Kate Banks Books

Max’s brothers have grand collections that everyone makes a big fuss over. Benjamin collects stamps and Karl collects coins, and neither one will share with their little brother. So Max decides to start a collection of his own. He’s going to collect words. He starts with small words that he cuts out of newspapers and magazines, but soon his collection has spilled out into the hall. All the while, his brothers are watching. Benjamin brags that he has one thousand stamps. Karl is just a few coins short of five hundred. But a thousand stamps is really just a bunch of stamps, and a lot of coins is only a heap of money. A pile of words, however, can make a story.  Bright, bold pictures incorporating clever wordplay accompany this highly original tale about a younger brother’s ingenuity. Max's Words is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Heartbreaking but also filled with wit and hope, The Line Tender is the story of Lucy, the daughter of a marine biologist and a rescue diver, and the summer that changes her life. If she ever wants to lift the cloud of grief over her family and community, she must complete the research her late mother began. She must follow the sharks.

A stranded wolf cub is rescued and raised by a loving polar bear, and years later when he is grown into a wolf and on his own, he comes upon a lost polar bear cub, and the cycle begins again.

It's time for bed, and a little boy chooses his favourite book for his mother to read to him. He identifies with the bear in the book who is preparing for his own deep slumber, hibernating through the winter while humans and other animals explore the snowy landscape around him.

When Kate's beloved cat, Oscar, is found with both hind legs severed by a combine-harvester, Noel Fitzpatrick, star of Channel 4's The Supervet, agrees to try pioneering surgery to replace his legs with prosthetics. This is the amazing account of a feline destined to become the world's first bionic cat.

Alternating between real-life scenes with the baby tiger and his mother and enchanted dream scenes of sleep's possibilities, Kate Banks's simple, comforting text and Georg Hallensleben's bright, colourful illustrations make this a charming bedtime story for small children.

After a storm knocks their tree down, a bird, a monkey, and a snake travel the jungle in search of a new home, which they end up sharing together with their new friend, the frog, in this rebus picture book.

Set against the backdrop of an impending storm, a young urban boy learns the importance of preparation and environmental stewardship. This allegorical tale weaves themes of ecology and responsibility, drawing inspiration from ancient narratives about caring for the earth. Through his journey, readers are encouraged to reflect on their own role in protecting the environment and nurturing the world around them.

A boy provides instructions as he searches high and low for an elephant, which the reader can find in the illustrations.

Where the Wild Things Are meets Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in this emotionally satisfying picture book tailor-made for reading aloud, which celebrates creativity and the power of imagination. In a spare, lyrical text, young listeners and readers will follow a little boy through his day, from early morning till bedtime, and watch as what fills his active imagination becomes real. Toys grow to life-size: a tin monkey plays a real drum and fiddle--rat-a-tat, toot!--a stuffed lion roars--rumble, grumble--and a dump truck empties its load--BANG! But when quiet time comes, and a hush settles over his bedroom, animals nap, and the boy becomes absorbed in other activities, like reading and drawing. Here is an irresistible read-aloud by a picture-book master that captures all the joy of a child's play, and renders a boy's imagination real. Praise for And If the Moon Could Talk by Kate Banks: "With quiet phrases and luxurious color, Banks . . . evoke(s) a perfectly peaceful bedtime." --Publishers Weekly Praise for City Cat by Kate Banks: "If you have to pack a suitcase, . . . make room in it for this book." --The New York Times