Book Finder

Born in 1908, in a small Mexican village, Jose Limon seemed destined to become an artist. The lyrical language incorporates onomatopoeic and Spanish words. The distinctive illustrations with swirling colors reveal the life of a great modern dancer and choreographer.

As he sits on the edge of his bed and peers out the window, a young boy wonders what is making the noise outside as he tries to sleep. It could be a cow and her calf, or many other things on the farm, but ultimately, the child sleeps; only the reader realizes it is a cat that has created the noise. Poetic text and luminous illustrations present a graceful story.

The window at Nanna and Poppy’s house looks like a regular window, but it’s really a doorway to the child’s world and a celebration of the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren. Celebrate family with this 2006 Caldecott Medal-winning book.

Fruits and vegetables have distinct personalities — at least in the hands of the team that created How Are You Peeling. Here, expressive foods suggest shapes, colors, numbers, and more (as well as a range of emotions) in crisp, full-color photographs of fascinating food sculptures.

Because of his unrequited love for the moon, a giant becomes a sleeping mountain over which the town called Pupickton is formed. Pupickton remains very quiet until a girl who loves noise cannot be stilled. Carolinda brings a joyful loudness back to the too-quiet town while helping to heal the giant’s broken heart.

Take-offs of Mother Goose rhymes are the subject in this third read aloud/read together book. Color-coded text indicates when each of two readers should read alone or together. Comic cartoon-like illustrations romp across and through each double page poetic tale.

Though few have ever considered dust – what it is or where it came from – this informative, evocative book may change that. Consider, for example, that the film on a computer screen may have been the dust on a dinosaur. Poetic language and suggestive illustrations pique interest through their simplicity.

This introduction to the medieval period and to “expert fighting men” never takes itself too seriously while introducing the time in which knights lived, fought, and played. Text and information are organized around questions, making this an engaging book to dip in and out of.

Attractive, bold and crisp visuals, and a limited text in ten short chapters introduce art and how it works. Learn about the effect of lines, color, and contrast on one’s perception of an image in this book that’s likely to not only inform, but also to inspire art activities.

This story of the Revolutionary War is based on a real boy who lived in Bennington, Vermont, in 1777. Aaron winds up helping save his town from approaching British troops. Pen and ink sketches illustrate this riveting, easy-to-read fictional history.

These short poems are an eclectic menagerie of animals illustrated with sophisticated, semi-abstract, and animated paintings. Filled with snappy word play, this book is sure to delight readers who will meet both the familiar and the exotic in this engaging zoo.

Quilts, a truly American art form, are used to illustrate each state in the order in which it was admitted into the United States. Short essays written by state librarians provide the story, background, and information about each quilt and state, and are reflected in the handsome, unique, and colorful illustrations.

Rosa Parks was an ordinary woman who became a hero because she “was not going to give in to that which was wrong.” A catalyst for the famous Montgomery Bus boycott in Alabama, she turned the nation’s attention to a glaring injustice in our society. Powerful illustrations evoke a time before the Civil Rights era and give the reader a glimpse at a person, her impact, and a period in American history.

Stunning color photographs and poems combine to pay homage to some of the “world’s enduring man-made constructions” while introducing a range of poetic forms. The result is a memorable collection of visual art, information, and literary art sure to stand up to multiple examinations.

In spite of looming war, librarian Alia Muhammed Baker was able to save the books from the library of Basra by moving them to safety. Simple forms and deep colors in a naïve style evoke the war without being explicit. The bravery and action of one person celebrates both everyday heroism and books as a unifying force.

Spare text and highly textured rice paper illustrations combine in an unusual format to provide a glimpse of China, the creator’s homeland. Chinese characters placed on each page add to the poetry of the entire book.

History comes to life in this book’s cartoon-like illustrations and informative but informal text. This is not just any history, though. It is the history of plumbing, and “…the history of the bathroom in Europe and North America is a strange story of how people washed themselves often, sometimes, or not at all.”

Everyone has had a moment or a day in which nothing seems to be going right. These short, gently illustrated poems not only recall some of these uncomfortable moments, but are sure to help readers recognize the humor in them.

Lucy Rose realizes she is a “smart cookie,” but is still thrown by the changes in her life, which include a move to Washington, D.C., where her grandparents live. She narrates her own story in this fresh, fast, often funny, and always plausible novel. Her story continues in Lucy Rose: Big on Plans.

An imagined journey on the Nile River in the time of Ramses II (around 1279-1213 BC) begins when 11-year-old Dedia and his father travel to a wedding in Piramesse. What they see along the way is minutely detailed and clearly labeled illustrations in an oversized format.

Celia Cruz began singing on the streets of Havana as a child. She grew up to become a legendary singer and lasting influence on salsa. Bright, bold illustrations echo the vibrancy of the music in this handsome picture book biography.

From ten to one, little sleepyheads in colorful night clothes count down to sleep; that is, all but one bug who is not sleepy at all. And so begins the countdown again. Actual insects upon which the comical illustrations are drawn are shown and labeled on the end pages.

A biologist introduces spiders and their webs through stunning full color close-up photographs and a lively text. Spider facts include the arachnids’ common and scientific names, size, where they live, and what they eat. A technique to find webs and additional sources of information conclude this handsome volume.

Two children play hide and seek outdoors on a warm night. Little do they know that a culex, a newly matured mosquito, is also looking for them. Bordered, color photographs taken with an electron microscope are inserted on black and white photographs of the playing children. Additional information about mosquitoes, micrographs, and more is appended in this fascinating and informative book.