Book Finder

In this wordless fantasy, a girl loses her stuffed fox but finds it in a fantastic forest. This imaginative tale is told in sequential panels (rather like a graphic novel) in which no words are needed.  

Humor abounds in the both the text and comic (but surprisingly informative) illustrations to introduce readers to a host of little known animals. Fact and fun combine in this engaging look at some amazing critters.

Though well-meaning, the good deeds just don’t turn out quite right when Clifford the big red dog tries to help Mary Elizabeth and her neighbor Tim around town. This vintage edition uses limited color illustration in a humorous modern classic.

After Nicky’s uncle gave her a dog. Barkus became a trusted member of the family, a classroom dog, and he even adopted a small kitten named Baby. Barkus and Nicky’s adventures are told in short chapters and colorful illustrations.

Examine each double page spread in this oversized book. See the realistically pictured animals and where they live. Make up or find a story about them.  If you’re curious, you can look in the back for the names of the real animals. Handsome scenes from different natural environments make this a book to examine again and again.

“Giant Whale or Giant Hoax?” headlines read in the opening of this mostly wordless book. The adventure continues as two young people prepare to find and record the massive mammal through wordless, realistic, highly detailed monochromatic illustrations. Their breathtaking escapade continues until the final spread depicting another newspaper, announcing that the boys have solved the mystery of the spotted whale.

The illustration looks like a fairy tale but this book actually dispels the myth of the luxurious life of princesses who lived in the Middle Ages. Not at all like Cinderella, it seems. The smell would have been the moat (filled with potty water), banquet halls cluttered with bones, grease — and rats — you get it.  An author’s note and bibliography about the period conclude this myth-buster.

The residents of Sprout Street welcome a new neighbor from Hawaii in A New Arrival. They travel to France in Bon Voyage. Each of these episodic, short, and easier to read novels are lighter reading for summer and beyond.

Private I tries to assuage 6 who just knows that 7 is coming to get him! Why? Because 7 8 9, of course! Wordplay and over-the-top humor make this satire of old detective stories sophisticated. Told with tongue in cheek language and colorful illustrations, this is a very funny tale.

How one person helped make one community into the bicycle capital of the world is told in animated illustrations and easy text. It began in the 1970s when Maartje Rutten and her friends strived to change one city. The impact of that movement is still evident in Amsterdam today where bicycles remain more prevalent than automobiles. 

Can you find the ice cream cones that look alike?  How about the tractors? Can you spot the leaves that are the same? It’s not as easy as it looks! Poems ask readers to identify the pair on the opposing page from among similar, clear but tough-to-tell-apart illustrations in this playful book that requires a keen eye!

Sophie admired Jean-Pierre Blanchard, the first man to cross the English Channel in a hot air balloon. She would marry him and become the first woman to first fly solo in a balloon after her husband’s death. Colorful illustrations dramatically bring 18^th century France to life; when coupled with an action-paced text Sophie and her bravery come into crisp focus.

John Ronald loved horses and dragons and words, even invented words. But war changed John Ronald. After serving during World War I, while teaching at Oxford University, John Ronald began to imagine again. His story about Bilbo Baggins became The Hobbit. The handsomely illustrated book concludes with a list of Tolkien’s writing about dragons as well as a bibliography. 

Jasmine is only 8 years old but wants to do what the boys do. It’s her family Japanese tradition for the boys to pound the rice for mocha at her family’s New Year’s celebration. But can she really handle it? Readers of all backgrounds will empathize with Jasmine’s dilemma and see themselves in her. 

Since little is known about the real Amelia Simmons, the author invites readers to imagine what became of her after her father’s death. Amelia would become a “bound girl,” to work for others. She may have made an Independence Cake perhaps tasted by General George Washington! The colonial period is clearly imagined here in illustration and lively text, complete with a cake recipe.

Antonio Barichievich was a giant. He weighed as much as a horse and once dragged four busses filled with people! Most amazingly, he really lived in Montreal (Canada). Antonio’s story comes to life with verve and wit in graphic format with lighthearted illustrations and easier to read text.

Drasko is Milo’s son who carries on his father’s flower business even after things in Sarajevo change seemingly overnight. Milo is called to the battlefield. A blast kills people in line at the bakery. Only the power of beauty through music brings hope. Based on actual events, this moving story is one of faith in spite of hatred and violence.  A CD read by the author provides additional information about the event and includes the music played by cellist Vedrun Smailovic.

Visually stunning and informative, Ali’s early life, how it influenced him, as well as his many accomplishments are presented. Dramatic illustrations are enhanced by the presentation of text in different typefaces. A timeline concludes this brief biography.

Callie is interested in science and wants to be a veterinarian so she practices when the local vet is away. But it was tougher in the early 20^th century when girls couldn’t do everything that they do today. Callie, however, helps a prize sheep give birth and more in the latest, lively and engaging installment about Callie and her family. From the Calournia Tate, Girl Vet series.

Colette’s loses her imaginary parrot but finds friends in her neighborhood while the children help her search for it. Sequential art expressively tells the story in mostly blacks and grays punctuated with yellow. Limited text completes the appealing package. 

Mike and Kate are back to solve a new mystery. This one is in the Nation’s Capital, where the brother of the president plays baseball for the Nationals. And someone is snitching the team’s equipment. The popular series presents another temperate mystery especially for baseball fans.

Elementary school-age boys start at the beginning of the school year to study with Pamela at the National Dance Institute of New Mexico. By the end of the year, some will perform “Treasure Island,” others will perform Mexican folktales. All in all, over 20 dances lead up to the grand finale. Dancing is hard work but lots of fun, too, chronicled in this photoessay. 

A mistake: a splat of ink.  In fact, “it started with one mistake.” That mistake became a pattern, then a good idea, then ultimately into a remarkable work of imagination. Don’t let the format let you race through this book. Slow down; examine each double page spread to discover the hidden treasures in it — and maybe inspire your own book of mistakes.

Poetry comes in many forms; some rhymes, some doesn’t. Inspiration comes from many places, too. “Poems tall or short or wide — /All are infinite inside…” of each of us. Slightly abstract illustrations of children together or admiring the world around them completes this thoughtful look at language and poetry.