Simple Gifts by Ann Harrell

A warm story about the cheery hustle and bustle before Christmas and the most beautiful gift in the world: friendship! For animals and children ages 4 years and up.

The animals of the forest are busy preparing a Christmas party. They each have their specialty: Bear weaves a mat of moss, Squirrel gathers tasty nuts, Deer makes apple cider, Fox bakes a delicious pie, and Owl writes a poem. And Rabbit? He doesn't know what to do. But he'll surely think of something, right?

Ann Harrell believes in the power of story. As a licensed counselor, she listens to stories; as a certified dance therapist, she expresses stories through movement; and as a children's author, she creates stories. Ann writes picture books that relate to a child's social-emotional voice. Some of her stories reflect her upbringing in Turkey. Ann lives in Greensboro, NC with her husband and two dogs. When she's not writing, she enjoys family time, dancing, and taking walks with her golden retriever, rescued from the streets of Turkey.Małgorzata Zając is a Polish illustrator. She lives with her family in a very old city called Krakow. This city is known for its famous dragon (unfortunately no longer in good shape) and for Wawel Royal Castle (still in perfect shape). Małgorzata strongly believes that imagination is the most important thing in life. Her head is always full of all kind of creatures, imaginary friends, magical worlds and entire stories. She uses her drawing skills and different techniques to create those nonexistent worlds on paper. The shelves in Małgorzata's workshop are filled with beautiful books illustrated by her favorite artists from all over the world. She admires them and learns something new from them every day. She dreams that her picture books will one day be on someone's Favorites shelves too.