Book picks similar to
The Lucky Star by Judy Young


historical-fiction
picture-books
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historical-fiction-picture-books

Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book


Rufus Butler Seder - 2007
    It's impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again. A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!Every child who opens the book will be amazed—and so will every parent.

I'll Never Let You Go


Smriti Prasadam-Halls - 2015
    . .When you're excited, the world joins with you,You bounce all about--look, I'm bouncing, too!In bad times . . . When you are sad and troubled with fears,I hold you close and dry all your tears.And all the times in between.When you are high and when you are low, I'll be holding your hand . . . and I'll never let go.Share this beautiful celebration of unconditional love with someone special in your life.

Rumple Buttercup: A Story of Bananas, Belonging, and Being Yourself


Matthew Gray Gubler - 2019
    A charming and inspiring story written and narrated by Criminal Minds actor/director, Matthew Gray Gubler.Rumple Buttercup has five crooked teeth, three strands of hair, green skin, and his left foot is slightly bigger than his right.He is weird.Join him and Candy Corn Carl (his imaginary friend made of trash) as they learn the joy of individuality as well as the magic of belonging.

Good Rosie


Kate DiCamillo - 2018
    She likes taking walks with George and looking at the clouds together, but the closest she comes to another dog is when she encounters her reflection in her empty dog bowl, and sometimes that makes Rosie feel lonely. One day George takes Rosie to the dog park, but the park is full of dogs that Rosie doesn’t know, which makes her feel lonelier than ever. When big, loud Maurice and small, yippy Fifi bound over and want to play, Rosie’s not sure how to respond. Is there a trick to making friends? And if so, can they all figure it out together?

You and Me


Susan Verde - 2014
    An adorable cat muses about the what-ifs in life: What if he had slept late that one special morning? What if he’d missed his train on that fateful day? Then he might never have met his favorite person in the world, and his entire life would be different! Two friends delight in the incredible power of serendipity in this charming tale. Illustrated by the bestselling Peter H. Reynolds, You and Me is the ultimate gift for the closest of friends on Valentine’s Day or any day of the year.

Bird of the Soul


Ilchi Lee - 2014
    You may doubt the existence of your soul, but that may be because you have had little conscious knowledge or experience with it. Your soul is always whispering to you, but its voice is often drowned out in everyday life by a cacophony of countless thoughts and emotions. Even if you heard it once, over time you may have forgotten it. Yet your soul wants to be free, like a bird soaring in the azure sky. Your thoughts and emotions, heavy from past memories, attachments, and fixed ideas, weigh down your soul and keep it trapped. To free your soul, you need to release your thoughts and emotions first, and begin to listen to your soul's voice. Ilchi Lee wrote this short, illustrated story of a man named Jay and his relationship with his soul, symbolized by a sweetly, singing bird, to help you remember your soul. It is his own story, and he believes it is many people's story. Traveling life's journey with Jay, you rediscover what is most precious and important, and the wisdom, meaning, and potential that come from your soul. Accompanying the story are a guided meditation CD with two audio tracks and a 21-Day Meditation Journal to help you begin your own journey to a close relationship with your soul. They guide you in releasing and purifying your thoughts and emotions and take you on a flight with your own bird of the soul, enabling you to experience your soul's freedom. Consciously connect and communicate with your soul for 21 days, and your soul will gradually expand and finally take its proper place at the center of your life.

Mr. Finnegan's Giving Chest with CD


Dan Farr - 2005
    Finnegan (Dick Van Dyke) is no ordinary toymaker. His providential meeting with Maggie, a resentful girl who doesn't believe in the magic of Christmas, is the beginning of a series of miracles that will change her heart forever.

Swamp Angel


Anne Isaacs - 1994
    She single-handedly defeats the fearsome bear known as Thundering Tarnation, wrestling him from the top of the Great Smoky Mountains to the bottom of a deep lake. Caldecott Medal-winning artist Paul O. Zelinsky's stunning folk-art paintings are the perfect match for the irony, exaggeration, and sheer good humor of this original tall tale set on the American frontier.A Caldecott Honor BookAn ALA Notable BookA Time magazine Best Book of the YearA New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the YearWinner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book AwardA Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad


Monica Edinger - 2013
    But before she can work off her debt, an unthinkable chain of events unfolds: a capture by slave traders; weeks in a dark and airless hold; a landing in Cuba, where she and three other children are sold and taken aboard the Amistad; a mutiny aboard ship; a trial in New Haven that eventually goes all the way to the Supreme Court and is argued in the Africans’ favor by John Quincy Adams. Narrated in a remarkable first-person voice, this fictionalized book of memories of a real-life figure retells history through the eyes of a child — from seeing mirrors for the first time and struggling with laughably complicated clothing to longing for family and a home she never forgets. Lush, full-color illustrations by Robert Byrd, plus archival photographs and documents, bring an extraordinary journey to life.

Queen of the Falls


Chris Van Allsburg - 2011
    That’s what everyone wonders when they see Niagara . . . How close will their courage let them get to it? At the turn of the nineteenth century, a retired sixty-two-year-old charm school instructor named Annie Edson Taylor, seeking fame and fortune, decided to do something that no one in the world had ever done before—she would go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. Come meet the Queen of the Falls and witness with your own eyes her daring ride!

Yes Day!


Amy Krouse Rosenthal - 2009
    With humor and appreciation for life's little pleasures, Yes Day! captures the excitement of being a kid.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers


Mordicai Gerstein - 2003
    From a highly-respected picture book author/illustrator comes a lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.

New Shoes


Susan Lynn Meyer - 2014
    She is ecstatic, but when she and her mother arrive at Mr. Johnson's shoe store, her happiness quickly turns to dejection. Ella Mae is unable to try on the shoes because of her skin color. Determined to fight back, Ella Mae and her friend Charlotte work tirelessly to collect and restore old shoes, wiping, washing, and polishing them to perfection. The girls then have their very own shoe sale, giving the other African American members of their community a place to buy shoes where they can be treated fairly and "try on all the shoes they want."

Frozen Olaf's Night Before Christmas Book CD


Walt Disney Company - 2015
    . . until a sound awakens Olaf. Read along as Olaf has the adventure of a lifetime with a mysterious stranger in red. This beautifully illustrated 32-page paper-over-board picture book comes with a read-along CD featuring audio narration by Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf! Fans of all generations will delight in Olaf's innocent and humorous account of "The Night Before Christmas."

Ruth and the Green Book


Calvin Alexander Ramsey - 2010
    Along the way they encounter prejudice, but they also discover The Green Book, a real guide to accommodations which was published for decades to aid African-American travelers as they faced prejudice on the roads across the country.