Book Finder

Only the green egg remains unchanged after the pink, blue and yellow eggs hatch; three small birds wait and wait and wait for the fourth egg. After the long wait, a distinctly un-avian creature emerges and a unique friendship begins. Strong lines, soft colors with rounded shapes and repeated images with minimal language tell this distinctive tale of an egg.

Short poems present a range of familiar insects from crickets to Monarch butterflies. Each is accompanied by brief information about the critter (with additional information at the end), and illustrated with playful, animated, colorful art in Melissa Sweet’s charming signature style.

A bee flies through fields of flowers, over woodland streams and more until it winds up in its hive with others. Colorful illustrations fill each double-page spread, each with a die-cut to glimpse what appears on the next page. The rhyming text moves the bee’s saga satisfyingly along. 

An eel from the Sargasso Sea is a fascinating subject as presented in this brief look at an eel’s lifecycle. Further information is included on the CD.

A. A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young is a collection of poems that have touched the hearts of readers for more than 90 years. His verses sing with a playful innocence, weaving together the worlds of reality and enchanting make-believe. Now We Are Six contains an enchanting collection of verses about Christopher Robin and, of course, Winnie-the-Pooh

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. This wordless picture book is about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.

The story follows Anno as he rides through the streets and countryside of Northern Europe. This wordless picture book tells the stories of each hamlet, farmyard, circus, and town square in visually rich, and often surprising detail. The author introduces geography and science by focusing on children and adults at work and play, as well as on art, architecture, composers, and painters, as he conducts an imaginary tour of England

When a boy and his dog go for a hike, the boy trips on a fossil, and it comes to life, revealing an ancient plant. The boy is so intrigued that he breaks two more fossils that come to life — a dragonfly and a pteranodon. When these prehistoric creatures collide with present reality, the boy must figure out a way to make things go back to normal. Visually told through art, this wordless story will surely spark imagination and creativity.

In this almost wordless picture book, a host of woodland creatures take a child’s sled for a nighttime joy ride. Their whimsical ride is gorgeously depicted in bold watercolor, complemented by humorous expressions and pitch-perfect sound effects.

While walking through the forest, Hank finds an egg on the forest floor. After spotting its nest high up in a tree, he uses his ingenuity to help get the egg home safe and sound, and is joyfully rewarded with newfound friends. Hank’s endearing and genuine kindness will inspire readers young and old to believe in themselves and in the goodness of others.

Inside a tent it’s cozy. But what is going on outside? Is it dark? Is it scary? Not if you have your trusty flashlight! Told solely through images and using a spare yet dramatic palette, the author has crafted a masterful exploration of night, nature, and art. Both lyrical and humorous, this visual poem — like the flashlight beam itself — reveals that there is magic in the darkness.

This wordless time-travel fantasy takes readers on a trip to a world of secret messages left in secret boxes hidden in secret places. The story begins as three boys discover a box in the top floor of their urban boarding school that holds decades-old sepia photographs of a schoolboy, a postcard, and a map leading to a location on the coast.

It was August 6, 1926; Gertrude Ederle was about to become the first woman to swim the English Channel. Not only did she swim the channel, she did so faster than the fastest time of any man. Dramatic illustrations and complete endnotes conclude Trudy’s riveting story.

Retellings in verse present a host of memorable females in traditional stories from around the world. Join Prince Ivan’s quest, revisit the girl in the tower, listen to Sheherazade as she spins her tales. Then examine the detailed, luminous illustrations to find hidden people and things in this inventive recasting of familiar folktales. 

Malala’s story is one of the resilience that comes from strong conviction. It is told through a present tense narrative and dramatic, vivid, stylized illustrations. The early life of the girl and her supportive family, her struggle against the Taliban and her ultimate recovery from a murder attempt is further enhanced by extensive back matter which includes photographs and additional information and resources. 

The true story of a mother, her four daughters, one son, and a handsome white cat named Kunkush is a journey out of war-torn Iraq to resettle in Norway. It is also the tale of valiant volunteers who reunite Kunkush with his brave family after being separated during the grueling jouney. Richly hued, realistic illustrations accompany the straightforward text. Photos of the family, Kunkush, and the volunteers conclude the book.

Fanny is a girl who knows a lot about food and cooking since she’s grown up in and around the famous restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. Join Fanny as she helps cook a huge bouillabaisse in Provence; learns how to make fresh cheese from a shepherd high up in the Pyrenees mountains; hunts for  wild oysters off the coast of Bordeaux, and discovers how one chicken can feed nine people, if served a certain way. 

Caroline Herchel, born in 1750, enjoyed looking at the night sky with her father. She would become the first woman to receive the Gold Medal of England’s Royal Astronomical Society. Caroline’s own words punctuate the lucid narrative. Expressive watercolor and line illustrations effectively evoke the time and place. A timeline and glossary conclude the book.

Long ago, a bespectacled boy dreamed of color in his drab industrial French town. Henri’s world exploded with color when, as an adult, he was given a box of paints. The contrast in Henri’s life is brought to life through straightforward text and black and white illustrations juxtaposed with those brilliantly hued to evoke the artist’s recognizable style.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, an American artist born of a Haitian father and a Brooklyn born mother of Puerto Rican decent, became known as an artist whose work effectively made social commentary. The original illustrations call to mind Basquiat’s visual style while presenting his life and unique work, which broke old tenets of art to became popular in the 1980s.

Photographs — many taken during the event and on site — document the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech. A lucid text provides information about the Civil Rights Movement, general information about the period, and its impact. The images, however, have their own power even without the worthy narration. 

Original documents from an early 19^th century Southern estate that appraised enslaved Africans provided the inspiration for original poems and powerful, full-page paintings of eleven individuals who were bought and sold. The result is very moving — portraits in poetry and image of enslaved people whose lives, aspirations, and hopes have been mostly anonymous — until now.

Join the rhythmic countdown to Sunday afternoon, the one time when enslaved Africans in 19^th century Louisiana could relax in what became known as New Orleans’ Congo Square. Vibrant paintings, reminiscent of Jacob Lawrence, further enliven the portrait of people as they toiled daily, culminating on Sunday. An introduction provides historical insight and perspective of this little known part of American history.

In 1958, photographer Art Kane gathered up a who’s who of jazz musicians on a New York City street for what is now an iconic image of African American artists. Original poems accompanied by vivid paintings depict the period, the people, and more. Not only is the original photo included, so are short biographies of each of the musicians as well as additional resources sure to inspire further exploration.