We're Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure


Laurie Krebs - 2010
    The charming, rhyming text highlights an action verb for each creature, from chattering monkeys to crouching jaguars.

The Handmade Alphabet


Laura Rankin - 1991
    The entries are further supplemented with objects that begin with the same letter. Author Laura Rankin was inspired to create this book by her deaf stepson. It is a wonderful introduction to the alphabet and to sign language, and the art is beautiful enough to merit sharing it with adults as well.Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book"Brilliant . . . Hauntingly luminous."--The New York Times Book Review "Exquisitely detailed, realistically portrayed hands of different ages, sexes, and colors demonstrate the positions for the manual alphabet used in American Sign. An excellent introduction."--Kirkus Reviews

Greatest Skating Race: A World War II Story from the Netherlands


Louise Borden - 2004
    This is why I know you'll succeed in this important task. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't know it could be done." In 1941 Piet, a young Dutch boy from Sluis, gets the assignment of a lifetime: He must skate along the frozen canals of the Netherlands and across the Belgian border, in order to guide two neighborhood children to their aunt's house in Brugge, where the children will remain for the duration of World War II. Their father has been taken by German soldiers, and the children are no longer safe in Sluis -- but the journey with Piet, past soldiers and enemies, is fraught with danger.Along the treacherous path to Belgium the three children skate using every bit of speed, courage, and strength they can muster. All the time they try to appear like innocent schoolchildren simply out for a skate, for if the German soldiers discover their escape plan, the children will be in grave trouble. During the journey Piet thinks about his hero, Pim Mulier -- the first person to ever skate the Elfstedentocht, the famous and prestigious Eleven Towns Race that takes place in his country. For years Piet has dreamed of proving that he is a skater as brave and strong as Pim Mulier -- but he had never imagined that his test would fall under such dangerous circumstances.Louise Borden's moving text captures all the tension, excitement, and fear that comes with Piet's mission, while Niki Daly's evocative illustrations bring the children and their perilous journey into vivid focus.

Capyboppy


Bill Peet - 1966
    Born in Grandview, Indiana, Bill Peet nurtured his childhood drawing talent and was awarded a scholarship to the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis, where he studied painting and design. After a brief apprenticeship period, he went to work for Walt Disney as a sketch artist, eventually becoming a screenwriter and helping to produce such beloved films as Fantasia, 101 Dalmations, and Peter Pan. In 1959 Bill Peet published his first book, Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure, going on to write and illustrate over thirty successful books for children.

You Wouldn't Want to Be a Polar Explorer!


Jen Green - 2000
    This series meets National Curriculum Standards for: Science: History and Nature of Science Social Studies: Time, Continuity, & Change

Linnea in Monet's Garden


Christina Björk - 1985
    Now she understands what it means for a painter to be called an Impressionist. This innovative art book for children contains full-color photos of many of Monet's famous paintings.

George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides


Rosalyn Schanzer - 2004
    Rosalyn Schanzer's engaging and wonderfully illustrated book brings to life both sides of the American Revolution. The narrative introduces anew the two enemies, both named George: George Washington, the man who freed the American colonies from the British, and George III, the British king who lost them. Two leaders on different sides of the Atlantic, yet with more in common than we sometimes acknowledge. We are lead through their story, and the story of their times, and see both sides of the arguments that divided the colonies from the Kingdom. Was King George a "Royal Brute" as American patriots claimed? Or was he, as others believed, "the father of the people?" Was George Washington a scurrilous traitor, as all the king's supporters claimed? Or should we remember and celebrate him as "the father of his country?" Who was right? History teaches us that there are two sides to every story. Rosalyn Schanzer's book is an accessible account of one the most vital periods in American history. It is also a timeless lesson in seeing history from different points of view. The author spent two years researching books, paintings, cartoons, and descriptions of Revolutionary times. She uses art, text, and first-hand accounts to illustrate how history should never be reduced to simplistic conflicts between the "good guys" and the "bad guys." Her illustrations, and her engaging quote bubbles, bring the Revolution to life again, and allow the characters of the period to speak for themselves. Through its lively text, detailed illustrations, and fully authenticated quotes, George vs. George shines fresh light on both sides of the story of our country's formative years.

A Drop Around the World


Barbara McKinney - 1998
    The seamless blending of science and story make learning fun, and readers will be inspired to appreciate the world around us!Follow a drop of water on its natural voyage around the world, in clouds, as ice and snow, underground, in the sea, piped from a reservoir, in plants and even in an animal. The science of the water cycle and poetic verse come together and leave readers with a sense of connection to all living creatures.Great for anyone looking for books:about the water cycle and clouds for kids.to give as a gift for the kids in their life.as home schooling materials.for use in schools and libraries!

Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess


Richard Platt - 1999
    Eleven-year-old Toby’s vivid diary entries offer an insider’s view of day-to-day castle life, including tips on etiquette (where do you spit at a feast?) and exciting descriptions of hunting, jousting, and harvesting. Complete with glossary, index, and detailed endnotes, this is a rich look at medieval life that informs as much as it entertains.

Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic


Robert Burleigh - 2011
    She was only the second person to do this – and the first woman. Rich in detail, feeling and incident this is nonfiction with edge and action, a you-are-there experience made more dramatic and real by Wendell Minor's vivid paintings.

I, Galileo


Bonnie Christensen - 2012
    The first person narration gives this book a friendly, personal feel that makes Galileo's remarkable achievements and ideas completely accessible to young readers. And Christensen's artwork glows with the light of the stars he studied.Galileo's contributions were so numerous—the telescope! the microscope!—and his ideas so world-changing—the sun-centric solar system!—that Albert Einstein called him "the father of modern science." But in his own time he was branded a heretic and imprisoned in his home. He was a man who insisted on his right to pursue the truth, no matter what the cost—making his life as interesting and instructive as his ideas.

Aesop's Fables


Jerry Pinkney - 2000
    Included are the Shepherd Boy and The Wolf, the Lion and the Mouse, the Tortoise and the Hare, plus many other charactersand moralsthat have inspired countless readers for centuries. With more than fifty magnificent full-color illustrations, this handsome edition is a must for every bookshelf.

I Live in Tokyo


Mari Takabayashi - 2001
    In this city lives a seven-year-old girl named Mimiko. Here you can follow a year’s worth of fun, food, and festivities in Mimiko’s life, month by month. You’ll learn about the Doll’s Festival, riding the bullet train, the right way to put on a kimono, and Mimiko’s top ten favorite meals—just try not to eat the pages displaying the delicious wagashi! Mari Takabayashi evokes the flurry and enchantment of daily life in Tokyo with exquisitely detailed illustrations and descriptions. Her love for the city of her birth blooms in every last glowing vignette.

Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot


Margot Theis Raven - 2002
    The true story of a young German girl, Mercedes Simon, and of the American pilot, Gail Halvorsen, who shared hope and joy with the children of West Berlin by dropping candy-filled parachutes during the Airlift.

I Lost My Tooth In Africa


Penda Diakité - 2005
    Only then can she put it under a gourd for the African tooth fairy, who will exchange it for two chickens! Happily this happens, and even better, the chickens lay eggs. But will the eggs hatch before it's time to return home to America?In this fresh, spontaneous story that is infused with close family warmth, Penda June Diakite joins forces with her award-winning author/artist father to give a charming peek at everyday life in Mali.