Most Popular Books by Karla Kuskin

"It is almost Friday night. Outside, the dark is getting darker," and here and there around the city ninety-two men and thirteen women are getting dressed to go to work. First they bathe and put on their underwear. Then they don special black-and-white apparel. Then when the one hundred and five people are completely ready, each takes a musical instrument and travels to midtown. There, at 8:30 tonight, they will work together: playing. In these pages Karla Kuskin and Marc Simont combine their talents to give us a delightful and unusual inside view of one way an orchestra prepares. Nominee, 1983 American Book Award Notable Children''s Books of 1983 (ALA) 1983 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book) Outstanding Children''s Books of 1982 (NYT) A Reading Rainbow Selection 1983 Teachers'' Choices (NCTE) Children''s Books of 1982 (Library of Congress)

Winter is here and it''s time to put on your gloves and mittens and scarf and hat and... Only award-winning poet Karla Kuskin and illustrator Fumi Kosaka could make bundling up for the snow so much fun!

What''s a boy to do when his mom buys him everything he wants? Should he take his new toys everywhere?

Children''s author Karla Kuskin describes her life, her daily activities, and her creative process, showing how all are interwoven.

A rhyming tale of a city dog''s first outing in the country.

What would you be if you were green? Or red? Or blue? Or yellow? Would you still be you?

James puts on his yellow slicker and goes out into the rain to play rainy day games with an ever-increasing number of different animals.

William''s mother knows him so well that she can distinguish him from everyone else in the world--even if he were a horse or a songbird or a mouse or a pig.

So, what''s it like to be a cat? I''m very glad you asked me that. Are cats afraid of the dark? Where do they prefer to sleep? What time do cats eat their breakfast? And what do they really think of dogs (and people!)? The award-winning team of Karla Kuskin and Betsy Lewin explore the secret inner lives of felines in this beguiling question-and-answer interview between an intrepid child and a very clever cat.

Evokes the spirit of an ancient city, recalling David, Nebuchadnezzer, Herod, Hadrian, Constantine, Saladin, Sulieman, and the many groups who came to conquer; and observes that despite 3000 years of being battered, burned, and rebuilt, Jerusaleum shines peacefully in the moonlight.

With the pixiness of Eloise and the innocence of Dennis the Menace, Virginia Cary Hudson was a sprite of ten when she wrote these essays for a very understanding teacher at the Episcopal boarding school she was attending in 1904. With over 1 million copies sold, this humorous collection of small-town Americana has become a modern-day classic, celebrating the honesty and charm of a child''s world at the turn of the century. On Moses: "I got so tired of Moses walking forty years and never getting to where he was going. I sure would have bought myself a mule." On the library: "In the library there are signs. Silence. Mrs. Simons [the librarian] must not know they are there. She talks the whole long day." These naively trouncing concepts of school, church etiquette, and everlasting life are both a child''s mischievous collection of impressions and an adult''s hilarious comeuppance.

"A Christian boy is invited to the home of his Jewish friend to participate in the first night of Hanukkah. . . . After the lighting of the candles and the recitation of the prayers, the boys hear the Hanukkah story about the Jews'' fight for religious liberty against the tyrant Antiochus and the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days".--The Washington Times.

A collection of poems, an ode to the author''s cat, Toots

Rhyming text presents the behavior and noises of animals such as the lion, snake, and kangaroo.

Write about a radish Too many people write about the moon. The night is black The stars are small and high The clock unwinds its ever-ticking tune Hills gleam dimly Distant nighthawks cry. A radish rises in the waiting sky. This long-awaited, comprehensive collection by acclaimed poet Karla Kuskin contains her most celebrated poems as well as new works never before published. Whether she''s writing about napping cats, reaches of beaches, or radishes as beautiful as the moon, Moon, Have You Met My Mother? amuses while it inspires.

"Though the words [in this collection of free-verse poems] are simple and the humor direct, there''s an inner core of meaning for thoughtful readers to ponder, while the deft play with sounds is delightful. Cheerfully unassuming illustrations make a perfect complement." —K. Notable Children''s Books of 1993 (ALA) 100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1992 (NY Public Library)

A poem tells of John''s day, and the sounds he makes and hears. Alternate pages present the sounds, from the "Brrrrrrnnnnggg" of the alarm clock to the "Arf" of his dog''s greeting to his father.

The fights between a mean, old cat and a lean, young cat always end in a draw and result in a waste of energy which proves the futility of war. Reprint.

This little girl has her mother''s eyes, her father''s hair, and her Aunt Jen''s funny little toe. Or does she? In fact, she is also totally, thoroughly, wonderfully herself.

Includes poems chosen by the author from previously published collections, including "Soap Soup, " "Near the Window Tree, " and "Something Sleeping in the Hall."

A welcome reissue of poems that had appeared previously in the author''s works.

A mother making a quilt for her child stitches the varied topography of their beautiful island into her patchwork pattern.

Seventeen poems about such things as a witch''s ride, a birthday party, and a stuffed bear.

Noah builds an ark.

Follows a fictitious football team off the field, into the locker room, and to their homes, describing the normal routine after a game and examining the uniforms and pieces of equipment as they are removed.

The reader is invited to identify the animal or object described in each of these thirty poems.

A snowman relates in a brief autobiography how he was constructed from the ground up and how the sun made soup of him.

With the help of a wise witch, Mrs. Mouse finally teaches her acquisitive daughter that there is something more important than material things.

Thirty-two poems with notes explaining some of the author''s procreative thoughts.

In this poem an old tin can becomes an urban conch shell when, held against a child''s ear, it reveals the sounds of a bustling city.

Short Herbert and tall Philomel discover that their heights change when they stand next to different people.

When his parents are too busy to listen to his song, a young boy sets out, with the aid of a fantastic assortment of characters, to find his magic grandmother.

Poems in humorous vein about animals, nature, friends, and experiences.

A welcome reissue of poems that had appeared previously in the author''s works.