Exploration Station: Featured Children's Books

It's never too early to get an A+ in botany! Here's a fun new board book series that introduces a wide array of nonfiction subjects to babies and toddlers. Welcome to Baby 101, where big subjects are tailored for little babies. Featuring simple words and bright and engaging illustrations, this introduction to botany includes information about trees, flowers, seeds, and much more. So don't be late, because this is one class that babies won't want to miss. Look for the surprise lift-the-flap ending! Also available in the Baby 101 series: Anatomy for Babies, Zoology for Babies, Architecture for Babies.  

How does your garden grow? Book-loving Lola is inspired by a collection of garden poems that she reads with her mommy. She wants to plant her own garden of beautiful flowers, so she and Mommy go to the library to check out books about gardening. They choose their flowers and buy their seeds. They dig and plant. And then they wait. Lola finds it hard to wait for her flowers to grow, but she spends the time creating her own flower book. Soon she has a garden full of sunflowers and invites all of her friends for cakes and punch and a story amongst the flowers. Lola is a beloved character that continues to shine for young readers. Her curiosity and love of books is infectious. Parents and children love sharing Lola's stories. Rosalind Beardshaw's beautiful illustrations highlight Lola's close-knit family and how they use stories and books to interact with their world. Lola's brightly colored and growing garden is the perfect surrounding for this bright little girl.

Eric Carle's magnificent collage illustrations invite readers and viewers on a breathtaking underwater tour where brilliantly-colored sea creatures dazzle and delight the eye. His modern-day fable is both wise and simple; based on the true habits of the hermit crab, it not only introduces young readers to the wonder and beauty of the marine environment but also contains an encouraging message for small children facing the inevitable challenges of growing up. Hermit Crab's problem is that he keeps outgrowing things. When he outgrows his first shell-house, he's a bit scared. The next one he finds is big enough -- but depressingly bare. To his happy surprise, all sorts of beautiful and useful undersea neighbors come to his aid and decorate and protect his home. Finally, the new house is perfect but now it, too, has become too small! Once again, Hermit Crab must move on. But this time he is not only bigger -- he is more self confident. While he is sorry to leave his friends and his familiar shell behind, he now sees the future as full of exciting possibilities. Children who must change schools, move to a new town, or even just be promoted to a higher grade will empathize with Hermit Crab's situation, and will take heart as they see that growing up is not really so alarming after all.

Learning becomes fun with this book about the animals of the ocean! In Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef, amazing artwork will inspire kids in classrooms and at home to appreciate the beauty and biology of coral reefs and world around us! Brilliant artwork is the star of this oceanic counting book, based on the classic children's song "Over in the Meadow". Kids will sing, clap, and count their way among pufferfish that "puff," gruntfish that "grunt" and seahorses that "flutter," and begin to appreciate the animals in the ocean. And the clay art will inspire many a project. Parents, teachers, giftgivers, and many others will find: captivating illustrations of sculptures fashioned from polymer clay. backmatter that includes further information about the coral reef and the animals of the ocean. music and song lyrics to "Over in the Ocean" sung to the tune "Over in the Meadow"! a book for young readers learning to count!

In this perennial classic by Caldecott Honor-winning author Lois Ehlert, little ones learn the colors of the rainbow as they watch a plants grow in a beautifully vibrant garden. Through brilliant, textured cut paper collages, the story follows the progress of a mother and daughter in their backyard as they plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings and nurture their growth into flowers. Bold, spare text and dazzling illustrations will inspire readers to take a closer look at the natural world and maybe even start a garden of their own. Celebrate Earth Day, spring, and the basics of gardening while improving color recognition with Lois Ehlert's Planting a Rainbow!

The charming tale of The Tiny Seed, by beloved author and illustrator Eric Carle, is now available as a Level 2 Ready-to-Read! Eric Carle's classic story of the life cycle of a flower is told through the adventures of a tiny seed. Everyone will cheer for the seed's progress as it floats across the sky, nestles in the ground, and finally grows into the giant flower it was always meant to be. With his dazzling collage illustrations and lively text in this Level 2 Ready-to-Read, Carle has created a triumphant and fascinating tale!

This jacketed hardcover in the New York Times-bestselling Pout-Pout Fish series from Deborah Diesen and illustrator Dan Hanna, The Pout-Pout Fish Cleans Up the Ocean, will teach little guppies how to take responsibility for their actions and for the environment. Mr. Fish and his friends have noticed something strange in their ocean--a big, big MESS! How did it get there? What can they do about it? The closer they look, the more they see where the mess came from . . . and they'll have to work together to get rid of it.

Raffi's most popular and beloved song about the "little white whale on the go" is available in a sturdy board book edition--just the right size for babies and toddlers! Singing supports and encourages even the youngest child's speech and listening skills, which makesBaby Belugaperfect for early learning. Join this adorable baby whale in a busy day at sea, culminating in a warm mother-child bedtime ending. With its delightful illustrations, this is the ideal sing-along for a whole new generation of readers.