Lauren Castillo

When a storm separates Hedgehog from her lifelong friend, Mutty, she bravely sets out to find him and makes some very good new friends in the process.

After playing a trick on his sister by stealing her toy rabbit, a mischievous little boy wonders who the new troublemaker is when his toy raccoon disappears.

"When a young girl and her mother move to an apartment in a new city, the girl feels fine on her own. She would rather play by herself than meet new kids at the park or have a playdate with the other children in her building. And when her mom takes her to story time at the bookstore, she breaks down in tears. But things start to change when she meets Millie, a rescue dog who is not too big, not too small. On their daily walks, Millie isn't afraid...

Going to bed early after spending a busy day at the beach with her family, Lucy wakes up in the middle of the night to find that her imagination leads her to see things differently in the dark.

When young Elwyn White lay in bed as a sickly child, a bold house mouse befriended him. When the time came for kindergarten, an anxious Elwyn longed for the farm, where animal friends awaited him at the end of each day. Propelled by his fascination with the outside world, he began to jot down his reflections in a journal. Writing filled him with joy, and words became his world. Today, Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web are beloved classics of children's...

For soccer games Sierra rides a bus out of the city to fields that are nicer than the "lot" in her neighborhood, but so her auntie can be at her last game, she asks Coach Marco if the team might play in her neighborhood on a day her aunt does not work. "Nada hace tan feliz a Sierra como el fᴴbol. Sobre todo, cuando sus zapatillas con llamas hacen que el balᮮ ruede por el inmenso mar de grama limpia. Pero, al mismo tiempo, nada la pone tan triste...

For soccer games Sierra rides a bus out of the city to fields that are nicer than the "lot" in her neighborhood, but so her auntie can be at her last game, she asks Coach Marco if the team might play in her neighborhood on a day her aunt does not work.

A children's literacy advocate presents a story in which readers from everywhere pore over books, each with their own questions, ideas to explore, hopes for the future, and imaginations ready to spark, showing the many ways books can foster connection andempower children.

"Five siblings worry that their shabby old house isn't 'proper' enough, but come to see that it's perfect just the way it is"--

Fifteen children's book artists, including Lauren Castillo, Frann Preston-Gannon, and Melissa Sweet, share their favorite colors and explain why they love them.