Commonwealth Editions

This sunny, happy, and lovingly humorous story follows a child alligator--who lives in NYC--as he visits his grandma in her Florida home. I love my grandma and grandma loves me, he says, as they visit the beach, and theme parks, and, best of all, walk and talk and enjoy each other's company. Everyone will find something in the story to remind them of their own relationships with beloved grandparents or grandchildren. With bouncing rhymes and colorful illustrations, grandparents, parents and children are sure to love reading this story again and again!

When we go inside, grandma gives me a kiss.

In fact there's no place on my face she will miss

I may wriggle and giggle and grumble and hiss,

But only a grandma can kiss you like this.

Author Ed Shankman and illustrator Dave O'Neill began creating their award-winning children's books in New England, with stories on Boston, Cape Cod, Maine, and Vermont. In 2011 they turned their attention to New Orleans, Louisiana, and in 2013 they travel to the Sunshine State, Florida!

Do you know why the transit fare card in Boston is called the CharlieCard? Young readers will find out, and should bring an extra nickel along, when they hop aboard the "T" to follow Charlie through the streets of Boston in 1949. The full-page magical illustrations of Caitlin Marquis will take readers on a ride above and below the streets of Boston as they were in Charlie's time, zooming past familiar landmarks--many still standing, some long gone--wondering all the while, will Charlie ever return? Julia M. O'Brien-Merrill sets the story straight using original historical documents and the original M.T.A. song lyrics of the mayoral campaign song, written by Bess Lomax Hawes and Jackie Steiner, for her father Walter A. O'Brien, Jr. A timeline at the end of the book has juicy tidbits of Boston's history surrounding this time-honored folk song, made famous by the Kingston Trio, and will inform and enthrall readers young and old.

Author Ed Shankman and illustrator Dave O'Neill turn their attention to Vermont and one of that state's great legends: Champ, the Monster of Lake Champlain. Champ is seen through the eyes of a likable tomboy, who sets out from her favorite spot by a maple tree and finds herself by the lakeshore. She meets Champ, who turns out to be a very kid-friendly monster--inviting the girl to sit on his head and ride with him through the Vermont countryside. Together, these unlikely friends dash past farms and mills and over covered bridges, meet some cows, eat some maple syrup-covered cheese, and eventually return to the girl's favorite maple tree. The charming story ends as it began: If you come to Vermont / Near a lake called Champlain, / And you cut through the woods / On an old country lane, There's a chance you will see / My friend Champ and me / Playing happy and free / By the old maple tree.

Whimsical balloon creatures lead children through the sights and delights of Boston in the first book by Shankman and O'Neill. Whether flying through the Public Garden, visiting Beacon Hill, or enjoying a game at Fenway Park, the balloonies are sure to please readers young and old with their colorful adventures and bouncing rhymes.

Award-winning author and illustrator duo Ed Shankman and Dave O'Neill turn to the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans, Louisiana! Jazz, of course, is the only truly American form of music, born from a meeting and mixing of cultures where the mighty Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico. Drummer Bobcat Bob leads a hot band of multi-cultural musicians, featuring a gator on bass, a finger-snapping frog, and a horn section made up of raccoons, a crayfish, and some loons. Bobcat Bob's band is known for miles around - They played like wind. They played like fire. They raised the roof, and raised it higher. They played all night and weren't done, 'Til morning came and they raised the sun. But one day the music stopped and the great New Orleans lost its voice. Through months of darkness and sadness the people wished that things were like before. And with a single drum beat on Bourbon Street, and then another, and another, the music came back to New Orleans, better than ever! Children and parents alike will love this story about the healing power of music.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation.

A boy and a moose become fast friends in this rhyming charmer from the creators of The Boston Balloonies, The Cods of Cape Cod, and Champ and Me By the Maple Tree. Together, boy and beast play hide-and-seek (not the best game for a moose), walk to the general store, then take a tour of Maine. They fly about in a seaplane, they run the Penobscot River on a raft made of logs, they hang out on a dock in Camden, and they finish off with some chocolate moose cake at a cafe in Portland!

Where's the Bathroom? is the latest creation from the award-winning team of author Ed Shankman and illustrator Dave O'Neill. It's a universal question from kids of all ages who really have to go! In Where's the Bathroom? our story's hero asks for the bathroom's location from the waiter at the Morning Star Café as the story begins. Following long, complicated, and confusing directions given by the waiter and other funny characters he meets along the way, this poor little boy is about to burst! And where does the bathroom turn out to be? Why, right where he started out, of course! The combination of Ed's Dr. Seussian, rollicking rhymes and Dave's wonderful, colorful illustrations is impossible to resist. Together, the pair create books that are fun to read and look at, alone and together.

In this board book for young readers, ages 2-4, we'll learn to count down from 10 to 1, while discovering welcoming mansions, galloping horses, racing sailboats and more! There's so much to see--won't you join me?