Bob Graham

For preschool-grade 2.

When a dog trainer is called in to teach Dave the dog how to behave, Dave is not the only one who learns something new.

During the dry season, Morris the crocodile and his animal friends enjoy playing in and near the water hole.

When Will finds a bird with a broken wing, he takes it home and cares for it, hoping in time it will be able to return to the sky.

When Ellie is very small, she finds a tiny dragon just hatched from its egg. Ellie calls him Scratch, takes him home, and moves him into her dollhouse. Her mother can't see Scratch, and her teacher doesn't notice when Ellie takes Scratch to preschool, but her friends are amazed. But dragons get quite large as they grow. And Ellie is growing, too, moving from dollhouses to dance parties with friends, not noticing as Scratch's form begins to fade a...

"After a long, cold winter, doors finally open, and children spill out like candies from a box. Amanda is the last one out of the apartment building, with a carton of chalk in her hands. On every inch of the pavement outside, the children draw pictures of flowers and trees, mushrooms and snails, and a few very unexpected things. It's a concrete garden. Their creativity, unfettered in the open air, brings something beautiful, something hopeful, to...

The sun makes its journey across the world to Coco's house to wake her up and follow her through another day.

When Benny the dog steals the show from Brillo the magician, he is forced to look for a new home where his rare talents such as juggling and tap dancing will be appreciated.

Francie and her pregnant mom are driving home from Grandma's in the heavy rain. When they're still far from home, they stop for a picnic. As the car windows fog up, Francie spells out her name, "Daddy" and "Mom," and leaves one space free for her soon-to-be baby sister.

"Oh, let's do it!" say Kitty and Katy and Mom when a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle mysteriously arrives in the mail. "I have time on my hands," agrees Dad. Starting in winter with the edges, by autumn they're almost done, only to discover that one piece is missing. Mom is sure that it must have accidentally gone out with the trash, so the Kellys pile into the car to comb through the local dump ("shouldn't take long"). There they uncover forgotten letters,...