Judy Allen

A tired witch wonders where it is best to bed down for the night in this rhyming picture-book from English author Judy Allen and Italian illustrator Philip Giordano. Ignoring her feline's good advice—"A bed is the best," said the witch's cat, Matt. / "It's cosy and warm, and you can't beat that."–she flies hither and yon, trying out all manner of sleeping arrangements, until she finally discovers that, in the end, there's no place like home (and one's own bed)...

An engaging little show more bedtime confection, The Catnapping Cat pairs a fun tale told in rhyme—one with plenty of silly sleeping suggestions on the witch's part—with cute and colorful artwork. Young listeners will enjoy being "in the know," realizing along with the witch's cat Matt that home and bed are best, and being led by each repetition of the feline's refrain to consider the appeal of their own comfy beds. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for some witchy fun, or for entertaining bedtime tales which lead readers and listeners on an adventure, only to return them to the familiarity of their own beds. show less

Fun writing style addressed to the child reader. Explores the characteristics of a centipede in a humorous, casual way.

Fun writing style addressed to the child reader. Explores the characteristics and life cycle of a ladybug in a humorous, casual way.

Lonely, excruciatingly shy, and oppressed by the bleak, ""heavily vandalized"" British New Town to which his family has recently moved, Mike is drawn to the ""vitality and character"" of the City Center now rising over an old well shaft that reveals itself during the construction. The well, Colin learns from an intense (disturbed?) older boy deeply into Sacred Geometry, is the ""dynamic center of spiritual force of the whole town,"" and one day a fall into the shaft brings Mike a vision: he show more sees a dazzling ""sun king"" on a white charger and a beautiful pale silver lady in a bower--the positive and negative forces Mike perceives to be locked in a cosmic battle which he believes he's been summoned to settle. ""Choosing"" the king, Mike wakens to reality and is later gratified by the energy that begins to throb through the whole town--even through the youth group which he has diffidently joined. But energy turns to aggression and violence, and so in another vision Mike chooses the lady, cool and soothing--only to see the town's subsequent peacefulness lead to apathy and depression. Guided through the experience by the Civic Center's aged architect, Magnus--also a magus and self-revealed Lord of the Dance (for it is, Mike learns at last, a dance and not a battle), Mike comes to realize that it is not for him to disturb the balance of the universe. show less