Books like A whiff of pine, a hint of skunk by Deborah Ruddell

This is an inspired children's book about a boy's passage through tempestuous aspects of life. Max, a naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things, where he becomes their king.

The Gruffalo is a British children's picture book by writer and playwright Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, that tells the story of a mouse, the protagonist of the book, taking a walk in the woods. The book has sold over 13 million copies, has won several prizes for children's literature, and has been developed into plays on both the West End and Broadway and even an Oscar nominated animated film. The Gruffalo was initially published in 1999 in the United Kingdom by Macmillan Children's Books.

Children see a variety of animals, each one a different color, and a teacher looking at them.

An alphabet rhyme/chant that relates what happens when the whole alphabet tries to climb a coconut tree.

*The Overstory* unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fable that range from antebellum New York to the late-twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. An Air Force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits a hundred years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back into life by creatures of air and light. A hearing- and speech-impaired scientist discovers that trees are communicating with one another. These and five other strangers, each summoned in different ways by trees, are brought together in a last stand to save the continent's few remaining acres of virgin forest. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.

Three owl babies whose mother has gone out in the night try to stay calm while she is gone.

The witch and her cat couldn't be happier, flying through the sky on their broomstick -- until the witch drops her hat, then her bow, then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items and all they want in return is a ride on the broomstick. But is there room on the broom for so many new friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from the clutches of a hungry dragon? From the acclaimed creators of The Gruffalo, this enchanting story of quick wits and friendship is full of humor and adventure -- and just the right amount of spookiness. - Publisher.

Celebrate the timeless warmth of a mother's love with the very first ever I Can Read book! Meet Little Bear, a friend to millions of children. And meet Mother Bear, who is there whenever Little Bear needs her. When it is cold and snowy outside, she finds just the right outfit for Little Bear to play in. When he goes to the moon, she has a hot lunch waiting for him on his return. And, of course, she never forgets his birthday. This classic from Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak was written in 1957 and remains as beloved today as it was then. An ALA Notable Children's Book, this Level One I Can Read is full of warm and lovingly playful stories that are perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

A very quiet cricket who wants to rub his wings together and make a sound as do so many other animals finally achieves his wish. The cricket's sound is reproduced at the end of the book.

From the book:The Song of Hiawatha is based on the legends and stories of many North American Indian tribes, but especially those of the Ojibway Indians of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. They were collected by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, the reknowned historian, pioneer explorer, and geologist. He was superintendent of Indian affairs for Michigan from 1836 to 1841. Schoolcraft married Jane, O-bah-bahm-wawa-ge-zhe-go-qua (The Woman of the Sound Which the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky), Johnston. Jane was a daughter of John Johnston, an early Irish fur trader, and O-shau-gus-coday-way-qua (The Woman of the Green Prairie), who was a daughter of Waub-o-jeeg (The White Fisher), who was Chief of the Ojibway tribe at La Pointe, Wisconsin. Jane and her mother are credited with having researched, authenticated, and compiled much of the material Schoolcraft included in his Algic Researches (1839) and a revision published in 1856 as The Myth of Hiawatha. It was this latter revision that Longfellow used as the basis for The Song of Hiawatha.

Mary Oliver is one of the most popular and widely honored poets in the United States. In this much-awaited collection of forty poems - eighteen previously unpublished - she writes of the silky bonds between every person and the natural world, of the delight of writing, of the value of silence. Says James Dickey, "Mary Oliver works . . . a true spell, unlike any other poet's, the enchantment of the true maker."

In this magisterial and wide-ranging survey of political leadership over the past hundred years, Archie Brown challenges the widespread belief that strong leaders - those who dominate their colleagues and the policy-making process - are the most successful and admirable. Within democracies a collegial style of leadership is too often characterized as weakness and its advantages overlooked. Even in authoritarian regimes, a more collective leadership is a lesser evil compared with personal dictatorship where cultivation of the myth of the strong leader is often a prelude to oppression and carnage. 'Strong leaders' in democratic countries can do less harm, but here too the idea that one leader knows best and is entitled to take the big decisions is dangerous, even though overweening leaders in democracies are seldom as strong or independent as they purport to be. In reality, only a minority of political leaders make a big difference, by challenging assumptions about the politically possible or setting in motion systemic change. Yet in a democracy that is rare. It is especially when enlightened leaders acquire power in an authoritarian system that the opportunity for radical transformation occurs.

Here the author takes on the sensitive subject of bullying. With some help from his teacher, Llama Llama finds a way to stand up to Gilroy, a billy goat, and change a bad time to a good time. -- From book jacket.

Are trees social beings? Forester and author Peter Wohlleben makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland.