New Releases by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

If Little Pea doesn''t eat all of his sweets, there will be no vegetables for dessert! What''s a young pea to do? Children who have trouble swallowing their veggies will love the way this pea-size picture book serves up a playful story they can relate to.

It''s not fair! All Little Owl wants is to go to bed at a reasonable hour, like his friends do. But no . . . Mama and Papa say little owls have to stay up late and play. So Little Owl spends all night jumping on his bed, playing on the jungle gym, and doing tricks on his skateboard but he''s hooting mad about it! Children who have a hard time going to bed will love this fun twist on the universal dilemma.

One Smart Cookie offers a fresh batch of words that encompasses everything you might say to a child, whether it''s the first day of preschool or the last day of high school. Cookie-centric definitions range from wanting to know everything about cookies (curious) to thinking carefully about what kind of cookies to make for your friend (ponder). This book mixes Amy Krouse Rosenthal''s morsels of wisdom with the delicious illustrations of mother-daughter duo Jane Dyer and Brooke Dyer. This is one vocabulary list that will resonate well beyond the school years.

"My Baby Book includes pages for month-by-month ''see-me-grow'' photographs along with prompts for documenting the arrival, milestones, and adorable antics of the new baby."

This delectable follow-up to the bestselling Cookies and Christmas Cookies defines words that are associated with love. From letting your friend have the last cookie (selfless) to waiting to lick the bowl together (considerate), here is a book for anyone who wants to say I love you. Meanings are illuminated in this different kind of dictionary, which is every bit as heartwarming as the experience of baking cookies with someone you love. Amy Krouse Rosenthal''s sweet little lessons, mixed with warm and inviting illustrations by mother-daughter duo Jane Dyer and Brooke Dyer, make for a book that will hit the spot!

"This is a set of books that belongs on every infant and preschool-aged child''s bookshelf. This would also make a wonderful baby shower gift." —San Francisco Book Review Three adorable characters in three adorable board books: These clever twists on dinnertime, bedtime, and clean-up time will delight all the little mess-makers, picky eaters, and night owls in your life. In a hilarious and ironic take on classic parent predicaments, kids and adult alike will enjoy the amusing storylines and relatable dilemmas. • This box set includes three bestselling board books: Little Pea, Little Owl, and Little Oink • Featuring sweet story lines with beautifully simplistic illustrations, they will quickly become a family favorite Readers familiar with Duck! Rabbit!, I Wish You More, and Wumbers will also enjoy A Little Books Box Set. Bestselling author Amy Krouse Rosenthal was a Chicago-based writer. She is the author of all three books included here, as well as several other children''s and adult trade books. Jen Corace graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. A New Jersey native, she now lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Makes an excellent addition to any children''s book collection.

BIG NEWS--your family is growing, and it''s time to get your firstborn psyched about becoming a big sibling! Organized chronologically, The Big Sibling Book is designed to help prepare your child for the new arrival with interviews, sticker activities, and pages for recording Baby''s first. The end result is a precious two-in-one keepsake that captures Baby''s first year and the unique perspective of the new big kid in the family. For big kids ages 2-6 (with a little help from Mom or Dad).

Assorted children, animals, creatures, and objects all wonder why life is not always fair.

This scrumptious follow-up to the bestselling Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons captures the spirit of the holiday season. From making the same kind of cookies at the same time each year (tradition) to decorating them with lots of sprinkles (celebrate), youngsters will gobble up vocabulary words and holiday lessons in this charming dictionary of sorts. Amy Krouse Rosenthal''s timeless morsels of wisdom paired with Jane Dyer''s cozy illustrations are as irresistible as the aroma of cookies fresh from the oven. Go ahead, take another bite!

With a delightfully edited collection of children''s quotes paired with exquisite, fanciful collage artwork, this lovely keepsake journal serves as a lasting keepsake of children''s observations that are brilliant, hilarious, and wonderful.

What can you say about an ordinary life? Well, quite a lot actually. Most of us live them, complain about them, worry, laugh and cry about them. IN a world saturated with stories of the extraordinary lives we aren''t living, Amy Krouse Rosenthal''s Encyclopaedia of an Ordinary Life is a delightful celebration of the just plain ordinary, in all its glory. ANXIOUS, THINGS THAT MAKE ME Tran Schedules (. . . even after I''ve confirmed there''s an 8.06, I''ll pull the crinkly little schedule out of my bag and check one more time. And then, as the final coup de grace, I''ll turn to some guy waiting on the platform and ask, ''You''re waiting for the 8.06, right?''). . . BROTHER My brother, who grew up with three sisters, was I won''t say how many years old when he finally realised that he did not have to wrap a towel around his chest when he came out of the shower. OPINION, FRAGILE FOUNDATION OF STRONG The two people laughing and drinking and carrying on at the next table are annoying, stupid, childishly conspiring, and clearly beneath you, until they invite you over to join them.

A memoir in bite-size chunks from the author of the viral Modern Love column “You May Want to Marry My Husband.” “[Rosenthal] shines her generous light of humanity on the seemingly humdrum moments of life and shows how delightfully precious they actually are.” —The Chicago Sun-Times How do you conjure a life? Give the truest account of what you saw, felt, learned, loved, strived for? For Amy Krouse Rosenthal, the surprising answer came in the form of an encyclopedia. In Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life she has ingeniously adapted this centuries-old format for conveying knowledge into a poignant, wise, often funny, fully realized memoir. Using mostly short entries organized from A to Z, many of which are cross-referenced, Rosenthal captures in wonderful and episodic detail the moments, observations, and emotions that comprise a contemporary life. Start anywhere—preferably at the beginning—and see how one young woman’s alphabetized existence can open up and define the world in new and unexpected ways. An ordinary life, perhaps, but an extraordinary book.

Start this at birth, wrap it up at eighteen, fill it out each year in between. This is not anything like a baby book. It''s a birthday book! It was born from the simple idea that birthdays provide the perfect annual opportunity to preserve a sweet moment in time as your child changes from year to year. So it''s a multi-layered confection: annual touchstone, cherished ritual, and eternal keepsake. This journal provides fun, fast, and casual birthday activities for ages 1-18 as well as space to stick birthday photos and a random picture from each year, amusing and thought-provoking questions to ask your kid, and a time-capsule envelope for stashing away odds and ends (artwork, school papers, hand tracings, birthday cards, invitations, and other memorabilia). From toddler hood to young adulthood to every hood in between, you''ll return to the same four activities for each birthday. The questions prompts, and tone may shift each year, but the essence intentionally remains intact.

Contained in the familiar pleather checkbook holder, Karma Checks consists of two separate booklets–one for Good Karma and one for Bad Karma. The checks are preprinted with messages that apply to common daily scenarios. Good Karma Checks are intended for acknowledging positive moments (receiving an unsolicited favor, being served by a waiter who doesn''t rush the table, having an excellent conversation with a stranger), while Bad Karma Checks are for admonishing bad behavior (talking loudly on a cell phone in a public place, chatting during a movie, stealing a parking spot). Fun to fill out and eminently practical, the Good Karma Checks are perfect for leaving on a recipient''s desk or tucking into a thank-you note. If you aren''t feeling bold enough to actually issue a Bad Karma Check, at least you''ll have the satisfaction of glaring at the perpetrator as you privately write one out! 60 pages, 6 3/8 x 3 5/8 inches

Sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair. Have you ever had a day when . . . your favorite pants shrunk in the wash? your best friend was being a beast? you were too short to go on the best ride? no one would listen to you? Well, take heart—you’re not alone. Everyone has one of those days sometimes. And even if you bowled gutter balls or your nice sweater made you itchy, at least there’s a bright side—a brand-new day is waiting for you tomorrow, and you can laugh at those days when they’re over.

Everyone knows cookies taste good, but these cookies also have something good to say. Open this delectable book to any page and you will find out something about life. Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons is a new kind of dictionary, one that defines mysteries such as "fair" and "unfair" and what it really means to "cooperate." The book is by turns clever, honest, inspirational, and whimsical. Go ahead, take a bite!

"The first pregnancy journal devoted 100 percent to you and your growing belly, The belly book is organized by trimester and includes pages for ''time lapse'' belly photos and ultrasound images, as well as prompts for writing about morning sickness, cravings, maternity clothes you never want to see again, plus much more"--P. [4] of cover.

Humorist Amy Krouse Rosenthal''s hilarious and nail-on-the-head writing has struck again. Her latest book, The Same Phrase Describes My Marriage and My Breasts, spotlights the lighter side of parenting with a sharp wit reminiscent of the late Erma Bombeck, but with a modern twist. Rosenthal reassures parents that the insanity that comes with raising a child is perfectly normal. It is a delightful book for any parent who has realized that stain-free baby clothes and perfectly behaved children only exist on commercials for Kodak and Downy. Rosenthal''s endearing collection of humorous anecdotes and reflections is drawn from her illuminating first years as a mother of three. Being a pregnant working mom means occasionally having a urine specimen hidden in your briefcase for your mid-day checkup. No matter how anal you get, no matter how methodically you put away the toys, the Candyland cards end up in the Lego bin, and Lion King puzzle pieces turn up in your shoes. Daylight savings means that on one Sunday, when it''s 7:30 A.M., you still have something like 80 more hours until they go to bed. Forget the instructions of Dr. Spock and open your heart to a woman who proudly survives life with three kids-granted not a single glass from her bridal registry remains intact-and relishes being a mom. At times touching, at other times hysterical, The Same Phrase Describes My Marriage and My Breasts is a must for parents who long ago realized that parenting is just like The Brady Bunch if you eliminate the neatly-wrapped solutions and toss in complete unpredictability and random vomiting.

October 1993