Book Finder

Teachers and children alike will see everyday school activities and objects in a different way through each short, easy-to-read poem. From the front door to the most everyday object (a pencil), each poem has its own slightly offbeat take on things, echoed in equally wacky illustrations.

Lily just can’t contain her excitement and simply MUST share her jingly quarters and new purse causing her favorite teacher to put her in the thinking corner. How Lily rethinks her anger with Mr. Slinger is told with gentle humor, lively language, and very expressive illustrations.

Based on the author’s experience, a child visits the village in Korea where her mother lived before immigrating to America. The simplicity of the text provides rich details of everyday life in the small Korean village, enhanced by realistic illustrations.

This story shares a young boy’s hopes and dreams for the New Year — he has had so much bad luck in the past year, but he is certain that this year will be much luckier! A heartwarming and honest portrayal of what the chance to start over means for all of us. The author’s spare, lyrical couplets voice a child’s determination to face the new year with courage and optimism. An author’s note provides insight into her background and this festive occasion.

Easy-to-understand poems explore what it’s like to grow up Asian in America. Readers will see themselves in the everyday activities of the poet who dispels typical notions of how Asians behave and how they excel. Perhaps, too, readers will realize the hurt that words can cause in several sophisticated and quite personal poems.

“No one wants to eat Chinese food on the Fourth of July,” says a young girl to her parents who insist on keeping their Chinese restaurant open on Independence Day. An honest portrayal of the tug between traditions old and new, as well as what it really means to be American.

Pablo can’t wait to visit his abeulito for his birthday. His grandfather decorates Pablo’s special tree, planted when he was adopted. Pablo’s special tree and its surprises are presented in rich illustrations and gentle text.

Find out what the animals in the zoo do once it’s closed for the night in this lively, rhyming alphabet book. Jaunty illustrations add humor and meaning to words presented in two languages.

A Hispanic family’s preparation for dinner is presented in easy words in both Spanish and English. Warm illustrations depict an affectionate family enjoying their daily routine. This is the first book in Pat Mora’s My Family/Mi Familia series, a four-book collection of easy-read bilingual books.

Dona Flor has gigantic proportions and unusual skills such as understanding the language of plants. Eventually, her talents are appreciated by the villagers in this attractively illustrated, richly told original tale. Winner of Pura Belpré Award. Also available in Spanish.

Celebrate the native foods of the Americas — peanuts, blueberries, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and more — through haiku poetry and stunning artwork from award-winning illustrator Rafael López.

The poet celebrates growing up in the Caribbean, in Jamaica. Lively illustrations decorate the lively language used, including some dialect, in this evocative collection.

Colorful illustrations by two award-winning artists decorate Gilchrist’s short poem celebrating different aspects of America — which combine to make a rich, unified whole.

Six silent turtles sit still as stones while life at the pond swirls all around them — until the turtles are startled and they “suddenly speed away!” Vibrant language combines with textured illustrations that scamper and flutter across richly colored pages. In the endnote, the author shares where and what she observes from her tree house.

It was spring in the barnyard and the wee little chick … was not only brand new but the smallest of all his brothers and sisters. That didn’t stop him from doing his best — and being just right for his Mama Hen. Soft illustrations complement the gentle text.

Short verse and dynamic woodcut illustration combine to reveal characteristics of farm animals, from rooster to rabbit with lots in between. Allusions are intriguing and playful (“The Bees/Tell their story,/sweet and old./It begins in clover;/it ends in gold.”) and may inspire other activities.

As each page unfolds, readers see frog eggs gradually change into frogs. By the time the grown frogs go off, readers realize that the pages have unfolded to create a frog-filled blue pond with lily pads. This unusual book playfully introduces the growth of frogs.