Book picks similar to
Once a Shepherd by Glenda Millard
historical-fiction
picture-books
war
picture-book
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story
Ken Mochizuki - 1997
They had come to Hiroki's father with a desperate request: Could consul Sugihara write visas for them to escape the Nazi threat?The Japanese government denied Sugihara's repeated requests to issue the visas. Unable to ignore the plight of the refugees, he turned to his family. Together they made the crucial decision that saved thousands of lives.Passage to Freedom, based on Hiroki Sugihara's own words, is one of the most important stories to emerge from the ruins of the Holocaust. It is the story of one man's remarkable courage, and the respect between a father and a son who shared the weight of witness and an amazing act of humanity.
Going West
Laura Ingalls Wilder - 1996
Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic books, illustrated with Garth Williams' timeless artwork, have been cherished by millions of readers ever since they were first published over sixity years ago.It’s a fond good-bye to the Big Woods as Laura and her family pack up the covered wagon and begin their journey westward to the prairie in this latest addition to the best-selling My First Little House Books series. Renée Graef’s enchanting full-color illustrations, inspired by Garth Williams’s classic artwork, bring Laura and her family lovingly to life in this seventh title in the My First Little House Books series, picture books adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved storybooks.
Locomotive
Brian Floca - 2013
These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to ocean.
We Forgot Brock!
Carter Goodrich - 2015
Everyone can see Phillip, but only Phillip can see Brock. A night at the Big Fair is all fun and games until Phillip gets sleepy, heads home, and forgets Brock! Brock misses Phillip. And Phillip misses Brock. Will they reunite? With the help of another pair of pals, they just might. Because even imaginary friends get lost sometimes. Finding them is part of the adventure.
Wish
Matthew Cordell - 2015
But as the desire for a child grows, so do unexpected challenges. And it's only after thwarted plans and bitter disappointment that their deepest wish miraculously comes true.
Guji Guji
Chih-Yuan Chen - 1999
In this engaging story about identity, loyalty and what it really means to be a family, Guji, Guji makes some pretty big decisions about who he is, what he is, and what it all means, anyway. Ages 4 and up.
Granpa
John Burningham - 1984
It is a friendship that children who read this book will long remember.
Emily's Blue Period
Cathleen Daly - 2014
She likes painting and loves the way artists like Pablo Picasso mixed things up.Emily's life is a little mixed up right now. Her dad doesn't live at home anymore, and it feels like everything around her is changing.“When Picasso was sad for a while,” says Emily, “he only painted in blue. And now I am in my blue period.”It might last quite some time.A Neal Porter Book
Walking with Miss Millie
Tamara Bundy - 2017
Then she gets put in charge of walking her elderly neighbor’s dog. But Clarence won’t budge without Miss Millie, so Alice and Miss Millie walk him together. Strolling with Miss Millie quickly becomes the highlight of Alice’s day, as she learns about the town’s past and meets a mix of its catty and kind residents. As the two become confidantes, Alice is finally able to express her heartache over her father’s desertion; and when Miss Millie tells her family story, Alice begins to understand the shameful history of Segregation, and recognize the racism they need to fight against. Navigating the neighborhood with Miss Millie gives Alice new perspective, the wisdom to move on from her anger, and even enables her to laugh again. Tamara Bundy’s beautifully written story reminds readers that there is nothing like friendship to lighten one’s load, and make anyplace a home.
The Beatryce Prophecy
Kate DiCamillo - 2021
We shall all, in the end, find our way home.In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood, and holding fast to the ear of Answelica the goat. As the monk nurses Beatryce to health, he uncovers her dangerous secret, one that imperils them all--for the king of the land seeks just such a girl, and Brother Edik, who penned the prophecy himself, knows why.And so it is that a girl with a head full of stories--powerful tales-within-the-tale of queens and kings, mermaids and wolves--ventures into a dark wood in search of the castle of one who wishes her dead. But Beatryce knows that, should she lose her way, those who love her--a wild-eyed monk, a man who had once been king, a boy with a terrible sword, and a goat with a head as hard as stone--will never give up searching for her, and to know this is to know everything. With its timeless themes, unforgettable cast, and magical medieval setting, Kate DiCamillo's lyrical tale, paired with resonant black-and-white illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall, is a true collaboration between masters.
My Beautiful Birds
Suzanne Del Rizzo - 2017
The boy follows his family and all his neighbours in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of is his pet pigeons--will they escape too? When they reach a refugee camp and are safe at last, everyone settles into the tent city. But though the children start to play and go to school again, Sami can't join in. When he is given paper and paint, all he can do is smear his painting with black. He can't forget his birds and what his family has left behind. One day a canary, a dove, and a rose finch fly into the camp. They flutter around Sami and settle on his outstretched arms. For Sami it is one step in a long healing process at last. A gentle yet moving story of refugees of the Syrian civil war, My Beautiful Birds illuminates the ongoing crisis as it affects its children. It shows the reality of the refugee camps, where people attempt to pick up their lives and carry on. And it reveals the hope of generations of people as they struggle to redefine home.
The Scar
Charlotte Moundlic - 2009
He shuts all the windows to keep in his mother’s familiar smell and scratches open the cut on his knee to remember her comforting voice. He doesn’t know how to speak to his dad anymore, and when Grandma visits and throws open the windows, it’s more than the boy can take—until his grandmother shows him another way to feel that his mom’s love is near. With tenderness, touches of humor, and unflinching emotional truth, Charlotte Moundlic captures the loneliness of grief through the eyes of a child, rendered with sympathy and charm in Olivier Tallec’s expressive illustrations.
The Patchwork Quilt
Valerie Flournoy - 1985
Using scraps cut from the family's old clothing, Tanya helps her grandmother and mother make a beautiful quilt that tells the story of her family's life.
Bone Dog
Eric Rohmann - 2011
He doesn't really even feel like dressing up for Halloween. But when Gus runs into a bunch of rowdy skeletons, it's Ella--his very own Bone dog--who comes to his aid, and together they put those skeletons in their place. A book about friendship, loss, and a delightfully spooky Halloween.
This House, Once
Deborah Freedman - 2017
Deborah Freedman’s masterful new picture book is at once an introduction to the pieces of a house, a cozy story to share and explore, and a dreamy meditation on the magic of our homes and our world.Before there was this house,there were stones,and mud,and a colossal oak tree—three hugs aroundand as high as the blue.What was your home, once?This poetically simple, thought-provoking, and gorgeously illustrated book invites readers to think about where things come from and what nature provides.