Picture Books

This volume in the Kids of Canada series follows a young city girl's exploration of the countryside, showing what she finds there. Anna searches for a pet on her grandparent's farm: will it be a toad? A Worm? A Snake? Each choice she makes teaches her about these creatures and the world they inhabit and, ultimately, about herself. In a charming and playful manner, Atwood and Barkhouse evoke the relationship between a child and the natural world.

Presenting Princess Prunella. Proud, prissy, and pretty, and unhappily very spoiled, she lives in a pink palace with her pinheaded parents, her three plump pussycats, and her prize puppy dog, Pug. Her passion? Her very own person. Her aspiration? To marry a pinheaded prince with piles of pin money, who will praise and pamper her. From Margaret Atwood--the novelist, poet, short story writer and author of such contemporary bestsellers as The Handmaid's Tale and The Robber Bride --comes a modern fairy tale with a classic message. Illustrated with elegant humor by Maryann Kovalski, Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut revels in the smart-alecky humor of its impertinent heroine and an alliteration of p's that gives the story a tongue-twisting energy with surprises at every turn. Children, and adults who love reading to children, will love reading princess prunella in the same way that they love reading Dr. Suess for the sheer fun of the language. But there's something more, too, as a born storyteller creates, with the mere choice of a word, an indelibly lively portrait of a spoiled little girl who is about to get her much-deserved comeuppance. Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club. 53,000 copies in print.

In Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes, bestselling author Margaret Atwood offers a delightfully ridiculous tale about the virtues of resisting restrictions. With tongue-twisting phrases heavily peppered with words beginning with R, the story follows Ramsay as he travels with his friend Ralph, the red-nosed rat, from his home full of revolting relatives to a field of roaring radishes. There he meets a girl named Rillah, who needs a bit of adventure herself. Atwood's rollicking text is accompanied by devilish and Dušan Petricic's insightful illustrations.

Bob never knew he was a human boy, after being abandoned outside a beauty parlor and then raised by a bunch of dogs. He barked at businessmen and burrowed under bushes. Fortunately for Bob, dimple-faced Dorinda, a distressed damsel down on her luck, found him and taught him how to be a real boy. When a bureaucratic blunder puts the town in jeopardy, only Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda can save everyone from a dreadful disaster. Combined with Dušan Petricic's whimsical illustrations, Margaret Atwood's cleverly written, alliterative picture book will challenge and delight readers of all ages.

Three hilarious Margaret Atwood tales, together in a chapter book for the first time! In Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes , Ramsay runs away from his revolting relatives and makes a new friend with more refined tastes. The second tale, Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda , features Bob, who was raised by dogs, and Dorinda, who does housework for relatives who don’t like her. It is only when they become friends that they realize they can change their lives for the better. And finally, to get her parents back, Wenda and her woodchuck companion have to outsmart Widow Wallop in Wandering Wenda and Widow Wallop’s Wunderground Washery . Young readers will become lifelong fans of Margaret Atwood’s work and the kind of wordplay that makes these tales such rich fare, whether they are read aloud or enjoyed independently. Reminiscent of Carl Sandburg’s Rootabaga Stories , these compelling tales are a lively introduction to alliteration. Key Text Features illustrations humour Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).