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Make way for silly stories

God forbid a picture book be cute AND funny 😅

Keep scrolling for some of our silliest, sweetest, most laugh-out-loud picture books.

Cover of "Shark Girl" upon a dark blue background. Text above the cover reads "god forbid a girl has hobbies." and text below reads *transforming into a human sailor in a quest for eco-conscious revenge"

When Shark Girl is captured by an evil fishing captain’s net, she makes a vow… for REVENGE!

With the sea witch’s help, Shark Girl becomes a human sailor and launches a plan… for MUTINY!

But Shark Girl needs the help of her crew mates before she can enact her plan. Will Shark girl SINK… or SWIM?

Get the book and find out.

Cover of "There's Something Odd About The Babysitter" upon a brown background, text above the cover reads "god forbid a raccoon has career goals" and text below reads " *resume addition: proficient at making dinner that is actual garbage"

Freddie has had many many babysitters over the years. And he’s never liked a single one.

So when a new one shows up, he’s sure he’s in for a boring night. Yet the babysitter seems nervous. Their table manners are appalling. And dinner is garbage. . . literally.

But what will happen when Freddie decides to team up with the babysitter to turn the evening around?

Get the book and find out.

Cover for "How To Pee Your Pants the right way" upon a dark green background, text above reads "god forbid a girl takes precautions" and text below reads " *in case of one too many lemonades"

Well, it happened. You peed your pants.

You probably regret that second (okay, third) lemonade.

We’ve all been there.

What should you do next?

Get the book and find out.

Cover of "Hedgehogs don't wear underwear" upon a red background. Text above the cover reads "god forbid a hedgehog has fashion sense" and text below the cover reads " *a deep unrequited love of tighty-whities"


Jacques is a little hedgehog with a BIG secret — he loves wearing underwear!

But the hedgehog world has rules . . . You see, hedgehogs eat grubs. They make nests. They snort with their sniffly snouts. They do NOT. WEAR. UNDERWEAR.

So what’s a critter to do about his undercover love of underpants?

Get the book and find out.

Cover of "Llama destroys the world" by Jonathan Stutzman upon an orange background. Cover has white text and orange swirls with a picture of a llama. Text around the cover reads "god forbid a llama eats cake*" "*ok but really who could have seen THAT coming"

On Monday, Llama discovers a pile of cake, which he promptly eats.

On Tuesday, Llama squeezes into his dancing pants, which he promptly rips.

The force of the rip creates a black hole (naturally).

By Friday, Llama will (indirectly) destroy the world.

How?

Get the book and find out.

Cover of "Feelings are Like Farts" upon a lilac background. Text above the cover reads "god forbid a girl has feelings*" and text below the cover reads "*and a little bit of flatulence"

Feelings and farts are facts of life.

We all have them! And we have to live with them, even when they’re inconvenient, unpleasant, or surprising.

They might come out of nowhere! It’s definitely not a good idea to hold them in for too long.

So how can we accept them?

Get the book and find out.

Cover of "The Most Boring Book Ever" by Brandon Sanderson upon a maroon background. Text above the cover reads "god forbid a boy has a boring day*" and text below the cover reads "*WAIT IS THAT A DRAGON" with looking eyes emoji.

Don’t peek behind the cover!

Don’t look at the pictures! And definitely don’t follow along with the rip-roaring adventure the boy is experiencing.

Stay focused on mundane things like sitting in chairs and doing homework.

Wait, is that a dragon? A marauding airship?

Get the book and find out.

Cover of "Everything's Wrong" upon a dark muted green background. Text at the top reads "god forbid a bear ever leave the house*" and text below the cover reads "*walk in a field, make coffee, have a bath, or anything else pleasant"

Best friends Jeff and Anders start the day with the best of intentions, but before long, everything goes haywire.

From power outages, to spilled breakfasts, to missing socks, a series of irritating incidents sends the bear-and-bunny duo on an epic journey that will test their fortitude and their friendship.

Can these pals work together to salvage this disastrous day?

Get the book and find out.

Summer 2025 E-Book Sale for Libraries

Keep your patrons entertained and engaged with the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group Summer Reads promotion!

From 7/31/2025 through 9/31/2025, over 350 Macmillan Children’s titles will be discounted across pay-per-use / cost-per-circ sales models – perfect for lucky day check outs and summer reading. Please reach out to your digital content distribution partners for more information!

Download the spreadsheet of all promoted titles here!

SUMMER READING AND BACK TO SCHOOL ESSENTIALS

Cover of "Agents of S.U.I.T. Wilde Ghost Chase"
Cover of "Plain Jane and the Mermaid"
Cover of "Children of Anguish and Anarchy"
Cover of "Real Friends"
Cover of "Six of Crows"
Cover of "Cinder"
Cover of "Promise Boys"
Cover of "Look on the Bright Side"
Cover of Check Please #1

Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate

SIGN UP TO HOST A POCKET BEAR TOY DRIVE

opens in a new windowHost a Pocket Bear Toy Drive This FallSign Up to receive a guide, poster, and more!Pocket Bear Cover Image

“Comforting is what we toys do. And it’s the best job on the planet.”

"I Donated"Art of Pocket Bear

Librarians, teachers, and booksellers: after reading and sharing Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate, host a Toy Collection Drive to benefit children in your community. Sign up today to receive “How to Host a Toy Drive” guide, poster, “I donated” stickers, and more!

Materials will be shipped the first week of October while supplies last.

Sign up to Host a Pocket Bear Toy Drive

Download a Pocket Bear Toy Drive Guide

Download the Teacher’s Guide for Pocket Bear here!

Pocket Bear"Experience an unforgettable tale of bravery, kindness, and second chances, where every stitch tells a story."

opens in a new windowPocket Bear cover imageSmall bear with a blue scarf curled up next to a large cat.
Pocket Bear | On sale September 9th

Meet Pocket, created as a good luck charm for soldiers going into battle, whose bravery and loyalty lives on long after the war.

From Katherine Applegate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Odder and The One and Only Ivan.

Thimble-born from tip to toe, Pocket Bear remembers every moment of his becoming: the glimmering needle, the silken thread, the tender hands as each careful stitch brought him closer to himself. Born during the throes of WWI, he was designed to fit into the pocket of a soldier’s jacket, eyes sewn a bit higher than normal so that he always gazed upward. That way, glancing at his pocket, a soldier would see an endearing token of love from someone back home, and, hopefully, a good luck charm.

Now, over a century later, Pocket serves as unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where stuffed toy animals are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved. He and his best feline friend Zephyrina, known far and wide as “The Cat Burglar,” have seen it all, and then some.

An unforgettable tale of bravery, loyalty, and kindness, Pocket reminds us all that love comes in many forms (sometimes filled with fluff), and that second chances are always possible.

Katherine Applegate Teacher’s Guide

Explore themes of community, empathy, resilience, and the environment through books by Katherine Applegate. Download a free discussion guide here!

opens in a new windowA Teacher's Guide to the Middle-Grade Novels of Katherine ApplegateCrenshaw cover imageWillodeen cover imageOdder cover imagewishtree cover image

How This Book Was Made: Bye Land, Bye Sea by René Spencer and Rodolfo Montalvo

How This Book Was Made: Bye Land, Bye Sea

Go behind the scenes of Bye Land, Bye Sea by René Spencer and Rodolfo Montalvo. Two children from different backgrounds show that friendship has no language in this epic bilingual story about being lost and finding a friend who understands.

Read on for an interview with René Spencer, Rodolfo Montalvo, Emily Feinberg, Executive Editor at Roaring Brook Press, and Mina Chung, Associate Art Director at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group to learn more about how this book was made, preview interior art, and take a peek into the artist’s sketchbook.

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Teacher’s Guide: Saints of the Household by Ari Tison

Ari-Tison-book-Saints-of-the-Household 1

Winner of the Pura Belpré Award and Walter Dean Myers Award for Young Adult Literature!

Saints of the Household is a haunting contemporary YA about an act of violence in a small-town–beautifully told by a debut Indigenous Costa Rican-American writer–that will take your breath away.

Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down.

But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school’s star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers’ dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are. As the true details of that fateful afternoon unfold over the course of the novel, Max and Jay grapple with the weight of their actions, their shifting relationship as brothers, and the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. They’ll have to reach back to their Bribri roots to find their way forward.

Told in alternating points of view using vignettes and poems, debut author Ari Tison crafts an emotional, slow-burning drama about brotherhood, abuse, recovery, and doing the right thing.

Download the Saints of the Household Teacher’s Guide
Download a Unit Plan for Saints of the Household

Find even more educator resources here!

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