New Releases by Shelley Moore Thomas

From a seed to a plant, an egg to a chick, or a caterpillar to a butterfly, a child and father share the cycles in nature and come to see that as each journey ends a new adventure begins.

A modern fairytale about sisterhood, forgiveness, and redemption in the vein of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The One and Only Ivan. Off the coast of Ireland, on the island of Hybrasil, lives a Magician and four enchanted rabbit sisters. One by one, the rabbits have been leaving the island, accompanied by a Boy and his boat. When the rabbits leave, they can turn back into girls. The last rabbit, Albie, remains. She doesn''t want to leave, but the island is sinking. Before deciding where she wants to go, Albie visits each of her sisters. Caragh has joined a circus. Isolde is the captain of a pirate ship. And Rory wants to go home to the family''s house in Cork. Through many furry twists and hoppity turns, we learn how one mistake can lead to many consequences, and that forgiveness and family are always within reach.

Friendship is the winner in this hilarious contest between a girl who blames a narwhal for her mess and the narwhal who materializes to defend himself. This girl''s room is an amazing mess between the pies, the paints, and the giant rainbow splashed across the wall. She swears that she didn''t make the mess--in fact, it was probably a narwhal. They make pies all the time, don''t they? But when a real narwhal magically appears, the girl finds herself in a battle of wits with a creature who''s every bit as feisty and funny as she is. Can she convince this creature that a narwhal made the mess? Can the narwhal convince her that she knows nothing about narwhals? In the hilarity that ensues, girl and narwhal discover they were destined to be best friends.

“An original book with wide appeal.” —School Library Journal “A delight to share again and again.” —School Library Connection “Simple on the surface, this sweet story imparts important truisms about the planet we call home.” —BookPage “Thomas’s exhortations celebrate both natural beauty and human virtue in a kind of gentle eco-theology.” —Publishers Weekly “Encourages readers to find inspiration everywhere.” —Booklist From a child’s point of view, this lyrical picture book looks at the relationship of nature to the human world and the place we call home. From the edge of the sea to a high mountain top, everything has its place in the world and all living things are connected. The world around us has a lot to tell us if we take the time to look and listen. This tender and comforting picture book celebrates the wisdom in many of the things great and small that make up our wonderful world.

Meet a mouse narrator who stubbornly insists that this book contains absolutely no dragons—not even a claw nor a flame nor any large, pointy scales. Readers will know better—and enjoy being in on the joke—as a flock of dragons chase the mouse to the very end of the book within the book. Suspense builds humorously as the energetic text insists there are no dragons in this book, leading to a clever, unexpected ending. Clever artwork by Fred Koehler provides fun scenes to linger on and details to discover over multiple readings.

In their present-day tourist trap of an Irish seaside town, famed for its supposed involvement with selkies in the past, three sisters are faced with the sudden disappearance of their mother. Crushed by the loss, their father is struggling to carry on. To make matters worse, there are rumors afloat in the village that their mother herself is a selkie who has now shed her human form and gone back to sea. As Cordie Sullivan, the oldest daughter, tries to learn more about her mother''s vanishing, she must find the strength to help her family move ahead, even as she discovers an increasing number of clues that point to a hidden island off the coast—a mythical kingdom of the selkies.

The much-loved Good Knight is back again . . . and it’s his birthday! His three little dragon friends want to surprise him. They try to make a cake—but all they make is a mess. A card? Another mess—glitter and glue all over the room.Then the theatrical performance is a flop.Time is running out, and the poor little dragons must find a special way to say Happy Birthday, Good Knight. They do, and it’s a good day’s fun in this perfectly pitched easy reader. Good Night, Good Knight, the first in the Good Knight series, was an ALA Notable Book and a Booklist Top 10 Easy Reader, among other honors.

Guided by a tattered map, accompanied by Thomas the Pig Boy, and inspired by the storyteller''s blood that thrums through her veins, eleven-year-old Trinket searches for the seven stories she needs to become a bard like her father, who disappeared years before. She befriends a fortune-telling gypsy girl; returns a child stolen by the selkies to his true mother; confronts a banshee and receives a message from a ghost; helps a village girl outwit—and out-dance—the Faerie Queen; travels beyond the grave to battle a dastardly undead Highwayman; and meets a hound so loyal he fights a wolf to the death to protect the baby prince left in his charge. All fine material for six tales, but it is the seventh tale, in which Trinket learns her father''s true fate, that changes her life forever. The Seven Tales of Trinket is a Kirkus Reviews Best Children''s Book of 2012

The Good Knight''s hard work has earned him a vacation, but his three little dragon friends come along and make the trip anything but relaxing. Full color.

When three little dragons come to the castle on the night of a fancy ball, the Good Knight must remind them to mind their manners.

The three little dragons have agreed to take care of the old wizard''s cats while he is away, but their inability to read his instructions causes problems until their friend, the Good Knight, saves the day.

The much-heralded Good Knight is back-only this time his three little dragon friends are sick in bed. Their scaly foreheads are hot and their noses are drip-drip-dripping. They feel awful. The Good Knight comes to the rescue again! He brings them some slimy, grimy soup from the wizard to make them feel better. But the dragons wont touch it. What is a Good Knight to do?

Three little dragons in a far-off cave can''t sleep. Someone needs to tuck them in! Luckily a Good Knight keeps watch and hears their lonely ROAR. The Good Knight (because he is a good knight) helps by bringing glasses of water, reading stories, singing songs, and dispensing kisses in multiple trips down his tower and through the dark forest. Young readers will fall in love with the agreeable Good Knight and the dragons with their sweet but repetitive requests. The repetition--though it tires the Good Knight--will help beginning readers build confidence. With pictures by Jennifer Plecas, whose unforgettably adorable dragons will win every heart, Good Night, Good Knight is sure to become a new bedtime classic.

Young readers will fall in love with the agreeable Good Knight and the dragons with their sweet but repetitive requests. The repetition--though it tires the Good Knight--will help beginning readers build confidence. Full color.

A book directed at prospective older siblings about what to expect when a new baby arrives in the home.

1999 Best Children''s Books of the Year, Bank Street College 2002 CCBC Children''s Choices Somewhere in the world each day, people just like you are acting in kind, peaceful, loving ways. Perhaps they are visiting someone who is old, teaching a little sister to ride a bike, or sharing an experience with a friend from a different culture. With its poetic text and appealing, vibrant photographs, this book shows some of the simple ways in which any child or grownup can make the world a better place.

A soothing lullaby poem introduces gentle images, such as a big dog drowsing by the fire, a mother humming, and a baby yawning, as it helps tired youngsters fall asleep.