Best Picture Books of 2012

A little girl's smile as she skips down the street in New York inspires a neighbor to send cookies to her grandson in Mexico, and the good will soon spreads around the world.

"How many jelly beans are enough? How many are too many? Aiden and Emma can't decide. Is ten enough? How about one thousand? That's a lot of jelly beans. But eaten over a whole year, it's only two or three a day. This giant picture book gives kids a fun and easy way to understand large numbers. Starting with ten, each page shows more and more colorful candies, leading up to a giant fold-out surprise--ONE MILLION JELLY BEANS! With bright illustrations and an irresistible extra-large format, How Many Jelly Beans? makes learning about big numbers absolutely scrumptious! "--

"Uses the same signature format and style as the series' previous titles. The question "What boat am I?" and a linked written clue invites kids to lift the first portion of the folded page to reveal another clue and more of the featured boat, and then a final fold-out shows the entire vessel. Fold-out on the final spread reveal a bright and bustling harbor scene with all the featured boats. Those featured are: sailboat, tugboat, ocean liner, rowboat, ferry, houseboat, and barge"-- "The question "What am I?" and a linked written clue invites kids to lift the first portion of the folded page to reveal another clue and more of the featured boat, and then a final fold-out shows the entire vessel. Featured boats include: sailboat, tugboat, ocean liner, rowboat, ferry, houseboat, and barge"--

"Rhyming couplets feature Professor Poopdeck and two young friends as he takes them on a type of poop safari. Words for poop (i.e. guano, number two, ca-ca), its forms and styles (cubes, tubular, wet and dry), and myriad of uses (i.e. souvenirs, a means of tracking and marking, housing insulation, food, fertilizer, fuel) are all conveyed with humor and a certain demand for respect. It's a book that says: Don't just flush this stuff away! While it may dismay and stink, there's more to this stuff than you might think!"-- "Rhyming couplets feature Professor Poopdeck and two young friends as he takes them on a type of poop safari. Words for poop (i.e. guano, number two, ca-ca), its forms and styles (cubes, tubular, wet and dry), and myriad of uses (i.e. souvenirs, a means of tracking and marking, housing insulation, food, fertilizer, fuel) are all conveyed with humor and a certain demand for respect"--

On her way to school, a young girl spots mallard ducks in the river and enthusiastically describes their appearance, habits, and behavior. Interspersed throughout the pages are facts about ducks.

"From dazzling blue lapis lazuli to volcanic snowflake obsidian, this poetic illustrated book describes the incredible variety of rocks on Earth and how they move through the rock cycle"--

A bold re-envisioning of The Odyssey, told with simplicity and style — perfect for fans of graphic retellings and mythology enthusiasts alike. Odysseus faces storm and shipwreck, a terrifying man-eating Cyclops, the alluring but deadly Sirens, and the fury of the sea-god Poseidon as he makes his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War. While Odysseus struggles to make it home, his wife, Penelope, fights a different kind of battle as her palace is invaded by forceful, greedy men who tell her that Odysseus is dead and she must choose a new husband. Will Odysseus reach her in time? Homer’s epic, age-old story is powerfully told by Carnegie Medalist Gillian Cross and stunningly illustrated by rising talent Neil Packer.

Bear, with the help of his animal friends, remembers the story he had hoped to tell before the onset of winter.

Charles Darwin first visited the Galápagos Islands almost 200 years ago, only to discover a land filled with plants and animals that could not be found anywhere else on earth. How did they come to inhabit the island? How long will they remain? Thoroughly researched and filled with intricate and beautiful paintings, this extraordinary book by Award-winning author and artist Jason Chin is an epic saga of the life of an island—born of fire, rising to greatness, its decline, and finally the emergence of life on new islands. Chin's approach makes this book a must-have common core tool for teachers and librarians introducing scientific principals to young students. Island is one of Kirkus Reviews' Best Children's Books of 2012

The carrots that grow in Crackenhopper Field are the fattest and crispiest around and Jasper Rabbit cannot resist pulling some to eat each time he passes by, until he begins hearing and seeing creepy carrots wherever he goes.

When painter Magritte, depicted as a well-dressed, floppy-eared dog, buys a playful--and mysterious--hat, his painting enjoys a burst of creativity. Inspired by the art of French surrealist painter René Magritte.

Henri Rousseau wanted to be an artist. But he had no formal training. Instead, he taught himself to paint. He painted until the jungles and animals and distant lands in his head came alive on the space of his canvases.

Henri Rousseau endured the harsh critics of his day and created the brilliant paintings that now hang in museums around the world. Michelle Markel's vivid text, complemented by the vibrant illustrations of Amanda Hall, artfully introduces young readers to the beloved painter and encourages all readers to persevere despite all odds.

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Imagines a village in which there are too many people consuming shared resources and discusses the challenge of handling our world's environment safely.

When a boy being chased through present-day London seeks refuge in the National Gallery, a dog escapes from the painting of one Dutch master and together they leap into the painting of another, where their adventures in seventeenth-century Delft are a prelude to returning to London and continuing the chase.

With a supply of yarn that never runs out, Annabelle knits for everyone and everything in town until an evil archduke decides he wants the yarn for himself.

Caldecott-winning artist of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Erin Stead, dazzles once again in this ode to the first stirrings of spring.

Beetles squeak and beetles glow. Beetles stink, beetles sprint, beetles walk on water. With legs, antennae, horns, beautiful shells, knobs, and other oddities—what’s not to like about beetles? The beetle world is vast: one out of every four living things on earth is a beetle. There are over 350,000 different species named so far and scientists suspect there may be as many as a million. From the goliath beetle that weighs one fourth of a pound to the nine inch long titan beetle, award-winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins presents a fascinating array of these intriguing insects and the many amazing adaptations they have made to survive.

A series of animals falls into a deep hole, only to be saved at last by a very large rescuer.

The story of an irresistible friendship between a boy and a robot, now in board for little hands. One day, a boy and a robot meet in the woods. They play. They have fun. But when Bot gets switched off, Boy thinks he’s sick! So Boy tucks the bot into bed and falls asleep. Bot is worried when he powers on and finds his friend powered off. He takes Boy home with him and tries all his remedies: oil, reading an instruction manual. Nothing revives the malfunctioning boy! Can the Inventor help fix him? Using the perfect blend of sweetness and humor, this story of an adorable duo will win the hearts of the very youngest readers.

Traditional Chinese edition of Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, the 2013 Caldecott Honor winner. This is Vaccaro Seeger's second Caldecott Honor winner. The first being "First the Egg." In Traditional Chinese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.