Books like Petunia
By Roger Duvoisin
For the kid who loves a good know-it-all getting gently taken down a peg, Petunia's mix-ups are the kind of funny that also teaches something true. Warm, silly, old-fashioned farmyard humor with a gentle moral underneath.
A bird wakes up too grumpy to fly, eat, or play, so he stomps off on a walk instead — and one by one, Sheep, Rabbit, Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox tag along.
An adopted dog named Cooper refuses to act like a dog — he'd rather drive the family car, go to the ballet, and travel than fetch or sit — so his new family has to adjust to his quirky ways.
A beautiful young cockroach must choose a husband, so her grandmother teaches her the Coffee Test — spilling coffee on a suitor's shoes to see how he reacts to anger.
A gloomy fish swims through the ocean convinced his permanent pout is just who he is, spreading dreary wearies to his cheerful sea neighbors — until an unexpected friend shows him otherwise.
A bear wakes up from hibernation ravenous and thin, and as his forest friends bring him roots, berries, clover, and fish, his hunger keeps growing — until it's satisfied in a surprising way.
A gallery of towering, spike-tailed dinosaurs test their families' patience with messes and roaring fits, then show love in small ways — cleaning up, smiling instead of shouting, and hugging tight.
One overworked mother cooks endless separate meals as each of her seven picky children demands their own special food — until a birthday surprise finally brings them all to the same table.
When hard times hit the farm, a hired boy is sent off to find his own way — but a runaway Journey Cake leads him on a wild chase that changes everything.
A warrior princess wants nothing but a big, strong horse for her birthday, but the pony she actually gets is small, round, and gassy — and nothing like the fierce steed she imagined.
A beloved dinosaur bakes cookies, helps old ladies cross the street, and plays with kids in town — while one boy, Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie, insists she's scientifically extinct and shouldn't exist at all.
A crocodile mistakenly turns up under the tree on Christmas Eve and starts eating everything in sight — the roast, the stove, even the tree — while one girl fights to save him.
A grumpy bear insists he has the worst cold anyone has ever suffered, while his relentlessly cheerful mouse friend tries to nurse him back to health with stories, songs, and banjo tunes.
