New Releases by Leo Lionni

This Leo Lionni book introduces babies and toddlers to his iconic characters as well as 100 essential first words! Perfect for learning and for play, here are 100 essential first words to introduce young readers to the world of Leo Lionni. Along with Lionni’s signature bold art style you will see some familiar and classic characters throughout like Frederick the Mouse and Swimmy. From colors to fruits and vegetables, and so much more, there's something fun to learn and discover on every page!

The beloved fable about being yourself, from four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Leo Lionni, is now available in a board book format! Cornelius isn't like other crocodiles. He likes to walk upright and do tricks that no other crocodile can! But his friends are not impressed. "So what?" they say when he demonstrates standing on his head or hanging from his tail. Cornelius is a bit disappointed at first...but things aren't always what they seem. And life on the riverbeach is about to undergo some big changes. Children will see themselves in Cornelius while reading this tale of a crocodile who marches to the beat of his own drum.

The gorgeous, Caldecott Honor-winning tale of a very clever fish by beloved picture book creator Leo Lionni. Deep in the sea lives a happy school of fish. Their watery world is full of wonders, but there is also danger, and the little fish are afraid to come out of hiding . . . until Swimmy comes along. Swimmy shows his friends how—with ingenuity and team work—they can overcome any danger. Winner of the 1964 Caldecott Honor, this beloved tale of a brave little fish has been a favorite to generations of readers. To celebrate Swimmy's fiftieth anniversary, we are issuing a handsome special edition hardcover that includes a bonus poster.

Artisie, giraluna, tirilli e altre fantastiche specie vegetali sono qui presentate con l’accuratezza dello scienziato. Lionni rovescia il Borges della Zoologia fantastica: raffigura minuziosamente il proprio universo botanico immaginario e rende percepibile, attraverso lo studio delle sue straordinarie proprietà, la flora di un pianeta gemello dove non ci stupiremmo di incontrare le Città invisibili di Calvino. Come a volerci dire che il solo modo possibile di parlare del mondo sia quello di descrivere realisticamente una dimensione del tutto falsa. Una realtà parallela e magica popolata di piante, che “prima di essere piante, sono parole”. “Vi sono piante che appaiono chiaramente in immagini fotografiche, ma che l’occhio umano non può percepire. Ve ne sono che rifiutano le comuni norme della prospettiva mantenendo inalterata la loro grandezza, nonostante la distanza che le separa da noi. Altre, incolori, che in determinate condizioni rivelano un gioco cromatico di rara bellezza...”

A charming exploration of the seasons with some of Caldecott-winner Leo Lionni's beloved mice. In January, two mice, Willie and Winnie, make a new friend: a tree. The tree tells them her name is Woody, and the mice promise to visit her all year round. As the months tick by, Willie and Winnie watch Woody soak up the rain, bloom buds into flowers and leaves, and bear fruit. By the end of the year, Willie and Winnie know they've made a forever friend who has taught them all about the seasons. Originally published in 1992, this board book classic from Caldecott Award winner Leo Lionni is the perfect read year-round.

Leo Lionni’s Caldecott Honor–winning story is now available as a Step 3 Step into Reading book—perfect for children who are ready to read on their own. Winter is coming, and all the mice are gathering food . . . except for Frederick. But when the days grow short and the snow begins to fall, it’s Frederick’s stories that warm the hearts and spirits of his fellow field mice. Lionni’s enduringly popular tale makes a winning addition to the Step into Reading line, letting young children enjoy this classic all by themselves.

From a ringing telephone to a pair of eyeglasses to a wedge of cheese, Leo Lionni's signature illustration style and a toddler-friendly text ask a simple question: What is the object on this page? One of four board books that celebrates the art and imagination of Leo Lionni, this is a perfect introduction to an early learning concept for busy toddlers, as well as a wonderful stepping stone into the world of one of our best-loved children's book creators.

From high up in a tree, to inside a shoe and outside of a mouse hole, Leo Lionni's signature illustration style and a toddler-friendly text ask a simple question: Where is the mouse on each page? One of four board books that celebrates the art and imagination of Leo Lionni, this book is a perfect introduction to an early learning concept for busy toddlers, as well as a wonderful stepping stone into the world of one of our best-loved children's book creators.

Originally published in 1973, this is the offbeat fable of a city mouse who visits his peaceful country cousins and tells them about Mardi Gras in the city. The country mice are inspired to have their own Mardi Gras. And at first, it is fun wearing their masks with sharp teeth and tusks and scaring each other, but after a while, they begin believing that they really are ferocious animals. Leo Lionni's winsome mice cavort across big double-page spreads of oil paintings and tell a story about what is real and what is not that is just right for preschoolers. Reissued in hardcover in 2003, it now makes its debut in Dragonfly paperback.

A little black fish in a school of red fish figures out a way of protecting them all from their natural enemies.

This was the first of four Caldecott Honor Books by Leo Lionni. Published in 1960 and virtually out of print in hardcover for decades, Knopf acquired the hardcover rights from the original publisher just in time to showcase Lionni's 100th anniversary celebration in 2010 and the book's 50th anniversary. The bold graphics and beautiful cutout paper collages of colorful birds, foliage, and the clever green inch worm are as fresh and appealing as ever, and should appeal to a whole new audience in this accessible board book format.

Elephants are gray. Pigs are pink. Only the chameleon has no color of his own. He is purple like the heather, yellow like a lemon, even black and orange striped like a tiger! Then one day a chameleon has an idea to remain one color forever by staying on the greenest leaf he can find. But in the autumn, the leaf changes from green to yellow to red . . . and so does the chameleon. When another chameleon suggests they travel together, he learns that companionship is more important than having a color of his own. No matter where he goes with his new friend, they will always be alike. Now available as an eBook.

Theodore, a timid mouse who is constantly being ridiculed by his friends, runs into trouble when he discovers a huge blue mushroom and pretends that it can talk.

Histoire d'un petit poisson noir aventureux qui devient le pilote de tous les autres petits poissons rouges. Rassemblés ils font fuir les gros poissons et peuvent ainsi découvrir les beautés sous-marines

A playful board book from four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Leo Lionni book for the very youngest readers! “What shall we do today?” two mice ask each other. “Read a book? Pick flowers? Go swimming? Play ball? Climb a tree or gather leaves? Play hide-and-seek or dress-up? Talk on the telephone–until it’s time to say good night?” Lionni’s award-winning graphic art is at its best in this very simple board book that begs to be shared with a baby or toddler.

Frederick, the poet mouse, stores up something special for the long cold winter.

Take a look. And another. And another. Are those ordinary pebbles you see, lying on an ordinary beach? Or are they hearts and gift-wrapped packages, numbers, letters, and the faces of friends? Take a look. And another.

A little black fish in a school of red fish figures out a way of protecting them all from their natural enemies.

Jessica the frog befriends the animal that hatches from an egg she brought home, thinking it is a chicken.

Frederick, the poet mouse, stores up something special for the long cold winter.

Overnight, city mouse Timothy becomes a little man. And when he runs away to the country, the other mice are not so sure he's really one of them--until Timothy rescues the others from a hungry cat. A masterly blend of fable and collage from the bestselling author of Frederick and Swimmy. Full-color illustrations.

A timeless fable about unity and breaking down barriers, from four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Leo Lionni. All her life Tillie the mouse has wondered what lies on the other side of the wall. Imagining all sorts of fantastic possibilities, she digs a tunnel to get to the other side, where she discovers . . . other mice, just like her! Together, Tillie and her friends work to bring down the wall and unite mouse-kind. Written just before the fall of the Berlin wall, this seemingly simple fable has a powerful message for all children—and all people.

When a fierce wind threatens to blow all the little letters out of the alphabet tree, they must band together in words—and then sentences—to create a message that's even stronger than the wind: peace on earth. With their newfound knowledge, there's nothing the letters can't do in this gentle parable about the power of the written word.

An owl helps a farmer and some crows reach a compromise over the rights to the wheat crop.

A group of mice introduce the numbers one through ten. On board pages.

"Leo Lionni here presents ... [an] imaginary plant kingdom .. Lionni marshals all the facts, all the fabulous lore and scholarship surrounding parallel plants ... And, too, he provides his own elegant, detailed, and scientifically accurate drawings of each nonexistent plant species"--Cover.

A classic fable about the search for identity, from Caldecott Honor winning picture book creator Leo Lionni. Pezzettino lives in a world in which everyone is big and does daring and wonderful things. But he is small, just a “little piece,” which is the meaning of pezzettino in Italian. “I must be a piece of somebody. I must belong to someone else,” he thinks. How Pezzettino learns that he belongs to no one but himself is the joyous and satisfying conclusion to this beautiful mosaic style picture book.

A little chameleon is distressed that he doesn't have his own color like other animals.