This hardcover set includes:
1. Glad Monster Sad Monster:
Sometimes it's hard to tell someone that you are sad, happy, lonely, or glad. This joyful and useful book enables children and adults to discuss feelings in an easy and nonthreatening way.
Each spread features a friendly monster that talks about a particular feeling. After reading about each monster, children are encouraged to share their own feelings by using masks that fold out from the book.
2. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie:
When a generous boy shares a cookie with a hungry mouse, it is the beginning of a chain of events that keeps the boy busy all day long, and might keep him busy for days to come. If you give a mouse a cookie, after all, he's bound to ask for a glass of milk, for which he'll certainly need a straw, not to mention a napkin, and a mirror to check for a milk mustache, which will only lead to him noticing that he needs a haircut. This imaginary mouse has the kind of needs a child might have; he needs a nap with a soft pillow, and he needs his drawing hung up on the refrigerator. By the end of a day with such a mouse, a boy-hero might have an idea what it's like to be a Mommy!
3. Go Away Big Green Monster:
Caldecott medalist Ed Emberley has designed an ingenious book to help children overcome their fear of monsters. With each turn of the page, a new part is revealed, until all of a big, green monster has taken shape. Then, with the words, "You don't scare me!," page by page, the monster slowly disappears.
4. I'm Gonna Like Me:
From actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis, this feel-great picture book will encourage your child to love his own best qualities. The bouncy text alternates between boys' and girls' points-of-view as they explore their physical attributes and personalities in charming rhymes. The darling illustrations are full of comic details your child will love pointing out when you read the book together.
5. Chrysanthemum:
Chrysanthemum loves her name — until she starts kindergarten, which is an unfamiliar world full of short names like Sue, Bill, Max, Sam, and Joe. But it's Victoria who really makes Chrysanthemum wilt, offering that she was named after her grandmother, which is much more important than being named after a flower. Though Chrysanthemum's parents try to soothe her wounded soul with "hugs, kisses, and Parcheesi," it's not easy to find solace (and regain lost self-esteem) with all the girls on the playground threatening to "pluck" and "smell" you.
Then the children meet their music teacher, charismatic Mrs. Twinkle. Mrs. Delphinium Twinkle, that is. When Mrs. Twinkle announces that she wants to name her baby the prettiest name she has ever heard, and that that name is Chrysanthemum, all the kids wish they had flower names, too. For her part, Chrysanthemum blooms once again.
6. The Very Busy Spider:
Early one morning, a little spider begins to spin her web on a fence post. One by one, the animals of the nearby farm try to divert her, each with its own sound and species-specific enticement: "Maa! Maa!" said the goat. "Want to jump on the rocks?" "Oink! Oink!" grunted the pig. "Want to roll in the mud?" Continuing patiently with her work, the industrious spider doesn't answer. She has a busy day ahead of her, but at the end she will be able to show the animals that her web is both beautiful and very useful.
7. Today I Feel Silly:
Today I feel silly. Mom says it's the heat.
Today I am sad, my mood's heavy and gray.
There's a frown on my face and it's been there all day.
My best friend and I had a really big fight.
She said that I tattled and I know that she's right.
Silly, cranky, excited, or sad — everyone has moods that can change each day. Jamie Lee Curtis's zany and touching verse, paired with Laura Cornell's whimsical and original illustrations, helps kids explore, identify, and, even have fun with their ever-changing moods.
8. The Giving Tree:
"Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy." So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.
Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave.
This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.
9. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie:
Based on the classic song about the old woman who swallowed a fly, this retelling with a twist features an old lady attending a Thanksgiving dinner who swallows a pie, then a whole squash, all of the salad, and then an entire turkey. In the end, the old lady makes a surprising and humorous contribution to the holiday festivities.
