Staff Picks

A simple book explaining the joy and wonder of the present moment.

 

Publisher's description: Follow a little girl as she takes you on a tour through all of her favorite things, from the holes she digs to the hugs she gives.

 

I rarely recommend a Caldecott Award winning book, because I see so many fabulous children's books that don't get the recognition they deserve. (Except David Weisner--I LOVE and promote many of his books.) But never before has the air been knocked out of me as it was when I experienced The Undefeated.  Now, I love Kadir Nelson's illustration, they blow me away, too. "Moses" is a beautiful retelling of Harriet Tubman's story. But with the paring of his drawings with the incredible poetry of Kwame Alexander, The Undefeated becomes a powerful anthem to all children. When I read it at storytime, I feel empowered by the text and illustrations. I am lifted up and humbled by those who have come before me, and when I read the last page with pictures of children with tears in their eyes and I say, "This is for the undefeated. This is for you. And you. And you. This is for us," I believe it.

 

During Storytime at the library, this is one of those books where it gets completely quiet at the climax. This books goes step by step through a day that is not going great for main character Claire, to the point where she gets angry. The illustrations depict her stuffy growing forty feet, and she damages a playground swing. But it resolves with the help of Claire's empathetic friends, and she cleans up what she breaks. A great book showing young children tough emotions.

 

Publisher description: 

Claire and her stuffed rabbit, Fluffy, wake up happy but one thing goes wrong after another until, finally, Claire and Fluffy are both very, very angry.

 

In Storytime, this is one of those books where it gets completely quiet at the climax of the story. This books goes step-by-step through a day that is not going great for the main character to the point where she gets angry. The illustrations depict her stuffy growing forty feet, and she damages a playground swing. But it resolves with the help of her empathetic friends, and she cleans up what she breaks. A great book showing young children tough emotions.

 

Publisher Description:

From the author and illustrator of A Tiger Tail comes a fun and silly picture book about one larger-than-life--and quite plush--tantrum. Claire and Fluffy are best friends. When Claire is happy, Fluffy is happy. When Claire is sad, Fluffy is too. When Claire is mad? Well, we don't want to go there with Fluffy... But as the day progresses, everything that can go wrong, DOES. Claire has tried to keep it all together. But now, her anger has got the best of her! And Fluffy is unleashed. Join Mike Boldt on a humorous, larger-than-life story of one of the tenets of being a kid: the TANTRUM.

 

Children's historical fiction set in World War II. How can war save one's life? In more ways than you can imagine, in this powerful story with a twist.

 

Publisher Description:

Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn't waste a minute--she sneaks out to join him.

 

So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan--and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

 

This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity--a classic in the making.

Find The War That Saved My Life in our online catalog.

This Children's Fiction book was written/translated so beautifully! It painted picture after picture that brought this heartwarming story to life.

 

Publisher's description:

A beautifully written, timeless tale by Cao Wenxuan, best-selling Chinese author and 2016 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. Sunflower is an only child, and when her father is sent to the rural Cadre School, she has to go with him. Her father is an established artist from the city and finds his new life of physical labor and endless meetings exhausting. Sunflower is lonely and longs to play with the local children in the village across the river. When her father tragically drowns, Sunflower is taken in by the poorest family in the village, a family with a son named Bronze. Until Sunflower joins his family, Bronze was an only child, too, and hasn't spoken a word since he was traumatized by a terrible fire. Bronze and Sunflower become inseparable, understanding each other as only the closest friends can. Translated from Mandarin, the story meanders gracefully through the challenges that face the family, creating a timeless story of the trials of poverty and the power of love and loyalty to overcome hardship.

 

This memoir was so moving and beautifully illustrated! Sharon Langley tells the story of the peaceful protests of her parents and many others that led to the opening of an amusement park in Baltimore to African Americans in 1963. It's wordy for a picture book, but the story moves well. It's a great way to explain protests and America's Civil Rights history to young children.