Chris Van Dusen

An encounter with a moose while they are learning to ski provides Mr. Magee and his dog with some unexpected excitement.

"The verse is sprightly, but the pictures are the true stunners." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
When a circus ship runs aground off the coast of Maine, the poor animals are left on their own, but they soon win over the wary townspeople with their kind, courageous ways. So well do the critters blend in that when the greedy circus owner returns to claim them, villagers of all species conspire to outsmart the bloated blowhard.

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Imaginative Jack describes the kind of school he would build--one full of animals, with tubes to transport students directly to their classrooms, and library books that come alive.

Exploring the lake near her home, young Hattie befriends a friendly but enormous lake monster she names Hudson who terrifies everyone else because of his size and they work together to teach her community about prejudging others by their appearance.

Randy Riley, a science genius who loves baseball but is not very good at it, needs to use both his interests to save his town from a giant fireball that is heading their way.

Jack describes the kind of car he would build--one with amazing accessories and with the capability of traveling on land, in the air, and on and under the sea.

"When Stella gets the sudden idea to go caroling, she has a little trouble getting someone to join her. Her brother, Frank, is not good at spontaneity. The Watsons are very involved in a precarious fruitcake attempt (but happy to send their pig, Mercy, out for the occasion). Eugenia Lincoln declines, a bit rudely, to accompany on her accordion, and Horace Broom is too busy studying planetary movement. Will Stella need to sing by herself--with enthusiastic...

After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the floor.

When she confronts a screaming raccoon that may or may not be a ghost, animal control officer Francine Poulet questions her abilities.

"Stella Endicott loves her teacher, Miss Liliana, and she is thrilled when the class is assigned to write a poem. Stella crafts a beautiful poem about Mercy Watson, the pig who lives next door--a poem complete with a metaphor and full of curiosity and courage. But Horace Broom, Stella's irritating classmate, insists that Stella's poem is full of lies and that pigs do not live in houses. And when Stella and Horace get into a shouting match in the classroom,...