jaw-dropping occasion. How can he start school when he has so many screws loose? Luckily, Bonaparte hit the bone-anza when it came to his friends. Franky Stein, Black Widow, and Mummicula all have some boneheaded ideas to help pull him together. But will it be enough to boost his confidence and get him ready for the first day of school?

Teacher and students embark on an imaginary, exciting safari in this adaptation of the familiar bear-hunt chanting game. With safari hats on, the class members heads out the door and into an exotic landscape, where they join in the refrain: "We're going on a lion hunt. / We're going to catch a big one. / We're not afraid. / Look what's up ahead!" First they head through mud, then sticks ("snap, snap, snap"), and on until they reach a dark cave, where they "feel a c-c-cold nose and s-s-sharp teeth . . . It's a lion!" Time to run, backtracking from grass to mud to finally, safely, the classroom. The peppy text incorporates repetition, sound effects, and participation opportunities for lively readings. The bright, cartoonlike watercolor-and-pencil illustrations highlight the diverse animals, first shown as classroom pictures and then in their native habitats.

Groundhog loves to run and play! To him, sleeping all winter is boring. So when winter comes, Groundhog refuses to hibernate, even though his friends warn that he’ll be hungry and cold and lonely. He has fun running and playing in the snow, until he realizes that without anyone else around to play with, he really does get hungry and cold and lonely. Then he has a brilliant idea! He’ll announce an EARLY spring!