Children's books that excite the imagination with rhyme and art.

Author Ed Shankman and Illustrator Dave O'Neill are the creative team behind nine children's books, and counting. Your children will lose themselves in the dazzling illustrations, the irrepressible imaginings, and the magical, mesmerizing music of words. You'll love reading these books aloud as whimsical notions tumble off your tongue in sparkling rhyme.

From the award-winning "I Met a Moose in Maine One Day" to the newest title, "Where's the Bathroom?", Shankman and O'Neill create fun, exciting stories and characters for children and parents to share.

An ever-growing library for GROWING young readers.

Featured

I Met a Moose in Maine One Day

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

A boy and a moose become fast friends in this rhyming charmer. 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, and they finish off with some "chocolate moose cake" at a cafe in Portland!

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A Whimsical Washington Night: The Adventures of a DC Duo

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

Come along as DC Daisy meets her best buddy, Washington Panda, for an evening of adventures – both wacky and fantastic – against the backdrop of the capital’s most beloved landmarks. Watch Daisy and Panda join Lincoln, Washington and Teddy Roosevelt for a game of volleyball against the supreme court justices. The story climaxes with a spectacular dance number, featuring all one hundred senators, on the steps of the capital building! (You won’t see that anywhere else.)

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Where's the Bathroom?

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David 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 and is faced with long, complicated and confusing directions given by a host of funny characters he meets along the way. And where does the bathroom turn out to be?

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The Sea Lion's Friend

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

You'll cherish this tale of an unlikely friendship between a sea lion and a sea gull, two inseparable buddies who do all kinds of fun things together. Readers will be touched by this tale of best friendship. And with a sea lion and a sea gull, as with us humans, it's their similarities, rather than their differences, that unite them.

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My Grandma Lives in Florida

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

This sunny, happy, and lovingly humorous story follows a little alligator as he visits his grandma in Florida. "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.

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The Bourbon Street Band Is Back

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

Drummer Bobcat Bob leads a hot band of musicians, featuring a gator on bass, a finger-snapping frog, and a crayfish on trumpet! 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." 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.

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When a Lobster Buys a Bathrobe

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

Sure, most of our books take place in a specific location, but "When a Lobster Buys a Bathrobe", does not happen in just one place, but wherever lobsters are found! Pure rhyming, silly fun, cover to cover. With its bouncing rhymes and colorful illustrations, everyone will love reading this charming story again and again!

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Champ and Me by the Maple Tree

When a little girl meets Champ, who turns out to be a very kid-friendly monster, she's invited 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.

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The Cods of Cape Cod

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

The Cods of Cape Cod love their summer vacation, And though they could go anywhere in the nation, They keep coming back to their favorite location, 'Cause they know that Cape Cod's a vacation sensation! To this colorful fish-friendly house come the Cods' many fishy friends, shrimp comes from Sandwich, bass from Mashpee, swordfish from Chatham, and so on. And boy, do they know how to have fun!

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The Boston Balloonies

Written by Ed Shankman and Illustrated by David O'Neill

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.

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Here's what people are saying.

"Just over a week ago, we added Ed Shankman and Dave O’Neill’s “I Met a Moose in Maine One Day” to our home library, and I can honestly say I nearly have it memorized because the girls have requested that I read it so much."
–Simplekids.net
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All of Shankman and O’Neill’s books are amazing. -5minutesformom.com
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"When I found Shankman and O’Neill I felt like I had found a lost treasure! I had never heard of them until a few months ago and what they have to offer is worthy of being on a children’s classic list. Trust me, we read a lot of books around here and Shankman and O’Neill are in a league of their own!"
-gogrowgo.com
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“Author Ed Shankman and illustrator Dave O'Neill have done a fantastic job in creating this fun book for children ages two to seven . . . Although meant for young children, I loved reading the book and admired the colorful illustrations - and, my grandchild keeps asking me to read the book to him over and over again . . .Young and old are certain to enjoy this book, as well as other books by Shankman and O'Neill.”
– Funtravels.com, writing about “My Grandma Lives in Florida” READ MORE

"Well, it looks like our new favorite author/illustrator team is back at it again with a new addition to their book line-up and you are going to love this one, too!!!”
– 5minutesformom.com
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Whimsical rhymes and wonderful illustrations make this book an irresistible read for children 3-7 and for the people who love them.”
-yabookscentral.com, about "I Met a Moose in Maine One Day
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"The Bourbon Street Band is Back is one you are not going to want to miss!" -gogrowgo.com
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“The rhythmic writings of Ed Shankman and the cuddly illustrations from Dave O’Neill have come to feel like old friends here at our house.”
– myfourmonkeys.com

EVENTS:
Summer Book Signing Schedule

Thursday, July 4th
L.L. Bean, Freeport Maine — MAP
10AM-2PM

FRIDAY, July 5th
Paradies Shop in the Portland Airport
7000 NE Airport Way #2606, Portland, OR 97218 — MAP
9:30AM-12PM

SATURDAY, JULY 6TH
Maine’s Pantry
250 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101 — MAP
11:00AM-3PM

SUNDAY, JULY 7TH
Beach Funatic
2 Railroad Ave, York, ME 03909 — MAP
1:30pm-3PM

VILLAGE TOY FUNATIC, FORMALLY Animal Instinct
232 Main St, Ogunquit, ME 03907 — MAP
4pm-5:30PM

NEWS

“TURN THE PAGE” LITERACY CAMPAIGN BREAKS GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FOR LARGEST READING LESSON

"The Bourbon Street Band is Back" read aloud to over 450 New Orleans School Children

Actor Wendell Pierce reads aloud at the Turn the Page Literacy Campaign Kick-Off at the New Orleans Public Library.

March 12 – New Orleans - Guinness World Records today notified the Turn the Page Literacy Campaign that it achieved the “Largest Reading Lesson” when 451 children took part in a launch event on Jan. 22, 2014 at the New Orleans Public Library to kick off a major multi-parish wide effort. That event, hosted by Grammy winning trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and co-chair Wendell Pierce, combined the best of New Orleans music and story-telling and easily broke the previous Guinness record.

“Turn the Page” is a collaborative effort led by the New Orleans Public Library Foundation with a bold goal—to make New Orleans the most literate city in America by its 300th birthday in 2018. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton, area University presidents, chancellors, campaign co-chairs actor Wendell Pierce, Vice Chairman of the New Orleans Public Library Board Christine Guillory, Executive Director of the New Orleans Public Library Charles Brown and Interim President and Executive Director of Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Miranda Restovic all attended the dynamic kickoff event.

Download the lesson plan

Irvin Mayfield, Grammy and Billboard Award-winning artist and founding Artistic Director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, plays live as "The Bourbon Street Band is Back" is read aloud to over 450 New Orleans school children.

Instrumental in the creation of the campaign is renowned trumpeter Irvin Mayfield who gathered a number of musicians to provide a musical accompaniment to the reading by Wendell Pierce. Noted New Orleans musicians included Ellis Marsalis, Glen David Andrews, Shannon Powell, Don Vappie and Peter Harris. Mayfield was recently named Chairman Emeritus of the New Orleans Public Library as a recognition of several years of completed volunteer service on the board.

“Our goal is to work together to make New Orleans the most literate city in America by our 300th anniversary in 2018, so this record helps bring recognition to such a vital issue for our region,” said Co-Chair Guillory. “We are experiencing a lot of momentum with all our efforts but we have just begun and need everyone to continue to contribute so we can reach our goal and make sure every child becomes literate and learns to read.”

New Orleans is currently ranked as the 19th most literate city among 75 US cities with 250,000 or more in population, according to a 2014 study conducted by Central Connecticut State University. Coming off the heels of our campaign launch, this is a rise from being ranked 25th in the 2013 study. The kickoff event garnered major media attention in an effort to increase awareness about literacy and the “Turn the Page” campaign. Several local elementary schools, including Mahalia Jackson Elementary, Ben Franklin Elementary, Edgar P. Harney Elementary and James Singleton Elementary arranged field trips for their first and second graders to attend the record attempt and enjoy a dynamic reading lesson based on “The Bourbon Street Band is Back,” written by Ed Shankman and illustrated by David O’Neill.

“Turn the Page” is an effective way that local businesses, non-profit organizations, community associations and media outlets can display their commitment to one of the most serious issues facing New Orleans – Literacy.

RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS

Lesson Plans

We're dedicated to creating positive, entertaining and educational experiences for young readers and the people who read with them. With that in mind, we've begun the creation of free lesson plans which offer additional perspectives and discussions based on our stories.

Click the buttons below to download free lessons plans for use in your classroom and home.

I Met a Moose in Maine One Day Lesson Plan

The Bourbon Street Band is Back Lesson Plan

The Boston Balloonies Lesson Plan