For use in schools and libraries only. Tells the story of three pigs who acquire some magic shapes, which they use for various purposes, some smart and some not so smart. Includes a section with related activities.

Grandfather tells a story about shape-changing fox fairies who try to best each other until a hunter brings danger to both of them.

Talking math with your child is simple and even entertaining with this better approach to shapes! Written by a celebrated math educator, this innovative inquiry encourages critical thinking and sparks memorable mathematical conversations. Children and their parents answer the same question about each set of four shapes: "Which one doesn't belong?" There's no one right answer--the important thing is to have a reason why. Kids might describe the shapes as squished, smooshed, dented, or even goofy. But when they justify their thinking, they're talking math! Winner of the Mathical Book Prize for books that inspire children to see math all around them. "This is one shape book that will both challenge readers' thinking and encourage them to think outside the box."--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

The sun comes up, and Miss Lina's ballerinas go to ballet class. They jump! They spin! They point their toes! But when class is over, Miss Lina's ballerinas keep dancing wherever they go. Based on the beloved Miss Lina's Ballerinas books, this is an original text that is just right for ballet-loving beginning readers.

A subversive and hilarious spin on the well-loved fairy tale. The three little wolves erect first a solid brick house. The big bad pig comes along and when huffing and puffing fails to work, he uses a sledgehammer to bring the house down. Next they build a home of concrete: The pig demolishes it with his pneumatic drill. The three little wolves choose an even stronger design next time round: They erect a house, made of steel, barbed wire, armor plates and video entry system, but the pig finds a way to demolish it too. It is only when the wolves construct a rather fragile house made of cherry blossoms, daffodils, pink roses, and marigolds that the pig has a change of heart ... A great read for children who enjoyed The Wolf's Story by Toby Forward. Kids aged 5 and up will enjoy this hilarious, subversive and brilliant read aloud picture book. Eugene Trivizas's text for The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig is perfectly complemented by Helen Oxenbury's watercolour illustrations. Eugene Trivizas has written over 100 books and is the winner of more than twenty national and international prizes and awards. His work has been adapted for stage, screen and radio. Helen Oxenbury's warm and witty illustrations have charmed children and adults alike for many years. Her version of Alice in Wonderland, published by Walker Books, won the 2001 Kate Greenaway Award, which she first won in 1969 for The Quangle Wangle's Hat. She has also won the Smarties Book Prize three times.

A MAY/JUNE 2000 BOOKSENSE '76 SELECTIONACCELERATED READER PROGRAM SELECTION"The use of foreshortening and a wide variety of camera angles makes each page a visual surprise. The emotions so clearly portrayed on each character's face echo those of the reader, who will finish this book with a broad smile."--Children's Literature "This handsome picture book will be useful for encouraging children to play around with geometry at home or in the classroom."--Booklist In China, a beautiful ceramic tile lies shattered on the ground, and the artist who dropped it is sentenced to the land's worst punishment. The fierce warlord will execute the artist unless some wise person can put the seven pieces back together. That person will then be invited to live in the castle. Both locals and strangers from far away wait their turns for a chance to solve the warlord's puzzle. After learning why these people are waiting to enter the castle, a peasant boy convinces his poor but wise father to join the line. This little boy starts them off on the first step to solving the puzzle--entering the contest.

"At the pet show, there are so many different types of pets. With dogs and cats, horses and chickens, hamsters and chinchillas--and many, many more--this book celebrates animal companions of all shapes and sizes"--

Little Smudge is lonely. Mummy Smudge asks why Little Smudge is all alone in the corner. Why can't Little Smudge go and find some friends? But when Little Smudge eventually finds the other colourful shapes, like Little Square and Little Triangle, they don't want to play with Little Smudge. That is, until they see all the amazing shapes Little Smudge can form, and just how different a smudge can be...

A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

"What makes you the way you are--and what makes each of us different from everyone else? In Innate, leading neuroscientist and popular science blogger Kevin Mitchell traces human diversity and individual differences to their deepest level: in the wiring of our brains. Deftly guiding us through important new research, including his own groundbreaking work, he explains how variations in the way our brains develop before birth strongly influence our psychology and behavior throughout our lives, shaping our personality, intelligence, sexuality, and even the way we perceive the world. We all share a genetic program for making a human brain, and the program for making a brain like yours is specifically encoded in your DNA. But, as Mitchell explains, the way that program plays out is affected by random processes of development that manifest uniquely in each person, even identical twins. The key insight of Innate is that the combination of these developmental and genetic variations creates innate differences in how our brains are wired--differences that impact all aspects of our psychology--and this insight promises to transform the way we see the interplay of nature and nurture. Innate also explores the genetic and neural underpinnings of disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy, and how our understanding of these conditions is being revolutionized. In addition, the book examines the social and ethical implications of these ideas and of new technologies that may soon offer the means to predict or manipulate human traits. Compelling and original, Innate will change the way you think about why and how we are who we are."--Provided by the publisher.