New Releases by Annika Dunklee

A cheerful book about the patience it takes to grow a seed into a tree One day, when a boy sees his dad cut an avocado in half, he decides to plant the fruit's seed and grow it into ... an avocado tree! One glass of water, two careful hands, and three pointy toothpicks later, it's time to wait ... and wait ... and wait ... for it to grow. At long last, the boy and his faithful pet cat see one root, two roots, three roots emerge! Three scoops of soil, three sprinkles of water, and a lot more waiting ... lead to one sturdy stem, two clapping hands, and three grateful cheers. The avocado tree starts to appear! One, two, and three years later, the tree grows taller still. This charming story, now in paperback, is told with lots of rhythm and repetition, paired with playful illustrations full of funny details about the trials of coaxing a seed into a plant. Readers will come away with a sense that the struggle to be patient and stick it out can be worthwhile, even when a result seems impossibly far away.

An imaginary hot-air balloon adventure brings two siblings closer in an unexpected way

“An unusual…cast of animal characters makes this whimsical, charming story stand out.” —Kirkus Reviews “Readers will delight in this world of anthropomorphized animals, coming away with a lesson on the importance of the friends and family who help them find their way.” —Booklist A platypus who thinks he is an emu finds his way home with the help of his friends in this classic, tender picture book from Annika Dunklee and Brian Won. When the stork drops an egg before delivering it to its parents the little animal’s first words are EEE-MOO. So, a cow, pig, horse, and other furry friends who watch him hatch decide he is an emu and Australia is his home. Good friends that they are, they offer to help him get there. So EEE-MOO’s journey begins, and along the way he meets a cast of other animal friends who guide him to the open arms of his family. But when he gets there, he realizes something is missing.

A rhyming read-aloud perfect for preschoolers

Will the stars in Annie’s eyes go to her head? Annie’s got a great idea! “Let’s enter the talent show as an all-girl singing group!” Lillemor and Lilianne, her two best friends, love it — until they discover Annie thinks she can call all the shots. When they’ve finally had enough of her “me, me, me” attitude, the group splits up. Which suits Annie just fine. Until she realizes it’s not the same without her friends. Can Annie find a way to make things right between them? Kids will root for Annie to figure it out: a trio of stars shines brighter than one!

Annie and Lillemor are best friends for many reasons: they are both seven, love the colors pink and purple, and can speak two languages. (Annie is sure Oinky Boinky counts.) But when a new girl who seems to have even more in common with Lillemor arrives, Annie feels left out. Will she lose her best friend? Or is there room in their friendship for one more? A funny, note-perfect tale of friendship that’s sure to strike a chord with grade-schoolers.

See below for English description. Catherine, l'héroïne de cette courte histoire pleine de caractère, supporte les diminutifs qu'on lui donne jusqu'au jour où elle craque et exige un peu de respect: elle s'appelle Catherine, C-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E, « CATHERINE Amanda Roxanne Charlotte Beaulieu-Joncas! » dit-elle en ajoutant: « Mais vous pouvez m'appeler Catherine.» Je m'appelle Catherine rappelle que les jeunes enfants ont besoin d'écoute et de respect comme on en exige d'eux-mêmes. Ils pourront facilement s'identifier à l'héroïne et s'intéresser au sujet abordé. In this short and sassy story, our hero, Catherine, endures other peoples' takes on her name until one day she just can't take it anymore and demands a little respect -- it's spelled C-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E, thank you very much! Je m'appelle Catherine! taps into young kids' need to be heard and respected in the same way they're expected to listen and be respectful. Kids will easily recognize themselves in the character. Original Title: My Name is Elizabeth!

Elizabeth is tired of everyone shortening her first name and calling her Lizzie, Liz, or Beth, but suffers in silence, until one autumn day when her impatience gets the best of her and she learns an important lesson about tact and grace.