Children's Literature

A magical adaptation Charles Perrault's French classic that has been translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown, earning her the Caldecott Medal as well as the love of children everywhere. Even in rags, Cinderella is a hundred times more beautiful than her cruel stepsisters. And how she wishes to go to the prince's ball! But her sisters delight in telling her that people would only laugh at her at the palace. Fortunately, Cinderella is blessed with a fairy godmother who can turn pumpkins into golden coaches, lizards into footmen, and rags into riches. At the ball, Cinderella will have the most thrilling night of her life--until the stroke of midnight!

Winner of the Caldecott Medal A pig flying through marshmallow clouds? A camel pirouetting through the desert? Where else could a reader find such marvelous things but in a fable? From the author-illustrator behind beloved Frog and Toad, Arnold Lobel, comes a collection of humorous, silly fables that will delight readers young and old. "The most remarkable of the author-illustrator's 60-plus bestselling award winners." --Publishers Weekly "There is enough cheerful nonsense in Mr. Lobel's fables to endear any child listener." --The New York Times "Lobel has come up with a magical addition to an ancient genre of storytelling." --Newsweek

Winner of the 1997 Caldecott Medal Retold from traditional sources and accompanied by David Wisniewski's unique cut-paper illustrations, Golem is a dramatic tale of supernatural forces invoked to save an oppressed people. It also offers a thought-provoking look at the consequences of unleashing power beyond human control. The afterword discusses the legend of the golem and its roots in the history of the Jews. A Caldecott Medal Book.

Paul O. Zelinsky gives us a unique, fascinating interpretation of one of the most enduring of all Grimm tales, Hansel and Gretel. His paintings here will captivate readers with their mysterious beauty, emotional power, and brilliant originality. Each spread brings to life a world as detailed, colourful, and sensual as our own, yet filled with the unearthly shadowed magic of the tale. Whether portraying the fear and anguish of abandoned children, the delight over a sumptuous candy house, or the joy of being reunited with one's family, the artist captures both physical and emotional nuance. Poet Rika Lesser's spare retelling, based on the tale's first transcription and first appearance in print, preserves the Grimm story in all its elemental power.

The Caldecott Award-winning and New York Times bestselling fable of compassion and kindness retold by acclaimed artist Jerry Pinkney. In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes. Don't miss these other classic retellings by Pinkney: The Little Mermaid The Grasshopper and the Ants The Tortoise and the Hare The Three Billy Goats Gruff Little Red Riding Hood Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

This Caldecott Medal-winning, classic retelling of Little Red Riding Hood is one of the most celebrated picture books of our time. With characteristic flair and energy, award-winning artist Ed Young illustrates the ancient Chinese version of the favorite fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. Young's vibrant, yet delicate, pastels and watercolors add drama to the deftly translated story.   ★ ''A gripping variation of Red Riding Hood. This is an outstanding achievement that will be pored over again and again." --School Library Journal, starred review

A Caldecott Honor and Reading Rainbow book, this memorable retelling of Cinderella is perfect for introducing children to the fairy tale as well as the history, culture, and geography of the African nation of Zimbabwe. Inspired by a traditional African folktale, this is the story of Mufaro, who is proud of his two beautiful daughters. Nyasha is kind and considerate, but everyone--except Mufaro--knows that Manyara is selfish and bad-tempered. When the Great King decides to take a wife and invites the most worthy and beautiful daughters in the land to appear before him, Mufaro brings both of his daughters--but only one can be queen. Who will the king choose? Award-winning artist John Steptoe's rich cultural imagery of Africa earned him the Coretta Scott King Award for Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. The book also went on to win the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. This stunning story is a timeless treasure that readers will enjoy for generations. Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration Caledcott Honor Reading Rainbow Book Boston Globe-Horn Book

For 40 days and 40 nights rain poured from the heavens, enveloping the world. Only Noah had been warned by God of the great floodand only Noah could save life on earth. This powerful story of salvation has fascinated people of all ages for centuries. Now, four-time Caldecott Honor-recipient Jerry Pinkney captures all the courage, drama, and beauty of this ancient parable in rich, glorious paintings. Full of sensitive detail and emotion, his art brings new life and meaning to an important message of peace. This elegant edition ofNoah's Ark promises to give readers strength and hope for many years to come.

The Polar Expressis a treasured holiday tradition. This lavish gift set includes a CD audio recording read by Liam Neeson, a keepsake "All Aboard" ornament, and a note from author Chris Van Allsburg. Awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1986, The Polar Expresshas sold more than 7 million copies, become a classic holiday movie, and been translated into stage productions that take place across the United States during the holiday season.

Surely among the most original and gifted of children's book illustrators, Paul O. Zelinsky has once again with unmatched emotional authority, control of space, and narrativecapability brought forth a unique vision for an age-old tale. Few artists at work today can touch the level at which his paintings tell a story and exert their hold.Zelinsky's retelling of Rapunzel reaches back beyond the Grimms to a late-seventeenth-century French tale by Mlle. la Force, who based hers on the Neapolitan tale Petrosinella in a collection popular at the time. The artist understands the story's fundamentals to be about possessiveness, confinement, and separation, rather than about punishment and deprivation. Thus the tower the sorceress gives Rapunzel here is not a desolate, barren structure of denial but one of esoteric beauty on the outside and physical luxury within. And the world the artist creates through the elements in his paintings the palette, control of light, landscape, characters, architecture,interiors, costumes speaks to us not of an ugly witch who cruelly imprisons a beautiful young girl, but of a mother figure who powerfully resists her child's inevitable growth, and of a young woman and man who must struggle in the wilderness for the self-reliance that is the true beginningof their adulthood.As ever, and yet always somehow in newly arresting fashion, Paul O. Zelinsky's work thrillingly shows us the events of the story while guiding us beyond them to the truths that have made it endure.

Richly hued oil paintings complement a story simply and gracefully told."Children...love the story for its mystery, and its familiarity. Adults will find that, like most classic fairy tales, this one rewards periodic rethinking." --New York Times Book Review"Zelinsky's smooth retelling and glowing pictures cast the story in a new and beautiful light." -- School Library Journal

"It's a pillar," says one. "It's a fan," says another. One by one, the seven blind mice investigate the strange Something by the pond. And one by one, they come back with a different theory. It's only when the seventh mouse goes out-and explores the whole Something-that the mice see the whole truth. Based on a classic Indian tale, Ed Young's beautifully rendered version is a treasure to enjoy again and again. "Immensely appealing."(The Horn Book, starred review)

Three soldiers came marching down the road towards a French village. The peasants seeing them coming, suddenly became very busy, for soldiers are often hungry. So all the food was hidden under mattresses or in barns. There followed a battle of wits, with the soldiers equal to the occasion. Stone soup? Why, of course, they could make a wonderful soup of stones...but, of course, one must add a carrot or tow...some meat...so it went. Marcia Brown has made of this old tale a very gay book, a carnival of activity, of dancing and laughter. So much goes on in the pictures that children who have once heard the story will turn to them again and again, retelling the story for themselves. A French version of the story is available under the title Une Drôle de Soupe.

When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works in this classic Caldecott Honor book from Tomie dePaola. Strega Nona--"Grandma Witch"--is the source for potions, cures, magic, and comfort in her Calabrian town. Her magical everfull pasta pot is especially intriguing to hungry Big Anthony. He is supposed to look after her house and tend her garden but one day, when she goes over the mountain to visit Strega Amelia, Big Anthony recites the magic verse over the pasta pot, with disastrous results. In this retelling of an old tale, author-illustrator Tomie dePaola combines humor in the writing and warmth in the paintings as he builds the story to its hilarious climax.

This Caldecott Medal-winning picture book begins placidly (and familiarly) enough, with three pigs collecting materials and going off to build houses of straw, sticks, and bricks. But the wolf's huffing and puffing blows the first pig right out of the story . . . and into the realm of pure imagination. The transition signals the start of a freewheeling adventure with characteristic David Wiesner effects--cinematic flow, astonishing shifts of perspective, and sly humor, as well as episodes of flight. Satisfying both as a story and as an exploration of the nature of story, The Three Pigs takes visual narrative to a new level. Dialogue balloons, text excerpts, and a wide variety of illustration styles guide the reader through a dazzling fantasy universe to the surprising and happy ending. Fans of Tuesday's frogs and Sector 7's clouds will be captivated by old friends--the Three Pigs of nursery fame and their companions--in a new guise.

A gorgeous, Caldecott Honor-winning version of the classic story For over one hundred years The Ugly Duckling has been a childhood favorite, and Jerry Pinkney's spectacular adaptation brings it triumphantly to new generations of readers. With keen emotion and fresh vision, the acclaimed artist captures the essence of the tale's timeless appeal: The journey of the awkward little bird--marching bravely through hecklers, hunters, and cruel seasons--is an unforgettable survival story; this blooming into a graceful swan is a reminder of the patience often necessary to discover true happiness. Splendid watercolors set in the lush countryside bring the drama to life in this hardcover picture book.  

"In this Caldecott Medal winner, Mosquito tells a story that causes a jungle disaster. "Elegance has become the Dillons' hallmark. . . . Matching the art is Aardema's uniquely onomatopoeic text . . . An impressive showpiece." -Booklist, starred review. Winner of Caldecott Medal in 1976 and the Brooklyn Art Books for Children Award in 1977.