New Releases by Helen Ketteman

Fiction: In this Tex-Mex retelling of The Little Gingerbread Man, Senorita Gordita--a little corn cake--escapes from the frying pan and leads a merry chase. She runs through the desert boasting, "You''ll never catch me!" while fleeing from a spider, a rattler, and other hungry creatures "with a flip, and a skip, and a zip-zoom-zip." Nonfiction: Did you know that a desert is a large area of very dry land? Deserts are almost always very hot or very cold. Learn more in Deserts, a title in the Natural Habitats and Ecosystems series.

Fiction: Three little gators strike out on their own in an east Texas swamp. Their mother warns them to build strong houses that can protect them from Big-bottomed Boar, who likes to eat tasty, tender gators for his snack. Soon, First Gator builds himself a nice house out of rocks. Second Gator reckons rocks are too much work, so he builds his house with sticks. And Third Gator''s house of sand is the easiest one to build! But soon Big-bottomed Boar shows up. With a bump, bump, bump of the fierce boar''s rump, he knocks over Third Gator''s house of sand. It doesn''t take long for that rump to bump Second Gator''s house of sticks. But he can''t knock over Third Gator''s house of stones, so he tries another way in - through the chimney! Guess what happens to the Boar''s rump after that?! Nonfiction: Did you know that a male alligator is called a bull? It has a loud roar that can be heard from far away. Learn these and other interesting facts in All About Alligators.

Little Monster is going trick-or-treating for the very first time. There are going to be all kinds of creatures about, like witches and vampires and zombies. And lots of spooky noises too! As Little Monster makes his way around the neighborhood, Papa is there to help guide him through his fears as they encounter one scary thing after another...until they reach the last house of the night. It''s the spookiest house of all, and--YIKES!--there might be a surprise waiting for them. Will Little Monster be brave?

Little Monster''s nervous about his first day of school, but his teacher Mr. Drool and the other monsters put him at ease.

All through the school, ghosts go marching, witches go flying, and goblins go groaning with a whole host of other creatures! The teachers and staff are terrified, but of course the students know it''s just Halloween fun! Helen Ketteman’s verses—written to the counting tune of The Ants Go Marching—make this a rollicking read-aloud, while Adam Record’s artwork brings the ghoulish parade to life.

"There once was a cowpoke who swallowed an ant— A fiery thing with a Texas-sized sting. The cowpoke panted, and his voice got higher. ''Yippie-ti-yay! My stomach''s on fire!!''" In this Texas-styled reworking of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, a cowboy downs a variety of native Southwest creatures—a spider, a roadrunner, a lizard, an armadillo, a snake, a boar, and more—all to catch that ant! Another hilarious and vividly illustrated tale from the team behind Senorita Gordita and The Three Little Gators.

From the author of the popular Goodnight, Little Monster and a character designer for Pixar films comes a delightful rhyming romp through an old haunted house. Vibrantly painted illustrations lead three children through the house, where new creatures await in each room. Readers can count along as they see Pa goblin and his wee goblins four and witches and ghosts, and so many more. Just the right blend of spooky fun, this book is a can''t-miss treat for Halloween.

Resets the tale of the Gingerbread boy in the Southwest, where the scrumptious Gordita eludes her pursuers until she meets a clever owl. Includes glossary of Spanish terms and a gorditas recipe.

Times sure are tough on the ranch, and Waynetta and her ma can use all the luck they can get. But when Waynetta trades their last longhorn for a handful of so-called magic corn, Ma is non too pleased. A fast-paced Texas retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk featuring a girl hero.

2013 IRA-CBC Children''s Choices In this Tex-Mex retelling of The Little Gingerbread Man, Senorita Gordita--a little corn cake-- escapes from the frying pan and leads a merry chase. She runs through the desert boasting, "You''ll never catch me!" while fleeing from a spider, a rattler, and other hungry creatures "with a flip, and a skip, and a zip-zoom-zip." A fast-paced and wildly illustrated twist on an old favorite.

Little Bear learns that if he becomes sick, Mama Bear will nurse him, and a variety of zoo animals, back to health.

In this Texas-style adaptation of a traditional folktale, a tarantula, bluebird, and horned toad refuse to help an armadillo prepare a batch of chili but nevertheless expect to eat it when it''s ready.

Rhyming text describes a mother guiding her young monster through bedtime preparations, such as howling at the moon, snacking on worm juice and beetle bread, and choosing a bedtime story.

Wanda Gag Honor Book 2010 2011 Washington Children''s Choice Picture Book Award nominee A delightfull retelling of the three little pigs story. Three little gators strike out on their own in an east Texas swamp. Their mother warns them to build strong houses that can protect them from Big-bottomed Boar, who likes to eat tasty, tender gators for his snack. Soon, First Gator builds himself a nice house out of rocks. Second Gator reckons rocks are too much work, so he builds his house with sticks. And Third Gator''s house of sand is the easiest one to build! But soon Big-bottomed Boar shows up. With a bump, bump, bump of the fierce boar''s rump, he knocks over Third Gator''s house of sand. It doesn''t take long for that rump to bump Second Gator''s house of sticks. But he can''t knock over Third Gator''s house of stones, so he tries another way in - through the chimney! Guess what happens to the Boar''s rump after that?!

When Gator starts tappin his toes, all the swamp animals sing to his beat

Armadillo''s habit of eavesdropping and then misreporting what he hears makes the other animals so angry that they find a way to keep him from overhearing their private conversations.

When her town hosts a Fourth of July cake competition, Donna Rae tries to bake the best cake ever, but with every patriotic confection she makes, something goes wrong.

2005-2006 North Carolina Children''s Book Award Master List 2007 Arizona Young Reader Award Picture Book Master List 2005 Winner, Storytelling World Award Children''s Books Top Picks, Southwest Books of the Year 2004 2005 Texas Library Association''s 2 x 2 Reading List A blue norther''s a-blowing'', and Miss Billie Armadilly is hankering to make a pot of chili! Only she needs to fix it all by herself because Tex the tarantula, Mackie the bluebird, and Taffy the horned toad are too busy to lend a hand. Well, she''ll eat it all by herself, too! But then the smell of chili cooking in the cold night brings her friends one by one back to Miss Billie''s door. What''s a lady armadillo to do?

Offers the amusing story of how the armadillo, after eavesdropping one too many times, lost his once large ears and came to have the small ears he presently has today. Original.

After Papa''s death, Mama and her five children can barely make ends meet, yet she still finds the time to embroider a special dress for Yvette''s graduation.

Offers the amusing story of how the armadillo, after eavesdropping one too many times, lost his once large ears and came to have the small ears he presently has today.

The demanding people of Mudville test an ingenious shoeshine man. Shoeshine Whittaker thinks on his feet-and comes through in the end, in this illustrated tall-tale of the old West from the creators of Heat Wave.

After saving to buy a baseball glove, a young farm boy takes a memorable trip to town with his father.

A terrible Heat Wave descends upon a farm, turning the corn to popcorn and almost cooking the cows, but the girl of the family saves the day.

Loosely based on "Cinderella, " this story is set in Texas, the fairy godmother is a cow, and the hero, named Bubba, is the stepson of a wicked rancher.

An eager child finds that it takes time and patience to make friends with Grandma''s cat.

What kind of crazy, windy weather do the townspeople predict for Christmas?