Books in Dial Books for Young Readers series

A playful story with a surprise ending!"Louella Mae,she's run away!Look in the cornfields!Look in the hay!Where, oh where, is Louella Mae?"Louella Mae is missing and everyone on the farm is frantically trying to find her. In the hay, in the well, in the barn: she is nowhere to be found. But there's a surprise in store at the end of the book when we find that Louella Mae is . . . a pig, who just had piglets!Wonderful illustrations and playful humor make this book perfect for reading aloud. Its rhythm, rhyme, and sense of fun make it just right for preschoolers.

A bright, energetic retelling of a beloved children's rhyme, with a Pacific Northwest twist."There was an old lady who swallowed a troutThat splished and splashed and thrashed about."Everyone has heard about the old lady who swallowed a fly, but there is something particularly fishy about this old lady . . .Beautiful illustrations in this story capture the scenery and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. The buoyant text jumps along as the old lady swallows a salmon, an otter, a seal, a walrus, and more, until eventually she swallows the entire sea and the trout swims free! With a unique and fascinating setting, this pure flight of fancy gives a fresh look to a familiar poem.

A compassionate tale of friends lost and found."The Teddy Bear had a good home . . . a warm, cozy place to sleep . . . many friends . . . and someone who loved him."The little boy and his teddy bear were always together. Every night, when the little boy went to sleep, his teddy bear was right there next to him. When the little boy went on a trip, his teddy bear went too-until one terrible day when the teddy bear was left behind . . .This is the wonderful story of a friend who is lost and found and lost and found again, and of a little boy who begins to understand the meaning of compassion.

This jazzy ode to grandmas is just in time for Mother's Day Today, there's no such thing as a typical grandma. They do different jobs and have different hobbies. But one thing common to all grandmas is the love and wisdom they have to share, and nothing says that better than this rhyming celebration of the modern grandma. From the jellying, jamming, and pickling grannies to the surprising number of tickling grannies, this stylishly illustrated book covers them all.

Two friends find that shadows are all around them."My friend catchesmy shadow's hand.Hand in shadowwe walk the sand."Dragonflies zip by with their shadows behind them. Toe shadows wiggle along the bottom of a creek. In the shadow of a tree lurks delicious cool shade. On a long sunny day, two friends search for shadows and discover the hidden delights of the everyday world. Lush, sun-soaked illustrations and poetic text capture the childhood delights of a summer day.

Meet a city girl with a big Wild West dream."I don't want to be a good girl-Good girls have no fun.I can't play quiet games indoors,I love the rain and sun.I don't want to be a girly girlWho likes to sit and chat.I just want to be a cowgirl, Daddy,What's so wrong with that?"From the window of a high-rise city apartment, a little girl imagines a very different view and dreams of a very different life, but does it have to be just a dream? The big city meets the wild Wild West in Jeanne Willis's lyrical text, accompanied by hilarious illustrations from Tony Ross.

"One summer day, someone new waddled into Baron’s life. Her name was Fluffy." So begins the adorable tale of a dog, a duck, and a perfect companionship. Perfect, that is, until Fluffy joins up with the wild ducks from the pond. Baron is suddenly alone—no one to play with, eat with, or cuddle up with at night. But when those wild ducks fly away, Baron’s in for a surprise—and more friends than he ever expected!