Beneath A Blue Umbrella

From the puppies in Philadelphia to the piglets in Wichita, here are poems and pictures for everyone to love. Color ilustrations.

Kindness is a magical thing, and in this gentle picture book kindness comes from somewhere unexpected. When a seemingly ordinary blue umbrella is offered to provide shelter from the rain, it grows to accommodate anyone in need. It was not supposed to rain on the day that a small blue umbrella showed up on the little girl’s doorstep with a note saying “For you.” But she decided to take it along just in case. And despite the odds, it did rain. Seeing that her mom was getting soaked, the girl invites her to come under the umbrella too. At first it seemed like they couldn’t possibly both fit, but then something magical happened… The umbrella grew. So they offered shelter to more and more neighbors. What should have been a tight squeeze was instead enough room for everyone. This story is a true celebration of kindness and sharing, with poignant words from Emily Ann Davison and charming illustrations from Momoko Abe, and is sure to become a favorite for young readers.

Provides articles covering children's literature from around the world as well as biographical and critical reviews of authors including Avi, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, and Anno Mitsumasa.

Happily splashing in the rain-spattered world beyond her windowpane, Vraily finds refuge from her parents' high-octane, hurry-up existence. But when she falls through a puddle, she's plunged into an underworld of harrying giants and perplexing dolphins, where she's left alone to find shelter from the onrushing storm. Finding an ally in her steadfast blue umbrella, Vraily discovers an unexpected strength that protects her from the deluge, and from the hustle-and-bustle of the everyday world to which she must ultimately reawaken. Susan Zimmerman, an authority on reading comprehension and co-author of Mosaic of Thought and 7 Keys to Comprehension, calls The Blue Umbrella "...a whimsical evocation of the power of children to overcome their fears and uncertainties. Exquisitely written and illustrated, Maggie Hudson gives the reader a heartwarming touch of magic." This modern through-the-looking-glass adventure-in-verse combines the rhyming, rhythmic story of a child's search for serenity with unique and vivid multimedia images that delight the eye and stimulate the imagination. Speaking as much to adults as to the young readers with whom they share the textual and visual poetry of The Blue Umbrella, this is truly a book for children of all ages.

Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me, said this book is "brimming with surprises and grand adventure. Brave, smart, and full of heart, Madeline and Ruby are a gust of fresh air." Mad's dad is the Bird Guy. He'll go anywhere to study birds. So when he's offered a bird-tracking job in Central America, his bags are packed and he's jungle bound. But going bird tracking in the jungle and disappearing completely are very different things, and when the Very Strange and Incredibly Creepy Letter arrives, Mad can't shake the terrible feeling that her father is in trouble. Roo, Mad's younger sister, is convinced that the letter is a coded message. And their mom is worried, because the letter doesn't sound like Dad at all. But Mad is sure it's a sign of something sinister. The only way to get to the bottom of it is to go to Lava Bird Volcano and find their dad themselves. Though they never could have imagined what they're about to discover. From new talent Helen Phillips, Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green is the story of what can happen when two sisters make some unusual friends, trust in each other, and bravely face a jungle of trouble all to bring their family back together.

It was August, and the "Blue Moon" had come around - a phenomenon wherein two full moons appear in the same month. As a seventeen-year-old, I found myself in Arashiyama, Kyoto, at my grandmother's house for a somber funeral. It was on this solemn occasion that a peculiar encounter awaited me. Under the radiant light of the first full moon, I stumbled upon a mysterious sight. There before me was a young girl, gracefully using an umbrella to scoop water from a spring, her actions illuminated by the moon's ethereal glow. She said, "I'll be here until the Blue Moon ends," and despite our same ages, she had a mysterious aura about her, as if hiding a great secret. That secret was that “I've been waiting for you in the future." This is a love story stretching across time and space, depicting two people bound by fate.

Open the pages of so many children’s classics—Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, Mister Dog, The Cricket in Times Square, The Rescuers, the Little House books—and you will see page after page of the artistry that brought those stories to life. And behind the illustrations sparking the imagination of generations was a man who had an extraordinary existence. Born in New York City in 1912, Williams was educated in England and trained on the continent. After enduring the Blitz in London, he returned to New York, where he encountered the vibrant art and cultural scene of the 1940s. He made his home first in New York, then Aspen, and finally Guanajuato, Mexico and was married four times. During his life he met people who shaped and exemplified the twentieth century: Winston Churchill, E. B. White and Ursula Nordstrom, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and countless more. This is a biography of Garth Williams as an artist and an illustrator. It is the story of how his journey led him from winning sculpture awards at the Royal College of Art in London, to capturing the essence of frontier life in the American West, to rendering the humanity of beloved animal characters. The biography also explores the historical context that affected Williams’ life and art, both in the old world and the new. Against the frenetic pace of post-war suburbanization, Williams’ illustrations nurtured a connection with the animal world and with a vanishing agrarian life. By tapping into American themes, Williams spoke to a postwar yearning for simplicity. Complete with more than 60 illustrations, this is the first full biography of Garth Williams written with the help and cooperation of his family.

Set in Vegas, these Mary McCarthy Prize-winning stories chronicle what becomes of a man contorted by grief and sexual regret.