Creighton University

Here is one of five books in a series I found together.  24 pages, with page 3 being the title-page.  The book is aimed at younger children.  It explains, for example, that a tortoise is a kind of turtle and a hare a kind of rabbit.  The story is generally traditional.  This hare stops to play and then deliberately "takes a nap," telling himself that he can catch up even if he falls asleep.  The final double-page spread may be the best illustration of the book.  The winded, sweating hare crosses the finish line while the tortoise looks on sipping a drink through a straw.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Here is one of five books in a series I found together.  24 pages, with page 3 being the title-page.  The book is aimed at younger children.  In this version, the boy tries his trick again the next day and another time a few days later.  The story is traditional.  The author pauses to teach readers that they should never yell for help when they do not need it.  Two illustrations stand out.  The first confronts a reader on the first page: the boy laughs deliriously pounding his fist on the ground.  The illustrator enjoys drawing lines of motion for an action like that of the boy's arm as he pounds the ground.  This first illustration turns out to be a detail from the larger two-page spread on 12-13.  The other dramatic illustration follows immediately: a large, toothy black wolf terrorizes the boy and the herd (14-15).  The wolf carries several sheep in each arm as he moves off triumphant and unopposed.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Here is one of five books in a series I found together.  30 pages, with page 3 being the title-page.  The book is aimed at younger children.  Throughout both spring and summer, the grasshopper does nothing but eat, sleep, and play.  He gets fat and fatter.  In spring, summer, and fall, he hears the same from the ants he encounters: "It's going to be a long winter, with lots of snow."  By the end of winter, this grasshopper learns to prepare for the future.  The cover picture of the grasshopper slumbering in a hammock helps tell the story.  It is repeated on 12.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Here is one of five books in a series I found together.  25 pages, with page 5 being the title-page.  The book is aimed at younger children.  Is pouring a cup of tea (cover and title-page) or offering a glass of milk (front endpaper and 11) really part of this story?  The former fits in in the end, since it seems that the fox has learned his lesson, that "A mean trick will be repaid."  Apparently now the two characters are reconciled and can enjoy tea together out on the lawn.  This fox is a natty male, while the stork has a large ribbon around her feathered head.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Here is one of five books in a series I found together.  25 pages, with page 5 being the title-page.  The book is aimed at younger children.  In this version, the caught mouse is the last of a group that scrambled over the lion on the way home.  This lion pities the mouse.  There is neither laughter nor an offer by the mouse to do something in return.  This version is careful to place the trap that catches the lion near the mouse's home.  The most expressive piece of art shows the panic of the mouse just pounced upon by the lion's paw (12-13).  The mouse's gnawing work is also well depicted (20-21).  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Through an oversight, I bought a new set of ABCMouse books replicating the earlier series published in 2012 and 2013.  Like the other four books in this series, this book has seen slight changes in its 2016 printing, apparently the third printing.  Four pages are added at the end of the book, two pages of advertisements including awards and two of vowel sounds.  The early bibliographical information now includes “10% recycled paper” but the title-page has dropped reference to free apps.  The book still apparently numbers the front cover as Page 1.  As I wrote of the first edition, the book is aimed at younger children.  It explains, for example, that a tortoise is a kind of turtle and a hare a kind of rabbit.  The story is generally traditional.  This hare stops to play and then deliberately "takes a nap," telling himself that he can catch up even if he falls asleep.  The final double-page spread may be the best illustration of the book.  The winded, sweating hare crosses the finish line while the tortoise looks on sipping a drink through a straw.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Through an oversight, I bought a new set of ABCMouse books replicating the earlier series published in 2012 and 2013.  Like the other four books in this series, this book has seen slight changes in its 2016 printing, apparently the third printing.  Four pages are added at the end of the book, two pages of advertisements including awards and two of vowel sounds.  The early bibliographical information now includes “10% recycled paper” but the title-page has dropped reference to free apps.  The book still apparently numbers the front cover as Page 1.  As I wrote of the first edition,in this version, the boy tries his trick again the next day and another time a few days later.  The story is traditional.  The author pauses to teach readers that they should never yell for help when they do not need it.  Two illustrations stand out.  The first confronts a reader on the first page: the boy laughs deliriously pounding his fist on the ground.  The illustrator enjoys drawing lines of motion for an action like that of the boy's arm as he pounds the ground.  This first illustration turns out to be a detail from the larger two-page spread on 12-13.  The other dramatic illustration follows immediately: a large, toothy black wolf terrorizes the boy and the herd (14-15).  The wolf carries several sheep in each arm as he moves off triumphant and unopposed.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Through an oversight, I bought a new set of ABCMouse books replicating the earlier series published in 2012 and 2013.  Like the other four books in this series, this book has seen slight changes in its 2016 printing, apparently the third printing.  A page of advertisements is added at the end, including awards. The two pages adding vowel sounds at the end of the book do not appear here, as they do in the other 2016 copies. The early bibliographical information now includes “10% recycled paper” but the title-page has dropped reference to free apps.  The book still apparently numbers the front cover as Page 1.  As I wrote of the first edition,the book is aimed at younger children.  Throughout both spring and summer, the grasshopper does nothing but eat, sleep, and play.  He gets fat and fatter.  In spring, summer, and fall, he hears the same from the ants he encounters: "It's going to be a long winter, with lots of snow."  By the end of winter, this grasshopper learns to prepare for the future.  The cover picture of the grasshopper slumbering in a hammock helps tell the story.  It is repeated on 12.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Through an oversight, I bought a new set of ABCMouse books replicating the earlier series published in 2012 and 2013.  Like the other four books in this series, this book has seen slight changes in its 2016 printing, apparently the third printing.  Four pages are added at the end of the book, two pages of advertisements including awards and two of vowel sounds.  The early bibliographical information continues to mention “10% recycled paper” but the title-page has dropped reference to free apps.  The book still apparently numbers the front cover as Page 1.  As I wrote of the first edition, the book is aimed at younger children.  Is pouring a cup of tea (cover and title-page) or offering a glass of milk (front endpaper and 11) really part of this story?  The former fits in in the end, since it seems that the fox has learned his lesson, that "A mean trick will be repaid."  Apparently now the two characters are reconciled and can enjoy tea together out on the lawn.  This fox is a natty male, while the stork has a large ribbon around her feathered head.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Through an oversight, I bought a new set of ABCMouse books replicating the earlier series published in 2012 and 2013.  Like the other four books in this series, this book has seen slight changes in its 2016 printing, apparently the third printing.  Four pages are added at the end of the book, two pages of advertisements including awards and two of vowel sounds.  The early bibliographical information continues to mention “10% recycled paper” but the title-page has dropped reference to free apps.  The book still apparently numbers the front cover as Page 1.  As I wrote of the first edition, the book is aimed at younger children.  In this version, the caught mouse is the last of a group that scrambled over the lion on the way home.  This lion pities the mouse.  There is neither laughter nor an offer by the mouse to do something in return.  This version is careful to place the trap that catches the lion near the mouse's home.  The most expressive piece of art shows the panic of the mouse just pounced upon by the lion's paw (12-13).  The mouse's gnawing work is also well depicted (20-21).  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Here is the latest version of a book that is already in this collection in its 2012 and 2016 versions.  (For some reason, its previous copyrights are 2012 and 2015).  What has changed?  The book is now published by Bendon and printed in China.  While it is the same height (9¼”), it is slightly wider (7¼”).  It contains the two pages of vowel sounds added in the latest printing.  Pagination is more careful: the title-page is now 5, not 9, and the cover is not Page 1.  The biggest changes may have come out of the pandemic.  It is now in the series “Early Learning Academy” and includes at the finish “At-Home Learning Tips.”  I have found LM in the same series online and suspect that the other three books in the series may be published soon.  This edition makes no mention of recycled paper or online apps.  As I wrote earlier, in this version, the boy tries his trick again the next day and another time a few days later.  The story is traditional.  The author pauses to teach readers that they should never yell for help when they do not need it.  Two illustrations stand out.  The first confronts a reader on the first page: the boy laughs deliriously pounding his fist on the ground.  The illustrator enjoys drawing lines of motion for an action like that of the boy's arm as he pounds the ground.  This first illustration turns out to be a detail from the larger two-page spread on 8-9.  The other dramatic illustration follows immediately: a large, toothy black wolf terrorizes the boy and the herd (10-11).  The wolf carries multiple sheep in each arm as he moves off triumphant and unopposed.  There are two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.

Through an oversight, I now bought a third copy of this book, replicating copies from 2012 and 2016.  This new printing shows several changes.  Bendon seems to have taken over Age of Learning.  The book is now printed in China.  Page numbers have shifted by four.  What was on 12 there is on 8 here.  As in the 2016 printing, four pages are added at the end of the book, but now two of them are tips on managing space and time, while two still handle vowel sounds.  There is no longer mention of recycled paper.   As I wrote of the first edition, the book is aimed at younger children.  In this version, the caught mouse is the last of a group that scrambled over the lion on the way home.  This lion pities the mouse.  There is neither laughter nor an offer by the mouse to do something in return.  This version is careful to place the trap that catches the lion near the mouse's home.  The most expressive piece of art shows the panic of the mouse just pounced upon by the lion's paw (8-9).  The mouse's gnawing work is also well depicted (16-17).  There are also two pages of glossary at the back of this very sturdy book.