When Banjo Cannon sits down to dinner, his sausage (named Melvin) jumps off the plate and runs away. The kitchen furniture, cutlery, peas, French fries, carrots, the famished boy, and his parents follow out the door in Gingerbread Man fashion

Talk about fast food. A hungry little boy races to catch a dinner that doesn't want to be eaten, in this lively picture book that was named a "Washington Post Book World" Best Children's Book of the Year.

The adventures of various nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters are retold in backward sequence with each tale interrelated to the other. Includes "Goldilocks," "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Jack and Jill," "The Frog Prince," "Cinderella," and "The Gingerbread Man."

When a boy goes to the market to buy food and comes home with an old wok instead, his parents wonder what they'll eat for dinner. But then the wok rolls out of the poor family's house with a skippity-hoppity-ho! and returns from the rich man's home with a feast in tow! With spirited text and lively illustrations, this story reminds readers about the importance of generosity.

Nineteen playful poems by the creators of The Runaway Dinner and The Pencil feature a unique cast of babies, sausages and nursery rhyme characters who reflect the experience of being new to the world.

It's the Chinese New Year, and the Chang Family has only enough rice flour to make one nián-gão, a special New Year's rice cake, for the entire family to eat. But this delicious little nián-gão has other ideas. "Ai yo! I don't think so!" it cries, coming to life and escaping. Ming, Cong, little Da and their parents chase the nián-gão all over the village until it runs into a hungry, old woman and sends her tumbling to the ground. Though Da is a small boy, his heart is big enough to share the treat with her, even though that leaves Da's family with nothing to eat for their own celebration. But the Changs' generosity doesn't go unnoticed. When they return home, they find the Kitchen God has left a wonderful surprise for them. Ying Chang Compestine's heartwarming story conveys an important and poignant message about sharing and compassion. Tungwai Chau's soft and evocative illustrations complete this tender holiday story.

From the creators of The Pencil and The Runaway Dinner comes the story of a loaf of bread, told slice by yummy slice!Three cheers for bread, HIP-HIP-HOORAY! Early in the morning the baker bakes a lovely loaf of bread. SO lovely, in fact, that by the time the sun goes down it's been gobbled up! Every. Last. Slice. Who eats it all? Well, the baker munches on its crunchy crust. The baker's wife eats delicious marmalade toast and the baker's son gets a tasty cheese and ham sandwich for his lunch. Let's not forget the dog, even he gets his share! HOORAY FOR BREAD! Slice by slice and crumb by crumb, everyone eats their fill of bread, with a teeny tiny mouse nibbling up the very last scrap. "Hooray" - squeak-squeak - "for bread!" But wait - there are some missing slices! Where could have they gone? Is there a tasty double spread just for YOU?

Talk about fast food! A hilarious, high-speed tale from the inimitable Allan Ahlberg catch it if you can! What happens if someone's dinner decides that, well, it doesn't want to be eaten? For a hungry little boy named Banjo and a savory sausage named Melvin, it's a plight that can only result in a breathless escape and what a chase it is! Off speeds the sturdy sausage leading fork, knife, and plate, chair and table, a handful of fries with various French names, and three fat little peas out the door, down the street, and around the park, with poor Banjo taking up the rear. Will the famished boy ever catch them? And what (gulp) happens to Melvin if he does? Allan Ahlberg is in his element with this fast and funny tale, while Bruce Ingman's kid-friendly illustrations add visual comedy to the chase.

A Lonely pencil timidly draws a boy, a dog and other items, but soon faces a problem as his creations begin demanding changes, and when he draws an eraser to make them happy, the real trouble begins.

In The Runaway Shirt, a mother and child transform the chore of laundry into a afternoon of laughter and imagination.