Most Popular Books by Kathi Appelt

Join a rambunctious child as she exuberantly celebrates all the wonderful qualities that make her special -- her nose, her toes, her ears, herself! Award winners Kathi Appelt and G. Brian Karas team up to create this joyous tribute to the wonders of being ... ME!

Keeper was born in the ocean, and she believes she is part mermaid. So as a ten-year-old she goes out looking for her mother—an unpredictable and uncommonly gorgeous woman who swam away when Keeper was three—and heads right for the ocean, right for the sandbar where mermaids are known to gather. But her boat is too small for the surf—and much too small for the storm that is brewing on the horizon. Kathi Appelt follows her award-winning and New York Times bestselling novel The Underneath with this stunning, mysterious, and breathtaking tale of a girl who outgrows fairy tales just a little too late—and learns in the end that there is nothing more magical and mythical than love itself.

There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road. A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath. Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten’s one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning. For everyone who loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for everyone who loves the haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Flannery O’Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt spins a harrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love—and its opposite, hate—the fragility of happiness and the importance of making good on your promises.

Fish and birds and lizards and socks…is there anything Max won’t attack? Watch your ankles and find out in this clever, rhyming picture book about a very naughty kitty cat. Max is a cat. He attacks. From socks to strings to many a fish, attacking, for Max, is most de-lish. But how many of these things can he actually catch? Well, let’s just say it’s no even match.

“A delight to the senses.” —Kirkus Reviews Perfect for fans of The One and Only Ivan, this exquisite middle grade novel from Newbery Honoree and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt follows a creaky old camel out to save two baby kestrel chicks during a massive storm in the Texas desert—filled with over a dozen illustrations by Caldecott winner Eric Rohmann. Zada is a camel with a treasure trove of stories to tell. She’s won camel races for the royal Pasha of Smyrna, crossed treacherous oceans to new land, led army missions with her best camel friend by her side, and outsmarted a far too pompous mountain lion. But those stories were from before. Now, Zada wanders the desert as the last camel in Texas. She’s not, however, alone. Two tiny kestrel chicks are nestled in the fluff of fur between her ears—kee-killy-keeing for their missing parents—and a dust storm the size of a mountain is taking Zada on one more grand adventure. And it could lead to this achy old camel’s most brilliant story yet.

The good ol'' days are over. It''s official, it''s the news! With my brand-new baby brother came the brand-new baby blues! When a new baby wears her old pajamas, sleeps in her old bed, and seems to get all her parents'' attention, a girl''s bound to sing the blues. Is there anything a baby brother can do to change her tune?

Pigs dance the night away when a polka band plays at the annual hootenanny.

From award-winning author Elissa Brent Weissman comes a collection of quirky, smart, and vulnerable childhood works by some of today’s foremost children’s authors and illustrators—revealing young talent, the storytellers they would one day become, and the creativity they inspire today. Everyone’s story begins somewhere… For Linda Sue Park, it was a trip to the ocean, a brand-new typewriter, and a little creative license. For Jarrett J. Krosoczka, it was a third grade writing assignment that ignited a creative fire in a kid who liked to draw. For Kwame Alexander, it was a loving poem composed for Mother’s Day—and perfected through draft after discarded draft. For others, it was a teacher, a parent, a beloved book, a word of encouragement. It was trying, and failing, and trying again. It was a love of words, and pictures, and stories. Your story is beginning, too. Where will it go?

It''s fun to tell time as you dance around the clock! Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie! It''s American Batstand - a twelve-hour rock and roll extravaganza with Click Dark as your host. Decked in go-go boots and bobby sox, the buoyant bats bebop their way around the clock. And there''s a special guest appearance at the end! With their swinging text and groovy illustrations, the creators of Bat Jamboree and Bats on Parade don''t miss a beat when it comes to the basics. Telling time has never been so much fun!

A collection of poems about the experiences of young people and a section with information about how each poem was written to enable readers to create their own original poems.

Mogie is a real-life Labradoodle with a special talent: he always knows just what a sick kid needs! Get to know this passionate pup with this story by a Newbery Honoree. Give that dog a puddle and he’d splash. Give him a whistle and he’d roll over. Give him a rule and he’d break it. One day a passel of puppies was born. Each puppy was designated for a Very Important Job, like Service Dog, or Search and Rescue Dog, or Groomed for the Show Ring Dog. Each puppy, that is, except Mogie. Mogie was a ball-chasing, tail-wagging, moon-howling pup. Not the kind of pup for any of those jobs! But there is a place that is just right for Mogie: a very special house where sick children and their families can stay while they undergo long-term treatment. A place with children who NEED a ball-chasing, tail-wagging, moon-howling pup. And there’s one little boy in particular who needs Mogie. And Mogie is about to prove he’s the best darn pooch in the passel. Based on a true story, this heartwarming picture book is published in conjunction with the Ronald McDonald House.

Help hungry crows avoid a feline foe in this clever concept book from the author of The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp and The Underneath. One, two, three, crows in a tree, bedecked in red scarves and hungry as can be. So they fly out of their nest with snacking in mind, and snack they do. Snack one, snack two, snack three—all the way to a dozen! But before they have time to complain about bellyaches, they have a bigger problem: a cat has been eyeing them…as potential snacks! Can these well-fed crows become well-FLED crows? Read and find out in this counting book from Newbery Finalist and two-time National Book Award Nominee Kathi Appelt, with spot-on illustrations from Rob Dunlavey. It’s the cat’s meow!

“Librarians often say that every book is not for every child, but The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp is” (The New York Times). Meet Bingo and J’miah, raccoon brothers on a mission to save Sugar Man Swamp in this rollicking tale and National Book Award Finalist from Newbery Honoree Kathi Appelt. Raccoon brothers Bingo and J’miah are the newest recruits of the Official Sugar Man Swamp Scouts. The opportunity to serve the Sugar Man—the massive creature who delights in delicious sugar cane and magnanimously rules over the swamp—is an honor, and also a big responsibility, since the rest of the swamp critters rely heavily on the intel of these hardworking Scouts. Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn is not a member of any such organization. But he loves the swamp something fierce, and he’ll do anything to help protect it. And help is surely needed, because world-class alligator wrestler Jaeger Stitch wants to turn Sugar Man swamp into an Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, and the troubles don’t end there. There is also a gang of wild feral hogs on the march, headed straight toward them all. The Scouts are ready. All they have to do is wake up the Sugar Man. Problem is, no one’s been able to wake that fellow up in a decade or four… Newbery Honoree and Kathi Appelt’s story of care and conservation has received five starred reviews, was selected as a National Book Award finalist, and is funny as all get out and ripe for reading aloud.

The Bat Jamboree was held early this year, at the old drive-in movie not too far from here. It was standing room only as the houselights went down. The spotlight came up -- there wasn''t a sound! Then: DD1 bat sang.DD2 bats flapped. DD3 bats cha-cha-edDD4 bats tapped. Every year a troupe of 55 buoyant bats comes up with 10 fabulous acts to entertain and instruct an enthusiatic audience. And every year the bats top themselves when they perform the grandest finale of all . . . With its exuberant text and enchanting illustrations, Bat Jamboree is both a counting book and a thrilling theatrical event.

Young Jesse waits all summer for her watermelon to ripen.

When Mama Pearl washes their favorite blanket it''s a sad day for best friends Bubba and Beau, but it gets worse when she decides the baby boy and his puppy need baths, too.

An ocelot. A slave. An angel thief. With interconnecting stories ebbing and flowing, this jewel of a novel from Newbery Honor–winning author and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt is a striking depiction of family devotion, a harsh cry for freedom, new love, oh, and an ocelot. Sixteen-year-old Cade Curtis is an angel thief. Abandoned by his mother, he and his dad moved to the apartment above a local antique shop. The only payment the owner Mrs. Walker requests: marble angels, stolen from graveyards, for her to sell for thousands of dollars to collectors. But there’s one angel that would be the last they’d ever need to steal; an angel, carved by a slave, with one hand open and one hand closed. If only Cade could find it… Zorra, a young ocelot, watches the bayou rush past her yearningly. The poacher who captured and caged her has gone away, and Zorra is getting hungrier and thirstier by the day. Trapped, she only has the sounds of the bayou for comfort—but it tells her help will come soon. Before Zorra, Achsah, a slave, watched the very same bayou with her two young daughters. After the death of her master, Achsah is free, but she’ll be damned if her daughters aren’t freed with her. All they need to do is find the church with an angel with one hand open and one hand closed… A soaring, searing novel from Newbery Honor–winning author and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt, Angel Thieves weaves together stories across time, connected by the bayou, an angel, and a universal desire to be free.

Also written by Kathi Appelt:Bubba and Beau, Best FriendsIllustrated by Arthur Howard0-15-202060-8 $16.00Oh My Baby, Little OneIllustrated by Jane Dyer0-15-200041-0 $16.00

While preparing for a visit from some relatives--and even after they arrive--Bubba and Beau want nothing more than to sink their paws into the squishy, squashy mud hole.

Jory fears that he is too small to find a suitable gift to welcome the new parson.