When Ethan checks under the bed for his monster, he finds a note saying that Gabe has gone fishing and will be back in a week. He tries out several substitute monsters, but finds that none are as perfect as Gabe.

"Ducks growing out of bananas? A mouse catching a cat? What's wrong with this book? Yes, there's something strange, something funny, and even downright preposterous on every page of this book. But it's not a mistake--it's nonsense! And it's also surrealism"--

A household of unusual creatures help beginning readers recognize common "household" words.

After helping her mother weed, water, and chase the rabbits from their garden, a young girl imagines her dream garden complete with jellybean bushes, chocolate rabbits, and tomatoes the size of beach balls.

Amidst their playtime pretending to be superheroes, Brother, Sister, and Honey Bear get to be real life heroes when a young neighbor falls off his bike.

"Deep in the woods is a house, just a house, that once was--but now isn't--a home. Who lived in that house? Who walked down its hallways? Why did they leave it, and where did they go? Find clues to these and other mysteries in this tale of wonder and discovery by Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning author Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Land Smith." -- Page 2 of cover.

Jim wakes up hungry, just not for the pancakes his mother is fixing--so his imagination takes over, and he pictures himself as a lion checking out the possibilities for breakfast (including his mother).

"From this first stanza, readers are invited to pay attention--and to see that paying attention itself is poetry. Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido's playful text and Melissa Sweet's dynamic, inventive artwork are paired together to encourage readers to listen, feel, and discover the words that dance in the world around them--poems just waiting to be written down."--

While playing outside on a rainy day, a little girl peers into a puddle and sees Mudkin, who invites her to become his queen.

Illustrations and rhyming text follow a brother and sister and their friends as they play lively games of good guys and bad guys, portraying pirates, cowboys, and more.