Book Finder

A loving father takes his children, Alice and Baxter, to take a look at the ocean. But they soon realize their visit to the beach would be so much better with stuff they didn’t bring; and after all, and a trip back home will take only half an hour! After lots of back and forth travel, the panda family figures out how to have all the fun possible.

Bright illustrations and simple words depict what young children are likely to encounter on a trip to the beach. From playthings to sea creatures, this sturdy book is ideal to share with the very young with or without a trip to the sea.

A fox is born on a spring day, and the passing days turn to passive seasons until the young fox becomes confident and independent. Evocative language and textured, richly colored illustrations are used in this triumphant story.

Vivid images combine with lively language to present a sunny season with its foods, fun and family in short poems in both English and Spanish.

A closer look at the four seasons is presented through questions and answers (“Does everyone have four seasons?”) and evocative poems. Large illustrations depict the unique wonders of each time of year.

This collection offers children an introduction to poetry through rich imagery and vivid illustrations. The stream-of-consciousness style sticks to familiar childhood themes to keep children engaged.

As a barren landscape begins to fill with people, trees, buildings, and more, readers can count the changes beginning with zero. The increasingly detailed, handsome watercolors encourage readers to counting and sort during the evolution of the countryside, much like the United States census.

On a beautiful autumn morning, Xiao Ming, his mom and his friends visit a farm. As they explore the season and the location, Xiao Ming introduces his friends to several Chinese characters. Textured cut paper collage extend the story and the learning.

The animal residents of Mud Flat find Spring both beautiful and surprising.

In this charming tale, a little boy makes friends with a snowman. He wakes up on a snowy day, tells his mother he’s going outside, then begins a flurry of snowman-building. That night, he can’t sleep, so he opens the front door and lo! the snowman has come to life.

From Swedish folklore comes the story of the tomten, a little gnome who watches over us while we sleep. Read this heartwarming version, from the author of Pippi Longstocking, and celebrate a time-honored tradition for the Winter Solstice.

Told from a dog’s point of view and viewed from unusual artistic perspectives, these funny, rhythmic, and child-like poems bound through a year from January to December.

It was cold and snowy when Grandma and Grandpa left their home in Maine to live in California. Lily, the young narrator, fills each month with activities that range from collecting sap to planting a garden. After a whole year has passed, Grandma and Grandpa return in December to share Christmas with Lily and her family in New England. Illustrated sidebars extend the text and provide additional information about Lily’s garden over the months.

Something special about each season is shared in rhyming text and bright, bold yet simple illustrations on sturdy pages. The lines that open this short book end it in reverse: “Sing of seasons as we grow,/Mud, sand, leaves, snow.”

The summer Elisa finished first grade, not only did her 11-year old brother Russell go to a sleepaway camp but the entire family went on a vacation to the country. Sibling rivalry results in a competition with humorous results and a bit of insight.

Short poems and child-like illustrations framed on brilliantly white pages capture the splendor (“Morning glories/Campfire stories‡”) and sorrow of summer *(“Skinned knees/Ninety degrees‡). Readers will readily relate to all aspects of summer, seen in a short poem for the end of summer: “Three words/Most cruel:/Back to school.”

On her way home one windy autumn night, a fearless old lady notices a pair of shoes following her (clomp clomp!). Then she sees and hears the pants, shirt, and the rest of the outfit, but she’s not afraid — that is until she sees a large pumpkin head! And run she does to the safety of her own home. This engaging story, based in traditional literature, is illustrated with crisp, humorous illustrations and encourages listener participation.

Cheery watercolor illustrations combine with short, playful poems to evoke the changes that happen in the fall. It’s “Awe-Tumn” after all, when “…autumn leaves/Leave me in awe.”

As the seasons change, a large black bear prepares for hibernation. In his search for a den, he startles a bobcat, a grouse, and other smaller animals. Striking watercolors and brief text, drawn from the artist’s observations of a bear behind his Vermont home, explain the balance found in nature and the cycles of life.

A robin is the “first to greet the light” on a summer morning. But many other animals in these animated, evocative poems share the joy of the season. The frog says “I’m the baron/I’m the duke/I’m the king…” while the firefly seeks an answer to the question, “Are You the One?” Tinted photographs of lush summer scenes accompany each short poem.

When the winter settles on Saranac Lake in New York state, the community comes together to prepare for the winter carnival. A ten-year old girl narrates this fictionalized account of the annual two-week celebration that she and her father help plan and her uncle (as well as other prisoners from a nearby correctional facility) help build. Highly realistic, full-color watercolors depict the excitement and activity, which is further explained in an endnote.

Warm tones are used to show one man’s effort to save a beautiful field from development. With confidence and imagination, he buys and sells the field’s pumpkins throughout the world. Readers will catch the point of this cautionary tale, and will likely feel that they, too, can make a difference.

A child plants a tree and watches it grow and change through the seasons. Highly textured illustrations incorporate seeds and other scraps of nature with brilliantly hued paper. Ehlert tells a story while providing a guide to nature in this appealing book.

No one except a small boy thinks the few falling snowflakes will amount to much. As the snow continues to fall, however, the dull, gray town becomes transformed into a winter wonderland, and all of its residents come out to enjoy. The wonder of it all is captured through dynamic illustrations and understated text.