Books in Very Noisy Picture Books series

Mother shares a book about love while Brother shares a book about friendship. Next Aunt Grace shares a book about adventure. Everyone in this family is eager to share books and have the newest member's affection and attention. But all kidding aside, this family knows the bond that is created when reading aloud with someone you love. When Daddy closed the last page, he smiled at me for hours and said, 'Say Daddy! Say Daddy!' He hoped that would be my first word! But wait. Did we hear correctly? 'Book,' I said. 'Book!' Educator Michael Shoulders, who has devoted his career and life to spreading the word that "reading is magic," offers a gentle tale reinforcing the bonding power of a good book and the importance of developing lifelong reading skills. Having been involved in education in many different roles for more than years, Dr. Michael Shoulders travels extensively, visiting schools and speaking conferences across the country. He has written several books for Sleeping Press including D is for Drum: A Native American Alphabet. Mike lives Clarksville, Tennessee. Teri Weidner is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. Her previous children's picture books include Give Yourself to the Rain and Look Both Ways: A Cautionary Tale. Teri lives in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Ten-year-old Dandi (affectionately called "Dan" by family and friends) lives and breathes baseball. She may not be a fence buster but she can "hit 'em where they ain't" in the neighborhood pick-up games. The boys know she's a contender. And there's no bigger fan of the 1961 Kansas City A's. So when Charlie Finley, the A's new owner, announces an essay contest to get batboys, there's no doubt Dandi will enter the contest. Dandi not only enters the contest--her essay wins! However, her joy is short-lived when the contest officials enforce the For Boys Only rule. Long before the boundary-breaking ruling of Title IX, young women across the country used grit and determination to prove that barriers of gender have no place on a level playing field. Dandi Daley Mackall's true-life story gives voice and testament to the spirit of these young sports pioneers.Dandi Daley Mackall conducts writing workshops across the United States and speaks at numerous conferences and young author events. She was an instructor at Highlights and taught novel writing for the Institute for Children's Literature. Her most recent Sleeping Bear Press book is Rudy Rides the Rails. Dandi lives in West Salem, Ohio. Renée Graef is well known as the illustrator for the "Kirsten" books in the American Girl children's book collection. She has also illustrated many books in the My First Little House series. Her books with Sleeping Bear Press include Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart and B is for Bookworm: A Library Alphabet. Renée lives in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

A cute, funny, and bright tale that shows children that sometimes things aren't as scary as they seem. Join the colorful creature Scaredy Boo and all of his friends on their journey to becoming less afraid. Written in rollicking rhyme by best-selling author Claire Freedman with lively illustrations by favorite Russell Julian, this story is sure to appeal to children and parents alike.

This rhythmic read-aloud par excellence follows a clever mouse on a walk through the deep dark wood, where he encounters several hungry inhabitants who want to make him their main course. Lacking size or strength as defenses, quick-witted Mouse instead taps the powers of his imagination to create the gruffalo, a "terrible creature with terrible claws, and terrible tusks in his terrible jaws." But will Mouse's frightful description be enough to ruin the appetites of his determined foes? After all, there's no such thing as a gruffalo. Oh, no??