Books like Miss Lina's Ballerinas
By Grace Maccarone
For the kid who lines up stuffed animals in neat rows and loves a matching outfit, this rhyming ballet story about eight-turned-nine friends feels like home. Bouncy, pink-tinted, and rhythmic, with the light bounce of a dance class in session.
A big friendly bear heads to the swimming hole and notices someone shy rustling in the trees and scampering through the brush — who could this mysterious new creature be?
After finding a message in a bottle, a curious troll and his friend raft out to Lonely Island, hit a storm at sea, and are rescued by a resourceful new friend named Too-Ticky.
A girl who lives alone on a mountain asks the wind for a friend, and the wind sets out to bring her one.
Two scarecrows, Betty O'Barley and Harry O'Hay, fall in love and plan a wedding in the fields, gathering the farm's animals and birds to help them celebrate.
A dapper frog rides off on horseback to woo a coy little mouse, and their courtship unfolds through verse after verse of the old folk song, right up to their wedding day.
A girl in a swimsuit and flippers copies a graceful flamingo's every move, and through twists, turns, and one big flop, the two find their way to a dance in perfect harmony.
An older man who insists dancing isn't his thing gets talked into an evening at the Crystal Ballroom by his enthusiastic neighbor, bringing along his cat and her dog for the surprise-filled outing.
On a distant planet, a red Smed and a blue Smoo fall in love despite their families' rule that Smeds and Smoos never mix, sending both sides on a journey that tests old prejudices.
A fish and his best friend, a tadpole, grow up together in a pond until the tadpole becomes a frog and hops off to explore dry land, leaving the fish desperate to follow.
Three unlikely best friends — a ninja, a cowboy, and a bear — do everything together until competing to be the best at everything drives a wedge between them.
A boy strolls down Market Street from A to Z, buying a gift from each shopkeeper — who are dressed head-to-toe in exactly what they sell, from gloves to oranges to wigs.
When the Primm family moves into their new apartment on East 88th Street, they find a crocodile named Lyle living in the bathtub — and slowly, surprisingly, come to love him.
