Book picks similar to
Ballerina Dreams by Michaela DePrince
biography
middle-grade
let-s-play
picture-books-around-the-world
J.D. and the Great Barber Battle
J. Dillard - 2021
turns a tragic home haircut into a thriving barber business in this hilarious new illustrated chapter book seriesJ.D. has a big problem--it's the night before the start of third grade and his mom has just given him his first and worst home haircut. When the steady stream of insults from the entire student body of Douglass Elementary becomes too much for J.D., he takes matters into his own hands and discovers that, unlike his mom, he's a genius with the clippers. His work makes him the talk of the town and brings him enough hair business to open a barbershop from his bedroom. But when Henry Jr., the owner of the only official local barbershop, realizes he's losing clients to J.D., he tries to shut him down for good. How do you find out who's the best barber in all of Meridian, Mississippi? With a GREAT BARBER BATTLE!From the hilarious and creative mind of J. Dillard, an entrepreneur, public speaker, and personal barber, comes a new chapter book series with characters that are easy to fall for and nearly impossible to forget. Akeem S. Roberts' lively illustrations make this series a must-buy for reluctant readers.2021 New York Public Library Best Books 2021 Chicago Public Library Best Books 2021 School Library Journal Best Books 2022-2023 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List 2022 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters
Andrea Beaty - 2018
Now you can follow The Questioneers' further adventures in brand-new chapter books! The first installment, Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters, is a spirited story about the power of teamwork and the true meaning of home. Rosie Revere is no stranger to flops and fails, kerfuffles and catastrophes. After all, engineering is all about perseverance! But this time, Rosie has a really important project to tackle—one that feels much bigger than herself. Rosie’s beloved Aunt Rose and her friends, the Raucous Riveters—a group of fun-loving gals who built airplanes during World War II—need help inventing something new. And Rosie is just the engineer for the job! After one flop . . . then another . . . and another . . . Rosie starts to lose hope. But thanks to some help from her fellow Questioneers Iggy Peck and Ada Twist, Rosie gets the job done. And, along with the Riveters, she rediscovers the meaning of home. Collect them all! Add these other STEM favorites from #1 New York Times bestselling team Andrea Beaty and David Roberts to your family library today! Rosie Revere, EngineerAda Twist, ScientistIggy Peck, ArchitectAda Twist and the Perilous PantsAda Twist’s Big Project Book for Stellar ScientistsIggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing ArchitectsRosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold EngineersQuestioneers Family Calendar
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
Vashti Harrison - 2017
Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things - bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come.Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them. The leaders in this book may be little, but they all did something big and amazing, inspiring generations to come.
Jeremy Thorpe (Abacus Books)
Michael Bloch - 2014
When he became leader of the Liberal Party in 1967 at the age of just thirty-seven, he seemed destined for truly great things. But as his star steadily rose so his nemesis drew ever nearer: a time-bomb in the form of Norman Scott, a homosexual wastrel and sometime male model with whom Jeremy had formed an ill-advised relationship in the early 1960s. Scott's incessant boasts about their 'affair' became increasingly embarrassing, and eventually led to a bizarre murder plot to shut him up for good. Jeremy was acquitted of involvement but his career was in ruins.Michael Bloch's magisterial biography is not just a brilliant retelling of this amazing story; ten years in the making, it is also the definitive character study of one of the most fascinating figures in post-war British politics.
My Pet Human
Yasmine Surovec - 2015
Oliver is an independent kitty. He has his run of the neighborhood and looks at his animal friends with their fussing humans with pity. But when a freckle-faced girl moves into town, Oliver sees the opportunity to train a human to provide him with a few creature comforts. And if he can help her adjust to her life and make a new friend, that's just all in a day's work. The real surprise comes, however, when Oliver needs Freckles just as much as she needs him. Not a comic book and not a traditional illustrated chapter book, My Pet Human is truly a hybrid of text and art that could only come from the whimsical and brilliant mind of Yasmine Surovec.
She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein
Lynn Fulton - 2018
She longed to follow the path her own mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, had started down, but young Mary Shelley had yet to be inspired.As the night wore on, Mary grew more anxious. The next day was the deadline that her friend, the poet Lord Byron, had set for writing the best ghost story. After much talk of science and the secrets of life, Mary had gone to bed exhausted and frustrated that nothing she could think of was scary enough. But as she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of a man that was not a man. He was a monster.This fascinating story gives readers insight into the tale behind one of the world's most celebrated novels and the creation of an indelible figure that is recognizable to readers of all ages.
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors
Hena Khan - 2012
From a red prayer rug to a blue hijab, everyday colors are given special meaning as young readers learn about clothing, food, and other important elements of Islamic culture, with a young Muslim girl as a guide. Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns is equally at home in a classroom reading circle as it is being read to a child on a parent's lap.
Voyageur: Across the Rocky Mountains in a Birchbark Canoe
Robert Twigger - 2006
Mackenzie travelled by bark canoe and had a cache of rum and a crew of Canadian voyageurs, hard-living backwoodsmen, for company. Two centuries later, in a spirit of organic authenticity, Robert Twigger follows in Mackenzie's wake. He too travels the traditional way, having painstakingly built a canoe from birch bark sewn together with pine roots, and assembled a crew made up of fellow travellers, ex-tree-planters and a former sailor from the US Navy. After the ice has melted, Twigger and his crew of wandering spirits finally nose out into the Athabasca River . . . Three Years . . . two thousand miles . . .over one thousand painfully towing the canoe against the current . . . several had tried before them but they were the first people to successfully complete Mackenzie's diabolical route over the Rockies in a birch bark canoe since 1793. Subsisting on a diet of porridge, elk and jackfish, supplemented with whisky and a bag of grass for the tree planters, and with an Indian medicine charm bestowed by the Cree People of Fox Lake, the voyageurs embark on an epic road trip by canoe . . . a journey to the remotest parts of the wilderness, through Native American reservations, over mountains, through rapids and across lakes, meeting descendants of Mackenzie and unhinged Canadian trappers, running out of food, getting lost and miraculously found again, disfigured for life (the ex-sailor loses his thumb), bears brown and black, docile and grizzly. Voyageur is a moving tale of contrasts from the bleak industrial backwaters of Canada to the desolate wonder of the Rocky Mountains.
Maya Angelou
Lisbeth Kaiser - 2016
All of them went on to achieve incredible things, yet all of them began life as a little child with a dream. The book follows Maya Angelou, from her early traumatic childhood to her time as a singer, actress, civil rights campaigner and, eventually, one of America's most beloved writers. This inspiring and informative little biography comes with extra facts about Maya's life at the back.
Best Friends
Mary Bard - 1955
Someone to vent to, giggle with, and someone to help her face Millicent and the Select Seven at school every day. Those girls are boy crazy, talk in codes, and call Suzie “teacher’s pet.” It’s not easy being a teacher’s kid! And it’s not easy being eleven, going on twelve, without a best friend. Then Co Co Langdon moves in next door. Suzie has never met anyone like Co Co. First, she’s from France and has traveled all over the world. And second, she’s never been to school, having been tutored by the ultra-strict Mademoiselle. But now that Co Co is in America, she will go to school for the very first time. And Suzie will finally have a best friend by her side! First published in 1955, Best Friends follows two girls through one unforgettable school year as they take on mean girls, a cranky neighbor, boys, and a missing beloved neighborhood dog—but most of all, as they find out what it truly means to be best friends.
Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World
Katherine Halligan - 2018
Throughout history, girls have often been discussed in terms of what they couldn’t or shouldn’t do.Not anymore.It’s time for herstory—a celebration of not only what girls can do, but the remarkable things women have already accomplished, even when others tried to stop them.In this uplifting and inspiring book, follow the stories of fifty powerhouse women from around the world and across time who each managed to change the world as they knew it forever. Telling the stories of their childhood, the challenges they faced, and the impact of their achievements, each lavishly illustrated spread is a celebration of girl power in its many forms. From astronauts to activists, musicians to mathematicians, these women are sure to motivate young readers of all backgrounds to focus not on the can’ts and shouldn’ts, but on what they can do: anything!
Bunheads
Misty Copeland - 2020
But she's never danced ballet before; in fact, this is the very first day of her very first dance class!Though Misty is excited, she's also nervous. But as she learns from her fellow bunheads; she makes wonderful friends who encourage her to do her very best. Misty's nerves quickly fall away, and with a little teamwork, the bunheads put on a show to remember.
I Am a Cat
Galia Bernstein - 2018
Each of the big cats has something to say about Simon not being “cat” enough. According to them, he just doesn’t measure up. He doesn’t have Lion’s mane or Cheetah’s spots. He doesn’t sleep in trees like Panther or climb mountains like Puma. He’s small and fuzzy, not big and strong. But ultimately, Simon shows the big cats that he’s just like them . . . only smaller. A celebration of both individuality and community, I Am a Cat is a strong debut that shows we’re all more alike than we think . . . if we look closely enough.
The Great Cat Conspiracy
Katie Davies - 2011
When he brings in the head of the vicar's expensive Koi carp, Anna's Dad is so cross he locks the new cat out of the cat-flap. Tom argues for the cat to be let back in, but the flap is left shut overnight and now the cat has disappeared altogether.
What Is Hip-Hop?
Eric Morse - 2017
In between the origins and now, readers find a rare gender-inclusive narrative of hip-hop history that uplifts B-girls like Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott along with legendary male groups such as NWA and Wu-Tang...The magnificent 3-D clay illustrations...include an intricately produced remake of Tribe Called Quest's legendary 'Midnight Marauders' cover. Tying these images back to their original sources makes for quite the history lesson. Make sure to keep a device nearby. A must-read reference for any hip-hop family."--Kirkus ReviewsPraise for What is Punk?"A punk primer for the youngest set. Yi's incredibly detailed clay figures are a kinetic and inspired art choice. As [Morse] points out, the best way to learn about punk is just to listen. If invested adults love the topic, a shared reading experience can't be beat."--Kirkus Reviews"What Is Punk? is a fun, sophisticated, and beautifully illustrated introduction to the music genre for kids--or adults."--New York Daily News"In the beginning, there was a beat..." So begins What is Hip-Hop?--a playful guided tour of one of the most revolutionary pop culture movements of the twentieth century. Beginning with block parties in the Bronx, What is Hip-Hop? brings the reader up to the present day, with rhyming verses and engaging 3-D clay illustrations. It's a fun, accessible, and informative read for B-boys and B-girls of all ages.In the follow-up to their acclaimed and beloved hit What Is Punk? author Eric Morse and artist Anny Yi reunite to celebrate the music that changed their lives and the voices that achieved iconic status along the way. See Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Salt-N-Pepa, Biggie and Tupac, Eminem, and even Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar, as you've never seen them!