Animals -- enter their magic kingdom. From cuddly puppies to ferocious lions and every beast in between, children are forever drawn to animals and to stories about their adventures. And who better to tell these stories than authors who have won the John Newbery Medal for distinguished contributions to literature for children. This collection of animal tales is a treat for the whole family. It includes stories by authors today's children know and love, from Beverly Cleary and Betsy Byars to Lloyd Alexander and Virginia Hamilton. There are also stories by writers familiar to parents and grandparents, from Elizabeth Coatsworth to Robert Lawson and Will James. You'll find stories about zoo animals, wild animals, ranch animals, and pets. Animals that can talk and sing as well as bark, caw, buzz, and roar. There's a crow, a camel, a crusty crocodile, lions and wolves as well as cats and dogs, and much more. Perfect for both reading aloud and reading alone, this is a collection to bring to the beach, pack in the picnic basket, or read in the car. Classtime, storytime, bedtime, or anytime, this is a book to share. A portion of the royalties from this book will be donated to the American Library Association, administrator of the John Newbery Medal. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 3-6-This title continues the series that started with A Newbery Christmas (Delacorte, 1991) and A Newbery Halloween (Doubleday, 1993). Eleven tales and one poem by ten authors are included; all have been previously published. The writers represented are diverse-Betsy Byars, Lloyd Alexander, Beverly Cleary, Virginia Hamilton, Robert Lawson, Jean Craighead George, Elizabeth Coatsworth, Paul Fleischman, Will James, and Charles Boardman Hawes. Unfortunately, the selections fail to excite or invite readers or listeners. Teachers and librarians would do better to read enticing passages from Newbery-winning books about animals than to use this rather tame volume.-Amy Adler, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, OH Reed Elsevier Inc.

Martin H. Greenberg was born in 1942. He received a doctorate in Political Science in 1969 and was a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin until 1995. Over the course of his long and prolific career, Greenberg has published around 1000 anthologies and has worked with numerous best-selling authors including Isaac Asimov, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Anne McCaffrey, Sue Grafton, Scott Turow and Dean Koontz. He has won numerous awards including the Horror Guild Award in 1994, the Deathrealm Award in 1996, the Bram Stoker Award in 1998, and the Prometheus Special Award in 2005. He also received The Ellery Queen Award for lifetime achievement in mystery editing and the Milford Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction editing.

(Bowker Author Biography) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.