Meet the claymates: two balls of clay that can become anything--even best friends! What can you do with two blobs of clay? Create something amazing! But don't leave them alone for too long. Things might get a little crazy. In this photographic friendship adventure, the claymates squish, smash, and sculpt themselves into the funniest shapes imaginable. But can they fix a giant mess before they're caught in the act?

"A sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale." --The New York Times Book Review "Sweet and affirming." --Kirkus Reviews When the local Pet Club won't admit a boy's tiny pet elephant, he finds a solution--one that involves all kinds of unusual animals in this sweet and adorable picture book. Today is Pet Club day. There will be cats and dogs and fish, but strictly no elephants are allowed. The Pet Club doesn't understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend. Imaginative and lyrical, this sweet story captures the magic of friendship and the joy of having a pet.

“Tender, comforting, and complex.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Drawn with exquisite precision and quiet dashes of humor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A lovely, ruminative selection.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “A blueprint for mindfulness and gratitude for the homes in which we…live.” —The New York Times Book Review Deborah Freedman’s masterful new picture book is at once an introduction to the pieces of a house, a cozy story to share and explore, and a dreamy meditation on the magic of our homes and our world. Before there was this house, there were stones, and mud, and a colossal oak tree— three hugs around and as high as the blue. What was your home, once? This poetically simple, thought-provoking, and gorgeously illustrated book invites readers to think about where things come from and what nature provides.

Fans of the hit picture book I Don’t Want to Be a Frog will love this silly companion featuring a frog that's still as stubborn as ever and his surprisingly patient father. "Reminiscent of Mo Willems’s 'Elephant and Piggie' series"—Publishers Weekly Frog does NOT want to grow up. Doesn’t need to be tall. Doesn’t want to be able to jump high enough to see the tree frogs. He’s just FINE being small. Besides, if you grow up, you don’t get to do fun things like jump in mud puddles with your best friend, Pig. Do you? This hilarious story­—which uses humor to teach that it’s great being exactly who you are—is sure to bring a smile to every kid who just wants to stay a kid, in addition to those who are the smallest in their class. It’s a sly and smartly funny tale that will have children and parents laughing together. And look for all the books in this hilarious series: I Don't Want to Be a Frog There's Nothing to Do! I Don't Want to Go to Sleep

ELLEgirl, the international style bible for girls who dare to be different, is published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., and is accessible on the web at ellegirl.elle.com/. ELLEgirl provides young women with insider information on fashion, beauty, service and pop culture in a voice that, while maintaining authority on the subject, includes and amuses them.

In this modern-day fable about grief, diversity, and family connections, a young girl discovers the joys--and pain--of the creative process. Winner of the Bookstagang Best of 2021: Best Conversation Starter Picture Books of 2021. Longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize. Ezra Jack Keats Award Honoree. Eisha lives with her mother, a ceramic artist, who helps her make a special shape out of a piece of clay. The shape reminds Eisha of her father, of the ocean, of a lemon. As Eisha goes through her neighborhood doing errands with her mother, the piece of clay hardens and then shatters into pieces when Eisha taps it. In poignant and powerful words and pictures, Kenesha Sneed shows how Eisha learns to live with the sense of loss and of the joyful power of making something new out of what is left behind. Illustrated with Sneed's bold colors, graphic lines, and gestural textures, the book celebrates diversity and shares a gentle message that we all have the ability to heal and create.

Beloved children's entertainer Emily Arrow's first picture book, perfect for (little) makers everywhere: a story about finding a space to create! A young bunny makes the rounds of a studio building, taking in all the different artists in their habitats. Making, thinking, sharing, performing . . . but can our bunny find the perfect space to let imagination shine? In this charming ode to creativity, noted children's singer and entertainer Emily Arrow introduces readers to the concept of the studio: a place for painters, dancers, singers, actors, sculptors, printmakers . . . and you! Whether it's a purpose-made space with big windows, a room filled with equipment, or the corner of a bedroom, your studio can be anywhere--you just have to find it!

In this picture book, a girl’s gift of a Valentine to a boy prompts a tale with an enduring message of friendship. This book is not a valentine. It doesn’t have lacey edges or sugary hearts. But it is full of lucky rocks, secret hiding spots, and gumball machine treasures. This is a book about waiting in line and wishing for cinnamon buns. About recognizing that if you care so much about someone not thinking you care, maybe you really do. But wait—isn’t that exactly what love is about? Maybe this book is sort of a valentine after all. A testament to handmade, wacky, bashful, honest love—sure to win over the hearts of all readers—this offering from debut picture book author Carter Higgins and children’s book veteran Lucy Ruth Cummins is the perfect gift to celebrate every relationship, from parent to child, sibling to sibling, partner to partner, crush to crush. Praise for This Is Not a Valentine “A perfect book for kids who find the whole Valentine's Day holiday icky and overrated.” —Book Riot “A beautiful celebration of love and how different that may look to others celebrating Valentine's Day.” —ReaderTotz “[Cummins’s] cartoon cast is a diverse one, and refreshingly, this is more about deep friendship than romantic love; her kids are definitely just that: kids. . . . A sort of anti-valentine for those who want to show the ones they love they care without being all mushy (or spending any money).” —Kirkus Reviews

For graduates, for their parents, for anyone facing change, here is a gorgeously illustrated and stunningly heartfelt ode to the challenges of growing up and letting go. A story of the seasons and stepping stones as poignant for parents as for their kids, from the creator of Otis the tractor and illustrator of Love by Matt de la Pena. "Long’s gentle but powerful story about a young tree who holds tight to his leaves, even as everyone else lets theirs drop, takes on nothing less than the pain and sorrow of growing up. . . . As in Long’s unaccountably profound books about Otis the tractor, a pure white background somehow adds to the depth."—The New York Times Book Review In the middle of a little forest, there lives a Little Tree who loves his life and the splendid leaves that keep him cool in the heat of long summer days. Life is perfect just the way it is. Autumn arrives, and with it the cool winds that ruffle Little Tree's leaves. One by one the other trees drop their leaves, facing the cold of winter head on. But not Little Tree—he hugs his leaves as tightly as he can. Year after year Little Tree remains unchanged, despite words of encouragement from a squirrel, a fawn, and a fox, his leaves having long since turned brown and withered. As Little Tree sits in the shadow of the other trees, now grown sturdy and tall as though to touch the sun, he remembers when they were all the same size. And he knows he has an important decision to make. From #1 New York Times bestselling Loren Long comes a gorgeously-illustrated story that challenges each of us to have the courage to let go and to reach for the sun. Praise for Little Tree * "The illustrations are beautifully rendered . . . Understated and inviting, young readers will be entranced by Little Tree’s difficult but ultimately rewarding journey."—Booklist, starred review "Long’s gentle but powerful story about a young tree who holds tight to his leaves, even as everyone else lets theirs drop, takes on nothing less than the pain and sorrow of growing up. Season after season, Little Tree clings to his brown-leaved self until he can take a leap and shed his protection. He feels ‘the harsh cold of winter,’ but soon grows tall and green, and it’s not bad at all. As in Long’s unaccountably profound books about Otis the tractor, a pure white background somehow adds to the depth."—The New York Times Book Review * "[Long's] willingness to take his time and even test the audience’s patience with his arboreal hero’s intransigence results in an ending that’s both a big relief and an authentic triumph. Long’s earnest-eloquent narrative voice and distilled, single-plane drawings, both reminiscent of an allegorical pageant, acknowledge the reality of the struggle while offering the promise of brighter days ahead."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "Long is sparing with the text, keeping it simple and beautifully descriptive. Brilliantly colored illustrations done in acrylic, ink, and pencil stand out on bright white pages, with Little Tree taking the center position in each double-page spread. Tender and gentle and altogether lovely."—Kirkus Reviews "Children will see the tree facing the scariness of change; adult readers may well feel wistful as the story underscores the need to let their babies grow toward independence. Beautiful. Grade: A"—Cleveland Plain Dealer

A perfectly pitched bedtime story and counting book for sleepy train lovers, illustrated in dramatic 3D sculptures! A little boy climbs into bed with a book and starts counting the train cars in it, between the engine and caboose. "Ten sleepy cars going clickety-clack," reads the refrain. But as the boy counts cars and gets sleepier and sleepier, his room looks more and more like one of the train cars from his book--the sleeping car, of course! Rhythmically told by the author of the Froggy books, Sleep Train is also stunning to look at. 3D illustrator, Lauren Eldridge, has sculpted an entire train full of intricate details. Part bedtime story, part counting book, part children's fantasy, Sleep Train is a magical ride to dreamland.