In her first illustrated book for children, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author Toni Morrison introduces three feisty children who show grown-ups what it really means to be a kid.

A Book Sense Pick and Annual Highlight With a New Afterword In less than two decades, large retail chains have become the most powerful corporations in America. In this deft and revealing book, Stacy Mitchell illustrates how mega-retailers are fueling many of our most pressing problems, from the shrinking middle class to rising pollution and diminished civic engagement—and she shows how a growing number of communities and independent businesses are effectively fighting back. Mitchell traces the dramatic growth of mega-retailers—from big boxes like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Costco, and Staples to chains like Starbucks, Olive Garden, Blockbuster, and Old Navy—and the precipitous decline of independent businesses. Drawing on examples from virtually every state in the country, she unearths the extraordinary impact of these companies and the big-box mentality on everything from soaring gasoline consumption to rising poverty rates, failing family farms, and declining voting levels. Along the way, Mitchell exposes the shocking role government policy has played in the expansion of mega-retailers and builds a compelling case that communities composed of many small, locally owned businesses are healthier and more prosperous than those dominated by a few large chains. More than a critique, Big-Box Swindle provides an invigorating account of how some communities have successfully countered the spread of big boxes and rebuilt their local economies. Since 2000, more than two hundred big-box development projects have been halted by groups of ordinary citizens, and scores of towns and cities have adopted laws that favor small-scale, local business development and limit the proliferation of chains. From cutting-edge land-use policies to innovative cooperative small-business initiatives, Mitchell offers communities concrete strategies that can stave off mega-retailers and create a more prosperous and sustainable future.

What happens to the landscape, to community, and to the population when vacated big box stores are turned into community centers, churches, schools, and libraries? America is becoming a container landscape of big boxes connected by highways. When a big box store upsizes to an even bigger box "supercenter" down the road, it leaves behind more than the vacant shell of a retail operation; it leaves behind a changed landscape that can't be changed back. Acres of land have been paved around it. Highway traffic comes to it; local roads end at it. With thousands of empty big box stores spread across America, these vistas have become a dominant feature of the American landscape. In Big Box Reuse, Julia Christensen shows us how ten communities have addressed this problem, turning vacated Wal-Marts and Kmarts into something else: a church, a library, a school, a medical center, a courthouse, a recreation center, a museum, or other more civic-minded structures. In each case, what was once a shopping destination becomes a center of community life. Christensen crisscrossed America identifying these projects, then photographed, videotaped, and interviewed the people involved. The first-person accounts and color photographs of Big Box Reuse reveal the hidden stories behind the transformation of these facades into gateways of community life. Whether a big box store becomes a "Senior Resource Center" or a museum devoted to Spam (the kind that comes in a can), each renovation displays a community's resourcefulness and creativity--but also raises questions about how big box buildings affect the lives of communities. What does it mean for us and for the future of America if the spaces of commerce built by a few monolithic corporations become the sites where education, medicine, religion, and culture are dispensed wholesale to the populace?

Triangles, circles, squares. To most of us, these are just simple shapes. But in the imaginations of Lulu and Max, these shapes found in a box take on exciting new meanings. What will you see?

Big box, little box Hey, that's not a bed box. My box, your box, Snore box How many ways can a cat interact with a box? This cat will entrance young readers as it investigates every box it can – and makes a mouse friend along the way. With bright, bold illustrations from Edward Underwood, this is a striking and witty book for children and adults alike. Fans of Chris Haughton, Jon Klassen and Sophy Henn will love it.

Nine chunky board books packed full of Eric Carle's fantastic animals - turn over for a Very Hungry Caterpillar puzzle surprise! Who lives in the jungle? What can you see in your pond? Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar and all his animal friends in this sturdy box with magnetic closure, containing nine mini board books perfect for little hands to explore. Each book is full of amazing animals, and the back covers join together to make a beautiful Very Hungry Caterpillar puzzle. With classic, stylish Eric Carle artwork, this is a great gift collection that children will love.

A really big box, full of handy little board books. This set includes chunky mini stories all about Peter Rabbit and his friends, including Benjamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. Babies and young toddlers will enjoy the stories and pictures, and can play with the chunky little books. Featuring beautiful and classic artwork by Beatrix Potter, this set is a brilliant introduction to her stories about Peter Rabbit and his friends.