New Releases by Petra Mathers

Lottie''s friend Herbie has a special way with words...and it takes someone just as special to appreciate him. Will his originality shine through at the big poetry contest, where the winner brings home a prize cake? Find out as Herbie takes center stage in Petra Mathers'' funny, touching new picture book.

Lottie''s friend Dodo is funny, exotic, and utterly charming. Captain Vince is a lonely bird with a heart of gold. Children everywhere will delight in watching this unlikely pair find true love in Petra Mathers''s newest picture book that enchantingly proves there is someone for everyone.

Celebrate the holidays with Lottie and Herbie! Dressed as Santa and humming a tune, Herbie is ready for Christmas. But when he does something bad -- and wishes he could take it back -- the holidays don''t feel very happy. Children everywhere will sympathize with Herbie in Petra Mathers''s new picture book, which shows how easy it is to make a mistake...and how hard it is to say you''re sorry.

Who does Lottie like best? Herbie wonders when an exotic new neighbor befriends his best friend. That question -- familiar to children everywhere -- is answered with extraordinary warmth, humor, and insight in Petra Mathers''s new picture book treat about Lottie and Herbie.

There''s nothing like a day at the beach with Lottie! Armed with a handy towel and plenty of ingenuity, she turns lemons into lemonade in Petra Mathers''s sweet, funny, and completely winning picture book.

Lottie the Chicken deals with the loss of Aunt Mattie in this gently sad and sweetly funny picture book that explores the death of a loved one, in the tradition of Judith Viorst’s The Tenth Good Thing about Barney. Aunt Mattie has died. But before she went, she got to say good-bye to Lottie. Then she got to follow a light to a bustling gate. (A gate that sounded a lot like a busy airport!) And there she found a crew of friends who were waiting to take off with her on a new journey. Will Lottie and Herbie be able to overcome their sadness? They will, with time, and by taking a journey of their own—a journey filled with a little heartache, a lot of happiness, and a batch of Aunt Mattie’s favorite peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. (With bananas, of course!)

A little lamb uses her clever wiles to keep a coyote from eating her up.

While her mother is treated for a serious illness, Rosa stays with her aunt and cousin on a farm in the Black Forest.

Shy Sophie, enticed by the dancing that she sees in the studio across the street, sets out to learn on her own.

The shy guard at an art museum falls in love with the sad young woman in a painting that mysteriously appears one day.

Soon after the kindly Mr. Balbini discovers that his dog Theodor can talk, he finds himself bullied by the demanding canine and yearns for a more traditional pet.

A restless young chicken leaves the coop and joins the circus.