Why is it important tochew your food?

Can you guess how long it takes for food to travel through your body?

Could you possibly have twenty feet of small intestines?

Where does that bad-smelling gas come from?

Your digestive system is out of sight and out of mind -- until things don't go right. Then you may wonder how these important organs work!

You'll find the answers in Seymour Simon's smooth, well-organized, and fascinating introduction to the digestive system. He explains how it works twenty-four hours a day, turning pizza, sandwiches, milk, and other food into energy and nutrients and waste. Striking photographs on every spread show how major organs including the stomach and intestines move food through your body, and how, eventually, waste is eliminated.

Guts takes the mystery out of something that happens to everyone, every day, while at the same time sharing a sense of wonder about the human body.

Snatching matinee tickets from a swanky ticket-scalping sow who arrives in a limousine, he enters the theater. "Had the ticket taker been more observant, he would have noticed the long claws and much that follows could have been avoided," Marshall adds parenthetically. The wolf is escorted by a distracted usher to his box seat, just a short pounce from the stage. When the show begins, the wolf ponders which might be the juiciest pig. But as he assesses the probable quality of the pork, he begins to get lost in the magical story, and decides to put off his attack until act 2... and in fact forgets to make his move altogether. That very night he breaks into his piggy bank and spends his last penny on a ticket for the evening performance of Swine Lake.

Anyone who is familiar with Swan Lake will be positively giddy to behold Marshall and Sendak's porcine take on this well-known ballet, but certainly no cultural context is necessary to appreciate the simple plot. With a winning story about the power of the theater to soothe the hungriest, toothiest of beasts, this fabulous team has made an absolutely historic contribution to children's literature. Fans will see a lighter, funnier side to Sendak than they've seen before, as Marshall's comic spirit gently guides his paintbrush and pens. (Click to see a sample spread. Text copyright 1999 by James Marshall. Illustrations copyright 1999 by Maurice Sendak. Reproduced with permission of HarperCollins Juvenile Books.) (Ages 4 and older) --Karin Snelson

Price: $16.95

Wiesner, Caldecott Medal recipient for Tuesday, and Caldecott Honor winner for both Sector 7 and Free Fall, prefers not to wait around until pigs fly. He gives them wings (or paper airplanes) and sets them on their way! In his latest flight of fancy, Wiesner uses shifting illustration styles and fonts to startle complacent readers into an imaginary world even as they ponder the conventional structure of story. His trademark crafty humor and skewed perspectives will tickle readers pink (even the nonporcine variety)! (Ages 4 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Price: $15.95

You probably drink milk at almost every meal. But have you ever wondered where it comes from?

Cows eat special feed to make good milk. But after the cow is milked, there are still many steps the milk must go through before it reaches you. This book describes them all. And you'll be surprised to find how many other things you eat and drink come from milk, too.

Gail Gibbon's unique style makes this a fascinating book for children and adults alike.

Price: $6.99

Dear Farmer Brown,
The barn is very cold at night. We'd like some electric blankets.
Sincerely,
The Cows

When he refuses to comply with their demands, the cows take action. Farmer Brown finds another note on the barn door: "Sorry. We're closed. No milk today." Soon the striking cows and Farmer Brown are forced to reach a mutually agreeable compromise, with the help of an impartial party--the duck. But this poor, beleaguered farmer's "atypical" troubles are not over yet!

This hilarious tale will give young rebels-in-the-making a taste of the power of peaceful protest and the satisfaction of cooperative give and take. Witty watercolors by award-winning illustrator Betsy Lewin (Snake Alley Band, Araminta's Paint Box) will make this a favorite for one and all, even if words such as "ultimatum" and "neutral" throw the younger set. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Price: $15.95

This sturdy board book in the shape of a tractor features simple text and DK's famous photography in extra-large format.

Price: $6.99