Book picks similar to
Making Secret Codes by Jillian Gregory


3rd-grade
theme-spies-and-espionage
read-nonfiction
from-library

Perfect Game


Fred Bowen - 2013
    He can't settle for less if he wants to make the summer all-star team. But when he allows a hit, Isaac keeps losing his cool on the mound and can't get his head back in the game.Then Issac meets a very interesting Unified Sports basketball player who gets him thinking in a different way about the whole idea of a "perfect" game. But will this change in perspective help him be a better pitcher?Themes of kindness, friendship, perfection, and ability star in this inspiring installment of Fred Bowen's Sports Story Series.Discussion Guide available.

Slug Days


Sara Leach - 2017
    She feels like everyone yells at her, and that she has no friends. Today there is a different bus driver; Dan and Sachi are sitting in Lauren's seat on the bus; and Lauren's teacher interrupts her reading time. It is definitely a slug day. But not every day is like this. On butterfly days Lauren makes her classmates laugh, or goes to get ice cream, or works on a special project with Mom.Lauren has Autism Spectrum Disorder (an umbrella term that has included Asperger Syndrome since 2013), and she sees the world differently from many people. Sometimes this can be frustrating and makes Lauren want to flip her lid, especially at school where she learns differently from her classmates. But with support and stubbornness and a flair that's all her own, Lauren masters tricks to stay calm, to understand others' feelings, and to let her personality shine. She even manages to find common ground with her sticky, slobbery baby sister. Best of all, it is being different that gives Lauren insight into the insecurities of the new student, Irma.

All Stations! Distress!: April 15, 1912: The Day the Titanic Sank


Don Brown - 2008
    On a cold moonless night in April of 1912, 2,000 passengers--both the uber-rich enjoying a luxury cruise and the dirt-poor hoping to find a new life in America--struggled to survive. Only 700 succeeded. Lifeboats were launched half-full; women were forced to leave their husbands and sons behind; and even those who made it out alive were forever haunted, constantly wondering "why me?" Told through captivating prose and chilling first-hand accounts, Don Brown take the pieces of the broken Titanic and gives it such a vivid shape that you'd swear you've never heard the story before.

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems


Deborah Ruddell - 2009
    Take a lighthearted romp through four seasons in the forest with these whimsical poems. Marvel at the overachieving beaver, applaud the race-winning snail and its perfect trail of slime, or head off to be pampered at a squirrel spa. Warning: Deborah Ruddell's quirky cast of animal characters and Joan Rankin's deliciously daffy pictures will cause giggles. The woods have never been so much fun!

When Charley Met Emma


Amy Webb - 2019
    But after he and Emma start talking, he learns that different isn't bad, sad, or strange--different is just different, and different is great!This delightful book will help kids think about disability, kindness, and how to behave when they meet someone who is different from them.

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera


Candace Fleming - 2020
    She cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!She builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. Apis accomplishes all of this before beginning her life outdoors as an adventurer, seeking nectar to bring back to her hive.Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann describe the life cycle of the hard-working honeybee in this poetically written, thoroughly researched picture book, similar in form and concept to the Sibert and Orbis Pictus award book Giant Squid, complete with stunning gatefold and an essay on the plight of honeybees.A Junior Library Guild Selection!

How Big Were Dinosaurs?


Lita Judge - 2013
    And a huge fold-out chart compares the dinos to each other, from the tiniest Microraptor to Argentinosaurus, the largest animal to ever walk the land.*An NPR Best Book of 2013*

Goldilocks and the Three Hares


Heidi Petach - 1995
    "Amusing details encourage repeated viewing

World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of


J. Patrick Lewis - 2013
    No mata mata how hard they may try on World Turtle Day (May 23). If you’ve never heard of Dragon Appreciation Day, International Cephalopod Awareness Day, or Yell "Fudge!" at the Cobras in North America Day, it’s not because they don’t exist, it’s simply that they needed someone to spread the word. Luckily, the fantastically zany poems of J. Patrick Lewis and Anna Raff’s equally hilarious illustrations have memorialized these holidays forever. So get out your calendars — from Happy Mew Year for Cats Day to Chocolate-Covered Anything Day, World Rat Day (April 4) calls for a year-round celebration.

A Pizza the Size of the Sun


Jack Prelutsky - 1996
    Meet Miss Misinformation, Swami Gourami, and Gladiola Gloppe (and her Soup Shoppe), and delight in a backwards poem, a poem that ever ends, and scores of others that will be changed, read, and loved by readers of every age. Whether you begin at the beginning or just open the book at random, you won't stop smiling.“Prelutsky’s a natural rhymester. He has a keen sense of what tickles kids.”—Kirkus Reviews

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah


Laurie Ann Thompson - 2015
    With that achievement he forever changed how his country treats people with disabilities, and he shows us all that one person is enough to change the world.

Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond between a Soldier and his Service Dog


Luis Carlos Montalván - 2014
    Army Captain and New York Times bestselling author of Until Tuesday, comes what Amazon.com has declared the "Best Nonfiction Children's Book of 2014." As narrated by Tuesday,  Tuesday Tucks Me In  is a day in the life of this service dog extraordinaire and tail-wagging ambassador for all things positive and uplifting in the world. The book takes us through a typical day of adventures, starting with Tuesday waking Luis in the morning and greeting him with dog breath in the face, and then ending with Tuesday cuddling up to Luis on their bed, the last moment they spend together before sleep.

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat


Nikki Giovanni - 2008
    Poetry can have both a rhyme and a rhythm. Sometimes it is obvious; sometimes it is hidden. But either way, make no mistake, poetry is as vibrant and exciting as it gets. And when you find yourself clapping your hands or tapping your feet, you know you've found poetry with a beat!Like Poetry Speaks to Children, the New York Times Bestselling classic poetry book and CD that started it all, Hip Hop Speaks to Children is meant to be the beginning of a journey of discovery. READ more than 50 remarkable poems and songs!HEAR poetry's rhymes and rhythms from Queen Latifah to Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes to A Tribe Called Quest and more!Book Details: Format: Book+CD Publication Date: 10/1/2008 Pages: 80 Reading Level: Age 8 and Up

Justin Bieber


Kathleen Tracy - 2010
    His meteoric rise to the top of the music charts is a Cinderella storywith a digital-age twist. Before he was famous, Justin had to overcome many struggles. His parents divorced when he was young. At school, he was frequently bullied because he was smaller than the other kids his age. But his decision to participate in a local talent contestand then to post his performance online for familywould change his life forever. Discover the behind-the-scenes story of Justins journey from growing up in a small Canadian town to becoming a global teenage heartthrob. Meet the people who helped get him his break, and find out what Justin says you should never do on a first date.

They She He Me: Free to Be!


Maya Gonzalez - 2017
    Pronouns serve as a familiar starting point for kids and grown-ups to expand ideas about gender and celebrate personal expression with fun imagery that provides a place to meet and play.Award winning children's book author and artist Maya Gonzalez is joined by her partner, Matthew, in their first children's book together.-from the back cover