"From the time he was a young boy, Albert Einstein asked a lot of questions about the world. He was one of the greatest geniuses of the twentieth century!"

Judith Viorst. Poor Alexander! He woke up with gum in his hair; his mom forgot to put dessert in his lunch bag; there were lima beans for dinner, and kissing on TV even the cat refuses to sleep in his bed. Some days are just like that. Alexander's awful day is the perfect lead-off for this collection of funny, touching stories about the ups and downs of childhood from imaginary monsters to saying goodbye to a family pet. Judith Viorst's insightful and humorous stories are the perfect antidote to any child's "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

Illus. in full color. "Eye-catching, boldly colored collages illustrate this classic 'grass is always greener' story in which a live mouse is envious of his mechanical counterpart."—Booklist.

Alice the Fairy

Illus. in black-and-white. Marvin's friends think he's the luckiest boy in the world when his teacher asks him to dog-sit for a week. He gets to be alone in Mrs. North's house! But pretty soon it starts to look as if Marvin is not so lucky after all...."

Anansi the Spider is one of the great folk heroes of the world. He is a rogue, a mischief maker, and a wise, lovable creature who triumphs over larger foes.

In this traditional Ashanti tale, Anansi sets out on a long, difficult journey. Threatened by Fish and Falcon, he is saved from terrible fates by his sons. But which of his sons should Anansi reward? Calling upon Nyame, the God of All Things, Anansi solves his predicament in a touching and highly resourceful fashion.

In adapting this popular folktale, Gerald McDermott merges the old with the new, combining bold, rich color with traditional African design motifs and authentic Ashanti language rhythms.

Natasha isn't really a bad girl. It's just that she wants to play on the swing now, not after the wash has been hung up to dry. And she wants her soup now, not after the goats have been fed. Looking after Natasha keeps Babushka, Natasha's grandmother, very busy.

Then, after lunch, Natasha notices a doll sitting on Babushka's shelf...a doll Babushka tells Natasha she played with just once when she was a little girl. When Natasha plays with the doll while Babushka goes to the store for groceries, she discovers why once is enough with Babushka's doll...and finds out just how tiring it can be to take care of a child who wants everything now.

Natasha isn't really a bad girl. It's just that she wants to play on the swing now, not after the wash has been hung up to dry. And she wants her soup now, not after the goats have been fed. Looking after Natasha keeps Babushka, Natasha's grandmother, very busy.

Then, after lunch, Natasha notices a doll sitting on Babushka's shelf...a doll Babushka tells Natasha she played with just once when she was a little girl. When Natasha plays with the doll while Babushka goes to the store for groceries, she discovers why once is enough with Babushka's doll...and finds out just how tiring it can be to take care of a child who wants everything now.

Category: Making Friends"What we have here is a bad case of stripes. One of the worst I've ever seen!"Camilla Cream loves lima beans, but she never eats them. Why? Because the other kids in her school don't like them. And Camilla Cream is very, very worried about what other people think of her. In fact, she's so worried that she's about to break out in...a bad case of stripes!"Shannon's story is a good poke in the eye of conformity...and his empathetic, vivid artwork keeps perfect pace with the tale."-Kirkus Reviews, starred review