New Releases by Kathi Appelt

On a midsummer''s night the Marching Bat Band makes a rare appearance, its members grouped in formations that demonstrate multiplication from two times two up to ten times ten.

A little cowpoke is lulled to sleep by dreams of the sights and sounds of the Western landscape at night.

The Bat Jamboree was held early this year, at the old drive-in movie not too far from here. It was standing room only as the houselights went down. The spotlight came up -- there wasn''t a sound! Then: DD1 bat sang.DD2 bats flapped. DD3 bats cha-cha-edDD4 bats tapped. Every year a troupe of 55 buoyant bats comes up with 10 fabulous acts to entertain and instruct an enthusiatic audience. And every year the bats top themselves when they perform the grandest finale of all . . . With its exuberant text and enchanting illustrations, Bat Jamboree is both a counting book and a thrilling theatrical event.

A little girl dreams that she''s all alone at sea in a tiny boat. It''s dark, and the sea is scary. Then she sees the gentle moon, the first sign of God''s love. The moon, the stars, and at last the sun lend enough light to lead her back to shore, where she realizes she was never alone at all. God has brought her safely home. Based on a traditional children''s rhyme, Kathy Appelt''s poetic text and Debra Reid Jenkins'' imaginative and dramatic paintings, accented in gold leaf, convey a sense of mystery and wonder and make this book a perfect illustration of God''s abiding love.

Presents an illustrated collection of poems, followed by a section in which the author comments on each selection and offers prompts to help young adult readers begin their own writing projects.

Young Jesse waits all summer for her watermelon to ripen.

Using only prepositions as text, relates the adventures of two elephants as they travel to Africa to visit their Aunt Rwanda.