Sam Swope

A “very vivid and entertaining tale of fair play and poetic justice,”* The Araboolies of Liberty Street by writer Sam Swope and illustrator Barry Root is the story of a family overcoming neighborhood prejudice.The General and Mrs. Pinch have always prided themselves on the character of those living on Liberty Street. But when the Araboolies move in, the rigid conformity stifling the neighbors is shattered by the newcomers’ joyous and eccentric behavior.Now, the General has called in the army to reestablish order―only to find resistance from the children of Liberty Street determined to ensure the freedom of their newfound friends, the Araboolies.“Even on a street named for freedom itself, people conform and are terrified by bullies, by killjoys…Enter the Araboolies, an irrepressible extended family of multicolored vagabonds [with] rollicking, nonconformist behavior.”―* The New York Times Book Review“The crisp text and autumn-muted, full-color paintings are a triumph of energy, enthusiasm, and design.”― Booklist (starred review)

"Swope's marvelous, moving book revives the teaching memoir . . . And takes it to new realms of tenderness, insight and humanity." -Phillip LopateIn 1995, writer Sam Swope gave a workshop to a third-grade class in a Queens school bursting at the seams with kids from around the world. So enchanted was he with his twenty-eight students that he "adopted" the class for three years, teaching them to write stories and poems. I Am a Pencil is the story of his years with this very special group of students. It is as funny, warm, heartbreaking, and hopeful as the children themselves.Swope follows his colorful troop of resilient writers from grades three to five, coaxing out their stories, watching talents blossom, explode, and sometimes fizzle. We meet Cindy (whose mom was a Taoist priestess), Brian (who cannot seem to tell the truth), and Lourdes (a wacky Dominican chatterbox). Preparing his students for a world of adult dangers, Swope is astonished by their courage, their humanity, and most of all, their strength. I Am a Pencil is a book about the power and magic of imagination, providing a unique window on the immigrant experience as seen through the lives of children.

An incredible journey"I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!" The creepy-crawly bug doesn't know why she does what she does. She only knows she has to do it. But making the journey seems impossible for the slow-moving critter, who has no idea what or where Mexico is. Then an everyday miracle occurs, bringing a transformation that will help her fulfill her destiny. Each autumn, millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from the central and eastern United States and Canada to colonies in the mountains of Mexico, where they mate before flying north in the spring to lay their eggs. In simple, jaunty text and pictures, Sam Swope and Sue Riddle celebrate the amazing story of one of these intrepid bugs.

Stuck inside on a rainy day, Iggie can't help getting a bad case of the crazies. But when they come to life, look out! Suddenly she is overswept by the Krazees--mad, manic creatures who stir her into a mess-making frenzy--"plipple, plop bim bango!"--before they vanish--"poof!"--just as the rain stops and the sun pokes its way out of the clouds. This rollicking picture-book romp soars to the highest heights in Eric Brace's hysterical, high-kinetic pictures.

A reinvention of a favorite folktale heroEver since he was abandoned on a miller's doorstep as a noisy infant, Jack's been saddled with the reputation of village bad boy. When real trouble arrives -- in the form of seven deadly giants roaming the countryside - Jack is blamed. "Bad attracts bad," the village preacher warns his frightened flock. Jack believes it, too. Worried that the village won't be safe unless he leaves, Jack sets off, never intending to battle the giants, but one by one, that's what happens. And in his surprising encounters with these seven truly bad seeds, Jack proves himself braver, smarter, and better than he ever suspected.The author has found exactly the right youngster to defeat these overgrown manifestations of the seven traditional human failings (including Sloth, the would-be poet; the ever-incensed Mrs. Roth; and Avaritch, the greedy troglodyte), all of whom come roaring to life in striking pictures by Belgian Carll Cneut.

Although she does not know why or how, a small creepy-crawly bug is certain that she must make her way to Mexico.

An incredible journey I don t know much but I know what I know I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go to Mexico The creepy crawly bug doesn t know why she does what she does She only knows she has to do it But making the journey seems impossible for the slow moving critter who has no idea what or where Mexico is Then an everyday miracle occurs bringing a transformation that will help her fulfill her destiny Each autumn millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from the central and eastern United States and Canada to colonies in the mountains of Mexico where they mate before flying north in the spring to lay their eggs In simple jaunty text and pictures Sam Swope and Sue Riddle celebrate the amazing story of one of these intrepid bugs An incredible journey I don t know much but I know what I know I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go to Mexico The creepy crawly bug doesn t know why she does what she does She only knows she has to do it But making the journey seems impossible for the slow moving critter who has no idea what or where Mexico is Then an everyday miracle occurs bringing a transformation that will help her fulfill her destiny Each autumn millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from the central and eastern United States andCanada to colonies in the mountains of Mexico where they mate before flying north in the spring to lay their eggs In simple jaunty text and pictures Sam Swope and Sue Riddle celebrate the amazing story of one of these intrepid bugs An incredible journey I don t know much but I know what I know I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go to Mexico The creepy crawly bug doesn t know why she does what she does She only knows she has to do it But making the journey seems impossible for the slow moving critter who has no idea what or where Mexico is Then an everyday miracle occurs bringing a transformation that will help her fulfill her destiny Each autumn millions of Monarch butterflies migrate from the central and