A beautiful doll with long, dark curls and a velvet coat has been passed from owner to owner: a spoiled little girl, a farmer and his wife, a woman who works the ring-toss booth at a county fair, a chauffeur, a waiter, and a dirty-faced boy. Keep me and love me and give me a name, begs the doll. Finally, her luck changes when she meets a little girl who appreciates her and takes her home. Originally published in 1983, the slightly shortened text is beautifully interpreted in Dan Andreasen’s nostalgic oil-painted illustrations.

Great balls of fire! Drago wants to be in the flying contest. But he hasn’t learned to fly yet, and his family says he’s too little to learn. That doesn’t stop Drago! When his family’s asleep, he tries and tries, but SPLAT…he fails. Then he asks a bird to help him, and they practice, practice, practice. Comic book-style illustrations rendered in pencil, ink, and Photoshop bring Drago to life and show that being little can’t stop big dreams.

Bart loves his owner Max, but it’s Christmastime in the city, and Bart longs for some adventure. So when Max is busy bringing in his Christmas tree, Bart gets his chance and becomes a pooch on the loose! From a dance with the famed Rockettes to skating in Central Park, Bart experiences the dazzling New York sights and learns along the way that at home with Max is where Bart truly belongs.

Even bullies can learn to share.

Why should a large animal get away with bullying a smaller one? That’s what happens when Elephant takes Hippo’s spot in the pond, which causes Hippo to pick on Lion, Lion to pick on Leopard, and Leopard to pick on Monkey. Vincent Nguyen’s illustrations-a mix of watercolor, charcoal pencil, and digital techniques enrich the story as Monkey asks his mother for advice, and she comes up with just the right solution to solve the problem.

It’s the first night of Hanukkah, and the mouse family secretly looks on as Mr. Silman lights the first Hanukkah candle. Then they watch Rachel Silman open a gift from her family, a beautiful dollhouse with a wraparound porch and tiny lace curtains. “Just the right size for us,” whispers Mindy Mouse.

While the Silmans are asleep each night, the mouse family explores the dollhouse. On each night of the holiday, they enjoy the small pieces of furniture and dishes of food that magically appear. Finally, on the eighth night of Hanukkah, a small miracle occurs!

Pinch is a packrat. He collects lots of stuff. When his friends decide to hold a tag sale, Pinch is horrified. The last thing he wants to do is recycle his things. But then he realizes that he can make money at a tag sale—enough money to buy more stuff!

How Pinch changes and finds a way to beautify his town will reinforce the benefits of practicing the three R’s—reduce, reuse, and recycle!

Rain! Rain! Rain! The kids at school are bored…until Jimmy dreams up a game for them to play. He’ll start a story and pass it on to Ava, who will pass it on to Susan. The story will travel around the classroom until all the kids have a chance to add to the story. So, Jimmy starts: “Last Saturday, I was eating breakfast, when all of a sudden a tyrannosaurus came crashing through the window. And then what happens?” S.D. Schindler’s delightful watercolor illustrations provide delicious details as twelve children and a tyrannosaurus romp through the pages.