New Releases by Joanne Ryder

Fans of How to Train Your Dragon will love this whimsical tale, the first in a series, by a Newbery Honor winner, featuring charming illustrations and pet "training tips" in each chapter. Crusty dragon Miss Drake has a new pet human, precocious Winnie. Oddly enough, Winnie seems to think Miss Drake is her pet—a ridiculous notion! Unknown to most of its inhabitants, the City by the Bay is home to many mysterious and fantastic creatures, hidden beneath the parks, among the clouds, and even in plain sight. And Winnie wants to draw every new creature she encounters: the good, the bad, and the ugly. But Winnie’s sketchbook is not what it seems. Somehow, her sketchlings have been set loose on the city streets! It will take Winnie and Miss Drake’s combined efforts to put an end to the mayhem . . . before it’s too late. This refreshing debut collaboration by Laurence Yep, a two-time Newbery Honor winner and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Award winner, and Joanne Ryder features illustrations by Mary GrandPré. Praise for A Dragon''s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans *“Warm humor, magical mishaps, and the main characters’ budding mutual respect and affection combine to give this opener for a planned series a special shine.” –Booklist, Starred “Aternately comical, suspenseful and sometimes sweetly emotional.” –Kirkus Reviews “With a black-and-white spot illustration opening most chapters, an engaging narrator, and a consistently fluid writing style, this title makes a fine dragon choice for readers.” –School Library Journal “In this series launch, Yep and Ryder conjure up a world where dragons and humans interact, and the results are heartwarming and quite funny.” –Publishers Weekly “A clever and amusing novel that imagines a magical world that nestles right up against our own and sometimes crosses over.” –The Bulleting of the Center for Children’s Books Praise for A Dragon’s Guide to Making Your Human Smarter "Yep and Ryder keep the magic coming with their whimsical fantasy, enhanced by Grandpré''s sweet drawings. The story positively vibrates with fun." —Kirkus Reviews " Lighthearted episodes of unusual school lessons and field trips, illustrated by GrandPré’s winsome spot art, are grounded by Miss Drake’s more serious encounters with the goons...a gratifying development as this buoyant, fantastical series continues."—The Horn Book Review

There are many kinds of kisses to share.

School is in session! But this is no ordinary kindergarten class. Meet sixteen young giant panda cubs at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Preserve. The cubs are raised together from infancy in a protected setting, where they grow strong. Under the watchful eyes of the scientists and workers, the cubs learn skills that will help prepare them to be released into the wild. Follow a day in the life of the cubs with Joanne Ryder''s spare and simple text and full-color photographs by Dr. Katherine Feng, Wolong''s leading photographer. These special cubs have captured the attention of people around the globe. Thanks to dedicated staff and unique resources at Wolong, this threatened species now has a second chance. Here is the true story of their incredible journey toward hope and survival.

Rhyming text describes many different kinds of hugs.

The animals get ready for the annual barnyard party and dancing at Farmer Snow's.

My mother calls me from darkness to light. . . . I wrap her words around me, warm with good wishes for the day to come. Joanne Ryder''s heartwarming text and Peter Catalanotto''s glowing art celebrate the tender, everyday moments shared between a mother and daughter. In every welcome and whisper, laugh and farewell, the ever-changing tones of a mother''s voice express a gift a daughter can treasure -- her mother''s constant love.

In a lyrical tale, the young narrator visits the cabin that her grandfather built to rediscover the familiar woodland haunts they used to explore together, and even though she now wanders alone, she feels a comforting sense of oneness with the forest. Reprint.

Publisher Description

A series of poems that depict the world of a field mouse from sundown to sunup.

She''s the first giant panda cub ever to survive in captivity in the United States. There are fewer than one thousand giant pandas left in the world, making Hua Mei''s birth at the World-Famous San Diego Zoo in August 1999 a cause for celebration. -- Dust Jacket.

An intriguing journey into the natural world -- from deep in the grass to high overhead. "There''s a worm on a string, who is swaying in space. There''s a white butterfly on a circle of lace." As a young child takes a walk in the woods, the world comes alive with creatures and treasures big and small -- from ants and lizards to moles and hawks. But the most special discovery of the day is the fawn in the grass who watches the narrator''s journey begin and end. Joanne Ryder''s lyrical text and Keiko Narahashi''s beautifully detailed illustrations capture the wonders of nature from a child''s point of view.

Celebrated the creatures of the earth, from spiders dangling in their webs to owls hooting and hunting out of sight, and asks that we respect and care for them.

Illustrations and poetic text describe the wings of an owl, a hummingbird, a butterfly, an eagle, a bat, and other creatures and their different experiences of flight.

In dynamic words and dramatic pictures, Earthdance invites young readers to become not just part of the earth, but Earth itself.

A child is transformed into a Tyrannosaurus rex for a day and discovers what it is like to be a killing machine and the largest meat-eating animal to have hunted on land.

Four furry squirrels leap and glide through the night sky, feeding and playing until the approach of daybreak.

This newest title in the popular series invites readers into the world of the endangered great white shark for better insight into this mighty predator of the sea.

Because they never give up hope and always want to change the present into something better, Fox and Lemming annually trick Winter into trading snow for sun.

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.

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.

Slowly the morning sun lights up a graceful spring garden, warming the plants and animals that live there. Nestled on a tree branch, a tiny creature awakens. Then, stretching and spreading his wings wide, the hummingbird dances into the sunlight to begin his busy day. Together, award-winning nature author Joanne Ryder and wildlife artist Judith Lopex paint a background of charm and delicacy against which we follow the movements of the lively humming bird and his mate. Readers of all ages will be captivated by this gentle portrait and will readily appreciate the drama and beauty to be found in the lives of these tiniest of birds.

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.

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.

The reader imagines how it feels to be a snail.

While sitting in science class on a Friday afternoon, a student watches all kinds of sea creatures move about the room.

The reader imagines how it feels to be a snail.

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

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