Peggy Rathmann

It is a beautiful afternoon for a pie-eating contest at the fair, but something very strange is happening. While all the grown-ups are busy, the babies are on the move! Five adventurous babies are crawling away as fast as they can, chasing butterflies into the trees, following frogs into a swamp, and even crawling after bats into a dark cave. Only one brave young boy notices that the babies are gone. Now, it is entirely up to you and this hero to follow their trail and keep them out of trouble! You will have a wonderful time spotting the babies in the beautiful silhouette pictures. As the sky turns from bright daytime colors to a glowing sunset, you can follow the wild rescue mission to make sure every single baby gets back to the fair safely.

Ruby has a big problem when she starts at a new school. She wants to fit in so badly that she starts copying everything the girl sitting next to her does! When Angela wears a red bow in her hair, Ruby comes back after lunch wearing a red bow, too. When Angela reads a poem, Ruby copies the exact same words. It can be very frustrating when someone copies everything you do, and Angela is not happy about it. Luckily, Ruby's kind teacher steps in to help. Miss Hart knows that Ruby has her own wonderful talents hiding inside. You will laugh as you read about Ruby's silly attempts to be exactly like her new friend. Best of all, you will discover why it is so much more fun to stop copying others and just be exactly who you are.

Officer Buckle knows more about safety than anyone else in town, but nobody ever listens to his speeches. The students at Napville Elementary School always fall asleep when he starts talking about his safety tips! Everything changes the day the police department gets a smart and expressive dog named Gloria. When Gloria goes to the school with Officer Buckle, the students suddenly sit up, cheer, and laugh. Officer Buckle thinks he is finally doing a great job, but he does not realize that Gloria is standing right behind him acting out all the safety rules with hilarious acrobatics. What will happen when Officer Buckle watches himself on the local news and discovers his dog is the real star? You will love reading about this funny mix-up and seeing how these two partners learn that they are always better when they work together.

Getting ready for bed is usually quiet, but not tonight! Just as a boy's father announces there are exactly ten minutes left until bedtime, a whole family of hamsters arrives at the front door. The boy's own pet hamster is dressed like a tour guide, and he invites all his friends inside for a wild vacation. As the father counts down the minutes, more and more hamsters arrive in buses and cars. They take over the kitchen for snacks, invade the bathroom to brush their tiny teeth, and cause absolute chaos in the bedroom. You will have so much fun carefully examining the busy pictures to find all the hilarious things the tiny hamsters are doing. See if you can keep track of all the silly visitors before the clock runs out and everyone finally has to go to sleep!

The zookeeper is ready for bed, but one mischievous gorilla has a very different plan! As the zookeeper makes his final rounds to say good night, the sneaky gorilla quietly follows right behind him with a stolen ring of keys. One by one, the gorilla lets the elephant, lion, hyena, giraffe, and armadillo out of their cages. Soon, a whole parade of sleepy animals is following the clueless zookeeper all the way into his own house. You will love carefully watching the pictures to see all the hidden details and funny surprises. What happens when the zookeeper's wife finally turns off the light and says good night? This hilarious and mostly wordless story lets you become the ultimate detective. You get to spot the funny things the animals are doing while the zookeeper remains completely unaware of the wild parade right behind his back.