Books

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Perfect for children ready to move beyond musi to recordings of the spoken word. Features delightful tellings of Aesop's Fables, plus lively tales from Grimm, Chaucer, and others.

**Description from Amazon: A New York Times bestselling author and a rising-star illustrator present an utterly hilarious, oh-so-silly tale about Mr. Pockles, an odd little dog with a big hat collection--and an even bigger heart. For Mr. Pockles, going without a hat is as unthinkable as going around without any pants on. He h...

**Description from Amazon: From a New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning illustrator comes an utterly hilarious step-by-step guide to writing a book, as told by a child "author."Want to write a book? Well, the spunky, know-it-all narrator of this side-splitting story can tell you just how to do it. She walks r...

FROM SARAH:

An enchanting bedtime story. And who can resist such woodland creatures as these?

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

It's time for these little squirrels to go to bed! Mick, Mack, and Molly, the three adorable squirrel siblings, are back in action—but not when they should be. This time, they are up and out in the middle of the night. After all, the owl children are wide-awake and playing. So why can’t squirrel children stay up late and play, too?

FROM SARAH:

It's no secret I'm a Jason Chin fan. I even have some original Jason Chin artwork on my walls! This is a lovely, light book for Independence Day.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A picnic, a beach, a pie cut into pieces and shared with good friends. Pie is for sharing.

FROM SARAH:

The tale of a possum and a summer storm, perfect for a rainy summer day.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Possum calls his children out of the summer storm—but what can he do when their home is swept away by rising water? The possum family must rely on their friends to construct a new house. At first it seems that no other animal's home is suited for a possum, but they come up with something spectacular!

FROM SARAH:

Young kids especially may be entranced by the simple, bold illustrations in this summery picture book by Wong Herbert Yee.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

On a hot summer day, a little girl finds ways to entertain herself and stay cool. She catches a butterfly, sips lemonade, jumps in a pool, and goes on a picnic. At night, she sees an owl in a tree and a frog in a pond, and hears leaves rustling. Before long, she's fast asleep, dreaming about more summer days and summer nights.

FROM SARAH:

This book makes me want to go outside. :)

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Nothing takes the place of splashing in a puddle or jumping into a pile of autumn leaves. Along with the mud and sand that gets tracked indoors come memories that live forever! Mary McKenna Siddals has written a joyous anthem that encourages children to play in the dirt. It will surely resonate with today’s overscheduled as well as sedentary kids, and their parents.

FROM SARAH:

Clever! Britta Teckentrup created a peek-through format for this one that teaches kids about the phases of the moon.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Over deserts and forests, Arctic tundra and tropical beaches, the moon shines down on creatures around the world. Children will love discovering how it changes from day to day as the lunar cycle is shown through clever peek-through holes, each revealing the moon in a different size and shape.

It’s the perfect light nonfiction book for young stargazers—and an ideal bedtime book, ending with a giant moon hovering over a sleepy town hunkered down for bed.

FROM SARAH:

Especially good for a child who is anxious or nervous about new experiences. Here's a fun, lighthearted take that will put everyone (even your nervous Nellie) in the mood for the beach!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

FROM SARAH:

Lane Smith was one of Barbara Cooney's favorite illustrators. His beautiful illustrations and simple text in this book capture the bliss of a perfect day.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Today is a perfect day for Cat, Dog, Chickadee, and Squirrel.Cat is lounging among the daffodils. Dog is sitting in the wading pool, deep in the cool water. Chickadee is eating fresh seed from the birdfeeder. Squirrel is munching on his very own corncob. Today is a perfect day in Bert's backyard.

FROM SARAH:

An imaginative take on what a treehouse can be. Check it out from your library!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Treehouses are for wonder.
Treehouses are for snacks.
Treehouses are for whispers and snickers and echoes.
Treehouses are for everyone.
This magical work of art from acclaimed picture book creators Carter Higgins and Emily Hughes celebrates the universal wonder of treehouses and all the adventure that live among branches.

FROM SARAH:

A classic! This is a nostalgic story inspired by the author's childhood.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Young Mark spends a busy, noisy day helping out at Gram's seaside hot dog stand. After the last customer is served and the grill is scrubbed to a silvery shine, Mark sails off with Gram for a promised surprise, and finds a nighttime sea full of shimmering moonjellies.

FROM SARAH:

A whimsical and summery tale. Read it before you head out for the beach!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Filled with fun rhymes and make-believe stories, this wonderfully illustrated children's tale offers an imaginative view of a beach that includes swimming, surfing, and splashing.

FROM SARAH:

Jan Brett’s masterful work gives readers a way to discuss belonging, self‑confidence, and kindness, all within a warm, fairy‑tale setting. It’s a reassuring reminder that every child—quiet, bold, quirky, or anything in between—has something beautiful to offer the world.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

In this classic picture book from best-selling author-illustrator Jan Brett, Fritz the pony becomes a hero when he rescues the children of a walled city.

**Description from Amazon: When Piper the dog's grim new master treats him badly, he is terrified and runs away to the big city where his courage and desire to please makes him a hero and finds him a new, loving home.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A Caldecott Honor BookAn ALA Notable BookA breathtakingly beautiful and luminescent book that is pitch-perfect for anyone of any age who has experienced any type of loss or disappointment.

Histories of the book often move straight from the codex to the digital screen. Left out is nearly 150 years of audio recordings. Matthew Rubery uncovers this story, from Edison to today’s billion-dollar audiobook industry, and breaks from convention by treating audiobooks as a distinctive art for...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A Wall Street Journal writer’s conversation-changing look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction.

CD and book in great shape. Some minor wear from use. Quick ship gently used in smoke-free home

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

What would it be like if the moon was your friend? Find out as you walk alongside a little boy who journeys through life to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. And then blast off with your little one as you zoom to the moon together!

**Description from Amazon: In time for the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing, this father-daughter story celebrates a small community's big contribution to one of America's greatest accomplishments.Marthanne and her father sit side by side, looking out over their mill village as the moon glows in the sky. Marthanne hop...

**Description from Amazon: It's 1969 and Marty's family lives on the U.S. island of Guam, where his father manages the NASA tracking station. It's important work and never more so than during the Apollo 11 space mission, where the tracking station relays signals back and forth between the astronauts and Mission Control in Hou...

**Description from Amazon: Here is a rare perspective on a story we only thought we knew. For Apollo 11, the first moon landing, is a story that belongs to many, not just the few and famous. It belongs to the seamstress who put together twenty-two layers of fabric for each space suit. To the engineers who created a special he...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

On the heels of Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse comes Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon—where dreams are determined only by the size of your imagination and the biggest innovators are the smallest of all.

**Description from Amazon: "Breakout is the story of a prison break narrated by three girls who live in the neighborhood surrounding the prison. What begins as just reporting on the event ends up saying a lot about racism and criminal justice, told in a very accessible style of texts, comics, letters, and more." - Seira Wilso...

**Description from Amazon: All it takes is one: one coral gamete to start a colony, one person to make a difference, one idea to change the world. The ongoing efforts to save and rebuild the world's coral reefs—with hammer and glue, and grafts of newly grown coral—are the living legacy of Ken Nedimyer, founder of the Cora...

**Description from Amazon: Einstein, Edison, DaVinci, Oppenheimer, Curie. The greatest minds in science are about to be illegally recreated―and Cat Grayson must stop it. After suffering a concussion, Cat is attending I-CAN, a groundbreaking facility that promises to cure her of constant headaches and lost memory. But I-CAN ...

**Description from Amazon: In the not-too-distant future, huge tornadoes and monster storms are a part of everyday life. In the heart of storm country, Jaden Meggs attends the exclusive summer science camp, Eye on Tomorrow that her dad founded. There she meets Alex, a boy from a nearby storm-ravaged farm, and together they di...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Ranger has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog, but can't officially pass the test because he's always getting distracted by squirrels during exercises. One day, he finds a mysterious first aid kit in the garden and is transported to the year 1850, where he meets a young boy named Sam Abbott.

**Description from Amazon: Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training, finds himself in 1912... on board the Titanic!Everyone says the Titanic is unsinkable, and Patrick Murphy believes this most of all. He grew up near the shipyard where the magnificent ship was built and officially started w...

**Description from Amazon: Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training, arrives in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approaches and residents start to evacuate the city. Ranger meets Clare Porter, who is searching for her grandmother. Once Ranger helps Clare find Nana, he takes shelter with them...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever, is back for the second book in Kate Messner's new chapter book series. This time, he's off to save the day in ancient Rome!

Ranger is a golden retriever who has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog. In this adventure, Ranger travels to the Colosseum in ancient Rome, where there are gladiator fights and wild animal hunts! Ranger befriends Marcus, a young boy Ranger saves from a runaway lion, and Quintus, a new volunteer gladiator who must prove himself in the arena. Can Ranger help Marcus and Quintus escape the brutal world of the Colosseum?

FROM SARAH:

This picture book biography tells the story of Katherine Johnson, including her childhood and her mission with Apollo 13. Delightful!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe.

"The sense of immediacy is irresistible and will cause children who consider the event just ancient history to feel as if they too had left footprints on that distant, dusty surface."—School Library JournalOnly July 29, 1969, as Americans sat glued to their televisions and radios, Neil Armstrong a...

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a challenge to the nation: land astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade. The Apollo program was designed by NASA to meet that challenge, and on July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael ...

Snappy verse and retro art brings readers along for Apollo 11's historic, eight-day mission to the moon in 1969. Young readers will learn the basics about the gear, equipment, and spaceship used by the astronauts, as well as the history of NASA's moon mission. O’ Rourke’s vibrant and retro illus...

A true story from one of the Women of NASA!Margaret Hamilton loved numbers as a young girl. She knew how many miles it was to the moon (and how many back). She loved studying algebra and geometry and calculus and using math to solve problems in the outside world. Soon math led her to MIT and then to...

FROM SARAH:

This picture book introduces young readers to the real‑life “human computers” whose calculations powered rockets, guided astronauts, and changed what was possible. A fantastic read!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

They participated in some of NASA's greatest successes, like providing the calculations for America's first journeys into space. And they did so during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do. But they worked hard. They persisted. And they used their genius minds to change the world.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

The inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson--made famous by the award-winning film Hidden Figures--who counted and computed her way to NASA and helped put a man on the moon!

A gorgeous introduction to the twelve brave men who have left footprints on the moon, just in time to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first lunar landing.On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took one small step and made history. Over the course of the next three-and-a-half years, twelve lunar ...

FROM SARAH:

A classic! This one is on all the homeschooling booklists, and no wonder why. It's funny and unforgettable. Also, it's short... and you know how much I love a well-written, short book! 😉

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Every child needs to have a pet. No one could argue with that. But what happens when your pet is an owl, and your owl is terrorizing the neighborhood? In Farley Mowat’s exciting children’s story, a young boy’s pet menagerie—which includes crows, magpies, gophers and a dog—grows out of control with the addition of two cantankerous pet owls.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

While searching for a place to rest for the night, Dr. Elwin Ransom is abducted by a megalomaniacal physicist and his accomplice and taken to the red planet of Malacandra (Mars) as a human sacrifice for the alien creatures that live there. Once on the planet, however, Ransom eludes his captors, risking his life and his chances of returning to Earth, becoming a stranger in a land that is enchanting in its difference from Earth and instructive in its similarity.

FROM SARAH:

This debut novel from Amanda Dykes is a delight! Uplifting, historical, and dual timeline (I do love a dual timeline!). Hear me talk with Amanda about this novel, and our mutual love for Maine (without ever having been!) in Episode 133.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose . . . and rocks. Send me a rock for the person you lost, and I will build something life-giving. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss's humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the tiny, coastal Maine town, and he sets his calloused hands to work, but the building halts when tragedy strikes. Decades later, Annie Bliss is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when she learns her Great-Uncle Robert, the man who became her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is now the one in need of help. What she didn't anticipate was finding a wall of heavy boxes hiding in his home. Long-ago memories of stone ruins on a nearby island trigger her curiosity, igniting a fire in her anthropologist soul to uncover answers.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this captivating and lavishly illustrated young adult edition of her award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller, Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of a former Olympian's courage, cunning, and fortitude following his plane crash in enemy territory.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Chris loves rockets and planets and pretending he's a brave astronaut, exploring the universe. Only one problem--at night, Chris doesn't feel so brave. He's afraid of the dark.

FROM SARAH:

A surprising and delightful story, full of lovely insects. (Never thought I'd describe insects that way! 🙃)

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

From New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book artist Isabelle Simler, a picture book (and nature guide!) to linger over.In nature, there is much to see.Look closely as a spider -- both a collector and an artist -- skillfully crafts a masterpiece from all that falls into her path.Patient and o...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Open your ears to the wonderful concert happening every warm day and night in our yards, fields, and woods nearby. Who are making those sounds? Can you sing along?

FROM SARAH:

Who eats bugs? This is a fun picture book that will keep curious kiddos' attention.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Discover the variety of bug-eaters—animal, plant, even human—in this exploration of both poetry and the natural world. Facklam’s playful rhymes mixed with Long’s vivid illustrations introduce young readers to an array of creatures as they munch on lunch. From a mantis perched and ready to prey on ladybugs, a spider trapping a fly, to the honey-drenched fur of a big brown bear chewing on a hive full of bees,

FROM SARAH:

This book is a masterpiece. Truly. Buy it. Keep it forever. And note the masterful use of circles all throughout. RAR Members, don't miss the Family Book Club on this one!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Be transported to the seaside in this timeless tale of life inside a Lighthouse. This book won the 2019 Caldecott Award for good reason. Spend some time enjoying the lush illustrations.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Right now, all around us, thousands of insects are doing strange and wonderful things: wasps are building nests, ants are collecting food, and dragonflies are readying for the hunt. But it's not always easy to catch sight of these six-legged creatures; you have to know where to look. Guided by this book, readers will happily become insect detectives and find out just what those bugs are up to.

FROM SARAH:

The diary of a praying mantis. Funny and informative. See if your library has it!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

"May 17: I was born today! It's a beautiful, sunny spring day!"

This is the diary of P. Mantis, one of 150 brothers and sisters born on a garden bush. P. Mantis is an amazing bug: she can make herself look like a stick to hide from predators, she can swivel her head all the way around, and when she's grown up she'll even be able to fly!

FROM SARAH:

I love the illustrator's use of color in this picture book that feels just right for the end of summer.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox meets Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever in this stylish picture book about a quest for a rare and mysterious plant.Fox loves nature. There's nothing he enjoys more than reading about and picking flowers.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Follow the red canoe from page to page as it journeys down river carrying the family on a camping tour. It's the next best thing to paddling it yourself.

FROM SARAH:

A longer picture book, especially great for slightly older kids (ages 5-8, perhaps). If you're going to a beach with sea glass, read this first!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

One summer, a boy named Thomas visits his grandmother at her seaside cottage. She gives him a magnifying glass that once belonged to his grandfather, and with it Thomas explores the beach, turning grains of sand into rocks and dark clamshells into swirling mazes of black, gray, and white. When his grandmother shows him a piece of sea glass, Thomas is transfixed. That night he dreams of an old shipyard and the breaking of a bottle. Could the very piece of sea glass on his nightstand have come from that bottle? For the rest of the summer, he searches for more sea glass and hopes to have dreams that will reveal more of the sea’s secrets.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

In a funny and heartfelt celebration of family, vacations, and the joy of the sea, Deanna Caswell and Amy June Bates capture the essence of summer—building sand castles, jumping the waves, and watching the stars come out after a long day at the beach—and the love that warms every moment.

FROM SARAH:

Look for this book at your library! It'll have you pining for a long day at the ocean in no time.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Relive a day at the beach with this lovely book of memories. You can almost feel the salt spray on your face and smell the musky scent of ocean in the cool morning air. Remember how the sand squishes between your toes as the tide rushes to shore and taste the tang of the ocean on your lips. Spirited language evokes a sense of closeness and nostalgia for an old friend.

Perfect to celebrate the new baseball season, here is the life and famous words, such as "it ain't over till it's over," of Major League Baseball player and New York Yankee Lawrence "Yogi" Berra.Yogi Berra loved his family, his neighborhood, his friends, and, most of all, baseball. He was crazy for ...

A gorgeous, expressive picture-book biography of Marc Chagall by the Caldecott Honor team behind The Noisy Paint Box.Through the window, the student sees . . .His future--butcher, baker, blacksmith, but turns away.A classmate sketching a face from a book. His mind blossoms.The power of pictures. He ...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Frank Lloyd Wright, a young boy from the prairie, becomes America's first world-famous architect in this engaging and inspirational nonfiction picture book introducing organic architecture--a style he created based on the relationship between buildings and the natural world--and transformed the America.