Thanks & Giving: All Year Long

Did you ever dream of talking to a mermaid?

Can you imagine facing off with a bully who barely reaches your knees?

What would you do with a box of golden coins?

Have you ever said thank you to...a button?

And how would you respond if you met a magic genie who asked you for a handout instead of granting you a wish?

Free to Be...You and Me creator Marlo Thomas has once again produced a joyful volume for children and the grown-ups in their lives. Reaching into the heads and hearts of our most acclaimed writers, artists, and performers, Thanks & Giving celebrates the best things in life — family, friendship, giving, thankfulness, and love (and just for fun, a few of their opposites — stinginess, bullying, ingratitude, and the occasional urge to stamp your feet and throw a fit).

From Tiger Woods and Maurice Sendak to Hilary Duff and Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, this colorful collection of stories, poems, and songs will take readers on a lighthearted and thoughtful (but never overserious) adventure. Whether you're gazing at the brilliant child's-eye paintings of illustrator Eric Carle, or laughing out loud at the off-the-wall humor of Mel Brooks, you'll enjoy every step of the magical journey that the creators of Thanks & Giving have planned for you:

• Delight in Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's fractured fable starring a mouse, a bird, and a sausage who learn all about sharing — the hard way.
• Hold on tight as Rosie Perez recounts the tale of a little girl confronted with a heart-stopping decision.
• Rock along with Kevin and Michael Bacon's funky valentine to sibling rivalry and brotherly love.
• And laugh with Ray Romano as he reveals how his life was changed by a giant burrito.

Designed for both cover-to-cover reading and selective excerpting (when you can't refuse that last impassioned call for "One more story!" just before lights-out), this sparkling anthology also includes marvelous contributions from Avi, Shel Silverstein, Tom Chapin, Arthur creator Marc Brown, Matt Groening, Deepak Chopra, Donald Trump, Frankie Muniz, Walter Dean Myers, Paul Newman, Sumner Redstone, Jerry Pinkney, Whoopi Goldberg, Sonia Manzano, the Sesame Street Muppets, Julianne Moore, Ed Koren, Wendy Wasserstein, and Paul O. Zelinsky.

Marlo Thomas and Friends are contributing all royalties from Thanks & Giving: All Year Long to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded by Ms. Thomas's father, Danny Thomas, in 1962.

"Thomas (Free to Be, You and Me) and Cerf gather the work of more than 80 individuals who contribute words, music or art to this energetic, eclectic anthology, all royalties from which will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Recurrent themes in these pieces — which range in mood from jocular to contemplative — include being a good friend, reaching out to those less fortunate and appreciating one's family. Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith kick things off with an irreverent 'not-often-told Grimm's Fairy Tale' starring a mouse, bird and sausage and ending with the moral, 'give thanks for what you have and what your friends give to you.' Maurice Sendak contributes a wordless vignette starring one of his Wild Things, called 'Give and Take,' and Ed Koren's art adds the frosting to the humorous 'Aunt Delia's Holiday Manners Quiz' by Delia Ephron. Paul O. Zelinsky, Eric Carle, Walter Dean Myers, Jerry Pinkney and Kate DiCamillo number among the many other children's book luminaries. Contributors more often found in other spotlights include Kevin Bacon, who, together with his sibling, Michael, formed The Bacon Brothers, co-wrote a song paying tribute to brotherhood; Tiger Woods, who tells of sending his cherished coin collection to Ethiopia to aid starving children; and Whoopi Goldberg, who celebrates her mother's ability to create magical Christmases. The timelessness of the topics explored here and the fact that many writers reach into their own childhood to find their stories make this collection at once universal and personal. Thematically and visually, this is an uplifting volume. All ages." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Marlo Thomas has collected stories, poems, and songs from prominent authors and celebrities from many fields, all answering how children learn the importance of giving. This book benefits St. Jude's Research Hospital. Illustrations.

Marlo Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California with a teaching degree. She is the author of two bestselling books, Free to Be...You and Me and Free to Be...a Family. Ms. Thomas has won four Emmys® and a Peabody Award, and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame for her work in television, including the long-running hit series That Girl, which she conceived, produced, and starred in. She serves on the Professional Advisory Board and as the National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Ms. Thomas lives in New York with her husband, Phil Donahue.

The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage
Retold by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith

Stones in a Stream
By Jeff Moss, illustrated by Barry Root

A Tale of Two Friends
By Jon Stone (adapted by Norman Stiles), illustrated by Joe Mathieu

Teeny Meany
By David Slavin, illustrated by Jimmy Pickering

An Attitude of Gratitude
Words by Bruce Hart, music by Christopher Cerf, illustrated by S. D. Schindler

The Birthday Doll
By Gail Carson Levine, illustrated by Dan Andreasen

Give and Take
By Maurice Sendak

A Different Aladdin
By Norman Stiles, illustrated by Jimmy Pickering

A Smile Connects Us
By Carol Hall, illustrated by Joe Mathieu

Letters to My Brother...and My Sister
By Julianne Moore

You Know My Brother (He's So Heavy)
Words and music by Kevin Bacon, Michael Bacon, and Robin Batteau, illustrated by Loren Long

Josie's First Allowance
By Rosie M. Perez, illustrated by Dan Andreasen

Sing Me the Story of Your Day
Words and music by John Forster and Tom Chapin, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Aunt Delia's Holiday Manners Quiz
By Delia Ephron, illustrated by Ed Koren

Point of View
Written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein

What Nana Told Her
By Deepak Chopra, illustrated by Demi

Ezekiel Johnson
By Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers

Geology
By Joseph Newman, introduction by Paul Newman, illustrated by David Shannon

All Kinds of People
Words and music by Nikki Anders and Phil Galdston, illustrated by Geraldo Valerio

What I Did with My Coin Collection
By Tiger Woods, illustrated by Sarah Brannen

Nuts to You
By Mo Willems

(I'll Give) Anything But Up
words and music by Hilary Duff, Sarah Durkee, Jim Marr, Charlie Midnight, Wendy Page, and Marc Swersky

The Nothingest Girl in the World
By Bruce Kluger, illustrated by Henry Cole

Right Under Your Nose
By Mel Brooks, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

The Rotten Tomato
By Wendy Wasserstein, illustrated by Joe Mathieu and Lucy Jane Wasserstein

What Ruby Saw
By Avi, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

You Made My Day
Words and music by Sheldon Harnick, illustrated by Eric Carle

Thanking Is Just One Letter Away from Thinking
By Larry Gelbart, illustrated by Karen Katz

Thank You, Mrs. Abruzzi
By Ray Romano, illustrated by Lisa Kopelke

Unsung Heroes
By Christopher Cerf and Norman Stiles, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Snow, Aldo
By Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Harry Bliss

Christmas and My Magic Mom
By Whoopi Goldberg, illustrated by Elise Primavera

Presents I Have Known
By Frankie Muniz, illustrated by David Catrow

Cheesybreadville
By Sonia Manzano, illustrated by Jon J Muth

Split Decisio
by Matt Groening

I Want It
Words and music by Laurie Berkner, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Arthur Goes to the Bank
by Marc Brown

Thank Someone
By Sarah Durkee, music by Paul Jacobs, illustrated by Loren Long

Giving
By Donald Trump, Ted Turner, Barry Diller, Suze Orman, Sumner Redstone, David Geffen, and Warren E. Buffett, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld