Book picks similar to
Gift Days by Kari-Lynn Winters


picture-books
africa
picture-book
school

Bad Bye, Good Bye


Deborah Underwood - 2014
    . .” A boy and his family are packing up their old home, and the morning feels scary and sad. But when he arrives at his new home, an evening of good byes awaits: bye to new friends, bye to glowing fireflies, bye to climbing trees. The New York Times bestselling author Deborah Underwood's spare text and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner Jonathan Bean's lush, layered illustrations perfectly capture the complex emotions of moving day. The child-centric transition from dreary morning to cheerful evening comforts young readers facing big changes of their own.

Boxitects


Kim Smith - 2020
    A STEAM-centered, adorably illustrated picture book about Meg, a brilliant and creative boxitect who creates extraordinary things out of ordinary cardboard boxes.

Meet the Dullards


Sara Pennypacker - 2015
    Their food is plain. Their lives are monotonous. And Mr. and Mrs. Dullard like it that way.But their children—Blanda, Borely, and Little Dud—have other ideas. . . .Never has dullness been so hilarious than in this deadpan, subversive tale.

Cloud Tea Monkeys


Mal Peet - 1999
    When her mother falls ill, Tashi goes alone to the plantation, hoping to earn money for the doctor. But she is far too small to harvest the tender shoots, and her clumsy efforts anger the cruel Overseer. She is desolate, until — chack-chack-chack! — something extraordinary happens. Inspired by a centuries-old legend of tea-picking monkeys, here is a richly told tale full of vivid characters: the heartless Overseer, the enigmatic Royal Tea Taster, and — far away — an empress with a penchant for tea.

Stella's Starliner


Rosemary Wells - 2014
    Stella lives in a sparkling home on wheels that’s as silver as a comet in the sky. Inside are lots of cupboards and hiding places, and even a sofa that turns into a bed! Her home is called the Starliner, and it has everything Stella and her mama and daddy need to be happy. Until, that is, some big weasels pop up along the road, saying mean things about the Starliner. Mama comes to soothe away the hurt, and Daddy hitches their home to a truck and drives it away to a brand-new place, where Stella meets friends who are as enchanted as she is with her shiny home. Happily, one person’s old tin can is truly another person’s silver palace!

Mary Anning's Curiosity


Monica Kulling - 2017
    She and her older brother were the only two of ten children to survive. Her father, a carpenter and part-time fossil hunter, taught his children to look for fossils.When her father injured himself and was unable to work, Mary quit school and took up fossil hunting full-time to help support her family, a task that became even more important when her father died, leaving the Annings in debt.At the age of twelve, Mary, with her older brother Joe, found what they believed to be the skeleton of a gigantic crocodile, the Great Croc of the legends. Between dodging her rival fossil hunter, the Curiman, and the sheer work of carefully digging out the fossil, Mary took almost a year to excavate what would later be termed the Ichthyosaurus. Mary Anning may have been uneducated, poor and a woman, but her life’s work of fossil hunting led her to make many discoveries that influenced our understanding of prehistoric creatures and the age of the Earth. In 2010, Mary was named among the ten British women who have most influenced the history of science. Charles Darwin even cited Mary’s fossilized creatures as evidence in his book On the Origin of Species.In this triumphant novel about scientific discovery, Monica Kulling brings Mary Anning and her world to life for young readers.Key Text Featuresauthor's notehistorical contextresourcesfactsfurther reading

The Most Magnificent Thing


Ashley Spires - 2013
    She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!? But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right.

No More Poems!: A Book in Verse That Just Gets Worse


Rhett Miller - 2019
    In the tradition of Shel Silverstein, these poems bring a fresh new twist to the classic dilemmas of childhood as well as a perceptive eye to the foibles of modern family life. Full of clever wordplay and bright visual gags--and toilet humor to spare--these twenty-three rhyming poems make for an ideal read-aloud experience. Taking on the subjects of a bullying baseball coach and annoying little brothers with equally sly humor, renowned lyricist Rhett Miller's clever verses will have the whole family cackling.

Once Upon a Time


Niki Daly - 2003
    She tells Sarie wonderful stories and she and Sarie start to read together. Niki Daly's story will encourage any child who shares Sarie's reluctance to read.

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story


Kelly Bennett - 2005
    He wanted a different kind of pet — one that could run and catch, or chase string and climb trees, a soft furry pet to sleep on his bed at night. Definitely not Norman. But when he tries to trade Norman for a "good pet," things don’t go as he planned. Could it be that Norman is a better pet than he thought? With wry humor and lighthearted affection, author Kelly Bennett and illustrator Noah Z. Jones tell an unexpected — and positively fishy — tale about finding the good in something you didn’t knowyou wanted.

Lubna and Pebble


Wendy Meddour - 2019
    Pebble always listens to her stories. Pebble always smiles when she feels scared. But when a lost little boy arrives in the World of Tents, Lubna realizes that he needs Pebble even more than she does.This emotionally stirring and stunningly illustrated picture book explores one girl's powerful act of friendship in the midst of an unknown situation.

Our Favorite Day of the Year


A.E. Ali - 2020
    He’s not used to being away from home and he doesn’t know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moisés, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn’t sure they’ll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can’t imagine any better friends. In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering a new friendship with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself brings people together. And the calendar of holidays at the end of the book will delight children as they identify special events they can celebrate with friends throughout the year.

Pinduli


Janell Cannon - 2004
    But Dog, Lion, and Zebra don't think so. Why else would they make her feel so rotten about her big ears, her fuzzy mane, and her wiggly stripes? Poor Pinduli just wants to disappear--and she tries everything she can think of to make that happen. Yet "nothing goes her way. Nothing, that is, until a case of mistaken identity lets her show the creatures of the African savanna how a few tiny words--bad or good--can create something enormous. Janell Cannon, the creator of the bestselling "Stellaluna, introduces yet another endearing character in this triumphant story about self-image, self-acceptance, and treating others with respect.""Includes notes about hyenas and other animals of the African savanna.

Mummy Cat


Marcus Ewert - 2015
    . . Mummy Cat prowls his pyramid home, longing for his beloved owner. As he roams the tomb, lavish murals above his head display scenes of the cat with his young Egyptian queen, creating a story-within-a-story about the events of centuries past. Hidden hieroglyphs deepen the tale and are explained in an informative author’s note.         Marcus Ewert and Lisa Brown’s smart, beautiful book is a marvel of sophisticated simplicity, infinitely engaging to examine in detail, and complete with a sweetly surprising plot twist sure to delight young cat-lovers and budding Egyptologists alike.

What If...?


Anthony Browne - 2013
    They search for the right place, looking through the windows, wondering "What if...?" while making surprising discoveries along the way.