When Miss Greer asks each child in the class to write a story, second-grader Aaron, who loves to draw but struggles with reading, creates a story using pictures.

"Discover creatures of all shapes, colors, sizes, and textures in this comprehensive volume of Eric Carle's oeuvre of animals. Eric's work has appealed to children for decades, and there is so much more of it to share! From bears in woodblock to sketches of monkeys, a steel porcupine sculpture to a foldout collaged whale, this collection includes previously unseen art in addition to favorite picture book characters! Interwoven with Eric's own words...

"Quick! If you don't move fast, you're going to miss him - there he goes - Randolph Caldecott, future famous illustrator. His sketchbook is full of hurly-burly; wild weather, frisky animals and people so sprightly they can barely hold on to the pages. But in the 1850s, there are no children's books like that. Not yet. Many are published, but their pictures look still, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery. No one has imagined how much fun an...

Lyrics from Maine composer and lyricist Con Fullam's popular "The Maine Christmas Song" present a timely message of hope, compassion, and peace on earth, matched with full color illustrations by Cynthia Baker

"As soon as artist Robert McCloskey saw the ducks in Boston Public Garden, he knew he had to write about them. But how? Studying stuffed birds didn't help... As the ducklings grew, he got down on his hands and knees and followed them with pad and pencil. At times he even acted like a duck! Through revision, after revision, Robert improved the art and story, until he and his editor were finally satisfied."--