Why would a beautifully wrapped birthday present hold nothing but an empty box? Ten leading authors give us ten deliciously different answers to the same question. Kids are invited to savor these original birthday surprises, then try their own solutions to the mystery of the empty box.

New from the author of Bunnicula and There's a Monster Under My Bed. A bully calls Pinky a sissy because he likes the color pink, but a wise neighbor helps him deal with the situation and stay calm. Full color.

Not even a torrential downpour can spoil the weekend Pinky and Rex spend camping with their dads. Full color.

Pinky really wants to be an actor and is sure he'll get the lead in the school play. Rex, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with being on stage. She's afraid she'll forget her lines -- or worse. Everything changes when Pinky convinces Rex to go with him to the tryouts. Will Pinky and Rex still be best friends when the show is over?

From the earliest stages of sounding out words to the excitement of reading a whole book without help, Ready-to-Read books open up a world of possibilities to children at three different levels:

• LEVEL 1: STARTING TO READ
• LEVEL 2: READING TOGETHER
• LEVEL 3: READING ALONE

Pinky has twenty-seven stuffed animals, and Rex has twenty-seven dinosaurs. They have everything the same, and that's the way it should be with best friends. So what do they do when there's only one pink dinosaur in the museum gift shop, and they both want it? Could Pinky's pesky little...

Rex's parents are adopting a baby, and Rex doesn't like the idea at all. Suppose her parents are so busy with the new baby they forget about her?
So she comes up with a plan. If she can be the perfect big sister, her parents will have to pay attention to her. The trouble is, being the perfect big sister is a lot of work, and it doesn't leave time for much else -- like her best friend, Pinky.

Rex is a terrible speller, and she's afraid she's going to embarrass herself in front of the whole class at today's spelling bee. Pinky, on the other hand, is a great speller, and he's sure he's going to be champion of the second grade again.
But Pinky isn't counting on the new kid in class, who's a great speller, too. And he's certainly not counting on embarrassing himself in a way so terrible that winning or losing doesn't even matter. It's a good thing he can count on Rex to make him feel better on the worst day of his life.

Dear possible reader of this book,
After I wrote my first book, It Came from Beneath the Bed , my editor asked me to write another one. (Another one This is hard work I'd like to see him write another one ) So anyway...in this book the lovable and smart (not to mention talented) wirehaired dachshund puppy named Howie and his friend, the beautiful and brilliant Delilah, face their biggest challenge yet: the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6 (TM) Along the way Delilah gets turned into a squirrel and has to beg for acorns. (Hey, don't ask me Read the book )
...

Dear possible reader of this book,
My editor asked me to write a third book in my series, Tales from the House of Bunnicula. And did I have trouble getting started I was afraid I used up all my ideas. But faster than a writer can say "What if?" I came up with a story It's about a lovable and smart (not to mention cute) orphan wirehaired dachshund puppy named Howie, who has a mysterious pain in his leg and is mysteriously invited to attend the Dogwiz Academy for Canine Conjurers. Together, Howie and his best friend, the very, very, very smart Delilah, who speaks in a British...