Book Finder

A child goes quietly out to the garden where he can almost hear the creatures respond to his curiosity about their actions. The narrator then gathers food for a picnic with “my friends.” Suggestions for making a “quiet garden” conclude this tranquil book.

Thea, a student in Topeka, Kansas, observes the growth of the three unusual beans she plants for her science project. A series of letters to various experts chronicles the unusual vegetation that develops — though readers will see the giant beanstalk for the tale it is.

Plants have secrets: within each seed, large or small, is a new plant. Highly detailed but crisp, well-placed illustrations reveal the life cycle of plants and provides an easy introduction to seeds — just in time for spring gardens!

Soft illustrations reveal the animals seen as an imaginative young girl walks home to her parents. Using alliterative language, she counts from one prancing pig to ten loving llamas, and feels a part of it all.

Katy Duck loved to dance through each season but was especially excited about the spring recital: “A show to celebrate spring!” Though Katy is disappointed with her assignment, she blossoms as a lowly caterpillar in this recognizable and humorous tale.

Birds live all over the world, but their nests come in many sizes, shapes, and some even borrow (or snitch) homes in which to lay and hatch their young. This lively introduction to various birds and their habits will likely absorb, inform, and inspire.

Liam discovers that he can help his dreary city blossom into a green place that draws everyone out onto rooftops and beyond. Stylized illustrations depict the city’s gradual change from drab to lush and may encourage other young urban gardeners.

A boy named King Shabazz doesn’t believe in spring. With his friend, Tony Polito, King Shabazz explores their gritty city neighborhood and discovers that spring does exist even in an unlikely place.

A girl tells readers about the birds she sees around her, describing size and color in spare, almost lyrical language. Richly colored paintings accompany the text to enhance and build the concepts presented in the narrative.

A spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in this Caldecott Medal-winning bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe. (2009 Caldecott Medal Winner)

The lives and times of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln are presented through written and pictorial information in a scrapbook-like format. A well developed, tragic portrait of Mary Lincoln emerges as her life is presented beyond the assassination of the President.

In a familiar cadence, meet the baby that hates to get dressed and the ever-patient mom who cajoles, tickles, and coax the baby into clothing. Bright illustrations and lively, repetitive language make this a fun book to share with the youngest child.