North-South Books

Trees don’t grow on sandbars . . . but a boy from India grew a forest.What can one person do in the face of global environmental degradation? Jadav Payeng is just a boy in northeast India when the mighty Brahmaputra River floods and sweeps away all vegetation from the river islands, leaving behind a barren sandbar. When the local elders refuse to take action Jadav decides to complete a seemingly impossible task himself. With only a bag of bamboo seeds and his unwavering determination, Jadav plants seedlings in an effort to restore the sandbar to a lush forest. Since 1979, a forest the size of Central Park has emerged, offering a home to countless animals and plants. It wasn’t until 2007 that a photographer accidentally stumbled upon the forest that Payeng and his passion became known to the world. Rina Singh has sensitively retraced the story of young Jadav Payeng. In Ishita Jain''s lush illustrations readers feel immersed in the spectacular habitat whose existence borders on a miracle come true. This encouraging read is perfect for those who are looking to make a difference in their own communities.

The tenth book in the New York Times bestselling Rainbow Fish series encourages care and respect for the ocean and its creatures.Rainbow Fish and his friends have only ever heard stories about the nets that come through and take away shoals of fish from the ocean. Luckily, they’ve never had to experience that danger for themselves. All is peaceful until one day, Rainbow Fish and his friends come face to face with the trawling net. Even though getting caught within the net is scary, Rainbow Fish and his friends are quick to act. With the help of crabs and lobsters nearby, they’re able to cut through the net and help everyone trapped within make their great escape. This thrilling addition is a perfect example of quick problem solving and how to lean on one’s community in difficult situations.

A brand-new kind of interactive picture book invites you to make the sounds you see—and inspires endless fun.This wordless picture book is meant to be read aLOUD! Can you bang and boom, caw and crash, buzz and blub, pitter-patter and pffffft? Will you whoosh, yawn, moo or roar? It’s easy! 1. Open the book. 2. Make the sound that you see. 3. Giggle, turn the page, repeat. With bold colors, zany illustrations, and no words at all, Buzz! Boom! Bang! inspires a whole new kind of reading experience.

What happens when Yuri accidentally unleashes a catastrophe at the dinosaur museum?During a visit to the dinosaur museum, something terrible happens. Yuri is startled and bumps into a giant brachiosaurus skeleton. What massive mayhem! At first it feels as if things will never be the same again. . . But then Yuri remembers the best way to deal with difficult situations: take a deep breath and ask for help. The result is something more magnificent than anyone could have imagined! In her dynamic story, Hannah Brückner shows how creative and unexpected solutions can be found, even when the worst happens. With a fine, fresh touch, she captures the world of the museum in sophisticated and humorous detail.

From the creators of Genius Noses and Genius Ears comes an illustrated collection of animal eyes and their amazing functions. Early STEM has never been more fun in this beautiful, fact-filled book featuring everything kids ever wanted to know about animal eyes around the world!Ever wonder why a cat’s eyes glow at night, why an alligator cries, or how the world appears to a snail? And is there anything else eyes can do besides see? Eyes can tell us a lot about animal habits and their habitats. This collection of special species from around the world is filled with amazing facts celebrating the diversity of eyes in nature.

Have you ever picked up a Magic Cube and wondered who invented it, who can solve it, and how in the world you can, too? Jump into this fun and fact-filled picture book to discover the mathematics and magic of the Cube!In a dusty box, a child finds a colorful cube. Fascinated, they begin to turn it. Soon all the colors are mixed up. Can the cube be solved? And how does it work anyway? Three friends set out to find the answers. Since 1974, when Rubik invented his famous cube, 500 million Magic Cubes have been sold worldwide. To this day, new speed-cubing records are still being set. Daniel Fehr takes us on a journey through the fascinating world of the Magic Cube, while GOLDEN COSMOS brings pop and verve to the history and technology of the cube in this picture book as bright and colorful as the cube itself.

From the Bug Band world of Jitterbug and Goth Moth comes another heartfelt story about staying true to yourself!Music is taken seriously in the Longlegs family. There is only one right way to play an instrument, incorrect notes are not tolerated, and dancing is not allowed. All of these rules are frustrating to Lizzy the spider and she?s starting to lose her love of music. How can she make her parents understand that music should be fun too? The creators of Jitterbug and Goth Moth have created another heartwarming story that encourages all readers to follow the music inside of themselves.

Sebastian the tortoise knows which daddy is the best of all (his own!) in this heartwarming picture book about all the amazing things a dad can do. Little tortoise Sebastian is having the perfect day with his dad when he wonders, what are some things a dad can do? His dad playfully asks him to guess which daddy chirps to his chicks (Daddy Bird), which daddy teaches his kits how to hop and run (Daddy Rabbit), and which daddy shows his pups how to sleep upside down (Daddy Bat)! But Sebastian knows which daddy is the best . . . his own! The perfect picture book to cuddle up with, this loving ode to fathers has a soothing call and response that encourages children to guess along with Sebastian which daddy animal is being described.

The little cloud Re has a BIG dream! But when she grows so large she becomes a thunderstorm, will her new friend Flower still recognize her?A little cloud named Re wishes to grow as big as the clouds floating over the sea. She learns from a passing cloud how to collect dew and water and soon she has grown BIG! As she travels, she even soaks up some droplets from the petals of a beautiful flower and the two become fast friends. But then something happens that Re never expected?she starts to storm! After storming across land and sea, Re grows small again and returns to Flower. At first the cloud is afraid her new friend won?t recognize her, but Flower assures her ?from dew to rain to thunder, you are still you.? An imaginative look into the water cycle through a little cloud and the feelings she experiences as she grows and changes.

A caterpillar trusts its instincts and is rewarded with a new perspective on the world in this beautiful and simple ode to a butterfly?s metamorphosis.So I?m chryzzaling and wonder where we?re heading, and what is the deeper meaning of it all. Worm and caterpillar are best friends. But when caterpillar starts talking about a strange ?chryzzaling? feeling and thinks it might soon change, worm can only giggle and shake its head. Caterpillar enters its chrysalis, but worm is impatient and crawls away. Worm therefore misses when a butterfly emerges and soars into the sky, finding a whole new view on life. With beautiful watercolor illustrations that show how one?s perspective changes over time, this picture book is a poetic reminder of the beauty in trusting one?s feelings and not being afraid to fly to new heights.

Based on the traditional Korean folktale ?Samnyeongogae? (?Three-Year Mountain Pass"), this picture book parable by Korean-German artist Dayeon Auh features a fateful mountain, a superstitious grandfather, and a granddaughter with a clever perspective on life.Legend says that anyone who falls down Misfortune Mountain has three years left to live. Grandfather must travel over the treacherous mountain to get to the market, but one day catastrophe happens and he tumbles down! The doctor says he is perfectly healthy, but Grandfather feels the end is near . . . until his granddaughter comes to visit and makes a different calculation about his fate. From then on, the legend of the mountain takes on a new meaning and everyone finds themselves eager to tumble down it. A fable that demonstrates how a change in one?s mindset can make a positive impact.

Monty Python's Book of Silly Walks by illustrator David Merveille features Mr. Teabag--one of John Cleese's best-loved characters from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Python fans will delight in Merveille's artistic portrayal of Mr. Teabag in his most iconic silly-walk pose as he hysterically stands in as housekeeper, soccer player, fire-ring walker, guard at the Buckingham Palace, James Bond, DaVinci's Vitruvian Man, and more! Over 40 years ago, a group of five Englishmen - and one wayward American - rewrote the rules of comedy. MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS, an unheralded, previously unseen half-hour show of sketches, hilarities, inanities and animations, first appeared on the BBC late one night in 1969. Its impact has been felt on the world ever since. From its humble beginnings, it blossomed into the most influential movement in modern comedy.

A long time ago a mouse learned to fly . . . and crossed the Atlantic. But what happened next? Torben Kuhlmann's stunning new book transports readers to the moon and beyond! On the heels of Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse comes Armstrong: A Mouse on the Moon--where dreams are determined only by the size of your imagination and the biggest innovators are the smallest of all. The book ends with a brief non-fiction history of human space travel--from Galileo's observations concerning the nature of the universe to man's first steps on the moon.

Torben Kulhmann's stunningly illustrated, nearly wordless tale offers a fascinating window into an imaginary, yet hauntingly familiar world under our feet, where a mole suddenly recognizes the precarious balance between progress and preservation. Kulhmann's open ended text encourages thoughtful exploration into possible solutions, and his delightful endpapers depict a montage of solutions that could very well save the moles' world and ours.

One small step for a mouse; one giant leap for aviation. These are dark times . . . for a small mouse. A new invention--the mechanical mousetrap--has caused all the mice but one to flee to America, the land of the free. But with cats guarding the steamships, trans-Atlantic crossings are no longer safe. In the bleakest of places . . . the one remaining mouse has a brilliant idea. He must learn to fly! Debut illustrator Torben Kuhlmann's inventive tale and stunning illustrations will capture the imagination of readers--young and old--with the death-defying feats of this courageous young mouse.