Paul O. Zelinsky Boeken

Nearly a hundred years after its original publication, The Railway Children is still one of E. Nesbit's most beloved and delightful stories. Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis were very happy living in a comfortable house surrounded by a cook and servants and two loving parents, until one evening when there was a knock at the door and their father was mysteriously taken away by two men. Suddenly alone, their mother moves the family to a small cottage in the countryside. There, the children begin a series of exciting adventures, from saving a train filled with passengers from a landslide, to rescuing a baby from a fire, to aiding a penniless Russian exile, to eventually unraveling the mystery of their father's disappearance. Featuring a new jacket illustration by Caldecott medalist Paul O. Zelinsky, as well as all nineteen of the original black-and-white line drawings by C. E. Brock, this classic story is perfect for home and classroom libraries.

Make way for a zany zoo-full of wonderful poems saluting the animal kingdom, composed by a reigning children's poet, Jack Prelutsky. Readers familiar with Prelutsky's staggeringly vast body of work know that he can always be counted on for clever nonsense poems that are guaranteed to elicit giggles. His track record remains unbeatable with this wacky collection of animal odes. Some poems resemble the work of Ogden Nash ("Oysters / are creatures / without / any features."), and others have a style and flavor that is pure Prelutsky ("The widdly, waddly walrus / has flippery, floppery feet. / He dives in the ocean for dinner / and stands on his noggin to eat."). These playfully preposterous rhymes are illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, winner of the 1998 Caldecott Medal for Rapunzel. The delightful line drawings that scamper across the pages bring creatures such as the huge hippopotamus, the gallivanting gecko, and the speedy cheetah to rib-tickling life. Kids will love parading through these poems, and adults will get a kick out of playing along too. (Ages 4 to 12)

Second grader Leigh Botts adores a book about dog training by author Mr. Boyd Henshaw. To fulfill a school assignment, Leigh painstakingly writes to Mr. Henshaw and tells him how much he "licked" his book. And he keeps writing to him. At first, Leigh resents the flippant replies he gets from his idol, but gradually he answers Mr. Henshaw's questions, which are really only to encourage Leigh to put pencil to paper. Four years later, Leigh is in the sixth grade and is still writing to Mr. Henshaw, and he never imagines that he'd reveal so much of himself and his life to the author: "Dear Mr. Henshaw, I am sorry I was rude in my last letter... Maybe I was mad about other things, like Dad forgetting to send his child-support payment..." Gradually not only his spelling and writing improve, but also his feelings about life, as Mr. Henshaw inspires Leigh to keep a journal. This Newbery Award-winning book by veteran author Beverly Cleary traces the inner life of a sometimes lonely and often troubled boy during that all-important but painful transition into adolescence, and she does so with grace and humor. --shop.scholastic.com

In this remarkable and beautiful anthology featuring the likes of Maurice Sendak, Robert Sabuda, Rosemary Wells, and Eric Carle, twenty-three of the most honored and beloved artists in children’s literature talk informally to children—sharing secrets about their art and how they began their adventures into illustration. Fold-out pages featuring photographs of their early work, their studios and materials, as well as sketches and finished art create an exuberant feast for the eye that will attract both children and adults. Self-portraits of each illustrator crown this important anthology that celebrates the artists and the art of the picture book. An event book for the ages. Proceeds from the book will benefit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA.