My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List: A Girl on Schindler's List


Rena Finder - 2019
    Rena worked as a slave laborer with scarcely any food and watched as friends and family were sent away.Then Rena and her mother ended up working for Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who employed Jewish prisoners in his factory and kept them fed and healthy. But Rena's nightmares were not over. She and her mother were deported to the concentration camp Auschwitz. With great cunning, it was Schindler who set out to help them escape.Here in her own words is Rena's gripping story of survival, perseverance, tragedy, and hope. Including pictures from Rena's personal collection and from the time period, this unforgettable memoir introduces young readers to an astounding and necessary piece of history.

Tricking the Tallyman


Jacqueline Davies - 2009
    Do young readers clamor for stories set in the very, very olden days of the late 18th century? Uh, not really. Okay, but do they like nutty cat-and-mouse trickery, wacky slapstick, and animals disguised as people? You bet! So let them have all that, and if they end up learning a thing or two about our country, its history, and the ways our government works, shhh . . . we won’t tell!Tricking the Tallyman accomplishes the tricky task of showing kids the way the 1790 census was tabulated (or tallied) and how the country’s new citizens came to understand (after much misunderstanding) how it worked to help them and the country. Excellent for classroom use or to put in the hands of bright kids with a taste for the quirky and irreverent, young readers may enjoy this story so much they might not even notice how much they’ve learned!

Shh! We're Writing the Constitution


Jean Fritz - 1987
    This factual gem that's written with Jean Fritz's humorous touch chronicles the hot summer of 1787 where fifty-five delegates from thirteen states huddled together in the strictest secrecy in Philadelphia to draw up the constitution of the United States!

Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem about China


Ed Young - 2005
    The unique format and gorgeous paper-collage illustrations, highlighted with Chinese characters, combine to convey the many facets of China to form a poetic picture of the lands grace, depth, and majesty.

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen


Deborah Hopkinson - 2018
    But she would have noticed you. Jane watched and listened to all the things people around her did and said and locked those observations away for safekeeping.Jane also loved to read. She devoured everything in her father’s massive library, and before long she began creating her own stories. In her time, the most popular books were grand adventures and romances, but Jane wanted to go her own way . . . and went on to invent an entirely new kind of novel.Deborah Hopkinson and Qin Leng have collaborated on a gorgeous tribute to an independent thinker who turned ordinary life into extraordinary stories and created a body of work that has delighted and inspired readers for generations.

Zarafa: The Giraffe Who Walked to the King


Judith St. George - 2009
    . . so wonderful, in fact, that the ruler of Egypt offers her as a gift to the king of France! But how to get her there? Why, she sails up the Nile by felucca, crosses the sea by brigantine, and, yes, walks the last five hundred miles to Paris. People love it. And they love her, meeting and greeting her along the way, cheering her on. Afterward, the grateful French king places Zarafa in his own royal garden, where all of Paris comes to visit and love her. Judith St. George (So You Want to Be President?) brings this amazing?but true?journey to life with help from the whimsical art of Britt Spencer.

Every Thing on It


Shel Silverstein - 2011
    From New York Times bestselling Shel Silverstein, celebrated creator of Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up, comes an amazing collection of never-before-published poems and drawings.Have you ever read a book with everything on it? Well, here it is! You will say Hi-ho for the toilet troll, get tongue-tied with Stick-a-Tongue-Out-Sid, play a highly unusual horn, and experience the joys of growing down.What's that? You have a case of the Lovetobutcants? Impossible! Just come on in and let the magic of Shel Silverstein bend your brain and open your heart.And don't miss Runny Babbit Returns, the new book from Shel Silverstein!

The Brick Bible: A New Spin on the Old Testament


Brendan Powell Smith - 2011
    His wonderfully original sets are featured on his website, Bricktestament.com, but for the first time 1,500 photographs of these creative designs—depicting the Old Testament from Earth’s creation to the Books of Kings—are brought together in book format. The Holy Bible is complex; sometimes dark, and other times joyous, and Smith’s masterful work is a far cry from what a small child might build. The beauty of The Brick Bible is that everyone, from the devout to nonbelievers, will find something breathtaking, fascinating, or entertaining within this collection. Smith’s subtle touch brings out the nuances of each scene and makes you reconsider the way you look at Legos—it’s something that needs to be seen to be believed.

Bees: A Honeyed History


Piotr Socha - 2015
    From Athena to Alexander the Great and from Egypt to Ethiopia, Bees explores different methods of beekeeping and uncovers the debt that humans owe this vital species. With beautifully accessible illustrations depicting everything from bee anatomy to the essentials of honey making, readers will be captivated by the endless wonders of this seemingly small speck of the animal kingdom.

Maria von Trapp: Beyond The Sound of Music (Trailblazers Biographies)


Candice Ransom - 2002
    Along the way, these inspiring people have blazed a trail through history. Anyone who has seen The Sound of Music knows how Maria von Trapp's life began--but what happened after the final scene? Discover what Maria's life was like after fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria for America. With intriguing facts about her life in the nunnery, her romance with Captain von Trapp, their ten children, and their singing careers, this inspiring story reaches beyond The Sound of Music--and reveals the courage and determination of a kind, energetic, and very real woman.

Jimmy the Joey: The True Story of an Amazing Koala Rescue


Susan Kelly - 2013
    Readers will marvel at Jimmy's new life at Koala Hospital, being raised by loving human caregivers and interacting with other koalas healing from injury. The book also introduces young readers to the need for conservational awareness: Through Jimmy's life story readers will come to understand the many obstacles koalas and other species face today.

The Greek News


Anton Powell - 1996
    "These entertaining, deftly organized books will make terrific light-hearted additions to cirriculum units on ancient civilizations." — Publishers WeeklyStop the presses! What if ancient civilizations had daily newspapers? And they were amusing and compellingly informative? They might just look like this innovative series of historical nonfiction, presented in a unique, kid-friendly format.

Little White Duck: A Childhood in China


Na Liu - 2012
    Da Qin—Big Piano—and her younger sister, Xiao Qin—Little Piano—live in the city of Wuhan with their parents. For decades, China's government had kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their country's leader, Chairman Mao, dies, new opportunities begin to emerge. Da Qin and Xiao Qin soon learn that their childhood will be much different than the upbringing their parents experienced.

Cosmic Chess Match


L.A. Marzulli - 2011
    Marzulli argues in The Cosmic Chess Match that we are in a cosmic war that has been raging in an unseen dimension for millennia. The seeds of the present global chaos were the result of one of the earliest moves in this match. However the end is also predicted and the Rider on the White Horse will triumph. www.lamarzulli.net

William Shakespeare’s: Twelfth Night (Shakespeare Retellings, #6)


Bruce Coville - 2003
    In this boisterous tale of hidden identities and misplaced love, Coville once again weaves his own lyrical prose together with pivotal lines from Twelfth Night. Tim Raglin has captured all the hilarity of the play in his expressively comic illustrations. Shakespeare enthusiasts and newcomers alike will delight in this faithful, merry adaptation.