Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story


Arun Gandhi - 2016
    The villagers vow to live simply and non-violently. Arun Gandhi tries very hard to follow these vows, but he struggles with one of the most important rules: not to waste. How can throwing away a worn-down pencil hurt anyone? How can wastefulness lead to violence? With the help of his grandfather, Arun learns how every wasteful act, no matter how small, affects others. And in time he comes to understand the truth of his grandfather’s words: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Guitar Genius: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid-Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World


Kim Tomsic - 2019
    

Imagine


Juan Felipe Herrera - 1985
    He slept outside and learned to say good-bye to his amiguitos each time his family moved to a new town. He went to school and taught himself to read and write English and filled paper pads with rivers of ink as he walked down the street after school. And when he grew up, he became the United States Poet Laureate and read his poems aloud on the steps of the Library of Congress. If he could do all of that . . . what could you do? With this illustrated poem of endless possibility, Juan Felipe Herrera and Lauren Castillo breathe magic into the hopes and dreams of readers searching for their place in life.

Have You Heard the Nesting Bird?


Rita Gray - 2014
    Fun and informative back matter takes the shape of an interview so that readers learn more right from the bird's bill. Ken Pak's lively illustrations, paired with Rita Gray's words, render a visual and sonorous picture book to be enjoyed by young naturalists.

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus


Jen Bryant - 2014
    But he didn’t write stories; he wrote lists. Peter took his love for words and turned it to organizing ideas and finding exactly the right word to express just what he thought. His lists grew and grew, eventually turning into one of the most important reference books of all time.

Ice Boy


David Ezra Stein - 2017
    Ice Boy has a normal life. He likes goofing around with his siblings ("Don t lick your brother!"). He listens when his parents tell him that being chosen to cool someone s drink or be a cold compress is the best thing that can happen to an ice cube. But Ice Boy wants more. So even though his parents tell him never to go outside, and even though his doctor tells him never to go in the sun, Ice Boy decides to head for the beach, where he rolls right into the water ("Best day ever!"). But suddenly his edges begin to blur. . . . From the creator of the best-selling Interrupting Chicken comes an offbeat and funny story of daring to venture into the unknown, whatever form it may take."

Dear Librarian


Lydia M. Sigwarth - 2021
    They hopped from Grandma's house to Aunt Linda's house to Cousin Alice's house, but no place was permanent. Then one day, everything changed. Lydia's mom took her to a new place -- not a house, but a big building with stone columns, and tall, tall steps. The library.In the library, Lydia found her special spot across from the sunny window, at a round desk. For behind that desk was her new friend, the librarian. Together, Lydia and the librarian discovered a world beyond their walls, one that sparkled with spectacular joy.Dear Librarian is a thank you to anyone who has offered a child love and support during a difficult time.

Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton


Sherri Duskey Rinker - 2017
     Everyone in Folly Cove knows Virginia Lee as “Jinnee.” With her magical wands she can draw whatever she imagines, but for her sons Aris and Michael, she draws the most wonderful characters of all: BIG MACHINES with friendly names like Mary Anne, Maybelle, and Katy. Her marvelous magical wands can make anything move—even a cheerful Little House.

Alan Turing


Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara - 2020
    When his young friend died, Alan retreated to the world of numbers and codes, where he discovered how to crack the code of the Nazi Enigma machine. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the brilliant mathematician's life.

Can an Aardvark Bark?


Melissa Stewart - 2017
    Lots of other animals grunt too… Barks, grunts, squeals—animals make all kinds of sounds to communicate and express themselves. With a growling salamander and a whining porcupine, bellowing giraffes and laughing gorillas, this boisterous book is chock-full of fun and interesting facts and is sure to be a favorite of even the youngest animal enthusiasts.

Just Being Dali: The Story of Artist Salvador Dali


Amy Guglielmo - 2021
    When he was little, he wasn’t like the other children; he was a daydreamer who liked to play pretend. When he grew up, he became an artist, but he didn’t want to make art that looked like everyone else’s. He became the most famous painter of his time after he made a picture of melting clocks. He liked to do wild, attention-grabbing things: He drove a fancy car stuffed with 1,000 pounds of cauliflower. He gave a speech inside a deep-sea diving suit. And he took his pet ocelot Babou to lunch at snooty restaurants. He designed lollipop wrappers in exchange for free candy, a lobster phone that really worked, and a hat made out of a shoe! Here’s the true story of the one and only Salvador Dalí, an artist who never stopped being himself.

Counting the Stars: The Story of Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician


Lesa Cline-Ransome - 2019
    Katherine Johnson was one of these mathematicians who used trajectories and complex equations to chart the space program. Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws were in place in the early 1950s, Katherine worked analyzing data at the NACA (later NASA) Langley laboratory. In 1962, as NASA prepared for the orbital mission of John Glenn, Katherine Johnson was called upon and John Glenn said “get the girl” (Katherine Johnson) to run the numbers by hand to chart the complexity of the orbital flight. He knew that his flight couldn’t work without her unique skills. President Barack Obama awarded Katherine Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and her incredible life inspired the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. Get to know this incredible and inspirational woman with this beautifully illustrated picture book from an award-winning duo.

Snowflake Bentley


Jacqueline Briggs Martin - 1998
    And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature. Snowflake Bentley won the 1999 Caldecott Medal.

The Spacesuit: How a Seamstress Helped Put Man on the Moon


Alison Donald - 2019
    No one believes they can win, but they are determined to try. Based on the incredible true story behind the spacesuit that astronauts wore on the first moon walk and the team of women who sewed it together.-- "Journal"

The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring: The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation


Gilbert Ford - 2016
    Its coils took a walk…and so did Richard’s imagination. He knew right away that he had stumbled onto something marvelous. With the help of his wife, Betty, Richard took this ordinary spring and turned it into a plaything. But it wasn’t just any old trinket—it was a Slinky, and it would become one of the most popular toys in American history.