Most diners believe that their sublime sliver of seared foie gras, topped with an ethereal buckwheat blini and a drizzle of piquant huckleberry sauce, was created by a culinary artist of the highest order, a sensitive, highly refined executive chef. The truth is more brutal. More likely, writes Anthony Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential, that elegant three-star concoction is the collaborative effort of a team of "wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts, and psychopaths," in all likelihood pierced or tattooed and incapable of uttering a sentence without an expletive or a foreign phrase. Such is the muscular view of the culinary trenches from one who's been groveling in them, with obvious sadomasochistic pleasure, for more than 20 years. CIA-trained Bourdain, currently the executive chef of the celebrated Les Halles, wrote two culinary mysteries before his first (and infamous) New Yorker essay launched this frank confessional about the lusty and larcenous real lives of cooks and restaurateurs. He is obscenely eloquent, unapologetically opinionated, and a damn fine storyteller—a Jack Kerouac of the kitchen. Those without the stomach for this kind of joyride should note his opening caveat: "There will be horror stories. Heavy drinking, drugs, screwing in the dry-goods area, unappetizing industry-wide practices. Talking about why you probably shouldn't order fish on a Monday, why those who favor well-done get the scrapings from the bottom of the barrel, and why seafood frittata is not a wise brunch selection.... But I'm simply not going to deceive anybody about the life as I've seen it." —Sumi Hahn

A die-cut cover opens to reveal chunky pages full of delightful farm animals at a barnyard dance in a board book that teaches young readers all about opposites.

Emboldened by the enthusiastic response to Belly Button (Round)—a song from her Grammy-nominated book/CD, Philadelphia Chickens—Sandra Boynton further contemplates this mesmerizing subject.

Featuring a beachful of bare-bellied hippos—including one tiny baby who can only say “Bee Bo”—the Belly Button Book is the latest quirky addition to the phenomenally successful Boynton on Board series. Every page captivates with Sandra Boynton’s inimitable illustrations and joyful rhyming text:

Soon after dark, upon the beach, we sing a hippo song, and if you’re feeling in the mood, we hope you’ll sing along: “Belly Belly Button, you’re oh so fine. Ooo, Belly Button, I’m so happy you’re mine.”

Shiny and sturdy, and featuring a great (navel-shaped, naturally) die-cut cover that offers a provocative glimpse of the merriment inside, the Belly Button Book provides enduring, giggly, read-aloud fun.

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

For a little one who is reluctant to go to bed, sometimes a silly book is just the ticket. And when it comes to silly books, Sandra Boynton is the undisputed queen. In The Going to Bed Book, an ark full of animals watches the sun go down and then prepares for bed. They take a bath ("in one big tub"), find pajamas, brush their teeth, do exercises up on deck (imagine an elephant jumping rope, a moose lifting weights, and a pig doing handstands), and finally say good night.The moon is high. The sea is deep.
They rock
and rock
and rock
to sleep.
Boynton's inimitable animal characters have graced the pages of scads of picture books over the years. She has an extraordinary knack for knowing what appeals to small children: simple rhymes, goofy animals in goofy settings, and sweet, comforting stories. This book, along with her many other board-book titles (Moo, Baa, La La La!, But Not the Hippopotamus, and others) will surely remain a favorite. (Baby to preschool) —Emilie Coulter

Boynton is back! Joining Barnyard Dance! and Birthday Monsters!, here is Hey! Wake Up! a good-morning book with the irrepressible language, the inimitable illustrations, the irresistible cast of characters only Sandra Boynton could create.

Yawn. Stretch. Touch your toes. Shimmy shimmy shimmy, Wiggle your nose.

Just watch out for the broccoli stew. (Ew.)

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

Happy and sad. Good and bad. Opposites take on a whole new meaning when illustrated by a gang of personable dinosaurs. A die-cut cover opens to reveal chunky pages full of delightful dinosaurs singing, dancing, lumbering, galloping, and gallivanting. On board pages with a die-cut cover. This book is a main selection of the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club.

A die-cut cover opens to reveal chunky pages full of delightful characters singing, dancing, lumbering, galloping, and gallivanting in a board book that teaches young readers to count.

What an event! What a show! It's catchy and quirky. Tuneful and toe-tapping. Exuberant, unexpected, and utterly endearing. It's what happens when you take America's beloved illustrator and children's author and combine her buoyant genius with some of the most talented people on the stage—presenting Philadelphia Chickens!

Created by Sandra Boynton, Philadelphia Chickens is a family musical in a book, bringing together a full-color songbook of 17 1/2 illustrated story-poems with a full-length, fully orchestrated CD of original songs performed by the likes of Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, The Bacon Brothers, and Laura Linney, who pleads "Please, Can I Keep It?"—it followed me home. / What exactly it is/ I don't know. Also joining in are Eric Stoltz, Natasha Richardson, Scott Bakula, and two Boyntons, including daughter Caitlin McEwan, who performs a piece that every little listener will relate to—a love song to the chocolate chip cookies that are just out of reach. With the collaboration of composer Michael Ford (known to Boynton fans from Rhinoceros Tap), Philadelphia Chickens is that rarest of kids' musical discs—one whose inimitable lyrics and music make it as sing-along, dance-along, cluck-along for parents as it is for their children.

Snoozy Choosers Choose Snoozers

Here are seven different Boynton bedtime stories for little listeners. Guided by the colorful picture tabs, children can find whichever story they want to hear. And the next one. And then this one. Okay, now this one. And now this one. Ooo, and this. Oh, please, just ONEmore?