Five little monkeys are bored, but their mother has them clean up the house for Grandma Bessie's visit.

Lazy Schnitzel is apprenticed to a famous wizard, and when a salesman selling vacuum cleaners offers to help clean house, Schnitzel accepts, but finds trouble when he realizes the salesman is a vampire.

Dad has posted a list of chores for the family to do before grandma comes, including bathing the cat; but the cat does not want a bath, so she mixes up the instructions, and soon the family is mowing the floor, vacuuming the lawn, mopping the baby - and the house is in chaos.

While their father is napping, two boys enthusiastically wash everything in sight, from dishes and toys to the rug and wall.

When the Super Happy Party Bears ignore Mayor Quill's order for spring cleaning by inviting some sloths over for a slumber party, the townscritters plan to stop their fun once and for all.

"Federica's busy family can't keep their house clean! To get away from the buzzy, buggy mess, she escapes to the peaceful park where she can spend time with her animal friends which gives her an idea."--

When community members work together with trucks and ships to clean up the town's riverfront, an artist and her child hammer, chisel, weld and zap the found materials into something beautiful. Young makers will find inspiration in the playful, rhyming text and mixed media illustrations, while endnotes provide recycled-art activity ideas. Based on a true story.