FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When two curious kids embark on a "wonder walk," they let their imaginations soar as they look at the world in a whole new light. Young readers will wonder too, as they ponder these gorgeous pages and make all kinds of new connections. What a wonderful world indeed!

FROM SARAH:

This is a funny and story about a big family celebrating Thanksgiving. Chaos ensues as the doorbell rings and more and more relatives arrive for the feast. Sort of like The Relatives Came but Thanksgiving-style. ;)

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

As soon as Maggie's grandma and grandpa get the turkey in the oven, bright and early on Thanksgiving morning, the guests arrive and the commotion begins: glamorous aunts, crying babies, acrobatic cousins, strange dogs, mysterious gifts, romance, friendships, "yackety-yak"ing and, of course, lots of wonderful food and fun.

You'll find a new story every time you read this joyous celebration of Thanksgiving!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

"The Blue Castle" is a timeless exploration of love, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. With its richly drawn characters and evocative prose, this classic novel invites readers to unlock the doors of their own Blue Castle and embrace the magic that lies within.

Gramps and Gran go on a picnic with Mama and Papa Bear and the cubs. As the family searches high and low for the perfect spot, they end up learning a few things about respect.

**Description from Amazon: Being present means...
Noticing when someone needs help
Waiting patiently for your turn
Focusing on what's happening now

Follow a group of friends at school, at home, and at the beach as they experience just what it means to be present.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Abel's place in his familiar, mouse world has always been secure; he had an allowance from his mother, a comfortable home, and a lovely wife, Amanda. But one stormy August day, furious flood water carry him off and dump him on an uninhabited island.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

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

*Rabbit Ears Audiobooks are Highly Recommended*

NARRATED BY: Michael Palin

BEST FOR AGES: 4+

LISTENING LENGTH: 27 min

FROM SARAH:

A springtime classic, worth adding to your own collection or checking out from the library.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

In this classic book, a winsome, winning inchworm is proud of his ability to measure anything under the sun.

FROM SARAH:

More than 40 years old, Watership Down continues to be a classic. Two brothers lead the surge against the invasion of man and the destruction of their home. Spoiler alert: The brothers are rabbits. Who talk.

Recommended Ages: 12+

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Watership Down is one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey from their native Sandleford Warren, through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, and toward the dream of a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.

FROM SARAH:

A lovely cumulative story, illustrated by RAR favorite, Kenard Pak!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Acclaimed illustrator and animator Kenard Pak's light-filled, dramatic illustrations pair exquisitely with Ilima Loomis' text to celebrate Hawaiian land and culture.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A Tangled Web' is a tale that follows two intertwined families through a year of heartbreak and hilarity in a scramble to acquire a family heirloom. When Rebecca Dark realises she is dying, she invites her extended family to one of her usual gatherings to inform them of her departure. After the shocking revelations of her will, a competition ensues between the rival family members.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

That cold winter's night, beneath the star's light... ...a Little One came for the world.

FROM SARAH:

Wayyyy back when I was in college, I worked at a daycare center. That is, perhaps, where I first learned to love reading aloud to kids! And this book was one of their perennial favorites.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Once upon a time, there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything! But one autumn night, while walking in the woods, the little old lady heard . . . clomp, clomp, shake, shake, clap, clap. And the little old lady who was not afraid of anything had the scare of her life!

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Here are yet more of "those human and lovable people whose mysterious passion for God led them into preposterous escapades." Story-teller Ethel Pochocki follows up her book Once Upon a Time Saints and presents another collection of wildly distinctive saints.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Jeanne Bendick, through text and pictures, admirably succeeds in bringing to life the ancient Greek mathematician who enriched mathematics and all branches of science.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A little-known but fascinating and larger-than-life character, Mary Fields is one of the unsung, trailblazing African American women who helped settle the American West. A former slave, Fields became the first African American woman stagecoach driver in 1895, when, in her 60s, she beat out all the cowboys applying for the job by being the fastest to hitch a team of six horses.

**Description from Amazon: The White Witch, Aslan, fauns and talking beasts, centaurs and epic battles between good and evil -- all these have become a part of our collective imagination through the classic volumes of The Chronicles of Narnia. Over the past half century, children everywhere have escaped into this world and de...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Once there was a tree that stood in a field away from the other trees. It longed to be part of the forest—or part of anything at all. After many lonely years, its dream came true. And the little fir tree's life changed forever!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Wonderful on audio (Audible | LibroFM).

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Kit Kittredge has a nose for news—but she never dreamed that the news stories about the hard times of the Depression would become her own story. First Mother’s bothersome friends move in with the Kittredges. Then Dad loses his business, and Kit’s family could lose their house! Things look hopeless, but a clever idea might let her family keep their home. Can Kit help pull it off?

FROM SARAH:

Surprising and delightful! My boys especially loved this one.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Three children discover a magical bag of chalk on a rainy day.

FROM SARAH:

This is an Advent celebration of the Jesse Tree. Read a little bit aloud each day, if you can.

Recommended for all ages.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Unwrap the greatest Gift with your family this Advent season! With vivid, full-color illustrations, downloadable ornaments, and moving scenes from the Bible, this book is a gift your whole family can experience each day leading up to Christmas.

FROM SARAH:

Aesop's Fables are a must-read childhood staple, and this collection illustrated by Charles Santore is particularly wonderful.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Captivating the hearts and minds of kids and adults for generations, Aesop, a former Greek slave, developed simple and meaningful adventures featuring animals or insects to teach a moral standard or lesson for living.

FROM SARAH:

This one is a staple on my picture book shelf. Delightful and funny and written in absolutely perfect rhyme. I never get tired of reading it aloud.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A mouse is taking a stroll through the deep, dark wood when along comes a hungry fox, then an owl, and then a snake. The mouse is good enough to eat but smart enough to know this, so he invents . . . the gruffalo! As Mouse explains, the gruffalo is a creature with terrible claws, and terrible tusks in its terrible jaws, and knobbly knees and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of its nose. But Mouse has no worry to show. After all, there’s no such thing as a gruffalo. . . .

FROM SARAH:

Richard Scarry's books are those delightful stories that are full of memorable characters and pages that you turn ever-so-slowly! I love the way Scarry books invite fun observation and conversation. This book is out-of-print, but check your local library or secondhand bookstore for a copy!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Featuring Bedtime Stories, The Please and Thank You Book, A Day at the Fire Station, A Day at the Police Station, A Day at the Airport, Nicky Goes to the Doctor plus a bonus section full of fun activities, this is truly a treasury to celebrate, from the one and only Richard Scarry.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

One of the most beloved children's stories ever—the classic Little Golden Book tale of Scuffy, an adventurous little tugboat. Meant for "bigger things," Scuffy the Tugboat leaves the man with the polka-dot tie and his little boy and sets off to explore the world.

** Description from Amazon: The second volume in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from fal...

FROM SARAH:

A paradigm shift in time management. This book had me underlining and saving passages left and right! There’s some weird philosophical stuff woven in here, but if you can take what you like and leave the rest, this one is bound to please anyone who wants to focus on what matters most and live with peace and intention.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

Time is our biggest worry: there is too little of it. The acclaimed Guardian writer Oliver Burkeman offers a lively, entertaining philosophical guide to time and time management, setting aside superficial efficiency solutions in favor of reckoning with and finding joy in the finitude of human life.

FROM SARAH:

One of my favorites for Thanksgiving! It's effortlessly read-aloud-able, and the illustrations are classic and charming. Your library very likely has it.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Celebrate food and family with this heartwarming Thanksgiving picture book. We will share the risen bread. / Our made-with-love Thanksgiving spread. / Grateful to be warm and fed. / We will share the bread. In this spirited ode to the holiday, set at the turn of the twentieth century, a large family works together to make their special meal. Mama prepares the turkey, Daddy tends the fire, Sister kneads, and Brother bastes. Everyone—from Grandma and Grandpa to the littlest baby—has a special job to do. Told in spare, rhythmic verse and lively illustrations, Sharing the Bread is a perfect read-aloud to celebrate the Thanksgiving tradition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—“Scout”—returns home to Maycomb, Alabama from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience.

**Description from Amazon: Brother Bear loves everything to do with model airplanes, whether it’s building, fixing, or flying them. But when he shares one of his prized planes with a younger cub will his kindness be returned?

The baobab tree story, which I wrote (the church version) is actually based upon a true story, told by Limakatso Nare, a Lutheran pastor who is currently serving a congregation in Louisiana. When he was growing up in his native Africa, he gathered for Sunday school under the baobab tree. Here he lea...

FROM SARAH:

There are many wonderful audio productions of Shakespeare's plays. Those done by Arkangel are reliably well done.

Recommended for ages 7+.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Young Claudio has fallen for the lovely heiress Hero, who also loves him. Their path to the altar looks smooth, until the evil Don John intervenes.

All ends happily, thanks to his incompetent assassins and the lucky discoveries of the bungling constable Dogberry. Central to the play, one of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, are Beatrice and Benedick, masters of wit and sworn foes to marriage - until a plot is hatched to bring them together.

**Description from Amazon: Dear Friends,I am leaving in rather a hurry to see more of the world, so I have no time to say goodbye to you individually. I embrace you all and sniff you with love. I don't know when I'll be back. But back I will be.DominicIt's time for a change, so Dominic packs his collection of hats and his pic...

**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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Renowned around the world as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien was also a distinguished academic and professor whose writings and lectures expand beyond the scope of his beloved Middle-earth. From short stories of fantastical adventures to essays on imagination and the narrative form, The Tolkien Reader gathers some of these fascinating and hard-to-find works into one volume.

FROM SARAH:

Lovely illustrations that immerse you in Tanzania. Your kids will enjoy finding and counting the animals!

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

Join Arusha, Mosi, Tumpe and their Maasai friends as they set out on a counting journey through the grasslands of Tanzania. Along the way, the children encounter all sorts of animals including elephants, lions and monkeys, while counting from one to ten in both English and Swahili.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

In Math With Bad Drawings, Ben Orlin reveals to us what math actually is; its myriad uses, its strange symbols, and the wild leaps of logic and faith that define the usually impenetrable work of the mathematician.

FROM SARAH:

We're big fans of Sally Lloyd-Jones's The Storybook Bible around here, and this picture book is also a delight!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When a bunny is born in spring, he sees the world as green and new and full of hope. But as the seasons change, the bunny worries that the earth may be dying.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When he wrote poems, he felt as free as the Passaic River as it rushed to the falls. Willie’s notebooks filled up, one after another. Willie’s words gave him freedom and peace, but he also knew he needed to earn a living. So he went off to medical school and became a doctor -- one of the busiest men in town! Yet he never stopped writing poetry. In this picture book biography of William Carlos Williams, Jen Bryant’s engaging prose and Melissa Sweet’s stunning mixed-media illustrations celebrate the amazing man who found a way to earn a living and to honor his calling to be a poet.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Every day people tune in to The Writer's Almanac on public radio and hear Garrison Keillor read them a poem. And here, for the first time, is an anthology of poems from the show, chosen by Keillor for their wit, their frankness, their passion, their "utter clarity in the face of everything else a person has to deal with at 7 a.m."

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Every day, soldiers leave their families to protect others. We love them. We miss them when they're gone. And we want them all to come home. They are our heroes.

** Description from Amazon: National Bestseller  Winner of England’s Booker Prize and the literary sensation of the year, Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once an intellectual mystery and triumphant love story. It is the tale of a pair of young scholars researching the lives of two Victorian poets....

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life — one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It’s not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh — a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Beep! Beep! It’s Halloween! Little Blue Truck is picking up his animal friends for a costume party. Lift the flaps in this large, sturdy board book to find out who’s dressed up in each costume!

**Description from Amazon: When a poor devout widow begs for a scrap of bread from a rich faithless baker, she promises to participate in the king’s wedding mass as payment for the baker’s generosity. The baker writes “One Mass” on a scrap of paper and places it on his scale to determine how much bread it is worth. To...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Join Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius for wordplay, puns, and problem solving in this geometry-packed math adventure. King Arthur was a good ruler, but now he needs a good ruler. What would you do if the neighboring kingdom were threatening war?

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Here’s the true story of an inventor who so loved nature’s vibrant colors that he found a way to bring the outside world to children – in a bright green box for only a nickel! With experimentation, and a special knack for listening, Edwin Binney and his dynamic team at Crayola created one of the world’s most enduring, best-loved childhood toys – empowering children to dream in COLOR!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

By moonlight in the quiet forest, a young boy and his family decorate their favorite tree with popcorn, apples, tangerines, and sunflower-seed balls as a gift for the animals of the woods.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

"Come!" drummed a woodpecker one cold, wintry day. "A baby is coming. There's work to be done!"

One by one, from field and forest, the animals make their way to a barn. The cow has sweet-smelling hay to offer the baby. The bluebird has the gift of song. And a lamb has soft, cozy wool. But the shy little fox has nothing to offer . . . or so he thinks.

FROM SARAH:

This whole series of Beginner Book collections were what I'd have my kids bring to read (or "read") while waiting at the dentist or their brother's track meet. They pack several great early readers into a single volume! It's worth it to own a few of these.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A perfect introduction to reading that will whet young readers appetites for additional books in the Beginner Book series.

**Description from Amazon: From an award-winning author and illustrator, the inspiring story of how the Little Free Library organization brings communities together through books, from founder Todd Bol’s first installation to the creation of more than 75,000 mini-libraries around the world.

FROM SARAH:

The Austin family does one special thing each day of December to prepare for Christmas. This year, they're also preparing for the birth of a new brother or sister!

Recommended for ages 8-14, though all ages could enjoy.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Vicky Austin's family does one special thing each day of December to prepare for Christmas. This year, they're also preparing for the birth of a new brother or sister, due after the New Year. Vicky is worried that the baby will come early—what kind of Christmas Eve would it be without Mother to help them hang up stockings and sing everyone to sleep with carols? This classic story of an old-fashioned Christmas is accompanied by merry illustrations by Jill Weber.

FROM SARAH:

A treasury just perfect for existing Eric Carle fans, or for those who experiencing his wonderful stories and memorable illustrations for the first time! A great addition for any home library!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A treasury tailor-made for the holidays, perfect for the whole family to share! Four favorite "Very" stories from beloved author Eric Carle, with all-new recipes, activities, projects, and more! Featuring The Very Busy Spider, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Lonely Firefly, and The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, this collection of Eric Carle stories offers readers four complete "Very" books in one gorgeous package.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

From opals to orchids and tapirs to toadstools, this beautiful collection brings more than 100 incredible items from the natural world to life. Perfect for all the nature-loving readers on the planet we call home.

A beautiful hardcover edition of The Last Battle, book seven in the classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. The full-color jacket features art by three time Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator, David Wiesner, and black-and-white interior art by the series' original illustrator, Pauline Bay...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

FROM SARAH:

Perfect for readers ages 4 and up, this timeless tale explores themes of greed, gratitude, and the priceless value of love. It allows us to ask the all-important question... how much is "enough"?

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When a mysterious stranger offers to reward Midas for a kindness, the king does not hesitate: He wishes that all he touches would turn to gold. To his delight, his wish is granted and he soon sets about transforming his ordinary palace into a place of golden beauty. But to his dismay, when he accidentally turns his beloved daughter into a golden statue, Midas learns that what at first seems a blessing can also become a curse.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The dark forces that were repulsed in Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra are massed for an assault on the planet Earth itself. Word is on the wind that the mighty wizard Merlin has come back to the land of the living after many centuries, holding the key to ultimate power for that force which can find him and bend him to its will.