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07/08/2025
Boulder Library
Cover Art On the surface, this is a kid's-eye-view of a neighborhood, with maps highlighting neighbors' houses, the school, library, and beloved places - and the interior of the narrator's house. At the end, it becomes clear this is a generous gesture from someone who has moved away so that whoever is moving into the house can already begin to know the heart of the neighborhood. The playful illustration style and bright colors draw the reader in, and notes on the maps detail what makes the places special.
 
Publisher description:
A young cartographer leaves a one-of-a-kind gift behind for the kid moving into his old house. He’s drawn and annotated maps of all the neighborhood places of interest—no playground, reading nook, or chicken coop left uncharted. During a big move, a child can feel a lot of pressure to be excited for the future, to open their heart to the place they’re headed. But the roads they’ve been down hundreds of times, the familiar faces, and the house where they know every noisy pipe and leaky faucet all deserve care, too. A Book of Maps for You honors the homes we leave behind and the ones we haven’t met yet, reminding us that they may just be two sides of the same coin. Lourdes Heuer’s attentive text speaks volumes in each word, and Maxwell Eaton III’s signature detail-rich illustrations call for re-reads to drink in and explore every page
 
02/18/2025
Boulder Library
Cover ArtThuy finds solace in pretending to be various animals after a teasing incident at school. Her mothers join in to help also, making snowy footprints of mythical creatures--and a new imaginary creature that is an expression of Thuy's strength, confidence, and kindness. I love this supportive family!
 
Publisher description:
Upset after being bullied, Thuy, a Vietnamese American, pretends she is different creatures, including an especially strong, wonderful being made up of her two mothers and herself. Includes note about the phoenix and the Sarabha.
 
Cover ArtA nature expedition can be very close to home! Nakima and Kaoru are eager science explorers and, with their grandfather, observe several different insects right in their backyard. I love the expressive and imaginative illustrations--and there's information at the end about insects and eco-action.
 
Publisher's description:
Let's go on an insect expedition for kids ages 4 to 8! This adventure into the extraordinary world of bugs is inspired by David Suzuki's adventures with his own grandkids. It's time for the twins to go on a nature expedition with Bompa. What marvelous place will they explore this time? Tidepools at the sea? The pond full of frogs' eggs? Maybe deep in the forest? But to their disappointment, they are just exploring outside the door. Yet, as they begin to search for insects, they find world-champion flyers, eaters, and weightlifters. And more tiny surprises at every turn! With their Bompa at their side, they find a way to recognize the amazing feats and important role of all insects. . . even the annoying ones! Featuring gorgeous art by Qin Leng, this picture book is a lush, colorful tour through a world we too often overlook. This exciting and educational tribute to bugs features: - Amazing facts about insects, including backmatter pages - Information on how kids can help bugs thrive - A celebration of grandparents: depicts the fun two children have with their grandfather After reading Bompa's Insect Expedition, kids will come away understanding how essential bugs are to our world.
 
Cover ArtWith only a word or two per page, this book's expressive illustrations show the interactions between a grumpy older cat and an energetic kitten—and what happens when the kitten's exuberance goes too far. This is a hilarious way to explore the concept of opposites!
 

Publisher's description:
"Meet Kitty! Kitty wants to play! Meet Cat. Cat just wants to nap. Bold, whimsical artwork and plenty of humor engage little ones in a sly and stylish introduction to opposites. This deceptively simple concept book introduces readers to grumpy, old, exhausted Cat, who just wants to be left alone, and to happy, new, energetic Kitty, who longs to make friends."--Publisher marketing.

Find Kitty & Cat: Opposites Attract in our catalog

11/15/2023
Boulder Library
Cover ArtThis book led me to think more deeply about how history is presented in monuments, historical markers, and museums--and specifically, whose perspective is presented and whose is left out. Most useful: ten questions to ask about any presentation of history, to look for missing stories and perspectives.
 
Publisher description:
A book by the bestselling, American Book Award-winning author. In Lies Across America, James W. Loewen continues his mission, begun in the award-winning Lies My Teacher Told Me, of overturning the myths and misinformation that too often pass for American history. This is a one-of-a-kind examination of historic sites all over the country where history is literally written on the landscape, including historical markers, monuments, historic houses, forts, and ships. New changes and updates include: - A town in Louisiana that was the site of a major but now-forgotten slave uprising - A totally revised tour of the memory and intentional forgetting of slavery and the Civil War in Richmond, Virginia - The hideout of a gang in Delaware that made money by kidnapping free blacks and selling them into slavery Entertaining and enlightening, Lies Across America also has a serious role to play in contemporary debates about white supremacy and Confederate memorials.
 
Cover ArtDyamonde is very compassionate and has a strong sense of justice. In four books, she and her friends gain an understanding of others' perspectives. This series is great for families to read aloud together, or for newly independent readers to enjoy.
 
Publisher's description:
Spunky third-grader Dyamonde Daniel misses her old neighborhood, but when she befriends a boy named Free, another new student at school, she finally starts to feel at home.
 

 

Cover ArtA book that explores what seeing is--and it is not just the passive act of looking, but also taking in from the visual sense and drawing for others to see. The basic sentences and vocabulary make this accessible for beginning readers, but there is more to this book than just the simplicity of the text.
 
Publisher's description: A boy goes for a walk where he sees a dog, trucks, flowers, a bird, and other things; and then goes home to draw them.
 
Cover ArtI love these stories about Anna and her family, because they provide a window into a country and a way of life unfamiliar to many American children. Yet even as the cultural details may be different and intriguing, the palpable love and caring among family members is front and center. Great for families beginning to read chapter books with their young children and also for newly independent readers.
 
Publisher's description: Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa. She lives with her whole family in a wonderful house. There is always somebody to laugh or play with. She loves to splash in the sea with her cousins and have parties with her aunties. But more than anything else in the world, Anna Hibiscus would love to see snow.
 
 
Cover ArtKanzi's family is new to the USA from Egypt, and she wants to fit in with the kids at school. A classmate teases Kanzi when Mama calls her habibti, but her teacher invites her to share something special from home, and Kanzi brings a quilt her Teita made. With Mama's help, the class creates a bulletin-board quilt with everyone's name written in Arabic characters, which sparks another class to make a similar display of names in Japanese characters. I love the support Kanzi finds from her teacher and mother for sharing elements of her culture!
 
Publisher's description: Kanzi’s family has moved from Egypt to America, and on her first day in a new school, what she wants more than anything is to fit in. Maybe that’s why she forgets to take the kofta sandwich her mother has made for her lunch, but that backfires when Mama shows up at school with the sandwich. Mama wears a hijab and calls her daughter Habibti (dear one). When she leaves, the teasing starts. That night, Kanzi wraps herself in the beautiful Arabic quilt her teita (grandma) in Cairo gave her and writes a poem in Arabic about the quilt. Next day her teacher sees the poem and gets the entire class excited about creating a “quilt” (a paper collage) of student names in Arabic. In the end, Kanzi’s most treasured reminder of her old home provides a pathway for acceptance in her new one.

Find The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story in our catalog.

Cover ArtA family journeys to visit both sets of grandparents every summer: Mamaw and Papaw in West Virginia, and Abuela and Abuelo in Florida. In both households, the kitchen is the heart and the gathering place no matter the time of day. The food and the language may be different, but the depth of love is the same! When the family returns home after a long drive, they eat in their own midnight kitchen before going to bed. This lyrical picture book shows the richness of a blended cultural background.
 
Publisher's description:
A girl describes her family's annual visit with Mamaw and Papaw in West Virginia, then Abuela and Abuelo in Florida, especially the foods and cultural elements that make each kitchen unique.
 
 
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