Book picks similar to
Birdie's Lighthouse by Deborah Hopkinson


picture-books
historical-fiction
children
children-s

Around the Pond


Lindsay Barrett George - 1996
    But unexpectedly they find a lot more. Clue after clue tells them what kind of animal has been there before and left its trace behind. Share their adventure in this handsome and informative companion toIn the Woods: Who's Been Here?andIn the Snow: Who's Been Here?

The Bug Girl: A True Story


Sophia Spencer - 2020
    Now Sophie tells her story in this picture book that celebrates women in science, bugs of all kinds, and the importance of staying true to yourself.Sophia Spencer has loved bugs ever since a butterfly landed on her shoulder--and wouldn't leave--at a butterfly conservancy when she was only two-and-a-half years old. In preschool and kindergarten, Sophia was thrilled to share what she knew about grasshoppers (her very favorite insects), as well as ants and fireflies... but by first grade, not everyone shared her enthusiasm. Some students bullied her, and Sophia stopped talking about bugs altogether. When Sophia's mother wrote to an entomological society looking for a bug scientist to be a pen pal for her daughter, she and Sophie were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response--letters, photos, and videos came flooding in. Using the hashtag BugsR4Girls, scientists tweeted hundreds of times to tell Sophia to keep up her interest in bugs--and it worked! Sophia has since appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and NPR, and she continues to share her love of bugs with others.

A Pocketful of Cricket


Rebecca Caudill - 1964
    "" Everybody listened." A Caldecott Honor classic that celebrates friendship and new experiences-back in print on its 40th anniversary One afternoon late in August, before the start of a new school year, Jay finds Cricket. Cricket fits just right in small spaces-like under a tea strainer or in Jay's very own pocket-and Cricket makes the most exciting sounds. But what happens when it's time to go back to school? Will Cricket come too? Forty years after its original publication, this charming tale continues to capture the imaginative world of a child.

Three Names


Patricia MacLachlan - 1991
    A child's great-grandfather reminisces about the times he and his dog Three Names went to school on prairie roads in a wagon pulled by horses.

Stellaluna


Janell Cannon - 1993
    This award-winning book by Janell Cannon has sold over 500,000 copies and was on the bestseller list for more than two years.

Keeper of the Doves


Betsy Byars - 2002
    Tominski-the old recluse who lives in the woods nearby and mysteriously tends to a flock of doves.  The Bellas insist that Mr. Tominski is a dangerous bogeyman who eats children whole, but Papa vows that the "keeper of the doves" wouldn't hurt a soul.  When tragedy strikes the family Amen must decide once and for all who is right.

Uncle Jed's Barbershop


Margaree King Mitchell - 1993
    Saving his money to build his very own barbershop was a dream that had to be postponed because of his generous heart and the Depression. Then one glorious day, on his 79th birthday, Uncle Jed finally opened the doors of his new shop. Full color.

The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee's Story


Pegi Deitz Shea - 1995
    A young Hmong girl in a Thai refugee camp in the mid-1970s finds the story within herself to create her own pa'ndau.

Song for a Whale


Lynne Kelly - 2019
    But she's the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she's not very smart. If you've ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be.When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: she should invent a way to "sing" to him! But he's three thousand miles away. How will she play her song for him?

Yucky Worms


Vivian French - 2010
    Kids are invited to find out where worms live, see how they move, and understand why gardeners consider them friends with the help of this humorous and informative look at an unappreciated — and fascinating — creature.

The Bee Tree


Patricia Polacco - 1993
    Half the town joins the exciting chase, but it's not until everyone returns home that Mary Ellen makes a discovery of her own: Sometimes, even the sweetest of things must be worked for.* Polacco has created another charming picture book featuring a child learning from a grandparent in an idyllic pastoral setting . . . Both the writing and artwork are fresh and inviting. --School Library Journal, starred reviewThe newest gem from Polacco's treasure chest of family stories extols the virtue of reading--and of taking a study break . . . Like Mary Ellen, readers will emerge refreshed from this respite, ready to seek out new adventures. --Publishers Weekly Young readers will savor this. --The Horn Book

Nanette's Baguette


Mo Willems - 2016
    But . . . will Nanette get the baguette from baker Juliette? Or will Nanette soon be beset with regret?

Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem


Mac Barnett - 2009
    Its tongue weighs as much as four hundred cats. Blue whales make terrible pets....Just ask Billy Twitters.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain: A Nandi Tale


Verna Aardema - 1981
    A cumulative rhyme relating how Ki-pat brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain. Verna Aardema has brought the original story closer to the English nursery rhyme by putting in a cumulative refrain and giving the tale the rhythm of “The House That Jack Built.”

The Matchbox Diary


Paul Fleischman - 2013
    Then I’ll tell you its story." When a little girl visits her great-grandfather at his curio-filled home, she chooses an unusual object to learn about: an old cigar box. What she finds inside surprises her: a collection of matchboxes making up her great-grandfather’s diary, harboring objects she can hold in her hand, each one evoking a memory. Together they tell of his journey from Italy to a new country, before he could read and write — the olive pit his mother gave him to suck on when there wasn’t enough food; a bottle cap he saw on his way to the boat; a ticket still retaining the thrill of his first baseball game.