A Boy and A Jaguar
Author: Alan Rabinowitz
Illustrator: Catia Chien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
This is a powerful and true story about a boy who stutters, but not when he is with animals; with animals he speaks beautifully. When he grows older, he learns to speak without stuttering; yet, his love of animals never leaves and he decides to use his voice to speak for them. When, on his first trip to the jungle, he rediscovers his favorite animal as a youth – the jaguar – he gives an impassioned speech to protect them. A brilliant story about the power we have to save what we love and find who we are.
Awards: Schneider Family Book Award Winner, Children’s; PW’s Best Books of 2014, Picture Books; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People – 2015, K to 2nd Grade; ALA Notable Books for Children 2015, Younger Readers; Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Honor Winner: 2015; 2016 Monarch Award Book Lists; Recipient of Green Earth Book Honor
A Boy Called Dickens
Author: Deborah Hopkins
Illustrator: John Hendrix
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 9
Website
A Time to Act: John F. Kennedy’s Big Speech
Author: Shana Corey
Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie
Publisher: North South
Recommended Age Range: 7 to 11
Website
Awards: School Library Journal Best Book of 2017; Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2017; A Junior Library Guild Selection
Abe Lincoln: the boy who loved books
Author: Kay Winters
Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks, Simon & Schuster
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Website
A beautiful story about Lincoln’s life, including his values, his trials, his brilliance, and of course, his love of reading.
Awards: Junior Library Guild selection; A Children’s Book-of-the- Month Club Main Selection (January, 2003); Selected as one of 5 non-fiction books for the 2003 Chapman Awards for Best Classroom Read-Alouds on PlanetEsme.com; Named by the Chicago Public Library to their Best of the Best list of recommended children’s books published in 2003; Selected by Bank St. College for their Best Books List of 2003; A Scholastic Book Club selection with an accompanying audio tape; Selected by PBS as a recommended social studies title; Included in the list of Best Books of 2003 by the Center for Children’s Books
Abe Lincoln’s Dream
Author: Lane Smith
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Website
This is presidential history at its best. When a little girl meets Abraham Lincoln’s very amicable ghost at the White House, they share wonderful adventures with a few jokes thrown in (apparently, Lincoln was known to be a pretty funny guy and he loved kids). What is so endearing about the story is that it’s a little girl that shows Lincoln just how much his accomplishments have influenced our country. Wonderful!
Albie’s First Word: A Tale Inspired By Albert Einstein’s Childhood
Author: Jacqueline Tourville
Illustrator: Wynne Evans
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books, an Imprint of Random House Children’s Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
In this brilliant book, Jacqueline Tourville takes the fact that Albert Einstein was a late talker and weaves a story around the moment that he first spoke. While each event keeps the reader guessing, and hoping, it is only when his parents stop wondering “when?” that Albie wonders “why?” A terrific read-aloud.
Ask Albert Einstein
Author: Lynne Barasch
Illustrator: Lynne Barasch
Publisher: Frances Foster Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Website
Awards: Natural History Magazine Best Books of 2005; Parents Choice Recommended Award Winner 2005
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade
Author: Melissa Sweet
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Awards: ALA Sibert Medal; NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children; Bank Street College of Education (Prize Honoring the Best Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Picture Book; Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus Award
Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington
Author: Anne Rockwell
Illustrator: Matt Phelan
Publisher: Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 9
Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue Liberty
Author: Linda Glaser
Illustrator: Claire A. Nivola
Publisher: Sandpiper, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
In 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote the words that gave voice to the Statue of Liberty: “…Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” This is the story of the writer who composed these words, not only to help bring Lady Liberty to our shores, but to provide comfort, and a new home, to those seeing them for the first time.
Awards: Jane Addams Children’s Book Award; Junior Library Guild selection; A Sydney Taylor Honor Book; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio – Gold Medal Book; Amelia Bloomer Project best feminist children’s books
Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
Author: Laurie Ann Thompson
Illustrator: Sean Qualls
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Awards: 2018-2019 California Young Reader Medal Winner, Picture Books for Older Readers; 2016 Schneider Family Book Award Winner, Children’s; Capitol Choices 2016; ALA Notable Books for Children 2016, Younger Readers; Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2015, Informational Books for Younger Readers; 2016 CCBC Choices-Contemporary People, Places, and Events; 2015 Cybils Awards Nomination, Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction; Triple Crown National Book Award 2016-2017; Children’s Book Committee Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of 2016, Biography and Memoir
Enormous Smallness: A Story of E.E. Cummings
Author: Matthew Burgess
Illustrator: Kris Di Giacomo
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
An incredibly creative biography about an incredibly creative poet who never lost his childlike wonder about the world around him.
Awards: An ALA Notable Book; A Boston Globe Best Book of 2015; A Huffington Post Best Picture Book on Biography for 2015; A 2016 Notable Children’s Books in the English Language Arts; Booklist’s Lasting Connections 2015; The Washington Post’s “Best Children’s Books of 2015”
From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World
Author: James Rumford
Illustrator: James Rumford
Publisher: A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
How did books come to be? In this stunning work, readers travel to the fifteenth century to learn about the art of bookmaking, before Johannes Gutenberg’s movable type, and after. Inspired illustrations complement the text as readers explore what they hold in their hands.
Awards: Bulletin Blue Ribbon, 2012, Nonfiction; NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2013, Biography
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
Author: Jean Marzollo
Illustrator: J. Brian Pinkney
Publisher: Scholastic Press (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
This story not only shows the accomplishments of this courageous leader, but the events that inspired him to “dream” a better country and change the law. A poignant testament to the power of words.
Awards: Family Circle “1994’s Best Toys, Books, Videos: Top “Multicultural Choice”
Librarian on the Roof! A True Story
Author: M.G. King
Illustrator: Stephen Gilpin
Publisher: Albert Whitman and Company
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 8
A terrific book about a librarian who actually goes (and spends a few nights) on the roof of the oldest library in Texas. Why? To raise money for a children’s section. While I won’t tell you how it ends, it definitely shows the power of passion, persistence and, of course, patience.
Awards: “52 Great Reads” list, 2010 National Book Festival, in Washington, D.C.
Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (And the Country)
Author: Kathleen Krull & Paul Brewer
Illustrator: Stacy Innerst
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 9
Awards: Smithsonian’s 2010 Notable Books for Children
Website
Looking at Lincoln
Author: Maira Kalman
Illustrator: Maira Kalman
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Young Readers Group
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Website
Looking at Lincoln is a brilliant book about Lincoln’s life – all from the perspective of a child. With interesting facts (there are over 16,000 books about Lincoln!), beautiful pictures, humorous comments, and entertaining stories, this is one of the best children’s books about our 16th president.
Awards: SLJ Best Children’s Books 2012, Nonfiction; Bulletin Blue Ribbon 2012, Nonfiction; IRA Children’s Choices, Young Readers, 2013; NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2013, Biography
Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Author: Doreen Rappaport
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Publisher: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Awards: Caldecott Medal, 2002; Jane Addams Book Awards for Picture Books, 2002; The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 2001; Coretta Scott King Award Honor
Noah Webster & His Words
Author: Jeri Chase Ferris
Illustrator: Vincent X. Kirsch
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
A terrific book that explores Webster’s life in a child-friendly way teaching children, and adults, the story behind the dictionary and the man who dreamed it into existence. Of course, as is true of so many historical picture books, between the interesting statistics, and the wonderful facts, lies the perfect lesson: When you really believe in something – no matter how long it takes – never give up!
Awards: 2013 Golden Kite Award from The Society of Children’s Writers & Illustrators for Best Nonfiction of 2012; 2013 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Children; 2013 Eureka! Award (silver honor book) from the California Reading Association for Excellence in Nonfiction; 2012 Distinguished Book Award from The Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California
On A Beam Of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein
Author: Jennifer Berne
Illustrator: Vladimir Radunsky
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 9
Website
On A Beam Of Light is wonderful, not only because it describes Einstein and his brilliant ideas in such an understandable and child- like way, but because it shows Einstein in a whole new, well, light. ☺ For example, did you know that Einstein didn’t like socks? In fact, he never wore them as an adult! What did he love? Sailing, playing the violin, and apparently, eating ice cream. A must-read that teaches and inspires – just like Einstein himself.
Awards: Booklist 2013 Lasting Connections, Science; Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books of 2013; Booklist 2013 Top 10 Books for Youth, Science & Health; SLJ’s Best Books of 2013, Nonfiction; Booklist Editor’s Choice: Books for Youth, 2013, Nonfiction; ALA 2014 Notable Children’s Books, Younger Readers; Booklist 2014 Top 10 Books for Youth, Biography; VOYA’s 2013 Nonfiction Honor List; A Junior Library Guild Selection
Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change
Author: Michelle Cook (Forward by Marian Wright Edelman)
Illustrator: Leo Dillon, et. al. (each historical figure captured by an award-winning African-American children’s book illustrator)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Inc. (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Our Children Can Soar is a beautiful work that shows how the “pioneers,” profiled throughout the book, paved the way for successive leaders in our country. An inspiring read.
Awards: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children’s
Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum
Author: Meghan McCarthy
Illustrator: Meghan McCarthy
Publisher: A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum is a great story not only about the history of gum, including one of its early predecessors – tree sap, but the determined young man that created the bubble blowing gum of today. Cartoon-like images complement the text; making it child-like and child-friendly. It’s what I’ve always believed – picture books are one of the best places to teach history and make it stick (no pun intended). ☺
Awards: Black Eyed Susan Book Award Master list (MD); Capitol Choices List (DC); Gate City Book Award Master List (NH); Land of Enchantment Children’s Master List (NM); Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award Honor Book; Monarch Award Master List (IL); Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award; Rhode Island Children’s Book Award Master List; School Library Journal Best Books of the Year; Utah Beehive Book Award Winner; WA Children’s Choice Picture Book Master List; Young Hoosier Book Award Master List (IN); A Junior Library Guild Selection; Society of Illustrators, Original Art Pack; A Parent Magazine Top 20 Book
Purple Mountain Majesties: The Story of Katharine Lee Bates and “America the Beautiful”
Author: Barbara Younger
Illustrator: Stacey Schuett
Publisher: Puffin Books (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection; Scholastic Book Club Selection
Rosa
Author: Nikki Giovanni
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Recommended Age Range: 7 to 12
Website
In this Caldecott Honor Book, Rosa Parks’ story is told through powerful words and stunning images; a testament to the quiet strength of this civil rights leader who inspired a nation to stand up for their rights by sitting down for hers. A brilliant book about the power of one person to change the world.
Awards: A Caldecott Honor Book; Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators
Sadako’s Cranes
Author: Judith Loske
Illustrator: Judith Loske
Publisher: Michaelneugebauer Publishing Ltd.
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 7
Website
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Eric Velasquez
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended Age Range: 9 to 12
Website
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection; 2018 Golden Kite Award Winner, Nonfiction for Young Readers; 2018 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Honor, Middle Level; Booklist Top 10 Diverse Nonfiction for Older and Middle Readers, 2018; ALSC Notable Children’s Books 2018, All Ages; 2018 Walter Award Winner, Young Readers; Capitol Choices 2018, Seven to Ten; CCBC Choices 2018 Choice: Historical People, Places, and Events; CSMCL Best Multicultural Children’s Books of 2017; School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2017, Nonfiction; Shelf Awareness 2017 Best Books of the Year, Picture Books; Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017, Picture Books; NYPL Best Books for Kids 2017; The Nonfiction Detectives, Best Nonfiction Books of 2017
Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos
Author: Stephanie Roth Sisson
Illustrator: Stephanie Roth Sisson
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Carl Sagan was a born-explorer. Whether studying the world around him, or the one above him, he always asked questions and looked for the answers. One night, looking up at the stars, he wondered: “What are they?” And, in that moment, his life was changed. Not only did this inspire him to study the universe; it inspired him to create spaceships to get there. A story to remind all of us to follow our dreams and never stop imagining.
Awards: Orbis Pictus Honorable Mention book, 2015; School Library Journal Best Books of the Year; ALA Notable Children’s Books; Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year; California Book Awards Master List; Vermont Red Clover Children’s Choice
Thank you, Sara: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Illustrator: Matt Faulkner
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Website
Thank you, Sara: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving is the true story of Sara Hale who – after 38 years of trying – actually did save this holiday! The story is terrific, the words inspired, and the pictures VERY funny.
Awards: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award; Young Hoosier Book Award Master List; Once Upon a World Children’s Book Award 2003 (Given by the Simon Wiesenthal Center); ALA Amelia Bloomer List; Junior Library Guild Selection; Chapman Award for Shared Reading; International Reading Association Teachers’ Choice 2003; Storytelling World 2004 Honor Title; ALA Notable Video, 2005; Carolyn W. Field Honor Book (PA); Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens, 2002 (WDC)
The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Author: Peter Sis
Illustrator: Peter Sis
Publisher: Frances Foster Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 9
Who was Antoine De Saint-Exupery? He was an aviator when planes were new and the earth was still being discovered. He was also an inspired writer who, through his adventures and travels, became the famous author of the classic story we know as The Little Prince.
Awards: New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Books of the Year 2014; Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year 2014; School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2014; Amazon.com Best Books of the Year 2014; Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year 2014; Booklist 2014 Top 10 Books for Youth, Biography; Booklist Editors’ Choice 2014; Booklist Lasting Connections 2014, Social Studies; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People – 2015, Kingergarten to Second Grade; 2015 CLA Notable Children’s Books in the English Language Arts; Capitol Choices 2015
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Author: Jen Bryant
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Recommended Age Range: 7 to 12
This is the story of Peter Roget – a man who loved words so much he made lists of them. And what did he discover? How much he loved finding “the right word.” Of course, the thought that there could be a book that allowed everyone to find the word they were looking for encouraged him to keep creating lists – even with a family and career as a doctor. With wonderful facts and child-like drawings, this is a terrific introduction to an inspired individual and a living piece of history.
Awards: ABC Best Books Catalog (American Booksellers Association); Booklist’s 2014 Lasting Connections; Booklist Editor’s Choice List – Books for Youth; Caldecott Honor Book; CLSC Young Readers selection for 2015; Elizabeth Kennedy’s “Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2014” (About.com); Eureka Honor Award, 2014; Horn Book Magazine’s Best Books of 2014; The Horn Book Fanfare 2014; Huffington Post Best Picture Books of 2014; IRA Reading Today Online Best Picture Books of 2014; Junior Library Guild Selection; Kirkus Prize Finalist, 2014; Kirkus Review Best of 2014 – Children’s Books; Maine Lupine Book Award; Nerdy Book Club’s 2014 Nerdy Awards for Nonfiction Picture Books; New York Times Notable Children’s Books; 2014 Orbis Pictus Honor Book 2015 (NCTE); Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal; Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2014; SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Illustration; School Library Journal Best Books 2014; Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibit 2014 selection; Texas Bluebonnet Master List for 2015-16
The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank’s Window
Author: Jeff Gottesfeld
Illustrator: Peter McCarty
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Website
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection; A New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; A NYPL Best Book for Kids, 2016; Booklist 2016 Lasting Connections, Social Studies; Sydney Taylor Award, 2017 Notable Book for Young Readers; CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2017, K-2; 2017 Notable Books for a Global Society
The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game
Author: Nancy Churnin
Illustrator: Jez Tuya
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: 2017 Storytelling World Resource Award Honor Book Finalist; 2017 North Texas Book Festival Best Children’s Books; New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2016; 2017 Texas 2×2 Reading List; 2018 Illinois Monarch Award Master List; 2017 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List; 2017 Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bank Street College; 2018-2019 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice List; 2017-2018 Kennebec Valley Book Award List; Connecticut 2018 Charter Oak Children’s Book Awards List; 2017-2018 Armadillo Readers’ Choice Awards List
When Jackie Saved Grand Central: The True Story of Jacqueline Kennedy’s Fight for an American Icon
Author: Natasha Wing
Illustrator: Alexandra Boiger
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 9
Awards: Winner of the 2018 Colorado Authors’ League Children’s/Young Adult Nonfiction Award
Website
When Marian Sang
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic Press, an Imprint of Scholastic
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 10
Website
The story of Marian Anderson – a singer whose voice was heard by millions around the world, including those at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, and whose courage inspired many to overcome their obstacles and live their dreams. Beautiful illustrations bring her world, and her music, to life.
Awards: Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner; School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; ALA Robert F. Sibert Honor Award; ALA Notable Book; Flora Stieglitz Straus Award (Bank Street College); NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction; Norman A. Sugarman Award for Distinguished Biography; NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book; Vermont Center for the Book’s Best of Beyond Difference 2003; 2003 NCTE Noble Children’s Book in the Language Arts; 2003 Jefferson Cup Honor, Virginia Library Association