Kids' Books

• Robinson, Laura
• Tundra Books; 2010
• Paperback; 64 pages
• 9780887767845

Bikes are becoming an ever-more vital part of daily life for people of all ages. Laura Robinson combines fascinating history (the first bike was propelled by the rider’s feet pushing against the ground) with useful and fun information, including tips for the way to dress for safe and efficient biking; what to eat for maximum body efficiency; and how to select and maintain a bike.

The book features riding superstars like Lance Armstrong as well as the kids from Chippewas of Nawash First Nations, whose mountain bike team is coached by Robinson.

Detailed diagrams and charts of different types of bikes, tire treads, and even road signs, along with bios of famous cyclists throughout history make this lively book the perfect resource for both dedicated riders and first-time cyclists.

• Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell & Henry Cole (illustrator)
• Simon and Schuster, 2005
• Hardcover, 32 pages
• ISBN: 9780689878459

This book is not currently in stock, but is available to order (1-2 weeks).

In the zoo there are all kinds of animal families. But Tango's family is not like any of the others.

Justin Richardson, M.D., is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia and Cornell and co-author of Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask). His advice to parents has been featured in the New York Times and on Today, 20/20, and NPR's Morning Edition.

Peter Parnell is a playwright whose most recent play, QED, was produced on Broadway. He was a co-producer of the television show The West Wing. He lives in New York City.

Henry Cole is an award-winning illustrator whose quirky, sensitive illustrations have graced more than two dozen picture books, including Jack's Garden, which he also wrote; And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell; The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein; and Moosetache and Bad Boys, both by Margie Palatini. Henry lives in Washington, D.C.

• Deborah Ellis
• Groundwood Books (Anansi), 2009
• Paperback, 439 pages
• ISBN: 9780888999597

Deborah Ellis's novels The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey and Mud City have been a phenomenal success, touching the hearts of readers the world over. Here at last are the three books bound into one handsome volume -- for readers new to Deborah Ellis and for those who would like a collector's edition for their libraries.

• Mo Willems
• Hyperion Books, 2007
• Hardcover, 57 pages
• ISBN: 9781423102977

Best-selling picture book creator Mo Willems leaps into the early reader arena with the Elephant and Piggie series.Not surprisingly,the books are hilarious, charming, and speak directly to kids. The books feature two lovable and funny characters: an optimistic (and often reckless) pig and a cautious, pessimistic elephant. Children who sat on their parents' laps to have Pigeon read to them will eagerly take the plunge with these books to start reading on their own.Each book has been vetted by an early learning specialist. These sweet and surprising stories are a much-needed breath of fresh air in the early reader arena. In My Friend is Sad , elephant Geraldis down in the dumps. Piggie is determined to cheer him up by dressing as a cowboy, a clown, and even a robot! But what does it take to make a sad elephant happy? The answer will make even pessimistic elephants smile.

Mo Willems is the author of best-selling picture books. In his previous career as a television writer and animator, Mo won six Emmy Awards for his work on Sesame Street and created Cartoon Network's Sheep in the Big City. Mo lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

• Jeremy Tankard
• Scholastic, 2007
• Hardcover, 28 pages
• ISBN: 9780545990219

Bird wakes up grumpy. Too grumpy to eat, play, or even fly. "Looks like I’m walking today," says Bird grumpily. All of this grumpy walking piques the interest of his friends and soon Sheep, Rabbit, Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox are walking alongside him. Somewhere along the way Bird realizes that his friends are still there, but his mood is gone, proving that sometimes grumpy needs company! This bright book can be read again and again to help kids (and grown-ups) giggle away their darkest moods.

Jeremy Tankard is a celebrated illustrator and storyteller. His Grumpy Bird garnered multiple award nominations, and he was nominated for the CBA Libris Children's Illustrator of the Year Award in 2008. He is a stay-at-home dad who has weathered many boo-boos with his young daughter.

• Rufus Butler Seder

• Workman Publishing 2009

• Hardcover, 20 pages

• ISBN: 9780761151128

It's Waddle! And it's in color. And boy, is it irresistible. In the same way that kids can't read Gallop! without wanting to gallop around the room, Waddle!, an animals-in-motion Scanimation book, will inspire prancing, hopping, stomping, and scampering. And did we mention color? Created by the optical genius behind the phenomenal #1 and #2 New York Times bestselling children's books, Gallop! and Swing!, Waddle! adds touches of color to the images and integrates it into the text. That prancing pig is pink, the leaping dolphin is blue, the slithering snake yellow. The Scanimation itself is also more lifelike, as the author continues to refine his patented Scanimation process, resulting in a more fluid, realistic motion. Nothing else compares.

Waddle! teaches color and movement. Its language is a joy, the rhymes inspiring, the animals full of life. And one more thing: Waddle! has a surprise ending. Something else to grab the reader literally.

Rufus Butler Seder is the inventor of Lifetiles, glass-tiled murals that appear to come to life when the viewer walks by; he's installed them at the Smithsonian, Sea World, Union Station, and other museums, aquariums, train stations, and ocean liners around the world. He is also the founder of EyeThink, Inc., a company that develops and produces a line of toys and gifts using the technologies he's invented. Mr. Seder lives in Boston.

• Nancy Garden
• Macmillan; April 2007
• Hardcover; 240 pages
• 978-0-374-31759-1

What was it like being young and gay during the closeted 1950s, the exuberant beginnings of the modern gay rights movement in the 1970s, or the frightening outbreak of HIV and AIDS in the 1980s? In this unique history, Nancy Garden uses both fact and fiction to explore just what it has meant to be young and gay in America during the last fifty years. For each decade from the 1950s on, she discusses in an essay the social and political events that shaped the lives of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people during that era. Then, in two short stories, she explores the emotional experiences of young gay people coming of age during those times, giving vivid insight into what it really felt like.
 
Hear Us Out! is a comprehensive and rich account of gay life, both public and private, from one of the pioneers of young adult lesbian and gay literature.