By Alice Schertle
Illustrated by Petra Mathers

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

Do the clothes in your closet have a life all their own? From undies to jammies to a much-loved hand-me-down sweatshirt, the duds on display in this perfectly stitched poetry collection are as unique as the critters who wear them.

By Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

Color comes alive in this whimsical, innovative book: blue dances on summer lakes, green drips from spring leaves, black wafts mysteriously through autumn evenings. Together, an award-winning poet and a brilliant painter inspire us to look closer at the thrilling colors of the seasons. So what colors can you feel - or hear, or taste, or smell - today?

By Salley Mavor

Peek inside and discover a treasure trove of nursery rhymes stunningly illustrated. Each rhymes has been lovingly stitched with rich fabric and colorful threads and exquisitely ornamented with everyday objects such as acorns, buttons, beads, driftwood, stones, and shells. In Salley Mavor's unique collection of classic verse, every gorgeous page is a true work of art. This will be a book to be pored over again and again and passed down from generation to generation.

By Marilyn Singer
Illustrated by Josee Masse

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

There are two sides to every story, from the princess and the frog, to the beauty and the beast, to Sleeping Beauty and that charming prince. Now, in a unique collection of reversible verse, classic fairy tales are turned on their heads. Literally. Read these clever poems from top to bottom. Then reverse the lines and read from bottom to top to give these well-loved stories a delicious new spin. Witty, irreverent, and exquisitely illustrated, this unique collection holds a cheeky mirror up to language and fairy tales, and renews the magic of both.

By Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Rick Allen

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

Welcome to the night, when mice stir and furry moths flutter. When snails spiral into shells as orb spiders circle in silk. When the roots of oak trees recover and repair from their time in the light. When the porcupette eats delicacies - raspberry leaves! - and coos to its mother. Come out to the cool night woods, and buzz and hoot and howl - but beware, for it's wild and it's windy way out in the woods!

By Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Beckie Prange

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

Why is the beetle, born 265 million years ago, still with us today? (Because its wings mutated and hardened). How did the gecko survive 160 million years? (by becoming nocturnal and developing sticky toe pads.) How did the shark and the crow and the tiny ant survive millions and millions of years? When 99 percent of all life forms on earth have become extinct, why do some survive? And survive not just in one place, but in many places: in deserts, in ice, in lakes and puddles, inside houses and forest and farmland? Just how do they become ubiquitous?

By David Elliott
Illustrated by Holly Meade

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

The powerful jaguar, the beloved panda, and the graceful polar bear are just three of the remarkable creatures in this gorgeous collection of poems and woodcuts.

By Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest
Illustrated by Katy Schneider

It's a dog's life. Filled with squeaky toys, mischief, and plenty of naps. Every dog has a tail to wag and a tale to tell. Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest asked this collection of canines to speak up with their own words, barks, and yips.