Book Finder

A celebration of the beauty, history, and magic behind names. Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl’s mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. 

A gentle story about the everyday discoveries and accomplishments that school can bring. Ming is curious and playful and ready for adventure, but even she gets scared of new things sometimes. Kids will relate to her desires and fears and will be excited to see Ming at the top of the slide by the story’s end.

Lola and her family prepare for the first day of preschool the night before, then get up early, take pictures, and head to class. Lola puts her things in her cubby, chooses her activities, reads, plays, and has a snack. Before she knows it, it’s time to sing the good-bye song and rush into Mommy’s arms for a warm reunion. 

Three students are immigrants from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia and have trouble speaking, writing, and sharing ideas in English in their new American elementary school. Through self-determination and with encouragement from their peers and teachers, the students learn to feel confident and comfortable in their new school without losing a sense of their home country, language, and identity.

Meet a diverse group of six children ranging in age from Kindergarten through fifth grade. With nerves and excitement each child gears up for a new school year by hustling in the morning, meeting new teachers and new classmates during the day, and heading home with homework and relief by day’s end. Simple, bright illustrations focus on each child and their worries, hopes, and successes on the first day of school.

Beautiful, joy-filled, color photographs of children studying, learning, exploring, and having fun invites young readers to see other kids just like them from all over the world. Whether they take a school bus, a boat, or a rickshaw to get there, kids around the globe are going to school and growing smarter and more curious every day.

Danbi is thrilled to start her new school in America. But a bit nervous too, for when she walks into the classroom, everything goes quiet. Everyone stares. Danbi wants to join in the dances and the games, but she doesn’t know the rules and just can’t get anything right. With a spark of imagination, she makes up a new game and leads her classmates on a parade to remember.

Summer is over, and this little girl has got the school spirit! She hears the school spirit in the bus driving up the street — VROOM, VROOM! — and in the bell sounding in the halls — RING-A-DING! She sings the school spirit in class with her friends — ABC, 123!

It’s the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him? The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon recovers when he sees that he’s not the only one going through first-day jitters.

The barbershop is where the magic happens. Boys go in as lumps of clay and, with princely robes draped around their shoulders, a dab of cool shaving cream on their foreheads, and a slow, steady cut, they become royalty. This rhythmic, read-aloud title is an unbridled celebration of the self-esteem, confidence, and swagger boys feel when they leave the barber’s chair. The fresh cuts. That’s where it all begins.

A confident little boy takes pride in his first day of kindergarten. Starting kindergarten is a big milestone! He’s dressed himself, eaten a pile of pancakes, and can’t wait to be part of a whole new kingdom of kids. And afterward, he can’t wait to tell his proud parents all about his achievements, and then wake up to start another day.

Teachers build a sense of community within their classrooms, creating a home away from home where they make their students feel safe, included, and loved. This is a book that will help build and strengthen that class community. Kids learn that their classroom is a place where it’s safe to be themselves, it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s important to be a friend to others. 

Musa’s feeling nervous about his first day of school. 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.

This 2020 update of Rasinski’s groundbreaking book includes coverage of the latest research on fluency, teaching strategies based on that research, new classroom vignettes, and suggestions for using a variety of texts to teach fluency such as poetry, speeches, and monologues and dialogues. You’ll also find background information, assessment tools, step-by-step lessons, and teaching tips — plus video clips showing the strategies in action.

A joyful, expressive sing-along, slurping noodles, squishing tofu, and tapping chopsticks as a multigenerational family sings along to this familiar tune. Rhythmic text and vibrant, playful illustrations bring the story to life, and informative back matter includes a food glossary and etiquette guidelines that are sure to delight and engage young readers.

This picture book brings an international twist to the beloved nursery rhyme, The Wheels on the Bus, by bringing you aboard a busy three-wheeled taxi in India! Anything can happen as the tuk tuk rolls through town — from an elephant encounter to a tasty treat to a grand fireworks display. And in the midst of all the action, one thing’s for sure: passengers young and old love every minute of their exciting ride as the wheels of the tuk tuk go round and round!

Journey back in time and around the world to learn about dozens of dinosaurs in this colorfully illustrated atlas for very young children.

As a young student, Mayor wondered: Is the mythical griffin based on ancient people’s interpretations of dinosaur bones? This biography shares her fascinating efforts to prove her theory correct and reveals other connections between science and human myth as well. (School Library Journal)

With engaging text, photographs, and vivid paleoart, this biography introduces Mary Anning, the Victorian fossil hunter and self-taught scientist who changed scientific thinking about prehistoric life and would become one of the most celebrated paleontologists of all time. Mary Anning grew up on the south coast of England in a region rich in fossils. As teenagers, she and her brother Joseph discovered England’s first complete ichthyosaur. Poor and uneducated, Anning would become one of the most celebrated paleontologists ever, though in her time she supported herself selling by fossils and received little formal recognition. 

Think you know about dinosaurs? Think again! Paleontologist Steve Brusatte brings young scientists and readers everywhere into his world of massive herbivores and fearsome predators, daily unexpected discoveries, and all the new science used to learn about some of the world’s oldest beings.

Showcasing more than 90 remarkable fossils, such as a Tyrannosaurus skull, delicate fern leaf, and perfectly preserved woolly mammoth, each plant or animal featured is shown both photographically and illustrated, and children will love poring over the detailed close-up images. The storybook descriptions let you discover the myths and legends surrounding the organisms, as well as key facts about their natural history. Find out why Pachycephalosaurus had such a thick head, how a coral fossil can be used to work out how long a prehistoric year was, and which fossil was thought to protect people from poison. 

Through infographics, illustrations, facts, and figures, readers will learn about the giants that roamed the earth millions of years ago, but that still captivate their imaginations: Dinosaurs. Discover some of the most fascinating aspects of dinosaurs through astonishing numbers:  the varying sizes and shapes of dinosaurs, timelines of when they roamed the earth, charts comparing the fastest dinos with the speedy animals of today, maps of where these giant reptiles lived across the globe, and so much more. 

Young dinosaur lovers are introduced to an amazing range of prehistoric beasts through facts and detailed illustrations. Discover how the Earth has changed over time, why fossils formed, and the arrival of early humans. A pronunciation guide helps kids with tricky names and encourages early learning and language development. The helpful visual index provides a quick overview of every species in the book.

Through rhyming text, learn about the evolutionary link between million-year-old dinosaurs and modern-day birds.