Humorous Nature

With just one bite, a wakeful flea atop a pile of sleeping creatures causes a commotion.

Theodosia Throckmorton has her hands full at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London. Her father may be head curator, but it is Theoand only Theowho is able to see all the black magic and ancient curses that still cling to the artifacts in the museum. Sneaking behind her fathers back, Theo uses old, nearly forgotten Egyptian magic to remove the curses and protect her father and the rest of the museum employees from the ancient, sinister forces that lurk in the museums dark hallways.

Critically acclaimed children’s author Jonah Winter reimagines a true story from 1987. The small Long Island town of Islip has a big problem - 3,168 tons of garbage and no place to put it! So workers pile the smelly refuse on a large barge, hire a tug boat, and send the stuff south to find a final resting place. But as the barge travels from North Carolina to New Orleans and from Mexico to Belize - nobody wants Islip’s rotting mountain of garbage.

After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin the beetle surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help. And that's where things get really complicated (and interesting!)

Genuinely funny books for children are few and far between. So, when a story like Henry Huggins comes along, it comes to stay. Children everywhere see themselves in this irresistible boy's adventures.

Does any child like to go shopping? Not Llama Llama! But Mama can't leave Llama at home, so off they go to Shop-O-Rama. Lots of aisles. Long lines. Mama is too busy to notice that Llama Llama is getting m-a-d! And before he knows it, he's having a full-out tantrum! Mama quickly calms him down, but she also realizes that they need to make shopping more fun for both of them. Parents and children are sure to recognize themselves in this fun-to-listen to follow-up to the popular Llama Llama Red Pajama.

Cat ranch or cattle ranch? Hank the Cowdog doesn't like cats. Not one bit. So when a mother cat and her kittens take up residence in the haystack, he does all he can to get them to leave. But they've got nowhere to go. Unfortunately, neither does the gigantic bull who has knocked down the fence - and is headed right for the haystack! Hank knows that it's up to him to run that bull off and keep the ranch safe for everyone...even if that includes a bunch of cats.

While the snow swirls outdoors and the fire crackles in the hearth, Mr. Putter decides to write a mystery book. But he soon learns that writing isn't as easy as he thought it would be.

It's summertime, and the weather on Hank's West Texas ranch is hot and dry. So dry, in fact, that everyone is on the lookout for prairie fires. So Hank bravely adds the title of Head of Fire Safety to his already impressive list of responsibilities and gets to work. But patrolling for fires is dull, and it's hard to do on an empty stomach. Despite the distractions - desperate hunger, a cruel trick at the hands of Pete the Barncat - Hank somehow manages to stay focused on the job at hand.

Butterbean knew she wasn't always a good dog. Still, she'd never considered herself a BAD dog—until the morning that her owner, Mrs. Food, fell in the hallway. Admittedly the tile was slipperier than usual, mostly because Butterbean had just thrown up on it. Now Butterbean and her fellow pets have to come up with a grand plan to support themselves in case Mrs. Food is unable to keep taking care of them. When they discover a mysterious man in their building who seems to have lots of loot, they plan a heist.

Sometimes I take an opportunity to say good-bye to the cattle and wish them a safe journey. "Well, good-bye, you morons. It was nice having you here at the ranch, but it'll be even nicer having you gone. You ate all our grass and taking care of you was a pain in the neck. Good-bye, good riddance, and don't ever come back."

"There are no bears on Hemlock Mountain, No bears, no bears at all..." Or so young Jonathan is told by the grown-ups as he sets out alone over Hemlock Mountain. But as Jonathan discovers on that cold winter night, grown-ups don't always know...And there are bears on Hemlock Mountain!

Freddy the Pig needs a break. As editor of the Bean Home News and president of the First Animal Bank, he has no time for himself anymore. So when rich Mr. Camphor wants a summer caretaker, Freddy trots right over to apply. Soon, he's sunning himself on a houseboat, writing a bit of poetry, and even dabbling with his paint set. But Freddy's life of ease quickly comes to an end.

When Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog, he can’t wait to devour it. But then along comes a sly duckling who wants a bite. Who will be the more clever bird?

There's going to be a pet day at school, only no dogs allowed! And that's the only kind of pet Junie B. has. What's Junie B. to do? If Mother and Daddy won't buy her a new pet, she'll have to find one of her own.

Grandmother sends a kiss for little bear - via the hen, frog, cat, and two skunks.

At last, Henry Huggins's father has promised to take him fishing, on one condition. Henry's dog, Ribsy, has been in all sorts of trouble lately, from running off with the neighbor's barbecue roast to stealing a policeman's lunch. To go on the fishing trip, Henry must keep Ribsy out of trouble -- no chasing cats, no digging up lawns...and no getting anywhere near little Ramona Quimby, the pest of Klickitat Street.

No sooner has Sally May finished planting her vegetable garden when some kind of unearthly being decides to burrow in the neatly planted rows of tomatoes and peppers. It looks like a job for the Head of Ranch Security, so Hank sets straight to work trying to dig the space monster robot out of its hole.

Crumbling cheese treats! It was Halloween, the spookiest day of the year, and my nephew Benjamin had dragged me to a graveyard to do research for my newest book. There I met Creepella von Cacklefur, a very spooky mouse who - yikes! - tried to lock me up in her coffin! Oh, how would a 'fraidy mouse like me ever survive?

It all started when my sister, Thea, discovered an old, mysterious map. In no time at all, my sister dragged me and my cousin Trap into her treasure hunt. It was an adventure I'd never forget.