Books published by publisher Picky Kids Press

Folk tales give us hope. They show us that we can succeed in spite of apparent problems. And they entertain. Perhaps this accounts for their universal appeal and their amazing ability to survive. ?The Enormous Potato? is one such story that has been around for generations. Retold by professional storyteller Aubrey Davis, it shows what can be accomplished when everyone lends a hand to solve a problem.The Enormous Potato begins with a farmer who plants an eye --- a potato eye. It grows and grows into an enormous potato. Harvest time comes, but the potato is so big that the farmer can't pull it out. So he calls for help, first to his wife, then to their daughter, then to the dog and so on. Energetic illustrations capture the growing determination of the family to free the potato from the soil and the celebratory feast that follows their success.

Balancing child-friendly facts with colorful illustrations, this perfect introduction to plants is sure to inspire the budding naturalist in every child. From crowded cities to open prairies, deserts to wetlands, plants grow everywhere! This comprehensive introduction will open children's eyes to the plants that surround them every day and how important they are to life on our planet. It covers the basics of plants, such as their parts, life cycles and growing zones. Then it takes readers on a season-by-season tour of what a plant-watcher can expect to discover throughout the year. There are sections on strange plants and those that are endangered, and how readers can help. And for hands-on experience, there's an interactive Q&A for learning how to identify plants, and an activity for growing your own plants. With the perfect balance of child-friendly facts and colorful illustrations, this book encourages children to actively engage with the natural world. Bestselling and award-winning author Pamela Hickman covers all the essential science about plants --- including photosynthesis and pollination --- in clear and easy-to-digest text. And Carolyn Gavin's colorful illustrations bring it all to life, with accurate and inviting representations of the information. This book has strong curriculum applications for life science and earth science lessons in grades two through five, particularly for the characteristics of living things. Rounding out its usefulness are a full-spread growing zone map, an index and a glossary.

Who will Franklin the turtle have at his Thanksgiving table? He’s in for a big surprise! In this Franklin Classic Storybook, our young hero likes everything about Thanksgiving, from eating pumpkin-fly pie to making cornucopias. But what he likes best is having his Grandma and Grandpa share the holiday with him and his family. This year, however, his grandparents are traveling abroad. Thanksgiving just won’t be the same without guests around the table, so Franklin decides to invite some friends for dinner. What a nice surprise it will be for his parents. Only Franklin’s mother and father have the same idea, and on Thanksgiving Day all their friends show up for the festivities! With no more room in the house, where will the holiday meal take place?This fixed-layout ebook preserves the design and layout of the original print book.

The perfect resource for budding bird-watchers, this beautiful, comprehensive introduction encourages children to appreciate the wonderful world of birds all around them.Because birds can be spotted in every neighborhood, and in all seasons, they are an excellent choice for piquing children's interest in wildlife. Here's a comprehensive, child-friendly guide to birds that makes the perfect starting point. Colorful pages explore the characteristics of different bird species, along with many of their fascinating and unique features, from their feathers to their eggs and nests. A journey through a year in the lives of birds gives readers clues to what to look for, season by season. And a beginning bird-watcher section helps youngsters get started in the field, including a list of what tools they need to use, and guiding questions to help with bird identification (for example, by their song, size and unusual color patterns).This book is part of the Nature All Around series, which encourages children to hone their observation skills in order to appreciate the variety of wildlife that can be found right outside their front doors. Bestselling, award-winning author Pamela Hickman brings birds up close, with loads of fun facts about bird life cycles, homes, habitats and most common behaviors. The vivid illustrations by Carolyn Gavin offer clear depictions of the subjects and is a pleasure to peruse. This book has many curriculum applications in grades two to five, when children are learning about the characteristics of living things, and covers both life science and earth science topics. End matter includes information on how readers can help endangered birds, a bird feeder activity, a glossary and an index.

Dive in with these fascinating creatures of the sea!Can animals be identified by just one of their distinctive parts? Readers get the chance to find out in this guessing-game picture book. First, they are shown a body part and asked which ocean animal it belongs to. Then, the following spread reveals the whole animal, along with a description of its characteristics — particularly its one-of-a-kind body part — and habitat. From fins to flippers and tentacles to tails, there’s no better introduction to the awesomeness of ocean animals!With bold illustrations and playful fun for all, this book offers a unique look at ocean animals, one body part at a time.

?Halloween is creeping up quickly,? warns everyone's favorite worrywart, ?and it's time to gather the courage to face the ghoulish festivities!? And according to Scaredy Squirrel, the best way to do that is by being prepared. So he's compiled this essential guide full of ideas, strategies and plans to help readers survive Halloween ?all in one piece!? From costume suggestions rated with Scaredy's own specially designed SCARE-O-METER (it helps gauge the fear factor), to instructions for visiting a haunted mansion (tip: don't make eye contact when passing the graveyard), to recommendations for outwitting infamous Halloween monsters (example: challenge Frankenstein to count), his advice covers every Halloween danger imaginable (plus many more you never thought of!). Of course, if all else fails, Scaredy has a surefire backup plan: play dead. Because on this, the scariest day of the year, Scaredy Squirrel's leaving nothing to chance! This picture book from award-winning author and illustrator Mélanie Watt is one in a series of Safety Guides for Scaredies, starring the hilarious, endearing and hugely popular squirrel with the wide, toothy grin and the one-of-a-kind perspective on being afraid. With so much going on in the appealing, graphic-style illustrations --- including loads of charts, lists and maps as well as labeled objects throughout --- this is a book children will love poring over. This title works perfectly as a springboard for discussions on real safety issues during Halloween, as well as on the subject of being afraid in general and ways to deal with fears.

For two and a half years, Subject 684 --- "Jane Doe" --- has been locked underground in a secret government facility, enduring tests and torture. In that time, she hasn't uttered a single word. Not even her real name. Jane chooses to remain silent rather than risk losing control over the power within her. She alone knows what havoc her words can cause. Then the authorities put her in the care of the mysterious Landon Ward, and Jane is surprised when he treats her like a person rather than a prisoner. Ward's protective nature causes her resolve to crack in spite of her best efforts to resist.Just as Jane begins to trust him, though, a freak accident reveals the dangerous power she has concealed for years.It also reveals that the government has been keeping secrets of its own. Now Jane's ability is at the heart of a sinister plot for vengeance, and she has to decide whom she will trust ... and whom she will help. Well-known throughout her native Australia, Lynette Noni creates compelling stories that appeal to devoted fantasy fans and general-interest readers alike. This novel's extended metaphor about finding --- and controlling --- one's voice and power will resonate with teens attempting to do just that. The slow-simmering romance, richly imagined world and unexpected plot twists will hook readers from the very first page.

The post office is closed, and that means it's time for Mr. Postmouse and his family to take a vacation. Of course, he'll need to bring along a few parcels --- ?a postmouse's rounds are never done!? --- as he and Mrs. Mouse, Milo, Lulu and Pip set off on an around-the-world tour. Doing whatever it takes to reach their destinations (including traveling by hot-air balloon, cruise ship and camel!), the intrepid mouse family treks from the forest to the sea, the desert to the ice field, finding adventure, new discoveries and animal friends at every far-flung stop. And all along the way, Mr. Postmouse never misses a delivery!The pages of this humorous, playful follow-up to Mr. Postmouse's Rounds from award-winning author and illustrator Marianne Dubuc overflow with clever details. The simple story of the mouse family's trip is used to transport children from one fantastically imagined place to the next. Perfect for encouraging visual literacy, this picture book will delight readers and prereaders as they explore it again and again, searching the busy artwork for something new and unexpected, including the cross-section drawings that allow a peek inside the animals' homes and the many stories-within-a-story appearing in every spread. The scenes provide a terrific introduction to the concepts of community and neighborhoods, as well as modes of transportation. This book would make a whimsical lead-in to a life science lesson on animals' habitats, or to discussions about the world's cultures and geography.

This compilation of three, short, cozy stories features a little girl named Lucy and her four animal friends: Marcel the mouse, Henry the rabbit, Dot the turtle and Adrian the snail. (Anton the bear also makes two surprise appearances!) Readers will be delighted to spend time in Lucy's world, as the friends share snacks on a picnic, celebrate a special birthday with a treasure hunt and find a new home for some lost baby chicks. Told with sweet humor and simple language, each of the bite-size stories contains its own complete adventure --- with an unexpected twist at the end! All stories are centered on the small, simple moments of the friends' days together, just what matters most to very young children. In a nod to Winnie-the-Pooh and its map of Hundred Acre Wood, a full spread at the beginning of the book features a bird's-eye view drawing that captures Lucy's world and shows where the stories take place, adding depth to the narrative. Award-winning artist Marianne Dubuc has created a perfectly charming storytime book that hits all the right notes. Her artwork, with its soft and subdued palette, beautifully captures the book's warmth. She presents her illustrations within panels, encouraging visual literacy and making the text easy to follow for pre-readers. This positive book explores key social skills for this age such as sharing, discovering new friends and helping others, making it a terrific fit for character education lessons on kindness, empathy and caring. Other classroom connections are introductions to counting and following step-by-step directions.

The eating habits of bears is one of 14 topics in this clearly written look at three North American bears -- grizzly bears, polar bears and black bears. In this fascinating book in the popular and informative Kids Can Press Wildlife Series you'll find out how and where bears live, how they give birth and raise their cubs, what they eat and much more. Did you know? * Bears eat so much in the fall that they don't need to eat during the winter. * All baby bears have blue eyes. * Polar bears are related to dogs.

Winter comes to Kitten's world, and the little calico leaves her cozy home for an afternoon of exploration and discovery. Kitten learns that even on a frosty day, animal life flourishes: a squirrel forages, an otter goes fishing and a woodpecker taps the side of a bare-limbed tree. At the same time, readers discover that for many animals, winter is a time of rest. Softly, Kitten treads past a burrowing turtle, a napping beaver and a hibernating bear. Told in rhyming couplets, Kitten's Winter is a perfect introduction to animal behavior and habitats. And its sumptuous, mixed-media illustrations make it ideal for beginning and pre-readers, who will delight in spotting all the different details of the season.

This comprehensive and beautifully illustrated introduction to trees and the important role they play is part of the essential Nature All Around series. The book first explores the parts of trees, their life cycles, the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees, leaf types and the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Then it takes readers through a year in the life cycle of trees, describing what happens during each of the four seasons. Readers will discover the many ways trees are vital to the environment and how various animals can share one tree as a home.A two-page spread contains a map of forest regions across the United States and Canada. And there's even a section for ?budding? tree-watchers, with fun questions to help identify trees in their neighborhoods.Combine bestselling author Pamela Hickman's child-friendly, informative text with Carolyn Gavin's whimsical, painterly illustrations and you get both a complete reference tool and a book that children will be drawn to for its enticing visual appeal. This book has strong curriculum applications in grades two through five, when children are learning about the characteristics of living things. It works specifically for life science lessons on the growth and changes in plants, and on the interdependence of living things. End matter includes information about endangered trees and how readers can help, as well as an activity, glossary, and index.