I’m Rashin Kheiriyeh, born in Iran to a mother who was an artist. From a young age, I adored picture books and spent hours doodling and crafting stories for my paintings. This early passion for art and storytelling drives me to explore themes of nature, change, and emotional connections in my work. With around 100 children’s books published globally, I draw on personal experiences and cultural heritage to create engaging, meaningful stories. My expertise in illustrating and writing allows me to connect with readers through vivid imagery and heartfelt narratives, making me especially attuned to themes of hope and transformation in literature.
This is a sweet and simple tribute to the love between a mother and child. The familiar and beloved character of the Very Hungry Caterpillar adds a nostalgic touch, making the book feel warm and comforting. Eric Carle's vibrant illustrations, combined with the heartfelt message, perfectly capture the special bond between mothers and their children.
It’s a book that celebrates the small but meaningful ways in which mothers show their love, making it a perfect gift for Mother’s Day or any occasion that honors moms. The simplicity of the text, paired with Carle’s iconic artwork, creates a timeless and touching story that resonates with readers of all ages.
Celebrate Mom's special day with The Very Hungry Caterpillar in this colorful book featuring Eric Carle's joyful illustrations.
Show Mom just how much she means with this colorful book from the World of Eric Carle. Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar as he honors Mother's Day and celebrates incredible parents everywhere. With joyful illustrations and colorful creatures, this charming keepsake is a great way to show parents, grandparents, soon-to-be mothers, aunts, friends, or whomever you call "Mom" just how much you care.
I’ve been fascinated with the natural world for as long as I can remember, spending many happy hours in my childhood exploring forests, splashing in creeks, and hiking in parks with my family. Devouring books from the local library and participating in workshops at our local science center fed my interest and built a strong foundation in science. As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more and more fascinated by the tension between science’s goal to neatly classify and nature’s riotous complexity. It’s the exceptions, the grey, that keep me interested and draw in my students. I am an experienced science teacher and award-winning author of books for teachers and kids.
Stereotypes aren’t just for people. As a science teacher, I want my students to look beyond their initial perceptions of animals and plants, and this book helps young readers do just that.
Kate Gardner and illustrator Heidi Smith cleverly and effectively use the book’s layout (a single stereotypical word and a black-and-white illustration of an animal followed by a colorful illustration paired with facts that surprise and challenge) to encourage readers to think again.
A stunning debut picture book that encourages kids to look beyond first impressions by sharing unexpected details about seemingly scary wild animals like gorillas, rhinoceroses, and more.
Spiders are creepy. Porcupines are scary. Bats are ugly. Or are they...?
This captivating book invites you to learn more about awe-inspiring animals in the wild. After all, it's best not to judge a beast until you understand its full, lovely life.
Includes backmatter with additional reading suggestions.
I went to university wanting to become a Roman specialist, but ended up going backwards in time until I landed with a bump on the hard flints of the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age). I research aspects of the behaviour of the Pleistocene (Ice Age) indigenous Europeans – the Neanderthals – and the origins and evolution of our own species, Homo sapiens. I undertake fieldwork across Europe, and I’m particularly interested in the origins and early development of art – both on portable objects and cave walls – and the long-term evolution of our treatment of the dead. My scientific love is how we can try to get inside the mind of our most remote ancestors.
If you’re interested in the workings of the human imagination you have to start in our deep evolutionary past, and Metazoa does just this.
Godfrey Smith is an eminent philosopher of science, and brings his considerable experience under the ocean to understanding how the minds of shrimps, octopi, and fish probably conceive of the world.
With stunning evocations of the undersea world and his intimate encounters with these fascinating creatures, the author of Other Minds brings a battery of modern zoological and biological expertise to bear on revealing just how cognitively complex these supposedly simple creatures are. You’ll never look at them the same again.
The follow-up to the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week Other Minds
A Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year
A Waterstones Best Book of 2020
The scuba-diving philosopher explores the origins of animal consciousness.
Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom - the Metazoa -…
After reading Life of Pi many years ago (before the movie
came out) I never found myself reading another Yann Martel book, which is
strange as I loved the Life of Pi so much.
Back in March of this year I
stumbled across a copy of Beatrice and Virgil in an old bookshop in Paris, and
was instantly drawn to it, not only from the author's name, but the blurb intrigued me terribly.
Yann Martel has this brilliant way of turning a story that
can often seem random and unusual, into something you simply have to know what
is going to happen next. Typically, I am a slow reader, but with this I just
couldn’t put it down.
Fate takes many forms. When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey - named Beatrice and Virgil - and the epic journey they undertake together.
With all the spirit and originality that made Life of Pi so treasured, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey. On the way Martel asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception,…
Growing up in an Iraqi Jewish immigrant family in Sydney, Australia, meant that I was always different, without the words or emotional tools to navigate the world around me. Luckily, I was a reader, and so I learned through books Social Emotional Learning (SEL) tools to deal with anxiety and loneliness and develop qualities of empathy, bravery, and the understanding that we don’t have to be the same but can celebrate our cultural and personal differences. Reading with children is a wonderful opportunity to enter their worlds whilst building their social and emotional skills, such as managing emotions, problem-solving, and creating positive relationships.
This is such a cute, read-a-loud rhyming book about Kevin the Koala, who is frightened of change. I relate to how Kevin just wants to stay safe in his gumtree and never ever leave, but when his world literally collapses he has to face his anxieties.
It’s fun rooting for Kevin as he overcomes his anxiety, and I really felt the joy that comes with such courage and understanding that not every day has to be the same to stay safe. If Kevin can overcome his anxieties and leave his tree, then so can we.
I also particularly love the Australian animals who encourage him along the way and make Kevin’s coming down from his tree so worth it.
A funny rhyming story about dealing with change and overcoming worries, from the bestselling creators of The Lion Inside.
In a wonderful place, at the breaking of dawn, where the breezes were soft and the sunshine was warm, a place where the creatures ran wild and played free ... A Koala called Kevin clung to a tree.
Meet Kevin. A koala who likes to keep things the same. Exactly the same. But sometimes change comes along whether we like it or not... And, as Kevin discovers, if you step outside your comfort zone and try new things, you might just…
As a mom of young kids who love animals, I know firsthand the benefit of finding fun books that are also easy to read, fun to look at, and short enough not to make you flinch when your kids pull them off the shelves during those later bedtime nights.
A companion book to Moonlight Prance, this interactive lift-the-flap book will entertain young readers as they read along during a sunrise dance in a meadow, and all the animals that come and join the fun. Kids will love making the animals dance along by moving the flaps, plus it’s short enough for when you need that super quick read before a late bedtime.
Make salmon splash and bear cubs bustle with each push of a durable novelty element in this sweet and interactive morning read-aloud.
When you wake up in the morning, playful animals are starting their day! Push and pull the sturdy tabs to make dragonflies dance and bear cubs bustle in this sweet, interactive tale of morning-time fun.
A charming and interactive bedtime read-aloud, young children will delight in moving the durable novelty elements, making the illustrations transform through their efforts.
FOR FANS OF BARNYARD DANCE!: With rollicking rhyme and dancing animals, this book is perfect for anyone who loves Sandra…
I couldn’t help but fall in love with Mel, a young Kingfisher bird who one day bravely decides to leave the nest. To me, this is the best blend of fiction and nonfiction, heart and humor.
Mel is a determined character who tries something new even though she’s scared. The book is encouraging, sweet, and beautifully illustrated. Even the format of the book is fun, as you rotate it around while reading.
3
authors picked
Mel Fell
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
4,
5,
6, and
7.
What is this book about?
A Caldecott Honor Book and ALA Notable Book of the Year! An innovative and charming tale about a plucky little bird, from the award-winning author-illustrator of Fox the Tiger.
Readers will delight in turning their book sideways and upside down to follow Mel on her journey from downward fall to triumphant flight in this tale of self-confidence and taking a leap of faith.
An especially enjoyable and satisfying read-aloud!
I am the author-illustrator of funny picture books for kids, including the interactive book, Animals Go Vroom!. As an illustrator, I revel in creating jokes and storylines in the pictures that kids can follow along with by themselves. And as a mother of two small children myself, I know first-hand the magical experience of reading books with toddlers that keep them guessing and giggling along the way.
In this interactive picture book, every other page is cut to look like a blanket. My kids love tucking in each animal by turning the page. This simple, gentle bedtime book also features repeated lines, so kids can join in the reading. “Who else needs to be tucked in?” / “I do!” It’s a wonderful way to get toddlers engaged in the story (but not in a rambunctious way) before settling into bed.
Time for bed everyone! Turn the page and tuck all of the baby animals into their cosy beds.
The stars are out. The moon is rising. All the baby animals, from peacocks to pigs to zebras, are ready for bed. Will you tuck them in and say goodnight? Turn the pages and the big blanket flaps will cover each little creature up to its chin. This simple but endlessly satisfying novelty, with its array of baby animals, bold patterns, and brilliant colours, is sure to be the book of choice for little ones everywhere, night after night.
I’ve been a preschool teacher for several years, and now I’m a preschool librarian. When I was teaching, storytime was my favorite part of the day, so when I was offered the spot of librarian, I happily took it! I have storytimes in all the classes, which range in age from 1-year-olds up to PreK and kindergarten classes. My favorite moments are when the children are connecting to each other in some way, like sharing a laugh together. Such joy! Ultimately, the best books for preschool storytimes are the ones that a reader is excited to share, with the hope that the kids will love them, too.
At storytimes, I see firsthand the value of a good page turn. There’s anticipation. And excitement. And…then…the…page…turns… Oh! Is there a surprise? Something funny?
Everybody Says Meow has the best page turns. The story starts with a cat talking to the reader. He’s standing with his cat-friends and explains that it’s time for everybody to say meow. “Ready?” he asks.
On the next page, all the cats are happily saying, “Meow!” BUT—there’s also a dog, peeking around the edge of the page. With a smile and a friendly wave, he says, “Woof!”
The story continues with these page-turn surprises, and the kids eagerly await the next animal to peek around the page. I love how I have to pause my reading and wait for the laughter to quiet down.
"The messages of inclusion and acceptance are welcome. An enjoyable addition to noisy storytimes." -Kirkus
Everybody Says Meow! Or do they? Fans of Sandra Boynton and of Jules Feiffer's classic Bark, George will meow, bark, and ribbit when they hear this hilarious picture book about a waggish group of adorable animals that just cannot follow one simple instruction.
"Welcome to that magical time when everybody says, 'Meow!' Ready?"
Well, not quite. There's also a "Woof." And a "Ribbit."
A few words and a minimal background can make for plenty of mischief-especially when your characters are adorable, delightfully silly, and probably…
I have been an animal lover and caretaker all my life. I have memories of taking care of toucans, skunks, alligators, fish tanks, chameleons, various birds, and monkeys from the time I was a child! I received my licenses from the NYSDEC and US Fish and Wildlife Service and Ravensbeard Wildlife Center was founded in 2000. I hold permits to rehabilitate injured/orphaned wildlife and house unreleasable birds to educate communities in protecting wildlife. My entire life has been devoted to caring for animals and educating others about them, and I hope you can find joy in the books I recommended!
This story by the great Gideon Sterer is a beautifully illustrated, wordless picture book about what woodland creatures do after humans go to bed.
It is a fun story for young children interested in animals, with dazzling colors and funky illustrations. Great world-building in these child-friendly illustrations. I love how fun it is!
A spectacular, surreal and cinematic wordless picture book about the secret life of animals. Far from the city, but not quite in the countryside, lies a fairground. When night falls, and the fair is empty, something unexpected happens. Wild animals emerge from the trees, a brave raccoon pulls a lever, and the rollercoasters and rides explode back into bright, neon life. Now it's time for the woodland creatures to have some fun...
