Books in For Young Readers series

Miss Irma Birmbaum, the toughest teacher in town, is back for another mysterious adventure.It's almost summer vacation and most teachers are throwing parties for their students. But not Miss Irma Birmbaum. She's the toughest teacher in town. Who else would give homework for the last day of school?The assignment is to be prepared for a surprise. Miss Birmbaum is secretly planning a party, but she has a cooking accident as she's making the treats and suddenly begins to shrink. With lots of help from the students Miss Birmbaum finally returns to her usual size, and they all have the best end-of-school party ever.

A favorite childhood song brought to life by one of America's favorite illustrators, now in a sturdy board-book edition."If you go down in the woods todayYou're sure of a big surprise.If you go down in the woods todayYou'd better go in disguise;For ev'ry Bear that ever there wasWill gather there for certain, becauseToday's the day the Teddy BearsHave their picnic.""The Teddy Bears' Picnic" has been sung and loved by English-speaking children throughout the world ever since it was written. The intrigue conjured up by the teddy bears picnicking independently of their owners continues to capture the imaginations of children everywhere.Michael Hague's illustrations are simultaneously panoramic and detailed. Against the backdrop of country landscapes, lovable teddies of all shapes and descriptions picnic and play.

Meet Little Raccoon."Little Raccoon was little, but he was brave."Little Raccoon is a precocious and curious young creature. Whether facing down the scary thing in the pool, exploring the world beyond his familiar woods with a pair of young skunks, or baby-sitting two pesky chipmunks, Little Raccoon manages to find himself in all sorts of predicaments. But Little Raccoon is also brave, and his bravery-not to mention his irrepressible happy spirit-saves the day every time.These three adventures of Little Raccoon, originally published as three separate books, are gathered in one collection and reillustrated in lively and humorous black-and-white drawings.

Did The Sun Shine Before You Were Born? is written mainly for children aged 3 to 7. Although primarily intended to be read aloud by a parent, it has also been written and designed for use with the beginning reader in mind.The book focuses on the family and how it grows, because young children are intensely curious about their relationship to it. The illustrations show a wide variety of family situations to stimulate a child's awareness and acceptance of differences in lifestyles and cultures. This sharing of values and ideas will help parent and child communicate better with each other.Did The Sun Shine Before You Were Born? does not try to give all the answers about sex and the family to every child, nor does it presume to make choices or determine attitudes for parent and child. It is intended to be an open, comfortable book that provides a simple framework of important information without prejudicing individual growth.

Celebrate the beauty and wonder of summer by the bay."It is almost summer. The bay is calm, just brushed in the middle by an offshore wind. A family of swans glides by. Seagulls squawk and circle above the water-all but one gray."During one idyllic summer at the beach, two children befriend an injured seagull and name him "Grayboy." The children's days are filled with swimming, shell collecting, and observing all the local wildlife-guided by the rhythms of the bay. They find crabs for Grayboy, build sand castles for him to perch on, and moats for him to wade in. But the bay's rhythms are not always gentle, and a summer storm proves too strong for an injured bird like Grayboy to survive. Although the children lose a friend, they are glad he was part of a summer they will always remember.

The world's most famous travelling reporter heads for America. Gangsters, Cowboys, Indians and the Big Apple await Tintin when he travels across the Atlantic to America. He soon finds himself in terrible danger - but with Snowy to help him, he faces it head on...Join the most iconic character in comics as he embarks on an extraordinary adventure spanning historical and political events, and thrilling mysteries. Still selling over 100,000 copies every year in the UK and having been adapted for the silver screen by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson in 2011. The Adventures of Tintin continue to charm more than 80 years after they first found their way into publication. Since then an estimated 230 million copies have been sold, proving that comic books have the same power to entertain children and adults in the 21st century as they did in the early 20th.

Twelve-year-old Jess and her friends have been playing hockey with the boys in Fort Desperation, Northwest Territories, since they were six years old. They'd like to start a girls' team in their community, but is tiny Fort Desperation ready for it? Somebody is trying to scare them off through acts of vandalism. Not only do Jess and her friends have to organize a team, find a coach and learn to play together, they have to unmask the Hockey Vandal. Can they do it before the Vandal destroys their team's hopes?

Badger discovers there's no place like home.Badger loves his cozy little cottage. The door sticks and the shutters bang, but Badger doesn't mind-until a huge storm makes a mess of his house. He doesn't think he can fix the damage, so he sells the cottage to Grandmother Mouse and moves to a lovely mansion. But Badger feels lost and lonely in his huge new house, so he's happy when Grandmother Mouse invites him to tea. He doesn't even mind fixing the sticking door. Each time Badger visits he fixes something else, and soon the little cottage is as good as new. The only problem is that it's too small for Grandmother Mouse's family to visit. But Badger can fix that, too!