New Releases by Joanne Ryder

A poetic look at the animals living in or around a pond, including water striders, turtles, and carp.

In a field of lacy leaves, a small caterpillar hatches, grows, and sheds its skin, becoming a smooth, green creeper. It eats and changes some more, then in a sequence of remarkable close-ups, spins a sliken sling in which to pupate—until it finally bursts forth as a brilliant black swallowtail butterfly. Includes suggestions on how children can grow butterfiles in their own gardens.

Imagine climbing your favorite tree, speckled in sunlight and shadows, then changing...into a mighty spotted cat in a faraway rain forest. You are a jaguar hidden in a world of green. Giant trees stretch upward, where flowers bloom, birds soar, and butterflies glide above your reach. Jaguar in the Rain Forest invites you into the lush, tropical world of one of the most magnificent hunters on earth. Be a jaguar just for a day- prowling the forest floor; crossing a flowing river in search of prey; filling the darkness with your deep, grunting call; then, silent and deadly, stalking a creature that never knows you are there. In this dramatic addition to the Just for a Day series, award-winning author Joanne Ryder and nature artist Michael Rothman once again imagine the life of a wild animal in its own natural world. Meticulously researched and marvelously evocative, their book invites you to live among the creatures of the rain forest- just for a day.

Softly realistic illustrations perfectly complement this vivid yet warmly childlike story, as a small boy imagines the wanderings and playful antics of the bears he is sure inhabit the wilderness around his home. Full color.

Sometimes--with a gesture, a touch, a look--humans and animals can bridge the gap between their worlds in ways that reach deeper than words ever could. In a perfect partnership of poetry and color images, author Joanne Ryder and photographer Barbara Sonneborn have created a moving portrait of humans and animals together. An elephant and a human embrace, arm and trunk entwining; a giggly boy and a wiggly pig spend a playful moment together; a dolphin and a human swimmer move through the water in a joyful dance. In Ryder''s words, "each finds a way to touch, to move, to play, sharing pleasure with each other, learning how much we really are the same." This remarkable album is one that readers of all ages will return to again and again. With its compelling words and unforgettable pictures, it reinforces our precious sense of connection to all the living creatures with whom we share our planet. colour throughout

Follows the activities of a hummingbird and his mate in a garden on a sunny day.

A man working in his garden finds a delicate worm, a beetle in shining armor, and a leaf-green mantis and shares these treasures with his young daughter. "Lovely double-page, impressionistic oil paintings...provide a picturesque setting for this simple, straightforward description of a special parent/child outing."--School Library Journal.

"Ryder again takes readers'' imaginations into the body of another species....A boy awakens and, touched by the sun, changes into a green anole....With its precise, poetic language and well-composed illustrations, this is another successful picture book in a consciousness-expanding series."--Booklist.

To celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, the students in Mrs. Lee''s first grade class act as secret elves, doing good deeds for one another.

Bambi''s forest home and its animal residents grow and adapt to the ever-changing seasons

Describes what it would be like to live in a little house by the sea and frolic with seals and crabs and other sea creatures.

"A child reader [is] transformed into a sea otter and taken on an imaginative day trip....Ryder''s poetically imagistic text is powerfully partnered by Rothman''s robust...artwork, which depicts aspects of a sea otter''s day in its natural habitat....This experience is potent, informative, and transporting....Lovely for nature studies or for a flight of fantasy into the natural world."--Booklist.

Mrs. Lee''s first grade class plants a vegetable and flower garden. Includes instructions for making an indoor garden.

This book tells the story of Bambi and the other forest animals from the day Bambi is born to the birth of his twin fawns.

Mrs. Lee''s class decides to call themselves the first grade bunnies after their beloved pet rabbit Martha. Includes instructions for making a rabbit puppet.

The reader imagines how it feels to be a snail.

During her visit to Grandma''s, Sara observes the activities of turtles, birds, and flying squirrels.

Transformed into a humpback whale, a child experiences life in the ocean among other whales.

Describes, in simple text and illustrations, some of the unique characteristics of trees.

Jenny experiences the wonder of seeing and hearing the woods fill up with humming cicadas, and seventeen years later she returns with her young son to share that experience.

Relates how the great white bears that live at the top of the world came to live on ice and snow.

A lyrical description of a chipmunk as it goes about its activities in late summer, prepares for winter, and settles in till spring.

A collection of poems about nature and wildlife, spanning all the seasons of the year.

Describes the awakening, feeding, and wandering of a polar bear, from its own viewpoint.

Mama Mouse teaches her little mouse how to tell where home is by reminding her of its special smells, sounds, and textures.

Describes the activities of woodland animals, including the box turtle, fox, opossum, beaver, and deer.