Linda Ashman

"As an old man grumbles his way through a rainy morning, spreading gloom, his neighbor, a young child, spreads cheer while hopping through puddles in frog-themed rainwear." --

Told in two voices, this sweet rhyming friendship story follows two children as they try to discover what they have in common.

Whether spending time with Papa, singing songs with Grandma, playing games with Lucy, or racing with Charlie, toddler Henry wears his family out until bedtime, when Mama is the one who wants more.

"¿Cómo puede ser que dos personas vean el mismo día de manera tan diferente? ¿Y qué ocurre cuando estas dos personas se conocen? ¡Toma el paraguas y averigualo!"-- "How can two people view the same day so differently? And what happens when the two meet? Grab your umbrella and find out!"--

William asks his animal friends, one after another, to awake from hibernation and prepare a celebration for a special friend who has been away all winter.--

"Mom . . . there's an elephant in the living room. It's moving day-and look who slipped in the door: an elephant! But when a little girl tries to tell her family about their unusual guest, the distracted grown-ups just say, "Ella WHO?" Even as children giggle at the girl's adventures with the smallish pachyderm, and at the fun, recurring refrain, they'll relate to the poignant theme about making-and sometimes letting go of-new friends." - ONIX annotations....

"The classic song gets a fresh new twist! The fun begins when Grandma and Grandpa send invitations to their far-flung, modern, and multiracial family: Come to our house for the holidays--and bring your favorite pie! Off everyone goes, driving down snowy roads, riding the train, boarding a plane ... even sailing along in a hot-air balloon. As each family faces an obstacle that delays their trip, they learn that sometimes the most old-fashioned form...

Simple rhyming text encourages children to set aside anger and irritation and find peace within themselves, and with the world.