Books with title Gregory's Shadow Book and Audiocassette Tape Set

Gregory Groundhog always feels braver when his best pal, his shadow, accompanies him. On the day before Groundhog Day, Gregory suggests that he and Shadow go find something to eat. "Sure... I'm right behind you," quips his amorphous companion, whom Gregory inadvertently leaves outdoors when he returns to his burrow. After the two are reunited, the groundhog faces another dilemma: He doesn't want to be separated from his friend again, yet he knows that his appearance with his shadow on the following morning will make the local farmers unhappy, since this augurs six more weeks of winter. Not surprisingly, Gregory devises a simple solution to this quandary that pleases all involved. Less engaging than Freeman's light yet satisfying narrative are his wispy, sketchy picturesAa number of which seem unfinished. Still, the whimsical notion of a groundhog's all-important shadow taking on a life of its own will pique readers' imaginations, and the antics of these two earnest buddies will bring smiles to young faces.

Charles Fuge, the acclaimed artist of I Know a Rhino, Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball, and It's a Monster Party, is back with another winner that's sure to become a favorite with kids-and their parents. Not only does it have the cutest illustrations ever, but the story is one dear to children's hearts: the importance of a loving, protective father. A cuddly little bear has a tale to tell about his dad, "the roughest, toughest, biggest, strongest dad in the whole jungle." The real fun is in the illustrations of cute cubs marching behind and listening- and running off one by one in fear as they hear that Daddy has teeth sharper than an alligator, more claws than an eagle, and can roar as loud as a lion. But when the little bear finds himself alone and gets scared, it's Papa who comes to save the day. The final illustration -with Daddy carrying his smiling cub, will warm any heart.

The author and the illustrator of Bugs! and Skunks! present another hilarious book with a slapstick rhyme, this one about snakes taking over a small boy's world. The creepy creatures start off as a heap under his bed; then they slink down the stairs, shimmy up the walls, hide, and jump out of books and cabinets. Words and pictures wallow in the shudders. Maybe snakes do have some uses: as garden hoses, for cleaning ears, as nifty stethoscopes. But just as the boy is getting used to the invaders, he opens up the shutter to find a huge glaring eye, and then a great, terrifying boa squishes him in its coils. Is that final close-up a capture or an embrace? Munsinger's ink-and-watercolor images extend the silliness. They are packed with nonsense detail and yet clear and accessible for preschoolers, who will recognize the creepy delight of slimy monsters hissing in their ears.

Bart the sand ant has spent his whole life moving mounds of sand from one tunnel to another in an underground nest. He and the other ants have never seen the sky or felt the rain. One day, Bart feels the outside world beckoning him, and he flees the nest without being noticed. He quickly finds out that the world is full of wonder and joy, and of danger, as he narrowly escapes becoming lunch for a frog and almost drowns in a rain puddle. Bart begins to regret his escapade and heads home. The entrance guard questions him but then reassures him that "sometimes an ant just needs to look at the sky" and looks the other way as Bart gets back to work. After listening all summer to his tales of the sun, rain, and bees, fellow sand ant Floyd decides to go exploring and Bart joins him. The richly colored illustrations of the outside world contrast sharply with the browns and tans of the nest. Deep green grass and bright yellow flowers are seen from an ant's perspective. The insects are dressed as people, complete with hard hats and safety glasses. The message -- that it's good to take time for oneself -- is not subtle or indirect. Bonny Becker has written the perfect story for our hectic, over-scheduled lives. Nina Laden's illustrations bring the bustling insect world to life with humor and verve.

Ford and Braun get it just right in a book for young children who, like the characters here, are also experiencing their first snow. A gray, misty two-page spread marked by bare trees matches the first words: "It is dark--a winter's night. / The moon is bright, barely there behind a lazy haze of gray." On the next pages the palette turns a wintry purple as the snowflakes fall. Burrowed under the snow are Bunny and his siblings, nestled next to their mother, dreaming of grass. But Bunny awakes and goes outside to sniff the air, and the snow entices him. Then his brothers and sisters come out to explore the snow and "watch the nighttime." Squirrels gather pinecones; a wolf prowls. In the distance are houses: "Smoke and smells curl up and out" of the chimneys." Children play, and the bunnies follow suit, stumbling and tumbling in the snow. Ford's artful text is both fluid and evocative, yet it's right at a child's level in both word choice and premise. The rabbits have a stuffed-animal look, but the landscapes are so lovely that the whole book is elevated. Let little ones experience what it's like to be out in the wide, white expanse of a starry, starry night.

This jolly picture book should prove the perfect elixir for young readers with a case of doctor-itis. Driving his big red van, Dr. Duck makes forest-, barnyard- and pasture-calls to treat his menagerie of patients, prescribing such remedies as "Cough syrup for a sheep/ Who had a bad flu/ Pink pills for a cow/ Too hoarse to moo" (dialogue balloons within the art show the duck telling the sheep, "This will do for the flu" and reassuring the cow, "Take two and you'll moo!"). But when Dr. Duck finds himself laid up with a terrible fever, who will care for him? Luckily his grateful patients come to the rescue and Dr. Duck is soon fit as a fiddle. In jaunty and sweet-natured rhymes, Ehrlich (who appears to be Harriet Ziefert, writing under a pseudonym) clearly expresses the rewards Dr. Duck reaps in his caring profession. Rader's pry and sunny watercolors capture a compassionate and friendly animal community at its best. Satisfied kids will soon attest that Dr. Duck is no quack.

Critically lauded bestselling artist Charles Fuge returns with a new, beautifully illustrated picture book on a subject that every child can relate to: how it feels to have a good friend move away. Almost every child knows what it's like to move or to have a friend move away. With his dazzling undersea pictures in vibrant colors and a text full of heart and wit, Charles Fuge captures that sad feeling perfectly -- and offers plenty of comfort, too. Ever since Gilbert the Great White Shark was a tiny pup, Raymond the Remora stuck to him like glue. Then, one day, Gilbert wakes to find his friend has left town to live somewhere new. "It's my fault," the little shark wails. "Last week I called him a sucker!" No one can console Gilbert: not his mother, not the funny clownfish, not his kind friends at school. Then he meets Rita, a disconsolate remora who has lost her shark. "I'd love to stick around with you," she smiles, as sunlight dances in her eyes. And that is the start of a beautiful new friendship. It's another Charles Fuge winner.

Two irresistible pigs, Thomas and Joseph, thwart their bossy farmyard neighbors a la Tom Sawyer in this amusing tale. Two hens, a rabbit, and a duck are disgusted with the messy pigpen and the food Thomas and Joseph eat. But when the hens propose that the pigs paint the pigpen fence, the pigs prove so clumsy that the hens paint it themselves. So too with picking vegetables and digging a water hole for the pigs to bathe in. Alert children will see the end coming: the other animals realize that the pigs are "not so dumb." Droll facial expressions and body language in the watercolor, ink, and colored pencil pictures create lively personalities in the farmyard cast of characters. Fans of Piggie Pie and Palatini's other books will appreciate anew the writer's skill in playing with language; the repetition, rhythm, and alliteration will make the story a pleasure to read aloud.

A delightful depiction of a universal bedtime routine, told with warmth and humor. When a baby raccoon asks her imaginative father for a simple kiss at bedtime, she finds herself on the receiving end of a string of silly smooches. When Dad plants the lightest butterfly kiss on Lisa's cheek, the pair become surrounded by a lush forest filled with blue-shaded, bamboo-style trees and periwinkle butterflies. A circus kiss calls for a little horseplay under a yellow-striped tent, as Lisa's stuffed-animal friends practice their trapeze swinging. Ten Cate's bright and appealing illustrations perfectly complement Roep's loving text and artfully capture the endearing bond between father and daughter. The result is a gentle, inventive bedtime story that will coax giggles from both the reader and the "read-to." Better still, there's a built-in opportunity here for parents and their children to pucker up and invent their own special nighttime rituals.