Books published by publisher David R. Godine

For anyone who loves sailing and adventure, Arthur Ransome’s classic Swallows and Amazons series stands alone. Originally published in the UK over a half century ago, these books are still eagerly read by children, despite their length and their decidedly British protagonists. We attribute their success to two facts: first, Ransome is a great storyteller and, second, he clearly writes from first-hand experience. Independence and initiative are qualities any child can understand and every volume in this collection celebrates these virtues.The crew’s on holiday for their sixth adventure, and they turn their energies to mining for gold, aided by pigeon messengers Homer, Sophocles, and Sappho. The adventurers comb the nearby hills for a fabled lost claim, while being shadowed by a mysterious figure they dub “squashy hat.” Undeterred by drought, sudden brushfires, and the continuing presence of Squashy Hat, the young prospectors persevere in their quest — with surprising results. Full of the dangers and dark adventures of old mines and forgotten claims, Pigeon Post has an irresistible appeal to the persistent explorer in every child.

With applause for Crime and Puzzlement 1 and 2 still ringing in his ears, Lawrence Treat has conjured up yet another devilishly delightful collection of picture mysteries - this time for young readers.The clues are in the picture; it's up to you, the young detective, to size up the situation and solve the mystery.Who stole the jade horse from under Jenny Jackalanda's nose? What did Cheri's mysterious letter really say? Who took Minnie Rahrah's diamond necklace? You find out!

August Brown has been through a lot: his parents have just divorced, he and his mother have moved from Vermont to Washington, D.C., and he's left his catcher's mitt behind with his old friend Zachary Judge. In his new neighborhood of Georgetown, August is the new kid on the block. He doesn't know anyone, and he doesn't want to know anyone. Anyone, that is, except for the friendly rag-bag lady who always comes by on garbage day and without fail waves to August. One day, he decides to follow her and ends up in the mysterious Pineapple Place, a quaint cobblestone street of cheerful houses, where seven invisible except to August children from another time live. Before he knows it, August and his fantastic new friends have embarked on the adventure of a lifetime in the nation's capital!

Before she became a Caldecott medalist, Mary Azarian was a teacher in one of Vermont s last one-room schoolhouses. In the late 1970s, the state board of education commissioned her to create a farmer s alphabet, a series of bold red-and-black woodcut prints featuring the 26 letters, A to Z, and depicting scenes from Vermont life. Now gathered in book form, printed in two colors on beautiful paper, these striking woodcuts give us a child s-eye view of rural New England from Apple, Barn, and Cow to aX, Yawn, and Zinnia a homey, large-as-life world that readers of every age will want to inhabit. No M for McDonalds in Azarian's world: only Maple Sugar.One of our most popular titles, the striking woodcuts of this big, bold alphabet book, printed in two colors on beautiful paper, are a felicitous introduction to letters as well as to the charms of simple country life.

Camp, explore, hike, discover, learn woodcraft―get outdoors and be at home in nature all through the year!This Handy Book was written in 1906 by a pioneer of the scouting movement, Daniel C. Beard, whose great passion was making boys and girls feel at home in the great outdoors. Then, as now, the reward is to experience nature's wonders while fostering self-sufficiency and independence. That is what The Field and Forest Handy Book provides.There are chapters on packing a horse, on making clothes and moccasins, on camp cooking, on building piers, boats, sleds, kites, birdhouses, snow houses, and snowmen. Everything imaginable for all ages to have some serious fun.

A very funny story of brains versus brawn. Tom is happy with his new Aunt Bundlejoy Cosysweet. And his aunt is delighted to join Tom in his latest invention, a jam-powered frog. When the frog hops past Captain Najork’s window Tom does not expect to be chased by a pedal powered snake, complete with the Captain and his hired sportsmen, bent on revenge. As Tom, the Captain, and aunt all converge on a nearby girls’ boarding school, the tables are suddenly turned with the Captain finding himself in a very precarious situation.... A wonderfullt satisfying collaboration for children by Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake.

It's the long awaited first day of school, and here, in rhyme and pictures, is the story of two young rabbits setting off to Rabbit School. Deep in the woods, they find their beloved old schoolteacher, who teaches them everything a good rabbit must know: which vegetables and plants are tastiest; how to make the garden grow; and how to paint Easter eggs in bright colors so the rabbits may call themselves Easter bunnies with pride! He also teaches them how to stay fit and to run fast to avoid the dangerous red fox who lurks in the forest. This classic picture book by the legendary German children's book author, Albert Sixtus with lovingly detailed pictures by illustrator Fritz Koch- Gotha, is here translated into English for the first time. Delightful in its lilting verse and period drawings, it will appeal to early readers of age five and up and also to parents looking for a classic read-aloud.

This book should come with a warning: These are not your ordinary opposites, they are EXTREME! Extremely funny and extremely clever, that is. Those old, humdrum pairings neither yawning parents nor woefully wide-awake children want to hear night after night, year after year hot and cold, tall and short, the list goes on have no place in this catalog of catastrophically mismatched antipodes.The brainchild of Argentine artist Max Dalton ("The Lonely Phone Booth", Godine, 2010), "Extreme Opposites" combines superlatives and opposites to create a book that is both pedagogically superior (why teach your three-year-old just one grammatical category when she could be learning two, simultaneously?) and superlatively engaging. Knights and dragons, castaways and off-hour Santas, dinosaurs and pirates, mimes and scuba divers populate this imaginatively superior universe. And with just two words per page, you and your little one will have more time to linger over the irresistible illustrations and relish this recital of reverse attractions. Opposites have never been more droll, and less dull, than in graphic artist Max Dalton's all too amusing "Extreme Opposites".

Little Polly Flowerdew lives with her two maiden aunts, and she is absolutely sure that something special is going to happen this Christmas. She leaves her bedroom window open on Christmas Eve, just in case the three wise men decide to come visit. When she wakes up on Christmas morning, more than one miracle seems to have taken place. A moving, lyrical, and endearing chapter book, celebrating the magic as well as the mystery of Christmas, this is Godine's first title by Elizabeth Goudge, mistress of the art of storytelling, and it's charmingly illustrated with ink drawings by Margot Tomes. It is a perfect Christmas read-aloud for young children and their parents.