Books

**Description from Amazon: Charlotte is a serious scientist. She solves important problems by following the scientific method. She has all the right equipment: protective glasses, a lab coat, a clipboard, and a magnifying glass. What she doesn’t have is space. She has so many brothers and sisters (she is a rabbit, after all...

**Description from Amazon: A little girl and her favorite dress dream of an extraordinary life. They enjoy simple pleasures together on a beautiful Greek island. They watch the sunset, do chores, and pick wildflowers on the way home. One day, the dress and the girl must leave the island and immigrate to the United States. Upo...

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

Angelina Ballerina is the picture book that first introduced Angelina to her adoring fans. This tiny dancer has proved to have enormous staying power—she has been a hugely popular character for more than twenty years.

**Description from Amazon: The little house first stood in the country, but gradually the city moved closer and closer.

FROM SARAH:

One of my all-time favorite read-alouds. You'll find yourself enjoying this one every bit as much as your kids! What will grandfather do when his coat becomes all worn out? Well, you'll have to read it to see! Highly recommended for all ages.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When my grandfather came to America he made himself a handsome coat!Then he wore it and he wore it and he wore it--until it was all worn out!So what did he do? He snipped and he clipped-- and he stitched and he sewed. . . and out of the still-good cloth of his coat--he made himself a smart jacket!How many things can Grandfather makeout of that old frayed coat? Jim Aylesworth's satisfying retelling and Barbara McClintock's heart-warming pictures celebrate the clever recycling of a beloved coat that lasts four generations -- until it becomes this story!

**Description from Amazon: 64 pages, classic children's stories such as Wynken, Blynken and Nod and Animal Crackers, illustrated in color by Eulalie

In this empowering picture book with a STEM focus, Charlotte, a budding bunny scientist, ignores the doubters and confidently finds a cure to the mysterious malady affecting the forest. The animals of the forest are all getting sick and no one can figure out why. Determined to get to the bottom of t...

**Description from Amazon: The tenth book in Ralph Masiello’s popular drawing series shows budding artists how to illustrate quirky aliens from out of this world. Clear, linear steps in red outline how to draw the friendly Martians. Challenge steps in blue encourage adding extras to each masterpiece.

**Description from Amazon: Learn about the five-eyed Opabinia and the Four-toed Horse. Speculate about the life of the Jamaican Long-tongued Bat. Discover the fate of the beautiful Quagga. But don't look for any dinosaurs in this book. There aren't any!Millions of creatures other than dinosaurs are now extinct. In true alphab...

**Description from Amazon: A biography of the wealthy young Italian who gave away all his possessions to become a wandering preacher and protector of animals.

**Description from Amazon: Francis is so full of God?s love that he wants to sing His praises. His glorious singing inspires birds of every color, and even the sun and moon, to join him in joyful celebration. Tomie dePaola?s simple text and vibrant illustrations bring the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi to life for even the...

**Description from Amazon: A celebrated illustrator presents his interpretation of the legend of St. Christopher, who originally had been a giant named Reprobus out to serve the world's most powerful king, a ruler he finds when he carries the young Christ across a river.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 
Newly refreshed with a contemporary redesign, Pascual and the Kitchen Angels tells the story of the patron saint of cooks and kitchens with luminous illustrations by the beloved Tomie dePaola.

**Description from Amazon: Gilbert Keith Chesterton, (29 May 1874 -14 June 1936), better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox". Time magazine has obs...

FROM SARAH:

Here's a sweet story that will have your students wanting to plant flowers, visit the library, and snuggle on the couch a little bit longer!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

How does your garden grow? Book-loving Lola is inspired by a collection of garden poems that she reads with her mommy. She wants to plant her own garden of beautiful flowers, so she and Mommy go to the library to check out books about gardening.

FROM SARAH:

OH my goodness, I love everything about this book. The story, the text, the charming illustrations. I'm keeping my eye on Lisa Anchin for more like this one!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The Little Green Girl is no ordinary topiary. She dreams of visiting far off places and exploring the world beyond her garden's walls. And haven't we all felt just like that, rooted to the ground but longing to fly?

FROM SARAH:

A lovely board book—perfect for a baby shower gift, in fact. Who can resist a baby animal book? And by none other than Mem Fox! She was a guest on RAR #162: How Reading Aloud Will Change Your Children's Lives Forever.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

After meeting a bevy of baby animals— including a clever monkey, a sleepy leopard, and a dusty lion cub—the baby in this story discovers the most precious creature of all . . . itself, of course!

FROM SARAH:

There's something about baby animals that none of us can resist. This book is written and illustrated by Lita Judge. She joined us in RAR Premium when we featured her book, Red Sled, as an RAR Premium Family Book Club selection.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

What do grizzly bear cubs eat? Where do baby raccoons sleep? And how does a baby otter learn to swim? Every baby mammal, from a tiny harvest mouse "pinky" to a fierce lion cub, needs food, shelter, love, and a family.

FROM SARAH:

A nonfiction picture book about seeds that uses especially lovely language.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Fans of From Seed to Plant, a perennial seller by Gail Gibbons, will want this lushly illustrated picture book. A gust of wind lifes a maple seed, sending it spinning like a shiny green helicopter throught the sky. Where wil it land?

FROM SARAH:

Very few words. Gorgeous and lush illustrations. Lovely.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Kadir Nelson, acclaimed author winner of the Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King Awards, presents a resonant, gently humorous story about the power of even the smallest acts and the rewards of compassion and generosity.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

With a cleverly simple rhyme and playful, vibrant artwork, Cheryl B. Klein and Tomie dePaola lovingly paint the picture of a baby bird’s first flight—overcoming stings and dings along the way to soar triumphantly.

**Description from Amazon: Looking for Waldo's twenty-fifth anniversary? Search no more. the time has come and we’ re celebrating our favorite wanderer in style!For a quarter of a century, the bespectacled Waldo has held a place as a beloved cultural icon. Now, in honor of his anniversary, Candlewick is reissuing the classi...

FROM SARAH:

A graphic novel that I highly recommend… even if you don’t usually like graphic novels! This one tells the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's courageous stand during Hitler's rise to power.

Recommended for ages 14+. 

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party is gaining strength and becoming more menacing every day. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor upset by the complacency of the German church toward the suffering around it, forms a breakaway church to speak out against the establishment.

FROM SARAH:

An unputdownable historical novel. I learned so much while reading this book. (And ignored a lot of laundry). Best for ages 12+.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

But one day on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Gerta concludes that her father wants her and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

FROM SARAH:

The number of boys who have told me they love this series astounds me. Or maybe it doesn't, because it's Brandon Sanderson, after all. Fast-paced.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry gets a bag of sand in the mail-his only inheritance from his father and mother. He soon learns that this is no ordinary bag of sand. It is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians who are taking over the world by spreading misinformation and suppressing truth. Alcatraz must stop them, using the only weapon he has: an incredible talent for breaking things.

FROM SARAH;

A YA series by the prolific and wildly successful author Brandon Sanderson begins here, with Steelheart. This was one of my oldest son's favorite fantasy series when he was in his teens. Recommended for 14+.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

How far would you go for revenge if someone killed your father?
If someone destroyed your city?
If everything you ever loved was taken from you?
David Charleston will go to any lengths to stop Steelheart. But to exact revenge in Steelheart's world, David will need the Reckoners--a shadowy group of rebels bent on maintaining justice.

**Description from Amazon: A Newbery Medal WinnerProfessor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions.Winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal, this classic ...

**Description from Amazon: NYT Bestselling series! Harlem’s favorite family returns in the third installment in the Vanderbeerkers series, wherein the Vanderbeeker kids find themselves racing to save their mother’s baking business from city closure. Illustrated with delightful black and white illustrations.For the Vanderb...

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

A story of dark love and passionate obsession that was considered "too sensational" to be published in the authors lifetime, A Long Fatal Love Chase was written for magazine serialization in 1866, two years before the publication of Little Women.

**Description from Amazon: The Blythes Are Quoted is the last work of fiction by the internationally celebrated author of Anne of Green Gables. Intended by L.M. Montgomery to be the ninth volume in her bestselling series featuring her beloved heroine Anne – and delivered to her publisher on the very day she died – it has ...

**Description from Amazon: For Anne and Gilbert Blythe, life in a small village is never dull because of all the entertaining gossip, and what strange and funny tales they hear: about the mischievous twins whose dearest wish comes true when they meet up with a bored and haunted millionaire; or clever Penelope Craig, who consi...

**Description from Amazon: Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen, and was her first published work when it appeared in 1811 under the pseudonym "A Lady". A work of romantic fiction, better known as a comedy of manners, Sense and Sensibility is set in southwest England, London and Kent between 1792 and 1797, and port...

**Description from Amazon: “Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience - or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.” ― Jane Austen, Sense and SensibilityJust a few years after their father’s business scandal shatters their lives, Jane and Celia Woodward find themselves forced out of their San Fra...

**Description from Amazon: Follow the real Laura Ingalls and her family as they make their way west and discover that truth is as remarkable as fiction. Hidden away since the 1930s, Laura Ingalls Wilder s never-before-published autobiography reveals the true stories of her pioneering life. Some of her experiences will be fami...

**Description from Amazon: Which pony does the diamond horseshoe fit? In this clever retelling of Cinderella, Ponyella longs to show Princess Penelope her fabulous leaps and jumps at the Tippington 25th Annual Grand Royal Pony Championship. But Plumpkin and Bun Bun, the mean ponies she shares a farm with, say that Ponyella's...

**Description from Amazon: Read this sweet New York Times bestselling series from the author of If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Mouse a Brownie, and other beloved books. The Jellybeans are ready for an art adventure when Bitsy enlists the other girls to help her paint a mural at their ...

FROM SARAH:

The delightful lyrical text in each of these books will have you singing them to yourself all day long! A favorite for many families!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

This sweet hardcover collection features four complete books from the bestselling If You Give... series, as well as tons of fun recipes, songs, and activities for kids and parents to enjoy.

**Description from Amazon: The little pig from If You Give a Pig a Pancake is back in this picture book in the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling If You Give... series!If you give a pig a party, she's going to ask for some balloons. When you give her the balloons, she'll want to decorate the house. When she's finished, she...

**Description from Amazon: Mouse goes to school in this picture book in the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling If You Give... series!If you take a mouse to school, he'll ask you for your lunch box. When you give him your lunch box, he'll want a sandwich to go in it. Then he'll need a notebook and some pencils. He'll probab...

**Description from Amazon: Mouse is back in this ninth picture book in the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling If You Give... series! If you give a mouse a brownie, he's going to ask for some ice cream to go with it. When you give him the ice cream, he'll probably ask you for a spoon. He'll start drumming on the table. Drum...

**Description from Amazon: Mouse celebrates the holidays in this picture book in the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling If You Give... series!If you take a mouse to the movies, he'll ask you for some popcorn. If you give him the popcorn, he'll want to string it all together. Then he'll want to hang it on a Christmas tree.T...

**Description from Amazon: Chimps don't wear glasses And zebras don't cook And you won't see a kangaroo reading a book. So begins the sequel to Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers in which we find more animals in preposterous, hilarious situations. Laura Numeroff's understated text, combined with Joe Mathieu's vibrant art, creates a non...

FROM SARAH:

I'm not an introvert (I'm sure you're shocked! 🫢) but this book spoke to me all the same. I love Jamie's compassionate, gentle, bookish approach.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Jamie shares vulnerable stories from her own life as well as thoughts from other introverted mothers, letting you know you're not alone. Her practical suggestions and creative inspiration are enhanced with quotes and insights from four beloved writers--Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, L. M. Montgomery, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Together, Jamie and this band of fellow introverts gently point you toward hope, laughter, and joy.

FROM SARAH:

I think everyone I've ever read this book with adores it. How can you not? It's a joy to read aloud!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Nothing frightens Madeline—not tigers, not even mice. With its endearing, courageous heroine, cheerful humor, and wonderful, whimsical drawings of Paris, the Madeline stories are true classics that continue to charm readers, even after 75 years!

FROM SARAH:

I lost track of how many times my daughter Clara listened to the stories of Clementine on audiobook when she was 8 and 9. She loved them! Excellent for fans of Ramona Quimby.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Clementine is not having a great week. On Monday, she's sent to the principal's office for cutting off Margaret's hair. Things only get worse from here. This week? It's turning out to be a disaster. (If you loved Ramona Quimby growing up, don't miss the whole series about Clementine!)

FROM SARAH:

A charming story of Anna Hibiscus, who lives in amazing Africa with her one-of-a-kind family. The whole series is worth owning for your personal collection. Ideal for ages 5-9.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

This is a collection of four linked stories about family life set in modern west Africa. Anna Hibiscus lives in amazing Africa with her family in a wonderful house in a beautiful garden in a big city.

FROM SARAH:

You know I love a good tale featuring storybook rodents, and this collection by Emily Bearn is among the best! Makes for a great read-aloud for a large age range.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

This book will make you want to brew a pot of tea nad whip up some scones! Don't be intimidated by its size—it's surprisingly engaging for even very young listeners. Tumtum and Nutmeg are a pair of mice your kids won't easily forget.

FROM SARAH:

This is the first in Gail Carson's series of very popular fairy tale retellings. It's been awhile since I've read it, and I haven't read the rest in the series. My kids, however, have enjoyed this one!

Recommended for ages 10+.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a foolish fairy's gift—the “gift” of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it's to hop on one foot for a day and a half, or to chop off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not accept her fate . . .

FROM SARAH:

A classic that girls love every bit as they ever did! I like to recommend books in this series to kids who love The Penderwicks series.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Pauline, Petrova, and Posy love their quiet life together. They are orphans who have been raised as sisters, and when their new family needs money, the girls want to help. They decide to join the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training to earn their keep.

FROM SARAH:

An astonishingly good book. I don't like it much for a read-aloud as the narrator is Death, and it feels a little off to me to have mama's voice in that character. The audiobook is wonderfully done! Best for teens.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

FROM SARAH:

The true story of Ji-li Jiang, who grew up in China under communist revolutionary Mao Zedong. Be ready for some conversations after this one! I recommend it for teens.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, popularity, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart... a breathtaking true story your teens won't soon forget.

FROM SARAH:

Nobody else illustrates a book quite like Jim LaMarche! This is a feast for the ideas. Worth owning for your permanent home collection.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The joy of the seasons, the wonder of discovery, and the appreciation and respect for the natural world is at the heart of this book, drawn from the childhood of award-winning illustrator Jim LaMarche.

FROM SARAH:

The best book I know to teach onomatopoeia while also taking in a feast for the eyes! This book is such fun.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

In glorious onomatopoeia, Tim McCanna takes the reader on a dazzling journey as a fox seeks shelter from a rainstorm.

FROM SARAH:

Funny, funny, funny. Duck is just trying to keep order on the pond. Alas. ;)

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Goose has gone on vacation and Duck is looking after her pond. But Duck is a bit TOO enthusiastic? "No splashing! No fishing! No racing!" he quacks.

FROM SARAH:

A beautifully illustrated story about a father and son's fishing trip is a gentle exploration of the immigrant experience and family bonding. Lovely.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event - a long-ago fishing trip. Graphic novelist Thi Bui and acclaimed poet Bao Phi deliver a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son - and between cultures, old and new.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

FROM SARAH:

A gentle story that follows a young boy's interactions with turtles in a city park. See if your library has it!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

In Turtle Pond, a child and his parents visit their local public garden throughout the year, observing the turtles as they play, dive, feed, bask, climb, hide and doze. James Gladstone’s lively prose poem reveals the pleasure and curiosity that come from spending time with the turtles.

FROM SARAH:

Celebrate the joys of summer with this vibrant book that captures the essence of the season. I especially love Jaime Kim's illustrations.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A joyful, sun-drenched tribute to the anticipation and adventures of the warmest season of the year.When the days stretch out like a slow yawn, and the cheerful faces of Johnny-jump-ups jump up . . . then it’s time to get ready for summer!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Storyteller Jim Weiss brings classic fairy tales to life. These stories of magic and wonder include "Rapunzel," "Puss in Boots," and more.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Brings the world of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to life for children. Features four classic Holmes mysteries.

**Description from Amazon: Narrator Jim Weiss brings you inspiring true stories of heroic scientists who risked everything for the truth. Includes Archimedes and his famous "Eureka!" moment, Galileo's telescope, Isaac Newton's discoveries, and more.