What happens when cousin KC comes over and forgets his bear? Grady treis to make KC feel better and loans him his bear but just to hold. KC drags the bear around and leaves him looking his worst. Grady insists on his old bear and nothing else. Can grandpa save the day and fix Grady's Bear?

This book is such a realistic story. We all want what is ours and don't like sharing very much, especially with our little cousins. I liked this childrens story a lot because of how I can relate to it. If you are teaching your kids about sharing, try this book.

Please write more short stories for us

"Good as new" is what grandpa promises after Grady's teddy bear is smeared with peanut butter, sprayed with a hose, and buried in the sand by his young cousin. When grandpa begins cutting the stitches and pulling out the stuffing, Grady isn't so sure that grandpa knows what he's doing. However, Grandpa ends up a hero and the bear turns out better than new. This delightful story has a familiar childhood problem with a satisfying ending. Large, attractive illustrations are perfect for sharing with one child or a group.

My son learned to read using Johanna Hurwitz's marvelous Russell/Riverside Kids series, and so we were very excited to begin Pee Wee's Tale. We were not disappointed! The animal story is a nice diversion from Hurwitz's more realistic fiction, but still has all of her markings as an author: humor, empathy and strong characterization. Yes, my son was concerned about the guinea pig's plight, and yes, the release of the guinea pig into the park raised an eyebrow...but it also incited some wonderful discussion about caring for pets and how animals adapt in the wild. Besides being an exciting and provocative chapter book for emergent readers, I think this would make a great classroom read-aloud, and I am giving it as a gift to my son's teacher! Also, don't miss Lexi's Tale, the sequel from a squirrely point of view!

"Share this with me. You'll like it. It's very sweet." are the last three sentences of this lovely chapter book for young readers, and I hope that many children and their parents will do just that.

It's a story of friendship between a naive housepet and a street-wise Central Park(New York City) rodent, exceptionally well written, with fun forays into poetry and sayings. Who could resist a squirrel with the philosophy, "a nut in the jaw is worth two in the paw?"

Add this to the CHARLOTTE'S WEB type of books children of all ages take into their hearts and share it with a child you love soon.

When an author sits down to write a book, she/he uses many elements: fact, memory and imagination. My book about PeeWee began with fact. I read an article in the New York Times telling of 45 guinea pigs set loose in Central Park because their owner faced eviction by his landlord. A few days later, a second story told that most were captured, sent to an animal shelter, and put up for adoption. Starting with that fact, I began to imagine what would happen to a single guinea pig that was not found. Memory came to play because I recalled the parents of two of my own children's friends. Both released pet kittens onto the city streets when their children were not home because they felt stressed and unable to continue the responsibility of pet ownership. As the owner of two pet cats myself, I was shocked when I heard what these parents had done. And finally, when I sat down to write about that little guinea pig, my imagination took over. Suddenly, the little guinea pig was looking at the newspaper scraps in his cage and discovering the mystery of the printer letter. His wise mother, who grew up in a first grade classroom, teaches him how to read. His reading skills together with his friendship with a street smart squirrel named Lexi helpt she hero of the fantasy survive.

Here is another news story that I have not written about: a few years ago, a crate of tropical parrots broken open at Kennedy Airport. The small green birds flew free and everyone predicted that they would soon die in the cold and hostile climate of the New York area. But as recently as a week ago, a cousin of mine who lives in Connecticut saw two dozen of these parrots in a local park. Somehow, they have adapted and continued to live and reproduce despite cold weather, snow, different vegetation and new enemies. Like human immigrants before them, they are learning to live and thrive here. It's my favorite kind of story - one with a happy ending.