Jacksonville, Fla., January 27, 2006 — Kohl's Department Stores is now offering custom editions of books by renowned children's author and illustrator Eric Carle, Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?, The Lamb and the Butterfly, The Secret Birthday Message, and From Head to Toe. Kohl's is also offering exclusive corresponding plush animals, including a kangaroo with joey, a sheep and lamb, a golden retriever and puppy, and a gorilla and baby. The items are available online at www.kohls.com .

"We are so proud to offer these playful plush parent-and-baby animal pairs to our customers, along with a wonderful selection of vibrant books by author and illustrator Eric Carle," said Julie Gardner, senior vice president of marketing for Kohl's. "By sharing these fun books with their children, shoppers will help raise millions of dollars to benefit children nationwide."

Featuring brilliant illustrations in Carle's trademarked artistic style, these books share classic messages about family and friends while also encouraging the development of cognitive and physical skills like word recognition, shape recognition and simple body movements.

• Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? - Reinforcing the mother-child relationship, this book highlights the fact that all different kinds of animals have mothers. In addition, this reassuring story incorporates colorful illustrations of mom and baby animal pairs including a kangaroo and joey.
• The Lamb and the Butterfly - This Blue Ribbon award-winning book, authored by Arnold Sundgaard and illustrated by Eric Carle, promotes tolerance and diversity by telling the story of an unlikely friendship between a lamb and a fluttering butterfly.
• The Secret Birthday Message - A coded message of playful geometric shapes leads a little boy to a birthday surprise at the end of the book. Die-cut pages offer an interactive opportunity to explore descriptive words including up, below and through.
• From Head to Toe - This book gets kids clapping, stomping, kicking and wiggling to imitate their favorite animals. The book's recurring theme "I can do it!" helps children build self-confidence, while simple activities introduce concepts such as following directions, listening, and recognition of basic body parts. Children will enjoy learning through play with these hardcover books that encourage physical and cognitive development. Coordinating plush parent-and-baby animal pairs provide quality companions to each of these exciting books.