All Titles

Celebrate your differences and be the best “you” possible!

Charlie is a maintenance streetcar. He is small and clunky and definitely not as shiny as the other cars. He spends his days laying sand on the rail lines or repairing the more popular streetcars. He doesn’t feel valued or liked by the other streetcars, and his hard work is often overlooked. It takes a series of emergencies for the other cars to learn that sometimes the person you never notice is exactly the person you need! Author and illustrator Vernon Smith takes his love of iconic New Orleans streetcars to another level in this picture book for everyone who has ever felt left out or ignored. Charlie might be different from the other streetcars, but being different is what makes him special.

Vernon Smith has been creating art since he was able to hold a pencil. He provides graphics for a wide variety of businesses through his studio, MacFearsome Comic Squares. A graduate of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Smith earned a BFA from the University of New Orleans. He has worked on several comic-book series, including his own The Adventures of Dexter Breakfast and the successfully crowd-funded Hide. When not creating, Smith focuses on his most important role—being a father.

Why so moody, broody Trudy?

As families embrace the farm-to-table food movement, more and more people are housing chickens on their balconies and in their backyards. Children growing up in urban environments surrounded by rural animals experience both the benefits and humor of farm life. Chickens provide farm-fresh eggs year-round, but they can also be noisy and stubborn, just like Trudy. Sylvia has one moody chicken who will not give up her eggs! Exciting and entertaining illustrations accompany this informative story about one annoying chicken—why she is like that and how Sylvia, eventually, cheers her up! An author's note introduces the reader to the real chicken that inspired this story.

The greedy spider gets what's coming!

Long ago, all spiders were as round as the sun—and Anansi was the roundest of all. Anansi was very clever, but he was also very lazy, and he loved to eat. One day, hungry Anansi travels from village to village to eat with them. Each village asks Anansi to help make the food, but he would rather be lazy. Anansi leaves one end of a silken string from his web with each village, ties the other end around his waist, and asks the villagers to tug the string when the food is ready. He goes to another village, and another, and another . . . What will happen when all the food is done? This lively retelling of the Ghanaian folktale will delight all readers from ages 1 to 110.

Alycat is planning a sleepover with her friends when Luna calls. Alycat has trouble hearing her friend over the crackling phone line, but it sounds as though she can't come to the sleepover and that she has a very big secret to share. When the rest of the kittens arrive, they gather to play games and tell spooky stories. What if Luna's news is as terrifying as the stories of alien dogs and giant mice the kittens tell around the campfire?

The themes of the books in the Alycat Series all reflect a reliance on friendships, imagination, and creativity towards problem solving. In this adventure, the characters of Alycat and her friends show young readers that things aren't always as scary as they may seem. A sleepover checklist is included!

People are talking...

The Alycat Series features: Alycat and the Thursday Dessert Day, Alycat and the Monday Blues, Alycat and the Friendship Friday, Alycat and the Tournament Tuesday, Alycat and the Cattywampus Wednesday, Alycat and the Sleepover Saturday, and Alycat and the Sunday Scaries. The books in this series have won more than 17 awards, including the NYC Big Book Award, the Mom's Choice Awards, and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards; have been featured in Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly; and have appeared in the Oscars celebrity swag bag and the Grammy Awards gift bag. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, featured Bourque and her life-size mascot, Alycat, on her popular YouTube channel Little Red News.

Out of a bitter storm comes a gift that saves a village.

In this adaptation of an Italian folktale, the young fisherman Gianni braves the thawing, ice-bound lagoon of Burano to catch fish to feed the starving people of his island. His fiancée, Nicoletta, prays for his safety. Gianni, swept from his fishing boat, is rescued by a mermaid who whips the water into a length of elegant lace, which she gives to Gianni for Nicoletta's wedding veil. This gorgeously illustrated tale recounts the mythical origins of Burano lace, whose production has long been a vital part of the island's economy and vibrant culture, ensuring the islanders would never go hungry. The lace is still famed throughout the world for its scalloped, wave-like patterns.

“For all of us who grew up loving Dungeons & Dragons and Tolkien, Monster Goose is an excellent way to introduce our little ones to the world of fantasy!”—Drew Daywalt, bestselling author of The Day the Crayons Quit

“Monstrously clever—I’d rather Mary had a hippogriff than a ‘little lamb’ any day!” —Molly Idle, award-winning illustrator of Flora and the Flamingo

“The charm and wit of the poems in this book is matched only by Abigail’s beautiful and timeless illustrations.” —Brian Kessinger, story artist for Walt Disney animation studios

“Young readers will ‘goblin up’ these wickedly humorous re-told favorites.”           —Edith Hope Fine, author of Sleepytime Me

One fine day, a small little mouse decides that he doesn't want cheese, or even lemonade. He wants a parade! Carrying a flag, the mouse starts down the street. He’s joined by cats, squirrels, foxes—and even a goat with a tuba! The sound of the animals playing their tambourines, clarinets, and brass follows them as they twirl and romp until every critter, big and small, jams with the beat. Author and illustrator Alexis Braud’s funny, spunky animals boogie right off the page. With enchanting illustrations and catchy rhymes, this exuberant and vibrant tale will have you and your friends marching to the beat of your own drummer in no time.

Arrr ye knotty or nice?

Cap'n McNasty and his crew of roguish rapscallions are back and badder than ever! When the Cap'n kidnapped a little elf from Santa, he didn't count on the elf inciting a mutiny and high-seas hijinks by telling tales of the wonders of the North Pole. Cast adrift and faced with stormy seas, ravenous sharks, and a striking lass who just might capture his black heart, Cap'n McNasty faces the voyage of his life. His double-dealing crew has ideas of their own and sets their sights from swabbing decks to decking halls—and changing the North Pole forever. From bow to stern, this impishly illustrated yarn of Jolly Rogers and a jolly old elf will give yer funnybone no quarter!

She may be spineless, but this invertebrate has a lot of backbone!

May the best dinosaur win!

Where can you see T. rex weight lifting, pteranodon gymnastics, and stegosaur volleyball? At the Prehistoric Games, of course! Every thousand years, the fastest and strongest dinosaurs light the ceremonial torch and fight tooth and claw for the gold medal. Wings will flap, tails will swish, and crowds will cheer as these Cretaceous competitors battle for glory. Clever rhymes and vibrant illustrations make this a perfect book to read aloud with the entire family. A glossary and pronunciation guide ensure that each reading is as educational as it is exhilarating! No matter what era you’re from, this rawr-some book will satisfy your inner dino!

When someone mysteriously takes bites from Lydia's birthday cupcakes, the whole class suspects the new kid, whose name not even the teacher, Mr. Eliot, can remember. But Kevin O'Malley is the only one who knows how to get Lucky to stop playing pranks and help the children with their homework.

Dinosaurs stomp through the pages!

Do you think that you may be a dinosaur? If your claws puncture kickballs, you use a whole tree to brush your teeth, and your tail spikes always rip through your pants, it's possible that you may just be a dinosaur. Apatosaurus chomps and Velociraptor romps in this hilarious, informative rhyming picture book. Bright illustrations show children the tail-thumping chaos a Spinosaurus could cause trying to find dinner in a refrigerator and why a T. rex should never, ever try to take the school bus. Featuring information on dinosaurs' sizes, diets, health, and social lives, You May Just Be a Dinosaur is a prehistoric parade of the funniest, punniest, chummiest dinos you'll ever see in the schoolyard.

Joey, left at home alone one night, sees and hears strange things, but he has the superior wit to convince any and all possible monsters that his brother, Dan, is the better choice for dinner.

"Wonderful and powerful . . . This story has kept our memories alive."
-Toshimi Ishida, survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, student at Honkawa Elementary School

"[This] inspiring story . . . reminds us to live hand in hand together on this earth."
-Hiroko Matsui, first lady of Hiroshima

"There's never been a story like this in English. Running with Cosmos Flowers is like a Bible of Peace."
-Tomoko Furusawa, survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, student at Honkawa Elementary School

A true music-lover's journey into the past!

Late one night in 2005, Zeke Schein made an amazing discovery while searching for a vintage guitar on eBay: a grainy, battered photograph captioned Old Snapshot Blues Guitar BB King???? Neither man looked like King, but one seemed to resemble the twentieth century's most mysterious musician, Robert Johnson. Would others see what he saw? With only three or four known images of the legendary blues guitarist in existence, this single picture was certainly an exceptional link to the past.

In 2014, the truth about the photo was finally revealed. Schein details his strange journey in solving this musical mystery and crusade for legitimacy amidst pushback from music historians.

Upsie Downsie has convinced his mother he's having trouble falling asleep, so she brings in the neighborhood experts to help. They try lullabies, tedious recitations, storytelling, a massage, a warm bath, and even counting, but they all succumb to sleep, leaving Upsie to the next neighbor.