Thunder Underground


Jane Yolen - 2017
    At the same time, in Josée Masse’s rich art, a girl and boy, accompanied by several animals, go on a fantastic underground journey. This book contains science, poetry, and an adventure story all rolled into one. But it’s also more than that: In these poems we see that beneath us are the past, present, future—history, truth, and story. This thought-provoking collection will evoke a sense of wonder and awe in readers, as they discover the mysterious world underneath us.

Counting Birds: The Idea That Helped Save Our Feathered Friends


Heidi E.Y. Stemple - 2018
    What can you do to help endangered animals and make a positive change in our environment? Get counting! Counting Birds is a beautifully illustrated book that introduces kids to the idea of bird counts and bird watches. Along the way, they will learn about Frank Chapman, who used his bird knowledge and magazine Bird-Lore to found the first annual bird count.   Bird counting helps professional researchers collect data, share expertise, and spread valuable information to help all kinds of birds around the world, from condors to hawks to kestrels and more.   Counting Birds introduces kids to a whole feathered world that will fascinate and inspire them to get involved in conservation and become citizen scientists.

Roxaboxen


Alice McLerran - 1991
    There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill—nothing but sand and rocks, and some old wooden boxes. But it was a special place. And all children needed to go there was a long stick and a soaring imagination.“A celebration of the transforming magic of the imagination. An original.” —ALA Booklist

How to Be a Good Cat


Gail Page - 2011
    So when Mr. Hiccup needs someone to watch his new kitten, Bonkers, Bobo eagerly volunteers. He can't wait to teach his young friend a few tried-and-true tricks. But Bonkers doesn't want to sit or stay or fetch. He'd rather shred the curtains or terrorize the goldfish. Luckily, Cat knows all about cat things-like stretching, pouncing, and landing on his feet. But even with lessons, can a good dog really teach a bad cat how to behave?No matter which animal they prefer, all readers will love the silliness that ensues when this big dog and sweet (but naughty!) kitten go head to head.

The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid


Dylan Thuras - 2018
    And just as compelling is the way the book is structured—hopscotching from country to country not by location but by type of attraction. For example, visit the site of the Tunguska event in Siberia, where a meteor slammed into the earth in 1908—and then skip over to the Yucatan, ground zero for the ancient meteor crash that caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs. Then, while in Mexico, tour the fantastical Naica caves, home to crystals ten times larger than the average person—then, turn the page to Vietnam to a cave so vast you  could fly a 747 through it. Illustrated in gorgeous and appropriately evocative full-color art, this book is a passport to a world of hidden possibilities.

George Shrinks


William Joyce - 1985
    But taking care of his giant baby brother and brushing his teeth can be real challenges for the mouse-sized George.Ages 3-7

The Perfect Nest


Catherine Friend - 2007
    Jack the cat is building the perfect nest. It' s bound to attract the perfect chicken, who will lay the perfect egg, which will make the perfect omelet. And sure enough, a chicken shows up ( Caramba ), but so do a duck ( Sacre bleu ) and a goose ( Great balls of fire ). Feathers get ruffled -- and Jack gets much more than breakfast -- in a funny tale rich in detail with a sweet final twist.

The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor


Stan Berenstain - 1981
    Gert Grizzly. Sister Bear is brave about her booster shot, and Brother Bear is fine, but--achoo!--is that Papa Bear sneezing?

Eric Carle's Animals Animals


Eric Carle - 1989
    This celebration of the wonder and variety of earth's animals is "joyous...a book to be shared" (Booklist, starred review).

What Is the World Made Of?: All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases


Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld - 1998
    It melts into water and then vanishes! The ice cube changes from solid to liquid to gas. . . . Read on to find out more about the three states of matter.

Lion Tiger Bear: Tag! You're It!


Ethan Long - 2016
    One day, Tiger and Bear want to play a game of tag, but Lion doesn’t want to be disturbed; instead, he wants some quiet time to work on a painting. Tiger and Bear try to entice Lion to play, but their antics only have the opposite effect—what does a lion have to do to find some peace and quiet? In the end, Lion has a surprise for his friends after they exercise some patience, and each learns why it’s important to have both quiet time and playtime. Stunning illustrations by Ethan Long, author and illustrator of Hi!, a Parents Magazine Best Book of 2015, are rendered in a vintage style with variations in texture.

Math Curse


Jon Scieszka - 1995
    Is there enough time? You have 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants. Can you make 1 good outfit? Then you start to wonder: Why does everything have to be such a problem? Why do 2 apples always have to be added to 5 oranges? Why do 4 kids always have to divide 12 marbles? Why can't you just keep 10 cookies without someone taking 3 away? Why? Because you're the victim of a Math Curse. That's why. But don't despair. This is one girl's story of how that curse can be broken.

Millions of Cats


Wanda Gág - 1928
    They decided to get a cat, but when the old man went out searching, he found not one cat, but millions and billions and trillions of cats! Unable to decide which one would be the best pet, he brought them all home. How the old couple came to have just one cat to call their own is a classic tale that has been loved for generations. Winner of a Newbery Honor, this collector's edition—featuring a heavy interior stock, spot gloss and embossing on the cover, and a thread-sewn binding—will bring this beloved tale to a whole new generation of readers.

If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers


David J. Smith - 2014
    But what if we took these big, hard-to-imagine objects and events and compared them to things we can see, feel and touch? Instantly, we'd see our world in a whole new way." So begins this endlessly intriguing guide to better understanding all those really big ideas and numbers children come across on a regular basis. Author David J. Smith has found clever devices to scale down everything from time lines (the history of Earth compressed into one year), to quantities (all the wealth in the world divided into one hundred coins), to size differences (the planets shown as different types of balls). Accompanying each description is a kid-friendly drawing by illustrator Steve Adams that visually reinforces the concept. By simply reducing everything to human scale, Smith has made the incomprehensible easier to grasp, and therefore more meaningful. The children who just love these kinds of fact-filled, knock-your-socks-off books will want to read this one from cover to cover. It will find the most use, however, as an excellent classroom reference that can be reached for again and again when studying scale and measurement in math, and also for any number of applications in social studies, science and language arts. For those who want to delve a little deeper, Smith has included six suggestions for classroom projects. There is also a full page of resource information at the back of the book.

Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm


Alice Provensen - 1974
    Two dogs, five horses, a pig, some geese, lots of chickens, a few cows, a few goats, several sheep, and four special cats—these are the animals at Maple Hill Farm. With simple text that is both affectionate and wry, and irresistible illustrations that burst with personality, Alice and Martin Provensen bring their barnyard friends to life for the delight of animal lovers both young and old.