Tiny Treasury

The Berenstain Bears and the Big Honey Hunt

By Stan and Jan Berenstain

Papa Bear tries to teach Small Bear how to find honey in a honey tree.

According to Papa Bear, a bear must use his “smarts” to search for honey. When he brings Brother Bear along on a hunt for honey, it takes more than a few missteps to convince the Bears of where the best honey can be found.

You’ll enjoy watching Papa Bear and Brother Bear’s adventures on their Great Honey Hunt. They will follow a bee to a tree hiding an owl’s nest where Papa breaks a few eggs and gets chased away by an angry owl parent. Then it’s after the bee and on the next tree. This one is hiding a napping porcupine, which quickly chases Papa and Brother Bear off after their bee guide. Then they run into a family of skunks before finally following their bee to the honey tree. Only the bees aren’t so eager to share their honey, and Papa Bear and Brother Bear are forced to leave the honey tree empty handed. Papa Bear assures Brother Bear that all is not lost, as the best honey is never from bees in trees but bought at the store.

When it comes to entertaining rhymes, the Berenstains are second only to the late, great Dr. Seuss himself.

About the Authors

Stan and Jan Berenstain were both born in 1923 in Philadelphia. They didn’t know each other as children, but met later at school, at the Philadelphia College of Art. They liked each other right away, and found out that the both enjoyed the same kinds of books, plays, music and art. During World War II, Stan was a medical assistant in the Army, and Jan worked in an airplane factory. When the war was over, they got married and began to work together as artists and writers, primarily drawing cartoons for popular magazines. After having their two sons Leo and Michael, the Berenstains decided to write some funny children’s books that their children and other children could read and enjoy. Their first published children’s book was called The Big Honey Hunt. It was about a family of bears, who later became known as the “Berenstain Bears”.

The Berenstain Bears and the Wishing Star

By Stan and Jan Berenstain

Sister Bear learns about the magic of the wishing star, but Brother Bear teaches her that hard work is also important.

The family is shopping in the local mall and Sister sees a teddy bear that she really likes. Her birthday is fast approaching and Mama and Papa Bear have the same thought–the teddy bear would make a perfect birthday present. Sister is having trouble with math and Papa is helping her. When Mama Bear teaches the cubs about the wishing star, Sister Bear immediately wishes as hard as she can for the special teddy she saw in a store window. She’s thrilled when her wish comes true on her birthday. The next night she wishes for a better grade in math. That also comes true. Sister is really taken with a pony and once again wishes for it. But what will happen when that wish does not come true?

Her brother points out that the other wishes came true by a combination of events–her birthday and the extra effort she put in to improve her math skills. As with most Berenstain Bear books, there is a lesson or moral to be learned. In this engaging story of essential lessons, Brother Bear teaches his sister about the magic of the wishing star, the rewards of hard work, and the dangers of being greedy.

Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain. Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas said of Greed: “it is a sin directly against one’s neighbor, since one man cannot over-abound in external riches, without another man lacking them. Studies in the field of happiness economics, confirm that beyond the provision of a basic level of material comfort, more wealth does not increase happiness.

By Stan and Jan Berenstain

When Mama, Papa, Sister, and Brother decide to clean their house, they find that it is difficult to get rid of things.

Mama Bear is all set to give the tree house a good spring-cleaning. Papa Bear, Brother Bear, and Sister Bear all offer to help. They start to clean the house from top to bottom, collecting things for a yard sale along the way.

A cracked lamp, a split bat, a broken fishing pole, a torn teddy bear, and other tattered things are all to be put on sale. But each tattered thing seems to be someone’s favorite! Perhaps spring-cleaning will have to wait until next year.

Beginning readers will love the fun, laughable antics of the Berenstain Bear family.

By Steven Kellogg

His behavior may be rather unconventional, but Pinkerton the dog proves it doesn’t really matter.

Pinkerton is a puppy with a heart of gold, but he just won’t behave! Pinkerton doesn’t understand his owner’s commands. When told to come, he jumps out the window. When asked to fetch the newspaper, he destroys it. In an effort to end his mischievous ways, Emily and her mother enroll Pinkerton in Dr. Aleasha Kibble’s Canine University. Pinkerton can’t seem to get anything right, and he flunks out in record time. Then one night a burglar breaks into their house, and Pinkerton, with some clever help from Emily and her mother, is able to put his bad habits to good use and proves that he has known exactly how to behave all along!

“Humor abounds in this exuberant tale…Bright lively colors and spare use of narrative blend to help make this a splendid comedic success. Kellogg at his best.” - Booklist

By Robert Kinerk, and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg

Using determination and vision, Clorinda the cow and her friend Hop the pig build a variety of flying machines, hoping to fulfill her desire to take flight.

That irrepressible Clorinda!

One afternoon while taking the sun, a cow named Clorinda casually notices the flight of a passing barn swallow. “Oh, how I wish I could fly like a bird,” thinks Clorinda. So (never mind that a cow never has), Clorinda resolves to be the first and to show the world how it’s done. She flatly dismisses the reasoned misgivings of her dear friend Hop and then enlists the help of her dear friend Len. One way or another, Clorinda the cow will fly. Sky High!

But more important to the intrepid trio than their Lindbergh-like achievement is the warm, sustaining friendship that binds them together.

Just as in their first collaboration, Clorinda, Robert Kinerk and Steven Kellogg team up in an adventure that soars above the aspirations of ordinary bovines. Clorinda Takes Flight will inspire picture book readers to follow their dreams, no matter how impossible the quests may seem.

“A bovine so divine that it’s hard to take your eyes off her. Much applause for Clorinda.” – Booklist review

This delightful visual story begins on the front endpapers, which depict Clorinda and Len on a blanket having tea. A huge golden sun produces a warm glow that infuses all the future scenes with a sense of joy. With the pig Hop, they share an enthusiasm demonstrated in the series of scenes of collecting, assembling, and flying, only to land in glorious jumbles of junk. Kellogg presents the disasters in ways that make us laugh. He creates his fantasy with mixed water-based paints, in scenes replete with details that invite close attention. On the back endpapers, the three are shown to be enjoying the queen’s tea under the stars and a glowing moon.

By Helen Ketteman, and Illustrated by Will Terry

A Texas-style spin on “The Little Red Hen”

A blue norther’s a-blowin’, and Miss Billie Armadilly is hankering to make a pot of chili! She asks for assistance from Tex the tarantula, Mackie the bluebird, and Taffy the horned toad, but all three are too busy to help. Ever resourceful, Miss Billie single-handedly gathers a bunch of beetles, picks a peck of peppers, chops up prickly pear cactus, and cooks up her specialty.

Well, she’ll eat it all by herself, too! That evening, her hungry pals ask for a taste, but she tells them, “No workin’ with Billie, no sharin’ the chili!”

However, when the proud and somewhat angry armadillo sits down to eat, she sadly discovers one precious ingredient missing from the concoction-the love of her friends. But then the smell of chili cooking in the cold night brings her friends back to Miss Billie’s door with “sacks full of apologies” and their own contributions of hot apple cider, jalapeno biscuits, and homemade chocolate fudge to share with Miss Billie.

What’s a lady armadillo to do?

Helen Ketteman’s take on “The Little Red Hen” is joined by the Southwestern warmth of Will Terry’s paintings for a spicy and satisfying story time that reminds us there is always room for friends.

Terry debuts his vibrant cartoon artwork with big Southwestern scenes, laid out in swirls and curls of rich color, through which his characters, decked out in western wear (that’s a Stetson and four pairs of boots for Tex), saunter stylishly until gathering at Billie’s hacienda to chatter the chilly night away. Done in jewel tones, the scenes depict the warmth of the desert landscape as well as that of the creatures’ friendship. The rhythmic text reads aloud well and the dialogue has a western flavor. Despite the lack of a recipe-with or without beetles-here’s a tale guaranteed to warm the bones on a cold night.

By Anna Dewdney

A young llama wants to play but must go shopping with his mother instead, and so he gets angry and makes a mess at the store.

It’s Saturday, and Mama has just a little shipping to do with Llama Llama. Bread and pasta, socks and shoes. Up one aisle. Down another. Mama has a long shopping list…

Is Llama Llama having a good time?

NO!

Before Mama Llama knows it, everything she put in the shopping cart is now flying out of it! Llama Llama is mad! He doesn’t want to be shopping—he wants to be playing. It’s another llama drama!

Can Mama Llama fix it?

YES!

Following in the very funny footsteps of Llama Llama Red Pajama, Llama Llama Mad at Mama is a story that parents and children can relate to, learn from, and laugh at together.

The author manages to show a toddler’s view of a trip to the store, a trip the little one is not enjoying. After being dragged away from a happy time playing with his toys, Llama is strapped into his car seat, where he takes a little snooze during the drive to the Shop-O-Rama. It does not take him long to get tired of the

Yucky music, great big feet.

Ladies smelling way too sweet.

Look at knees and stand in line.

Llama Llama starts to whine.

Does any child like to go shopping? Not Llama Llama! But Mama can’t leave Llama at home, so off they go to Shop-O-Rama. Lots of aisles. Long lines. Mama is too busy to notice that Llama Llama is getting m-a-d! And before he knows it, he’s having a full-out tantrum! Mama quickly calms him down, but she also realizes that they need to make shopping more fun for both of them.

By Pat Hutchins

Happy Birthday, Billy!

It’s a party, and all the little monsters want to play with Billy’s new toys. Billy loves his presents, and he doesn’t want to share. And why should he? They are HIS toys, and it is HIS birthday, and he can have just as much fun all by himself. Right?

So what do you think will happen when Hazel gives Billy a game he can’t play on his own?

Come find out, because you are invited to Billy Monster’s birthday party, too.

Everybody’s favorite monster is having a birthday! The party guests have arrived and are ready for a day of birthday fun, but Billy is having a hard time sharing his new things. He can jump rope and throw his ball all by himself, right? And when sister Hazel gives him a box of games, well, he can play those by himself, too — or can he? Lively illustrations show Billy looking more and more dubious as he watches the others having fun. A hilarious visit with Pat Hutchin’s irrepressible monster who learns that sometimes sharing can be hard — but also lots of fun. Happy Birthday, Billy! In this fifth book about the monster family, Billy finally learns about sharing. Suddenly friendship has more appeal and he shares the new gift, the rest of his presents, and the cake.

Once again, Hutchins has used a repetitive story line to create a clever and comforting tale. The colorful illustrations of purple, blue, green, and yellow monsters are pure delight. Whimsical expressions, including Billy’s green tears, add to the fun. Hutchins has a marvelous gift for providing humorous stories with a message everyone will want to share.

By Laura Numeroff, and Illustrated by Joe Mathieu

In a child’s imagination, animals do wacky things, including ducks riding bikes, yaks skiing, and fish eating bagels.

Dogs don’t wear sneakers

And pigs don’t wear hats

And dresses look silly on Siamese cats.

So goes Laura Numeroff’s lively laugh along text that explores the many ways in which you and I differ from our furred, feathered and finny friends.

Animals would look pretty silly doing a lot of the things that people do all the time. The unlikely combinations in Laura Numeroff’s cheerful rhymes and Joe Mathieu’s bright, zany pictures will make you laugh out loud. The upbeat, rhymed text provides a series of unlikely scenarios- sheep in the shower, hens in the swimming pool-some of which work better than others. It’s Mathieu’s wacky and inventive illustrations that really carry the show. His expressive animals lift weights, dangle off diving boards, and cavort in a variety of crazy outfits. Kids will enjoy the silliness. Teachers will appreciate the final page, which invites readers to “tell me what you see,” making the title a spirited springboard for creative activities.

Despite the catchy canine title, Numeroff and Mathieu’s picture book is not about Man’s Best Friends. Rather, the author and illustrator work together to pull off what could be the antithesis of a nonsense rhyme–a verse that derives its kid-appeal by its apparent sensibleness. But as the text intones various truths (”Dogs don’t wear sneakers / And pigs don’t wear hats / And dresses look silly / On Siamese cats), the illustrations serve up irreverent contradictions: a pack of well-shod pooches prances its way through a “Dog Days Marathon”; the aforesaid pigs and cats don lavish costumes for a production of “The Pigs of Penzance.” One particularly frolicsome scene (”Fish don’t eat bagels”) shows a pair of hatted fish perched on stools at an underwater diner, one in the process of “schmearing” his bagel. Mathieu’s exuberant art sets off Numeroff’s neatly veiled silliness. Good goofy fun.

By Judy Sierra, and Illustrated by Henrik Drescher

Make room in your suitcase for this monstrously entertaining guide to

fantastic creatures around the world — and how to elude them. Provides illustrations and brief descriptions of monsters found in different parts of the world, including Bloody Mary, who pulls children into mirrors throughout North America, and the blood-sucking, water-dwelling Kappas of Japan.

Why should you have baby teeth handy when you visit the American Midwest? Or a cucumber nearby when you go swimming in Japan? How good are you at solving Russian riddles? From Boston to Beijing, from Moscow to Mali, any place you visit has its own terrifying tales of very real creatures. Complete with handy “gruesomeness ratings,” this guide offers all the important facts on some sixty-three folkloric monsters and how (if possible!) to survive an encounter with them. Meticulously researched by folklore expert Judy Sierra and illustrated in grotesque detail by Henrik Drescher, here is the ultimate resource for any world traveler, armchair or otherwise. For those who actually encounter a bunyip, a zombie, or a cannibal baby, there’s plenty of advice on how to make it home alive.

Each monster receives a Gruesomeness Rating (one skull-and-crossbones symbol equals “frightening,” five mean “fatal”), along with a description and tongue-in-cheek Survival Tip. The author offers folksy strategies for avoiding a forest cave-dwelling kidnapper called the Dziwozony (”If you are small and cute, don’t venture alone into a Polish forest”) and the clutching Burr Woman of the American Great Plains (”Before helping any nice older ladies, ask to see their fingernails”). Readers learn that the giant half-bird Chiruwi of Malawi will challenge them to wrestle, and that Malaysia’s tiny Polong and cricket-like Pelesit secretly burrow under the skin: “People with polong sickness talk endlessly about cats.” The mortally dangerous monsters come with fewer instructions, naturally. La cobra grande strikes terror into Amazon travelers (”Sorry, no survivors to query”) and the prey-inhaling Nundu allegedly prowls Southern and Eastern Africa (”Survival Tip: Good luck!”). Drescher’s grotesque mixed-media illustrations look like doodles after nightmares, and suggest terrified glimpses of these 60-odd ghouls.

By Pat Hutchins

A young girl describes her relationship to the various members of her family, including her stepfamily, as they all gather to celebrate her birthday. The young child is pleased that “It’s nice to be so many things when there’s only ONE OF ME!”

Daughter

Sister

Half-sister

Stepdaughter

Stepsister

Cousin

Niece

Granddaughter

Great-Granddaughter

There are so many things to be when the relatives are coming to your birthday party!

But sometimes the best thing of all is to be a birthday girl. Oh, happy birthday!

Relatives and their relationships are more difficult than ever to keep straight in these days of half-siblings and stepparents. On the occasion of her birthday party, a young girl tries to keep track of how she is related to them cumulatively as guests arrive, including cousin, aunt and uncle, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Every time the door opens, a new person enters the room bearing something for the party. Each additional person leads the girl to review all the relationships. They gather around the table to celebrate the birthday of the girl who is so many things to so many people, but really “only one.” Hutchins shows the dining table gradually filling with the goodies brought by each relative along with their interactions. Her flat colored drawings, done in pen and ink and felt-tipped markers, define fabric patterns and foods while creating a civil environment of good spirits and growing anticipation leading to the greeting of the heroine. The curious family cat adds comic bits to each double-page scene. Children can figure out their own complicated family patterns after reading about this family’s varied relationships.

By Maurice Sendak

A little boy’s dream-fantasy in which he helps three fat bakers get milk for their cake batter.

When asked, Maurice Sendak insisted that he was not a comics artist, but an illustrator. However, it’s hard to not notice comics aspects in works like In the Night Kitchen. The child of the story, Mikey, is depicted floating from panel to panel as he drifts through the fantastic dream world of the bakers’ kitchen.

Sendak’s use of multiple panels and integrated hand-lettered text is an interesting contrast to his more traditional children’s books containing single-page illustrations such as his wildly popular Where the Wild Things Are.

The story of Mickey’s nighttime adventure in the baker’s kitchen is “a highly original dream fantasy with deliciously playful illustrations and an easily remembered text.

About the Author

Sometimes dark, sometimes gleefully silly, but always inventive, intelligent, and colorful, Maurice Sendak’s imaginatively illustrated children’s books never forget their audience. Although his classic Where the Wild Things Are was criticized upon its initial publication for being too frightening, children responded with enthusiasm to both its wonderfully zany artwork as well as to its honesty. Forty years later, they still do.

Maurice Sendak received the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are. In 1970 he received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration, and he remains the only American ever awarded this honor. In 1983 Sendak received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, given in recognition of his entire body of work. He also received a 1996 National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America.

Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act? Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism? ~Henry Ward Beecher

The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. ~Benjamin Disraeli

Better than honor and glory, and History’s iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men. ~Richard Watson Gilder

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. ~Joseph Campbell

I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did. ~Benjamin Harrison

All we have of freedom, all we use or know -This our fathers bought for us long and long ago. ~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899

Your silent tents of green We deck with fragrant flowers; Yours has the suffering been, The memory shall be ours. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave” ~Muhammad

“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.” ~Thucydides

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” ~Arthur Ashe

“Nurture your minds with great thoughts, to believe in the heroic makes heroes.”~Benjamin Disraeli

Whoever, and however, you remember, have a safe and peaceful Memorial Day.

By Laura F. Nielsen, with pictures by Thomas F. Yezerski

Katie’s neighbor Mrs. Muddle declares more holidays than anyone else, and she celebrates them in style.

Katie is sure that her neighbors on Maple Street celebrate all of the yearly holidays in the usual ways. Then Mrs. Muddle moves into the neighborhood, and she soon has the children observing many unusual holidays.

In March, she makes peanut-butter-and-birdseed cookies for the birds to enjoy on first Robin Day. The next month, she and Katie dance in the rain during the First Shower of April. In May, Katie and her friends join Mrs. Muddle for Earthworm Appreciation Day.

As the year goes on, Mrs. Muddle continues to celebrate her favorite things, and the whole neighborhood gets in on the fun, from the Watermelon Bash to the Birthday of the Inventor of the Roller Skate.

But there’s one holiday that even Mrs. Muddle hasn’t thought of—and it’s up to Katie to create a very special celebration for one of her own favorites.

This is a beautiful book. Katie’s friends and neighbors celebrate a wide variety of ethnic, religious, and secular holidays. Katie is sure they celebrate all the holidays until Mrs. Muddle moves into the small house at the end of the block. From dancing in puddles during April showers, digging up gardens for worms to race, sharing watermelons in July, September skate parades, and Let’s Pretend It’s Summer in December, Katie learns that “official” holidays are just the beginning. Mrs. Muddle’s love of celebrations can teach all of us to appreciate every day for the gift it is. When the kids decide to surprise Mrs. Muddle with a holiday of her own, the real holy day is a celebration of friends and community.

Let this lovely book inspire you and yours to treat each and every day like a holiday.

By Stu Smith, Illustrated by Michael Garland

In a porridge-powered rocket ship, Goldilocks sets out to find a planet “where everything’s just right” and has a close encounter with a Martian family.

Goldilocks is fed up with chores and homework—can’t a girl have any fun?—so she builds a spaceship and blasts off for the adventure of her life. After touring all the planets (and finding something wrong with each of them), she finally lands on Mars and gets into a whole lot more trouble than she bargained for. By the time Goldilocks escapes and makes it safely back to Earth, home suddenly feels … just right, after all.

In this fairy tale retelling with a twist, Goldilocks has had it with her mother and Mom’s never ending list of chores—not to mention the Brussels sprouts and beets she packs for lunch—and decides to remedy the situation by building a rocket and blasting off in search of a more hospitable home. With her dog and cat in tow she checks out seven planets, but every one of them has problems. Realizing she has overlooked Mars, Goldilocks heads that way. Once again, she heads uninvited into a house and discovers three steaming bowls of Martian stew, three Martian chairs and three Martian beds (not all the chairs and beds are terribly hospitable). When the three Martians come home, they rejoice over the alien who has arrived for dinner. Goldilocks quickly realizes the Martians do not want her to join them for dinner; they want her to be their dinner. Rescued by her quick-thinking dog and cat our heroine decides that perhaps home is not quite as bad as she thought it was and heads for a crash landing on earth. Back in Mother’s arms she finally agrees, “everything’s just right.” The mix of alien and fairy tale is one that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

With a terrific rhyming text that’s great fun for out-loud reading, Michael Garland’s zany, action-packed artwork showcases this hilarious twist on an old favorite.