Books in Reading Rainbow series

A beautifully illustrated, award-winning, and fascinating look at the Middle Ages by Aliki, the beloved creator of many popular books for children. The King is coming to visit! The lord and lady of Camdenton Manor must work quickly to prepare for his arrival. It will take weeks to ready rooms, set up tents, and prepare the feast itself. Everyone is busy hunting and hawking, brewing and churning. “A veritable feast of a book.”—School Library JournalThis nonfiction picture book about life in medieval times features detailed illustrations to explore again and again. “A sumptuous look at the gastronomic inclinations of nobility in the Middle Ages is parlayed into a fascinating story about an upcoming visit to Camdenton Manor by the king and his large retinue.”—BooklistSupports the Common Core State Standards

“A joy to read aloud.” —New York Times Book ReviewKondi is determined to make a galimoto—a toy vehicle made of wires. His brother laughs at the idea, but all day Kondi goes about gathering up the wire he needs. By nightfall, his wonderful galimoto is ready for the village children to play with in the light of the moon.This Reading Rainbow book is a school and library favorite that offers a view of life in the southeast African nation of Malawi, one of the world's least-developed nations.Karen Lynn Williams, the award-winning author of such books as Baseball and Butterflies and Painted Dreams (also illustrated by Catherine Stock) delivers a heartwarming tale of perseverance that is sure to delight children everywhere.

Maurice Sendak greeted the publication of the first book by this unique author-and-artist team with an astonishing review in The New York Times Book Review, which began: "Sid and Sol is a wonder--a picture book that heralds a hopeful, healthy flicker of life in what is becoming a creatively exhausted genre. The magic rests in teh seamless bond of Arthur Yorinks's and Richard Egielski's deft and exciting collaboration." Sendak concluded his review with an enthusiastic "Welcom, Mr. Yorinks and Mr. Egielski!" Now Louis the Fish, their second picture book, not only fulfills the promise of the first, but amply surpasses it.Louis is a butcher. He has a nice shop on Flatbush, with steady customers. He's "always friendly, always helpful, a wonderful guy." But Louis is not happy. He hates meat!All his life he's been surrounded by meat. His grandfather was a butcher. His father was a butcher. His whole childhood, even his birthdays, revolved aournd meat. As a boy he tried anythign to escape--even a job after school cleaning fishtanks.But that doesn't last long. Louis soon has to take over his parents' butcher shop. He grows ill. Business begins to fail. All seems lost. Until on night, in fitful sleep, after uneasy dreams, Louis is changed in a profound and startling way and begins a happy new life.

A spiritual story about the far-reaching effects of private actions.Mole has always led a simple life, but lately he feels something is missing. When he first hears someone playing a violin, Mole realizes that he longs to make beautiful music, too.Through practice and patience, Mole learns to play. And even though he plays alone, in the privacy of his underground home, his music has an effect on others that is more magical than Mole will ever know.

A beautifully illustrated retelling of an ancient Japanese folktale by Molly Bang, the celebrated creator of numerous picture books including the Caldecott Honor Books Ten, Nine, Eight; The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher; and When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry . . . Business returns to a once-prosperous restaurant when a mysterious stranger pays for his meal with a magical paper crane that comes alive and dances. The Paper Crane is illustrated with cut-paper collages and paintings. It is a wonderful book to use with children learning about patterns in storytelling. "A delight to the eye and imagination."—The Horn Book. "An enchanting book."—School Library JournalSupports the Common Core State Standards

A determined little piggy absolutely refuses to leave her mud puddle in this rollicking book by Charlotte Pomerantz and James Marshall!See the piggy, See the puddle, See the muddy little puddle. See the piggy in the middle Of the muddy little puddle. Charlotte Pomerantz’s tongue-twisting nonsense verse—made even more hilarious by James Marshall’s illustrations—is sure to delight both children and adults.

The true story of the famous writer, who as a young girl, learned about hope and strength from her mother. Zora is full of dreams. From the top of the chinaberry tree, she dreams of living in the cities beyond the horizon. Her father thinks she should wear dresses and leave dreaming and tree-climbing to boys. But her mother teaches Zora that like each new branch of the chinaberry tree, dreams are always within reach. Independent and full of spirit, Zora explores her hometown and listens to the stories of its people -- stories her mother makes her promise to remember. But it isn't until Zora is faced with her mother's death that she realizes the importance of her promise. Based on autobiographical writings of the renowned African American writer Zora Neale Hurston, this is a story that will appeal to all readers who, like Zora, believe in their dreams.

Undaunted at finding that he’s shrunk to the size of a mouse, George starts in on his household duties, from brushing his teeth to taking out the garbage and looking after his baby brother—all Herculean tasks for this tiny guy in an oversized world. ‘Paintings with realistic detail and perspective show a mouse-eye view of what high adventure boring chores become. Parents will root along with their kids for this unflappable Tom Thumb.’ —SLJ. Best Books of 1985 (SLJ)A Reading Rainbow Selection100 Favorite Paperbacks of 1989 (IRA/CBC)

A brave boy goes into the hills and prays for help for his people. A rider on a magnificent animal comes to him and says: "This animal is called the Sacred Dog. He can do many things your dogs can do and also more...He is as the wind: gentle but sometimes frightening." The clouds close and suddenly one by one countless Sacred Dogs course down from the sky. And so the courage of one determined boy is rewarded by the Great Spirit: The horse, or Sacred Dog, is given to his tribe.