Since 1926, Pelican Publishing Company has been committed to publishing books of quality and permanence that enrich the lives of those who read them.
Humorous Stories
A cultural spin on the classic Chicken Little tale, this story follows Chachalaca Chiquita, a colorful southwestern bird, through her journey after a pebble falls from the sky and hits her right on the head. On a mission to tell the jefe (boss) that the sky is falling, Chachalaca Chiquita joins the feathered flock of Lina Gallina, the prairie hen, and her chicks and heads to the mountain.
At last! It’s time for the annual Texas State Fair, and young Jake knows exactly what he wants to do first. He passes up all the other booths to buy his favorite treat—a cone of sweet and puffy cotton candy. Young readers will enjoy Jake’s comic misadventure, set among landmarks like the Cotton Bowl and the Texas Star, America’s tallest Ferris wheel. Hardcover.
When Gregory wakes up in the body of a dinosaur on the morning of his class presentation, he’s worried. In this loose adaptation of the literary classic by Franz Kafka author Paul Many encourages children not to give up when things get scary.
It is pandemonium during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at Reliant Stadium where Jake carelessly creates folly and mayhem! Author Dotti Enderle and illustrator Chuck Galey take us on a wild Texas adventure.
When Ma Farmer gets a hankering for some sweet potato pie, she decides to plant a sweet potato in her garden. But when it comes time to harvest, the sweet potato has grown to be so enormous that it is stuck! So Ma grabs Pa, but the sweet potato still won’t budge. Soon Bessie Cow, Ralphie Dog, and Kitty Cat join in to help; that sweet potato sure is stubborn. When itty-bitty Lily Mouse offers to help, everyone soon learns that a small and mighty effort can yield GIGANTIC rewards.
An evil macaroon takes a bunch of frightened brownies hostage, and only the Gingerbread Man can save them from their sticky situation! With raisin eyes, a licorice mouth, and a kitchen towel for a cape, the superhero swiftly flies to the rescue. But flying sesames seeds and stampeding animal crackers are just a few of the dangers the tasty treat must face to defeat the wicked dessert.
It’s Christmas Eve, and Cap’n McNasty and his crew of rapscallions have a fiendish plan to steal every present. Stuffed with cookies and loaded down with toys, the pirates think they are unstoppable. That is, until Santa appears in the sky, making straight for them with sleigh bells a-ringing. The hapless pirates swash and buckle, but they fall to Santa’s elves one by one as they slip on sugarplums and are tied up in bows. Saint Nick and Cap’n McNasty square off in a final showdown, pitting hook against candy cane in a battle for Christmas.
Beware, ye pilgrims, of the Knotty List crew!
Kole’s Nana is definitely a little bit magic: at her house, the Tooth Fairy always visits, Santa eats all the cookies, and the Easter Bunny leaves huge eggs. So when Nana cooks her special green-dyed, dinosaur-shaped pancakes for breakfast, Kole knows something amazing will happen.
In this anti-bullying tale, Kole and the green reptile stand up to the bully and learn that a little kindness can go a long way.
When a blanket of vines takes over the peaceful town of Red Mud Flats, the citizens find themselves in kudzu chaos. It takes the courage of Bobby Lee, the creativity of Kudzu Katie, and the cooperation of the townspeople to transform the smothering green monster of kudzu into a small-town miracle. Hardcover.
The leprechaun gets the last laugh in this story filled with catchy rhymes. The miniature book also doubles as the body of a leprechaun toy whose arms and legs move when the head is pulled. Hardcover.
Joey has everything going for him: he’s smart, he’s finally eight (and a half), and his parents at last understand he’s old enough to be left at home alone until his older brother, Dan, comes home. But maybe things aren’t as good as they seem. Joey is also everything monsters that enjoy pan-fried boys look for. To a monster, Joey is just a delicious, defenseless morsel. Hardcover.
This tale takes readers on a romp into the Wild West and reveals how America’s favorite cowboy invented the ten-gallon hat. In an attempt to cover his noggin, Pecos Bill wears a baseball cap, a firefighter’s helmet, and even a tree branch, until he finally comes up with the right solution. Kids will laugh at his hilarious antics and enjoy searching for the armadillo and the salamander, hidden on each page. Vibrant illustrations capture the comedic tone of the story and a glossary offers a list of cowboy terms.
Once every thousand years, dinosaurs from around the world fight tooth and claw for the most prized title on this side of extinction—Prehistoric Games Champion. At the games, the brightest and strongest dinosaurs try their luck at conquering weight-lifting challenges and wrestling matches and dodging hits in the boxing ring. These dinos will do whatever it takes to get to the top, and they’ll use their claws, tails, wings, and teeth to become Jurassic heroes in this uproarious picture book.
One morning, six friends meet on the bayou for some fishing. But their plan is spoiled when three of the men realize that they only have bait, but not poles, and that the other three have poles, but no bait. The fishermen decide to skip the fishing and eat breakfast instead, but they run into the same dilemma after discovering that they are short three pies and three flasks of coffee.
After school, Jake hurries to his Uncle Rocco’s crazy, mixed-up Italian restaurant to play with food and dig into a new book! Whether juggling ravioli, bowling with mozzarella balls, or playing spaghetti pick-up sticks, Jake and his uncle serve up heaping portions of fun. So when the business next door moves out, Jake sets out on a mission to find a new neighbor for his Uncle’s Italian joint. Jake’s story teaches kids about the joy of learning, the fun of reading with family, and the importance of community.