In the tradition of fun cumulative stories like The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, this joyful story shows how helping someone in need can sometimes fulfill needs of our own. When Spider meets Shrew, they are both down on their luck. Spider's web has blown away, and Shrew's home has just been paved over. What happens when they decide to help each other out? They meet Bat, who is lonely for friends. Then they meet Possum, who can't find his mom; Dog, who misses her puppies; and Pony, who is out of a job. Everyone has problems, but this quirky new community is ready to lend a hand in creative and surprising ways. This is a joyful story about an unlikely group of friends finding compassion and community in each other. Deborah Kerbel's humorous, quippy dialogue is perfectly paired with Genevieve Cote's endearing illustrations of the animal characters. Key Text Features illustrations speech bubbles Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

It's seven-year-old Lillian's first day at a new school, and she's got butterflies in her tummy, but those butterflies turn into grasshoppers when she learns she has to bring something for Show and Tell at the end of the week! Lillian and her mother have just moved away from Lillian's abusive father and into a family shelter, leaving behind all of their possessions. Every day that Lillian anxiously watches her classmates bring toys with which she has nothing to compare, the creatures in her stomach change and grow, until finally, she realizes that imagination can make anything magical, even an ordinary string of beads.

"There are a few things / about your best friend
that you can only learn / when you see where he's from.

Minn knew / that Jake was from the city.
But she didn't know / that his grandmother was Korean.
That he liked taking bubble baths. / That his brother, Soup,
might be an eating champion. / That Jake was a cheater,
and that he had a . . . / girlfriend?!

There are some things / about your best friend
that it's better "not "/ to know.

"Bouncing free verse and playful black-and-white illustrations combine to make this a charming follow-up to "Minn and Jake."