Book picks similar to
Toby and the Ice Giants by Joe Lillington
picture-books
animals
nature
non-fiction
Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot's World War II Story
Marc Tyler Nobleman - 2018
during WWII—the only enemy ever to do so—and comes back 20 years later to apologize. The devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, drew the United States into World War II in 1941. But few are aware that several months later, the Japanese pilot Nobuo Fujita dropped bombs in the woods outside a small town in coastal Oregon. This is the story of those bombings, and what came after, when Fujita returned to Oregon twenty years later, this time to apologize. This remarkable true story, beautifully illustrated in watercolor, is an important and moving account of reconciliation after war.
Flora and the Penguin
Molly Idle - 2014
Twirling, leaping, spinning, and gliding, on skates and flippers, the duo mirror each other's graceful dance above and below the ice. But when Flora gives the penguin the cold shoulder, the pair must figure out a way to work together for uplifting results. Artist Molly Idle creates an innovative, wordless picture book with clever flaps that reveal Flora and the penguin coming together, spiraling apart, and coming back together as only true friends do. Plus, this is a fixed-format version of the book, which looks nearly identical to the print version.
Where's My Teddy?
Jez Alborough - 1992
Could it be a case of mistaken identity? This fast-paced comedy of errors, illustrated with Jez Alborough's quirky artwork, is guaranteed to have children—and bears alike—reaching for their teddies!
American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon
Steven Rinella - 2008
Throughout these adventures, Rinella found himself contemplating his own place among the 14,000 years’ worth of buffalo hunters in North America, as well as the buffalo’s place in the American experience. At the time of the Revolutionary War, North America was home to approximately 40 million buffalo, the largest herd of big mammals on the planet, but by the mid-1890s only a few hundred remained. Now that the buffalo is on the verge of a dramatic ecological recovery across the West, Americans are faced with the challenge of how, and if, we can dare to share our land with a beast that is the embodiment of the American wilderness. American Buffalo is a narrative tale of Rinella’s hunt. But beyond that, it is the story of the many ways in which the buffalo has shaped our national identity. Rinella takes us across the continent in search of the buffalo’s past, present, and future: to the Bering Land Bridge, where scientists search for buffalo bones amid artifacts of the New World’s earliest human inhabitants; to buffalo jumps where Native Americans once ran buffalo over cliffs by the thousands; to the Detroit Carbon works, a “bone charcoal” plant that made fortunes in the late 1800s by turning millions of tons of buffalo bones into bone meal, black dye, and fine china; and even to an abattoir turned fashion mecca in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, where a depressed buffalo named Black Diamond met his fate after serving as the model for the American nickel. Rinella’s erudition and exuberance, combined with his gift for storytelling, make him the perfect guide for a book that combines outdoor adventure with a quirky blend of facts and observations about history, biology, and the natural world. Both a captivating narrative and a book of environmental and historical significance, American Buffalo tells us as much about ourselves as Americans as it does about the creature who perhaps best of all embodies the American ethos.
Gorilla
Anthony Browne - 1983
She has gorillas on her bedside lamp and even on her box of cereal. Hannah loves gorillas and longs to see a real one, but her father is always too busy - or too tired - to take her to the zoo. Then, on the night before her birthday, something extraordinary happens - and Hannah’s wish comes gloriously true.
The Last Tree
Emily Haworth-Booth - 2020
The desert was too hot, the valley was too wet and the mountain was too windy.Then they found the forest. It was perfect. The leaves gave shelter from the sun and rain, and a gentle breeze wound through the branches.But the friends soon wanted to build shelters. The shelters became houses, then the houses got bigger. All too soon they wanted to control the environment and built a huge wooden wall around the community. As they cut down the trees, the forest becomes thinner, until there is just one last tree standing.It is down to the children to find a solution.
Cozy
Jan Brett - 2020
When a storm hits while he's separated from his family, he starts to feel lonely--but not for long. As the snow piles up, animals start to notice just how warm and cozy Cozy really is! One mama lemming has a bright idea . . . maybe the best place to spend the winter is under Cozy's fur!
Northbound: A Train Ride Out of Segregation
Michael S. Bandy - 2020
One day Michael gets what he's always dreamed of: his first train journey, to visit cousins in Ohio! Boarding the train in the bustling station, Michael and his grandma follow the conductor to the car with the "colored only" sign. But when the train pulls out of Atlanta, the signs come down, and a boy from the next car runs up to Michael, inviting him to explore. The two new friends happily scour the train together and play in Bobby Ray's car--until the conductor calls out "Chattanooga!" and abruptly ushers Michael back to his grandma for the rest of the ride. How could the rules be so changeable from state to state--and so unfair? Based on author Michael Bandy's own recollections of taking the train as a boy during the segregation era, this story of a child's magical first experience is intercut with a sense of baffling injustice, offering both a hopeful tale of friendship and a window into a dark period of history that still resonates today.
Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival
Lindsay Moore - 2019
Your teeth are sharp. Your front paws are paddles, your back paws are rudders, and you can swim for miles.Your home has always been the sea and the ice.A sea bear, far north in the Arctic, hunts and naps and raises her young. She moves with the ice, swimming, running, stalking seals, resting. She follows the rhythm of the sea and the seasons.But what happens when those rhythms change? What happens when there is no ice?Lindsay Moore shares the story of one polar bear’s journey for survival in this stunning picture book.
Imagine.
I Want My Hat Back
Jon Klassen - 2011
Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear’s memory and renews his search with a vengeance. Told completely in dialogue, this delicious take on the classic repetitive tale plays out in sly illustrations laced with visual humor—and winks at the reader with a wry irreverence that will have kids of all ages thrilled to be in on the joke.
Chester
Mélanie Watt - 2007
It is a story told, and retold, by dueling author-illustrators. Melanie Watt starts out with the story of a mouse in a house. Then Melanie's cat, Chester, sends the mouse packing and proceeds to cover the pages with rewrites from his red marker, and the gloves are off. Melanie and her mouse won't take Chester's antics lying down. And Chester is obviously a creative powerhouse with confidence to spare. Where will this war of the picture-book makers lead? Is it a one-way ticket to Chesterville, or will Melanie get her mouse production off the ground?
It's All About Me-Ow
Hudson Talbott - 2012
Do you ever wonder how cats achieve the perfect blend of catitude and cuteness; how they can be both mild and wild? Here all the tricks of their trade are revealed as an alpha cat passes his wisdom to a new generation. Entertaining lessons abound, including a crash course on what to eat (mouse=do, gerbil=don't) and the importance of purr therapy to keep the humans calm. Hudson Talbott's spot-on humor celebrates everything we love about our fabulous feline friends, as well as the little things we put up with because we love them.
Skulls!
Blair Thornburgh - 2019
So what’s the big deal about them? Well, every head of every person you’ve ever seen has a skull inside. And that includes YOU!
Doll-E 1.0
Shanda McCloskey - 2018
She's got a knack for anything technological--especially gadgets that her parents don't know how to fix! Then, she receives a new toy that is quite a puzzle: a doll! What's she supposed to do with that? Once she discovers the doll's hidden battery pack, things start to get interesting...while her faithful canine sidekick wonders if he'll be overshadowed by the new and improved Doll-E 1.0! With a little ingenuity and an open mind, everyone can be friends in this endearing, modern tribute to the creative spirit of play.
Bear's Loose Tooth
Karma Wilson - 2011
Oh, no! What can it be? It’s Bear’s first loose tooth!From a cave in the forest came a “MUNCH, MUNCH, CRUNCH!” as Bear and his friends all nibbled on their lunch. Bear and his friends are munching on their lunch, when all of sudden… Bear feels something wiggling and wobbling in his mouth. Oh, no! What can it be? It’s Bear’s first loose tooth! In the first Bear book in three years, Bear’s friends ease his concerns about his wiggly, wobbly tooth and help him understand losing a baby tooth is perfectly natural. This funny and reassuring story will delight anyone who’s ever had a loose tooth.