Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books

May 24, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Narrative Nonfiction picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/1W55B2WL32ZNO?ref_=aipsflist .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

A young girl and a young woman are standing in front of Al-Qarawiyyin Library.

Behind My Doors: The Story of the World’s Oldest Library

by Hena Khan (Author), Nabila Adani (Illustrator)

Summary: Al Qarawiyyin Library tells us about itself being built in 859 in Fez, Morocco, and being the oldest library in the world. Fatima al-Fihri built a mosque and school for her community with a small library that grew over the centuries.

There is a room that can only be entered by four guards, who have to turn all of the keys at the same time for the copper doors to open. Now, only the curator has the keys. What could be so precious inside?

Comments: This narrative nonfiction book is told from the perspective of the library, from its very beginning until Dr. Chaouni, an architect who was hired to restore the building, renovates it.

The illustrations were created digitally.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A young Fannie Farmer cooking with a large pot with vegetables. There are measuring utensils on the side. Book's cover

The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook

by Emma Bland Smith (Author), Susan Reagan (Illustrator)

Brief summary: In the late 1800s, Fannie Farmer developed a passion for cooking. Despite contracting polio at the age of sixteen, she enrolled in the Boston Cooking School, where she excelled and eventually became the principal. Fannie’s teaching focused on precise measurements and exact cooking methods, ensuring success for home cooks.

She rewrote the school’s cookbook with precision, which became incredibly popular. Fannie also gave lectures nationwide and even taught at Harvard Medical School.

Comments: After reading this narrative nonfiction picture book, I learned that people used non-standard measurements for cooking even though standard measurements were available. I was surprised to discover the variety of measurements in recipes passed down from generation to generation, such as a dash of this, a smidge of that, or a pinch of this.

The back sections contain photos and additional information about Fannie and the Boston Cooking School and how Ms. Farmer really improved cooking through precise and detailed recipes.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Annie Londonderry riding on a bicycle wearing bloomers with an American flag on the handlebars. There is a globe in the background with various people. Cover of the book

Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World

by Vivian Kirkfield (Author), Alison Jay (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Annie Londonderry saw an ad in 1894 promising $10,000 to the first woman to travel around the globe on a bike. She taught herself to ride a bike and set off, following the rules of speaking English, accepting no donations, and earning $5,000 while traveling.

Comments: This inspirational narrative nonfiction picture book shares the story of an incredibly brave woman who overcame obstacles and injuries, persevered to win a bet, and was motivated by providing a better life for her children.

The back sections include an Author’s Note, Brakes, Bloomers, and Other Bicycle Bits, a Timeline, and a Bibliography.

The illustrations are created with alkyd oil paint on paper with varnish.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Georgia O"Keeffe in the desert in her garden with a large table of her garden's bounty which are flowers, corn, vegetables. There is a crow and rabbit in the background along with flowers and trees. Book's cover

Gifts from Georgia’s Garden: How Georgia O’Keeffe Nourished Her Art

by Lisa Robinson (Author), Hadley Hooper (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Georgia O’Keeffe is known for her stunning paintings of flowers and wildlife in New Mexico. This narrative nonfiction picture book emphasizes and explores how she cultivated her own sustainable garden using water conservation, companion planting, and composting.

Comments: Reading a book about an artist’s life rather than their art was a refreshing change.

The back sections explain how Georgia O’Keefe gardened and includes two of her recipes.

The illustrations were created with pen, paint, and paper and assembled in Photoshop.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

William J. Wilgus painting of him holding his chin thinking with a train and Grand Central Terminal in the background. Book's cover

A Grand Idea: How William J. Wilgus Created Grand Central Terminal

by Megan Hoyt (Author), David Szalay (Illustrator)

Brief summary: In 1902, Manhattan was full of people from all over the country visiting by train. A terrible train collision caused William J. Wilgus, a chief engineer, to devise a better plan to reduce and organize all of the train traffic to prevent any more accidents.

In this narrative nonfiction picture book, young readers will learn how he created this magnificent railroad station called Grand Central Terminal.

Comments: The back sections include information about William J. Wilgus and the Grand Central Terminal, fascinating facts about the terminal, a timeline, and sources.

The illustrations were created digitally with Adobe Photoshop.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A man is holding a book. There are books on the bookshelves.

Everybody’s Book: The Story of the Sarajevo Haggadah

by Linda Leopold Strauss (Author), Tim Smart (Illustrator)

Brief summary: In the mid-14th century, a Jewish wedding took place in Spain where the couple received a hand-painted haggadah for their Passover celebrations. The book was adorned with decorations of copper and gold. Passed down through generations, it eventually ended up in the possession of relatives who sold it to The National Museum in Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1894. This historic artifact is now known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. It’s remarkable that the book has survived through numerous wars.

Comments: The back sections in this narrative nonfiction book are Author Note, About the Author, and About the Illustrator.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

For more information:

The cover of Life After Whale with a blue whale in the sea with smaller fish swimming around it.

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

by Lynn Brunelle (Author), Jason Chin (Illustrator)

Brief summary: This narrative nonfiction story begins with a blue whale eating krill and tells us how old she is, and her last day on earth. She dies and falls into the ocean but comes back up floating on the surface thanks to the gases in her body. Her body is now an ecosystem with many creatures benefiting.

Comments: The illustrations were created using watercolor and gouache on paper.

The back sections are A Bit About Blue Whales, What Are Ecosystems? It’s a Phase, A Little Pod of Whale Books, Whale Falls Online, and Selected Bibliography.

There are several nonfiction text features such as labels, maps, and diagrams.to help explain the whale’s cycle of life.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Cover of The Wolf Effect with a wolf howling while standing on a hill. There are other hills in the background with animals and a stream.

The Wolf Effect: A Wilderness Revival Story (A Voice of the Wilderness Picture Book)

by Rosanne Parry (Author), Jennifer Thermes (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about how the Yellowstone region became a national park and how it changed the humans and animals that inhabited the area. The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone Park is told through rhyming verse and story panels, demonstrating the positive effect on the environment and surroundings.

Comments: The illustrations were created using watercolor and colored pencil on Arches hot-pressed paper. Nonfiction text features such as maps and labels had me stopping and looking at all of the details.

The back sections are Who is Who?, A Brief History of Wolves in the American West, Artist’s Note, Glossary, and Additional Resources.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

One Day This Tree Will Fall

by Leslie Barnard Booth (Author), Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator)

Brief summary: In this narrative nonfiction picture book, we learn the story of a tree’s beginning as a seed, its growth, providing food and shelter to animals, and its continued contribution after it dies.

Comments: The illustrations were created using gouache, colored pencil, and Photoshop.

The back sections are A Tree’s Story Never Ends, Trees and People, Glossary, and Selected Sources.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons

by Laura Purdie Salas (Author), Alexandria Neonakis (Illustrator).

Brief summary: A mother and father loon raise a mallard duckling. The duckling learns the ways of the loons, like eating minnows and taking food from them.

Comments: This story in verse is based on a true story in 2019 in a Wisconsin Lake as part of the Loon Project, where researchers observed a loon pair taking care of a duckling. What makes this unique is that loons usually drive away mallard ducks.

The back pages include sections such as Is This Story True?, The Intruder, and Very Different Birds(with a Venn Diagram).

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Rise to the Sky cover of the narrative nonfiction book that tells about tall trees with tall trees with deer eating grass underneath

Rise to the Sky: How the World’s Tallest Trees Grow Up

by Rebecca E. Hirsch (Author), Mia Posada (Illustrator). .

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about a tree’s life cycle from a tiny sprout to a tall tree.

Comments: Back sections include How Does a Tall Tree Grow?, Where Do the Tallest Trees Live?, and two activities.

The illustrations are cut-paper collages with watercolor but have photographs of the tallest trees in the back of the book.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Special Delivery cover with sky blue background with various means of transportation all done in cartoon style

Special Delivery: A Book’s Journey Around the World

by Polly Faber (Author), Klas Fahlén (Illustrator).

Brief summary: A book is made and journeys in various forms of transportation across the city, sea, and through the country until it reaches Pip’s Bookshop, where it is bought and sent to a grandson.

Comments: The back has Special Delivery Numbers of interesting statistics about the book’s journey.

Full, detailed illustrations with bright colors. I stopped and looked at each page to get more details of the transportation story from them.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Cover of Yoshi with a little green turtle swimming in the ocean with other fish and plants

Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius: A True Story About an Amazing Swimmer

by Lynne Cox (Author), Richard Jones (Illustrator).

Brief summary: A Loggerhead hatchling finds her way across the Australian beach when the moon is full. She swims for the first time in the Indian Ocean, encountering many marine and land animals and fish on her journey.

The turtle is tangled in a net until a fisherman rescues her and helps her return to good health. Unable to keep the turtle, the fisherman gives her to an aquarium, where she is released into the sea with a tracking device. People can watch where she swims in the ocean. Will she make it back to her home?

Comments: This is a true story with more information in the Author’s Note.

I kept reading to find out more about Yoshi and if she was going to be okay or not.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Cover of Poop for Breakfast with various animals around a kitchen table with pile of poop on a plate

Poop for Breakfast: Why Some Animals Eat It

by Sara Levine (Author), Florence Weiser (Illustrator).

Brief summary: Young readers will learn about why some animals eat feces. One can read a simple narrative or include a more correlating detailed description as the story continues teaching readers everything they need to know, including the correct terminology of why animals eat poop.

Comments: Well, I learned a lot from reading this book and recommend it to children and adults who desire to learn more about this topic, which was done in a very tasteful manner (excuse the pun).

The back sections include The Scoop on Poop, Be a Book Detective, By Any Other Name, and Further Reading.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Book cover of Jumper with a closeup of a jumping spider on the grass

Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider

by Jessica Lanan (Author, Illustrator).

Brief summary: As soon as I open the book, I meet the main character as big as bean, Jumper, a jumping spider. Jumper is hungry and goes hunting for food in the family’s backyard. She jumps without worry as her silk is a safety line. Vibrations help the spider know if a predator or prey is nearby. Will Jumper ever find dinner, or will she become dinner?

Comments: Excellent back sections with more details about his spider, with close-ups illustrated by hand. A few other spiders are discussed, along with the life cycle of a jumping spider. There is a Glossary, Author’s Note, Finding and Identifying Spiders, and Resources sections.

This book begins and ends on the paste-down end pages. There is a fold-out demonstrating how a spider sees with eight eyes.

This book asks readers questions to pause and reflect upon the spider’s life. Dialogic reading.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The Forest Keeper– The True Story of Jadav Payeng

by Rina Singh (Author), Ishita Jain (Illustrator).

Brief summary: Jadav Payeng, a tribal boy living in India, went to the elders in 1979 when the Brahmaputra River took large parts of the islands’ land mass away when it flooded. He wanted them to help him plant trees on an island called Majuli to help prevent the island from disappearing.

The forest department gave him bamboo seedlings and told him to plant the forest himself. So, he did. Has the past thirty years of his hard work helped the area and animals?

Comments: The front and end pages give more details about this passionate individual whose hard work and dedication completely changed Mujuli Island and the Molai Forest(named after him). It can take just one person to make a significant impact in a positive way.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Nobody Likes Frogs: A Book of Toadally Fun Facts

by Barbara Davis-Pyles (Author), Liz Wong (Illustrator).

Brief summary: A turtle narrates how much it does not like frogs while learning all about them as the story progresses. Does the turtle have a change of heart? Will the reader?

Comments: The back sections are Frog Facts and Be Somebody Who Likes Frogs by Helping Them!. The pasted-down end pages are full of different types of frogs.

This is a general book about frogs. I learned that frogs can live as long as twenty years.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The selected children’s books are chosen by a highly qualified retired elementary school librarian, who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Swimming Picture Books

May 23, 2026July 18, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Swimming picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Swimming Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/2IOQHX6YHU325?ref_=aipsflist.)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

A Fish Like Me

by Jamie Sumner (Author), Devon Holzwarth (Illustrator)

Summary: A young boy enjoys swimming therapy where he uses his imagination to become different water animals. He compares the freedom of how he moves in the water to how he navigates the world in his wheelchair.

Comments: The beautiful textures of gouache, colored pencil, and collage move the boy through his imaginative water world.

This is a superb SEL choice to encourage classroom discussions about inclusion and physical disabilities.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Swimming Season

by Jaimie Macgibbon (Author)

Summary: A family packs up the car and drives to the beach where they spend a day playing on the seashore and in the water. Once the sun goes down, they go to sleep in the tent.

Comments: This story in rhyme is full of beach and water activities that young readers will love. The illustrations capture the excitement and joy of the three siblings and their dog enjoying a perfect summer getaway.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Serafina wearing large goggles, a red and pink striped bathing suit, and a white towel over her shoulder carrying a plush. Background is the pool.

Serafina Makes Waves

by Matthew Burgess (Author), Robin Rosenthal (Illustrator)

Summary: Serafina does not like water, yet she must learn how to swim. When an accident happens causing her to go into the pool, she realizes being wet is actually fun.

Comments: This is an encouraging story that captures the anxiety of trying something new. It could be a perfect first day read-aloud for students, showing them that trying new or intimidating things can turn out to be fun.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Ripples

by Katie Yamasaki

Summary: Ayla and her Aunty Koko put their life vests on and go in a raft to float down the river, noticing the wildlife and people on the riverbank.

Comments: This book is a gentle and engaging story that celebrates the mindfulness of slowly going down the river, bonding with family, and appreciating the environment.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Judgy Bunny is sitting on the beach with a beach ball next to her. Arms crossed. A bird is sitting on top of the beach ball with any ice-cream cone.

Judgy Bunny and the Terrible Beach

by Scott Rothman (Author), Linzie Hunter (Illustrator)

Summary: Judgy Bunny is on the beach and does not like anything. A beach ball keeps bonking her. A bunny playing nearby invites her to join in the fun. After adjusting her attitude and trying new things, Judgy Bunny is able to enjoy herself.

Comments: This story is a fantastic tool for demonstrating the shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Big Family Beach Day

by Nina Crews (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: Maya, her mother, and grandma drive to their annual family beach outing to meet their extended family. They play in the sand, swim in the water, and have a picnic.

Comments: A whimsical family story that everyone can relate to.

The illustrations were digitally drawn and collaged in Adobe Photoshop.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Book cover of Dawn Patrol with a girl wearing a wetsuit while surfing a wave while her father cheers her in the background.

Dawn Patrol: A Father and Daughter Surfing Story

by Rob Sayegh Jr. (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: A father and daughter wake up at dawn and drive to the beach, where they put on wetsuits to swim and surf with other surfers, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Comments: Lovely story of a father and daughter bonding while enjoying the sea.

The illustrations were created with hand-marbled paper and digital collage.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Everybelly

by Thao Lam (Author)

Summary: Maddie and her mom went to the local pool. As they walked or swam by the neighbors, Maddie shared funny stories about them, observing their bellies.

Comments: A funny and diverse book about the many bellies around the neighborhood.

The illustrations were created in cut-paper collage.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Liam is floating in a lifesaver in the water waiting for a wave

Just One Wave

by Travis Jonker (Author)

Summary: Liam goes to the beach with his baby sibling, Sonja, and his mother, waiting for a wave to occur on the still water. It’s time to go when Liam realizes he can make one big wave, pleasing his little sister.

Comments: This is a lighthearted story that would be a humorous read-aloud for preschoolers or kindergartners.

The illustrations were created using a Pentel Color Brush and Procreate.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

If you like this one, you may enjoy Travis Jonker’s Just One Flake.

Just One Flake

by Travis Jonker (Author)

My Dear Sea

by André Carrilho (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: A young girl is advised by her father to “respect the sea” just before she jumps in, meaning to be careful. She reflects on this advice as she shares her appreciation for the beauty of the sea creatures and emphasizes the importance of picking up litter. In doing so, she honors the sea.

Comments: These beautiful illustrations were created using watercolor, pencil, and digital editing and captured the colors and creatures of the sea.

This text is composed in rhyme.

This could be presented as a book focused on environmental themes, as well as on swimming or the sea.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Our Lake

by Angie Kang (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: Two brothers walk to the lake to go swimming without their father for the first time since he died. The older brother jumps into the water from the cliff and coaxes his brother to join him. Will he be able to jump without the help of his father?

Comments: A beautiful story of two brothers learning how to grieve while moving forward without their father beside them; only in spirit.

The illustrations were created using gouache with additional textures added in crayon and colored pencil.

This is an excellent story to share with students and children experiencing death of a relative. It is gentle and quiet and does not overly emphasize their feelings.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Our Pool

by Lucy Ruth Cummins (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: We watch as many wake up and go to the city pool with other families. They change into a bathing suit, get covered with sunblock, and go into the cool blue water. Everyone plays above and below the water until it’s time to eat lunch on spread-out towels on concrete. They do more swimming before heading home with a treat from the ice cream truck.

Comments: The bright summer colors illustrations are showcased in many two page spreads with details and descriptive words that had me feeling like I was at the pool smelling the chlorine, hearing the shouting and laughter, and the coolness of the water.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A young girl swimming in a pool who stopped and lifted her goggles up to stare at the reader

When You Can Swim

by Jack Wong (Author, Illustrator).

Brief summary: A young child encourages those to learn how to swim and shares all the aquatic wonders they could experience while swimming in various types of waters.

Comments: The back pages include the author sharing his experience of learning how to swim and going back to some of his favorite swimming spots for inspiration to write and illustrate the book.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl is on the edge of a diving board looking into the water with plants and marine animals swimming in it

A Dive Into the Blue

by Ellie Huynh (Author), Bao Luu (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl shares her fear of diving into the public pool while standing at the edge of the diving board and letting her imagination almost overcome her from swimming. Will she be able to dive into the blue water?

Comments: I would share this book with students to help them learn coping skills to navigate their fears.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl is ready to go swimming with a large life preserver that has a sleeping sloth on top of it

Waiting on Mr. Sloth

by Katy Hudson (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Sasha is excited to go swimming with her best friend, Mr. Sloth, but is losing her patience with his slowness every step of the way. They finally walk to the lake and have lunch before entering the water. Sasha’s friend is taking too long, and she goes into the lake without him, only to realize it’s not as much fun. Sasha returns to their picnic to find Mr. Sloth in a tree enjoying his surroundings. Will Sasha and Mr. Sloth go swimming together in the future? Will Sasha learn to be patience?

Comments: In the back of the book, there is a discussion of ways to calm oneself when waiting.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Child with nose plugs and goggle on swimming underneath the water

Facing Your Fear of Water (Facing Your Fears)

by Heather E. Schwartz (Author). Nonfiction Hardcover.

Brief summary: Young readers get advice on ways to be calm if they are afraid of the water and are encouraged to take small steps to learn to be able to go swimming.

Comments: The back sections are Sink or Float, Glossary, Read More, and Internet Sites.

This is one of the Facing Your Fears series.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Sports Picture Books

May 23, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Sports picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Sports Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/2W29UVK2FP8QP?ref_=aipsflist .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Baller Ina

by Liz Casal (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Ina loves to practice her ballet steps. She changes into her high tops to play basketball, using the steps she has learned in ballet class.

Comments: This is an upbeat book on how athletes can use skills from one sport to another.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World

by Vivian Kirkfield (Author), Alison Jay (Illustrator)

The back sections include an Author’s Note, Brakes, Bloomers, and Other Bicycle Bits, a Timeline, and a Bibliography.

The illustrations are created with alkyd oil paint on paper with varnish.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Ride Beside Me

by Lucy Knisley (Author)

Brief summary: A child and mother go on a bike together, participating in a bike club that is riding up a mountain. Along the way, they see familiar faces and different types of bicycles. Soon, there are more bikes than automobiles.

Comments: The illustrations were created using gouache paint on paper.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A young Judit is intentely looking across a chess board

The Queen of Chess: How Judit Polgár Changed the Game

by Laurie Wallmark (Author), Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Judit and her sisters were trained by their parents to play chess. They competed, with Judit being the youngest. She won junior tournaments against adults. Judit and her family went to the USA, where she competed in games against adults and won. Her goal was to become the youngest grandmaster. She returned to Budapest to study and became the national champion of Hungary. Will Judit’s chess journey lead her to her goal?

Comments: The back pages include Timeline and The Mathematics of Chess.

This is an inspirational story of encouragement, hard work, and perseverance.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Snow Picture Books

May 23, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Snow picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Snow Picture Books–https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/39180Y1LO1EUN?ref_=aipsflist .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

A female fox with her two kits outside in the snow with a bit of snow coming down under a crescent moon

Winter Is Wonderful

by Emma Dodd (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: A mama fox and her two kits spend the day in the wintry forest playing in the snow, stopping to look at the landscape, and eating berries before heading home to their den for a sleep.

Comments: This is a lovely bedtime story, and the illustrations are beautifully highlighted with foil throughout.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Just Us

by Molly Beth Griffin (Author), Anait Semirdzhyan (Illustrator)

Summary: A young girl’s family usually celebrates the holidays by having extended family come from all over to share a meal and play games. However, the snow made it too dangerous for everyone to visit. Her mom, mama, and brother decided to improvise and prepare a meal together. They even called Grandma for advice on how to make a dessert.

Comments: The digitally created illustrations showed details of all of the relatives. Many young readers may wonder what to do if traditions cannot be kept. This story shares how we can still have a good holiday by making the best of what we have.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Book Cover: Snowing in a hollow with winter trees on either side with Hubert, the little mouse wearing a red jacket and gray scarf holding a book looking up with a scared look.

The Voice in the Hollow

by Will Hillenbrand (Author)

Brief summary: A blizzard causes the library to close early. Hubert must walk home in the storm, deciding a shortcut through the Hollow would get him home quicker. Although it looked spooky and the wind picked up, the mouse entered the Hollow. He was met by a fox who took his hand, and they made a dangerous trek across the snow-covered landscape. He safely returns home to his parents and siblings to share his adventure.

Comments: The illustrations expressed and captured the snowfall and coldness of the blizzard with a beautiful double gatefold at the story’s climax.

This would be a perfect fit snow story for young readers on a gray wintery day.

Teachers teaching winter units should definitely include this picture book.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A boy in a yellow cate with red mittens and a hat is facing tot he right as he stands in falling snow

I’m Going to Build a Snowman

by Jashar Awan (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A little boy wakes to see that it has snowed. After eating his breakfast and putting on all of his snow gear, he is determined to build the BEST SNOWMAN EVER.

Comments: The story explores how one’s expectations may not be realistic but still can be enjoyable in a positive mindset.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

billy barr is looking over his shoulder as he wears a red and black checkered hat with ear flaps while it snows. the background is pine trees on a snowy mountain.

The Snow Man: A True Story

by Jonah Winter (Author), Jeanette Winter (Illustrator)

Brief summary: billy barr (he prefers all small letters) lives ALONE in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, eight miles from the nearest town. He first moved there as a college student in 1972 for the summer. He lived in an abandoned shack with dirt floors and no electricity or running water. He began to take meticulous notes of all of the wildlife and weather of the mountains.

He stayed for fifty-one years and is still there.

The scientists at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory used his notes and observations, all written in notebooks, to chart how the mountains’ climate was changing. He still takes notes but enters them into a computer.

Comments: There is an Author’s Note in the back explaining billy barr in more detail.

I had so many questions while reading this biography. Why is he a hermit? What made him go there? Why did he stay so long? Would I want to live like that? What would that be like? Can I get my library up there? And could I bring all of my cats?

This biography picture book could spark some interesting classroom discussions.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A girl with a red hat and black scarf wearing a snow jacket is lying on the snow smiling

On a Flake-Flying Day: Watching Winter’s Wonders

by Buffy Silverman (Author)

Brief summary: When winter arrives, nature changes in many ways to prepare for snow.

Comments: There are large and brilliant Nature photos in this narrative nonfiction picture book.

The back section includes the question: What can you see on a white winter’s day? and then in-depth answers correlating to the pages before, Further Reading, and Glossary.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A very excited boy has his face against the window looking outside

Just SNOW Already!

by Howard McWilliam (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: A boy excitedly waits for the snow expected that evening in his neighborhood. He dreams of all the wonderful things he will do in the snow. He keeps checking out the window, not noticing all of the stupendous things taking place on his street, believing that nothing is happening because there is no snow yet.

He begins to wonder what it would mean if it never snowed again.

Comments: The details in these illustrations are action-packed and hilarious. I love the boy’s giant head and all of his facial expressions. This would be a fantastic read-aloud for kids, especially the day before the first snowfall of the year.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗 1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Wonder & Awe

by Annie Herzig (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: A girl creates a snowwoman she calls Wonder. She and Wonder play throughout the forest with the snowwoman pointing out the beauty around them which leaves the girl in awe. Each day, they play and say goodbye at the end. One afternoon, they both realize that they do not have much time together as spring is coming soon.

The girl shares with her friends all of the wonderful things in Nature that she and Wonder noticed together during their winter discoveries. Will she ever see her friend again?

Comments: The illustrations were created using watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, graphite, and water-soluble crayon.

It is a beautiful story about a magical friendship who discovers together the beauty of Nature.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The Christmas Snow Globe

by Sibylle Delacroix (Author), Polly Lawson (Translator)

Brief summary: Noah and Lucy looked out the window on Christmas Eve, hoping for snow. The girl received a snow globe as a gift and took it with her to bed. That night, she and her brother felt cold snowflakes on their faces and got out of bed to discover that the house was filled with snow. They made a snowman, slid down the stairs, and had a snowball fight. But did it really snow inside the house?

Comments: A delightful bedtime story about the anticipation of snow on Christmas Day, something we can all relate to.

The illustrations were created using graphite pencils, colored pencils, and watercolor paper.

This book is a French translation first published in 2021.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Self-Esteem Picture Books

May 22, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Self-Esteem picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Self-Esteem Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/1IHKP8GMJI1AS?ref_=aipsflist .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

My Powerful Hair

by Carole Lindstrom (Author), Steph Littlebird (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl tells how she can’t wait for her hair to grow long. She explains how her ancestors grew long hair, as hair is their memories and source of strength. The girl shares the milestones of her life and how her hair grows parallel to those special events.

Comments: Readers learn why the young girl’s mother has always had short hair and what it means to have hair cut short in her Indigenous culture.

This book’s back pages explain the belief that hair holds strength and power and includes an Author’s note.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Harriet is looking into a pond and sees the reflection of a lion. There is landscape in the background of mountains, a house, and trees.

Harriet’s Reflections

by Marion Kadi (Author)

Summary: An old lion is looking at his reflection in the water before it dies. His reflection is still alive and bored, so it wanders the jungle and comes across a house with a little girl named Harriet inside, who is very grumpy.

The lion follows Harriet to school, and when she comes to the next mud puddle, he jumps in and becomes her reflection. Harriet is surprised at how fierce and confident she feels that day and has forgotten all about her old reflection. Will Harriet ever want to have her old reflection back?

Comments: This is a French translation that was published in 2021. I found the book to be unique, creative, and well-written.

The illustrations are bright and have several large two-page spreads. I always like it when the end pages are decorated.

I sent me a complimentary copy to give an honest review.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Clara’s Big Discovery

by Don Tassone (Author), Jane Rytel (Illustrator)

Summary: Clara was eating her lunch at school one day when Mia said four words that changed how she viewed herself and others–“Your nose is big.”

Clara began to question whether there was something wrong with her nose, which caused her to feel bad about herself. The next day at school, she felt self-conscious and observed the people around her, noticing that each person had something a little different about them that she had never really noticed before.

When Clara arrives home, she realizes that everyone has imperfections but is still okay. Will she think that way about herself again?

Comments: I loved how this book examined the imperfections of different students and emphasized that it was no big deal, not something that defined that person.

This would be a superb book to read aloud to elementary students at the beginning of the school year to help foster and embrace everyone’s differences. I would ask the students if they knew what Clara’s big discovery was at the end of the story.

Rating: 4.5/📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a free copy of this book.

A large grumpy looking fluffy buffalo looking directly at the reader

Buffalo Fluffalo

by Bess Kalb (Author), Erin Kraan (Illustrator)

Brief summary: There was a big fluffy buffalo puffed up, acting tough. A goat, prairie dog, and crow try to make friends with him, but he pushes them away with excuses.

A big storm with heavy rain changes his appearance, but his three friends do not care, causing the other creatures to love him too.

Comments: I’ve known some Buffalo Fluffalo students who could have been helped with the bibliotherapeutic lesson of this book’s story.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

School Picture Books

May 22, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

School picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under School Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/1U3H75RM6KG77?ref_=aipsflist.)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Will the Pigeon Graduate?

by Mo Willems (Author)

Brief summary: Pigeon stands in line with other students, ready to go on stage to receive a diploma. He wonders if it has overcome all the challenges and if its efforts were sufficient. Will the pigeon graduate? What will he do next?

Comments: This is a wonderful book to gift any graduate! It could serve as a thoughtful keepsake for teaching staff, relatives, or friends to pass around, writing inside with best wishes, reflection moments, or future advice for the graduate.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Book cover to Bid Kids with one boy much taller and bigger than the other

Big Kids

by K. L. Going (Author), Reggie Brown (Illustrator)

Summary: A young boy describes his first day of school, highlighting all the activities the older kids participate in. It’s Buddy Day, when he gets paired with an older student. His new friend takes him on a tour of the school, helping to ease his fears of the older students.

Comments: I love how the perspective of the big kids and little kids is complemented by the illustrations, which show the physical contrasts.

This would be the perfect read-aloud for the start of the school year, just before introducing the buddy system. We paired kindergartners with fifth graders.

Rating: 4.5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Fish Don’t Go to School

by Deb Pilutti (Author)

Summary: Henry wears his fish costume to school because it makes him feel safe and less anxious. Although everyone stared at him, as the day went on, Henry slowly felt more comfortable. Will he continue to wear his costume every day?

Comments: I think this would be a good book to read aloud to help those students who feel insecure at the beginning of the school year.

I remember several students dressing in Halloween costumes or like ballerinas at the beginning of the school year, and gradually shedding their fears as they got to know everyone in the classroom and the daily routine.

The illustrations were created with gouache and wax pastels on watercolor paper with a little digital painting.

Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Maybe Just Ask Me!

by Katie Mazeika (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: Mazie goes to school wearing her favorite head scarf and a pretty eye patch. Throughout the day, she hears her classmates speculating about the reasons behind her accessories. After listening to their whispers all day, she decides to confront them and share her story.

Comments: This text is based on the author’s personal story. She includes it at the back of the book, along with a list of ways to support individuals with disabilities.

The illustrations were created digitally.

Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Recess

by Lane Smith (Author)

Summary: Everyone needs a break from learning, and that is when RECESS comes in. What happens when recess is already over but we still need a break?

Comments: This is a fun interactive book featuring a call-and-response format that will have students giggling and full of energy. It makes an excellent read-aloud option for a “recess” moment when the day feels dull and a mental break is needed.

I loved how the book alternates between boring gray and then a bright color for the recess activity.

The illustrations were created with oil paints, colored pencils, cold wax, gesso, sandpaper, and digital scribbling on 24″ x24″ wood panels.

Lane Smith never disappoints me with his books. Another masterpiece!

Rating: 5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Sammy and Sunny’s First Day of School

by Nina LaCour (Author), Elizabeth Lilly (Illustrator)

Summary: Sammy and her dog, Sunny, both attend their first day of school. Sammy is dropped off at her kindergarten classroom, while Sunny goes to puppy school.

Readers see how their days parallel each other. They were both a bit nervous, but then learned the routine and made friends.

Comments: The illustrations were created with pen and ink and painted with watercolor.

Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Book cover for Sunnyside School with students, a teacher, and mom standing at the front of a school

Sunnyside School: A Community Helpers Book

by Lindsay Ward

Summary: Ali, Matty, and Mila are new to Sunnyside School. Readers walk along with the students and learn about their classrooms, the school building, and all about the volunteers and staff members.

Comments: This book provides excellent details in both the text and the illustrations. It features traditional narrative, speech bubbles, and informative text boxes. As the day progresses, the book poses questions and includes a search-and-find activity at the end. This is a fantastic community helper book and would be a valuable addition to any library or classroom.

Rating: 4.5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Trusty Bus

by Elizabeth Weiss Verdick (Author), Jeff Harter (Illustrator)

Summary: Driver Dee and Trusty, a school bus, get ready to go on their route to pick up the students for the first day of school, being mindful of safety as they go around town.

Comments: This is a darling little book for toddlers and preschoolers. The rhyming text and onomatopoeias make the book interesting and fun.

The illustrations were created digitally.

Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

You Can Sit With Me

by Rachel Tawil Kenyon (Author), Tatiana Kamshilina (Illustrator)

Summary: A young child is new to the school and unsure of the routine. A girl kindly invites the newbie to sit with her throughout the story.

Comments: This would be a superb story to read aloud to promote kindness and inclusion. I think there could be some meaningful class discussions afterwards about ways everyone can be kind to one another.

Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Goodnight School

by Catherine Bailey (Author), Cori Doerrfeld (Illustrator)

Brief summary: As School prepares to close for the night, the night guard goes through the building to ensure that all the lights are off and each room is in order. However, she discovers evidence that someone else is in the school with her. Will she be able to identify the intruder before the students arrive the next day?

Comments: This humorous mystery picture book has detailed illustrations that had me stop and look.

I love it when the pasted-down end pages are part of the story.

This would be a nice story to share at bedtime.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

On the Last Day of School

by Maggie C. Rudd (Author), Taia Morley (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Students reflect on their progress from the beginning to the end of the school year before heading home for the summer.

Comments: This could be shared as a read-aloud towards the end of the school year. It can prompt a discussion where students compare what they could do at the beginning of the school year with all the things they have learned or can now do by the end of the year.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Sammy and Sunny’s First Day of School

by Nina LaCour (Author), Elizabeth Lilly (Illustrator)

Summary: Sammy and her dog, Sunny, both attend their first day of school. Sammy is dropped off at her kindergarten classroom, while Sunny goes to puppy school.

Readers see how their days parallel each other. They were both a bit nervous, but then learned the routine and made friends.

Comments: The illustrations were created with pen and ink and painted with watercolor.

Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Kindergartners with all sorts of big heads stading around a large teacher's desk looking at a sandwich that has two olive pierce through a toothpick on top that look like eyes and bologna sticking out the side that sort of looks like a tongue

Mr. S: A First Day of School Book

by Monica Arnaldo (Author, Illustrator).

Brief summary: The kindergartners of 2B arrive on the first day of school to find a missing teacher. Their first clue is the desk has a ruler, a steaming cup of coffee, and a giant sandwich. They notice “Mr. S” has been written on the chalkboard. They wonder if their teacher could be Mr. Sandwich. They immediately create an alphabet of different sandwiches. They continue their day doing school-related activities without the supervision of an adult. Suddenly, the door opens, and a man hurries inside the classroom. Is this their teacher?

Comments: This was one of my favorite back-to-school books. Great mystery. A subplot is also going on in the window frame throughout the story. Clever. Well done. I can’t wait to read more imaginative stories like this from Monica Arnaldo.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

First day of school and there is no teacher in the classroom with students standing around the room

9 Kilometers (Stories from Latin America)

by Claudio Aguilera (Author), Gariela Lyon (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)

Brief summary: A young Chilean student begins his nine-kilometer walk to school in the darkness of dawn while counting his steps and animals he sees along the way.

Young readers will follow his journey as he goes under a barbed-wired fence, through a forest, across a river, etc., until he is FINALLY to school.

Comments: This book could spark some interesting classroom conversations. What was the longest you’ve ever walked? How much is a kilometer? Why did the boy walk so far? Why didn’t a yellow school bus take him? Was it essential for him to go to school? Dangerous?

The back of the book has brief stories of other children worldwide and how they walk to their schools. There is also a section on the birds seen during the boy’s walk.

The front pasted-down end pages have a map of the beginning of the walk, with it continuing onto the back end pages.

Rating: 4.5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Translated and printed to English in 2023.

Marker

by Anna Kang (Author), Christopher Weyant (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Red Pen welcomes the teacher supplies to getting ready for the first day of school. Pinking Shears is accepted as a new member and is placed in the superpower mug on the desk, displacing Permanent Marker to a canister. The supplies are creating back-to-school posters and lists when Marker, which is always used for the class rules poster, makes a mistake but cannot fix it, causing her anxiety as everyone will see it day after day. Will Red Pen come up with an idea to help everyone realize it’s okay to fail?

Comments: What a fun read for the beginning of the school year. Cute illustrations and a humorous storyline will help students with any first-day jitters. I’ll not be looking at the supplies on my desk ever the same.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

If you like this book, you may also enjoy Anna Kang’s Eraser, published in 2018.

And Then Comes School

by Tom Brenner (Author), Jen Hill (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Two young girls enjoy the last summer days with their friends. A list of school supplies is received. They sort through clothes that are too small, pick up back-to-school supplies, and play on the last day of summer vacation. They prepare for the first day of school by picking out an outfit, filling a backpack, and going to bed, imagining what the first day will bring.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

This is one of the series of And Then Comes by Tom Brenner. I like this series as they share little rituals before a holiday or event that young readers can understand. Nice, lyrical text.

Shy Robin and the First Day of School

by Jaime Kim (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: Robin is usually brave and energetic at home but not in public. Her mother gives her a purple headband on the first day of school to help her feel confident.

While at school, Robin notices another student who is also shy and withdrawn and is wearing purple bracelets. After temporarily losing her headband, Marco offers Robin one of his bracelets while they all look for the hair accessory.

Comments: This would be a nice back-to-school story to share with preschoolers and kindergartners to let them know that students may feel shy.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon pa ge.

We’re Going to School

by Tammi Salzano (Author), Morena Forza (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Young readers will wake up early with various kids returning to school. Once inside the school, the day begins with introductions, new routines, and friend-making.

Comments: This book would be suitable for preschool or kindergartners who have never been to school to get a general idea of what happens on the first day.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Giant-Sized Butterflies On My First Day of School

by Justin Roberts (Author), Paola Escobar (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A young girl has a nervous stomach going back to school and is reassured by her mother that everything will be okay. The mother shares a time when she had butterflies in her stomach and how she let them go.

Comments: Teachers and parents could share this book with students about the first day of school to let them know that sometimes we are nervous doing or going places for the first time.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Mina Belongs Here

by Sandra Niebuhr-Siebert (Author), Lars Baus (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Mina attends kindergarten and needs help understanding what anyone is saying or asking. Mina hugs the teddy bear and is quiet all day until she returns to her home and tells her mother about her day.

The next day of school, Mina makes a friend with a girl named Ava even though they do not speak. She returns home to tell her mother all about her day at school.

Each day, Mina learns new words and becomes more relaxed. Her dreams parallel her feelings and become more vivid and bright. This German translation from 2020 was published in the USA in 2023.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page .

A cartoon backpack hanging onto the closet door nervous about going back to school

Back to School, Backpack!

by Simon Rich (Author), Tom Toro (Illustrator)

Brief summary: A backpack going back to school has the first day jitters but soon fits in the new environment.

Comments: This would be a good book to read during the first day or week of school to help those with any nervousness. Cute and humorous.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A Smart, Smart School

by Sharon Creech (Author), Anait Semirdzhyan (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Mr. Keene, the principal of Fine Elementary School, loves his school as he strolls through the hallways watching the students drawing, painting, reading, and singing. He immediately has to leave for the hospital. Tillie, one of the students, worries about his recovery.

Mr. Tatters takes over as the principal and notices all of the get-well banners, cards, and artwork the students do for their beloved sick principal and does not like it. He insists that to be a smart, smart school, they must have tests every day that week, causing everyone to have stress and boredom. The students visit their principal at the hospital on Saturday, bringing all their get-well gifts.

Tillie talks to Mr. Keene upon his return on Monday about all the tests. He gathers everyone into an assembly and announces how they will be a smart, smart school again.

Comments: What a great book to anonymously leave on each principal’s, board member’s, and central office administrator’s desk. *wink*

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Companion book to A Fine, Fine School, written in 2001.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Safety Picture Books

May 22, 2026May 22, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Safety picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Safety Picture Books–https://amzn.to/3PUt3Ik .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Book cover of Adi of Boutanga with oxen, father and Adi riding away on a motorcycle waving good-bye to mother and sister. Orange in the background

Adi of Boutanga: A Story from Cameroon

by Alain Serge Dzotap (Author), Marc Daniau (Illustrator)

Brief summary: This story, translated from French, is a work of realistic fiction about Adi, a thirteen-year-old Mbororos girl. Adi enjoys her life, family, and school until the eldest man in her family decides she should marry. Fortunately, her father intervenes and breaks the cycle of child brides in their family by relocating Adi away from his brother.

Comments: This is a serious story suitable for fifth grade and up. I would have preferred it as a full-chapter book, but it is a picture book intended for tweens and middle school readers.

It is based on a real girl named Adi.

The backstory and more information about the culture are in the back pages. I enjoy reading stories like this, where authors write about their own cultures.

The illustrations were created with oil on paper.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a free copy of this book.

Smarty and his brain friends are waving and looking at us. Book's cover. Green with large lettering

Smarty and Friends

by Brian S Hamilton (Author)

Summary: Summary: This parent/teacher resource booklet is designed to help teach elementary students about safety topics.

Comments: It begins with a section for parents and guardians that addresses food safety, pedestrian safety, and bus safety. Following this introduction are ten short, illustrated safety stories that adults can read with children and use as discussion starters.

Some of the safety topics covered include:

🔷Food safety

🔷Pedestrian safety

🔷Bus safety

🔷Life jackets

🔷Scooter safety

🔷Motorcycle safety

🔷Cleaning product safety

🔷Window safety

🔷Furniture safety

🔷Football safety

This educational pamphlet could be helpful in classroom settings during safety lessons, as well as at home for guided conversations between adults and children.

This is the second of the Smarty the Brain Stories.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

* I was sent a free copy of this book.

Smarty the Brain Stories

by Brian S Hamilton(author), Daniel Majan(illustrator)

Brief summary: This twenty-page paperback consists of 10 short stories about two young brains–Moody and Smarty. Moody is impulsive and doesn’t understand the need for safety measures. Smarty explains and demonstrates the need for safety strategies to prevent injury to oneself or others. The safety topics covered are:

bike helmets
safety belts
baby gates
batteries
ski helmets
slides
skateboarding equipment
baseball catcher equipment
horseback helmets
snowmobile safety

Comments: This educational paperback is intended for preschoolers to learn about safety practices. The teacher or parent could read a story a day and demonstrate the wrong vs right way to do an activity. Students could then demonstrate what it is like to be a Smarty.

I’d like to see someone make this book into a mini safety film using these two young brains.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

* I was sent a free copy of this book.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Plant Picture Books

May 21, 2026May 23, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Plant picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Plant Picture Books– https://amzn.to/4nGY277 .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Afternoon on a Hill

by Edna St. Vincent Millay (Author), Paolo Domeniconi (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Edna St. Vincent Millay’s illustrated poem describes a little girl enjoying the beauty of nature around her as she frolics on the hillside, naps in the sun, and returns home at dusk.

Comments: This would make a wonderful bedtime book, bringing young readers happy dreams of walking in awe along a hill.

This also could be an elementary supplement for spring or earth day units of study.

It should be noted that the picture book is 16 pages long, half the length of most picture books. The hardback version came out in 2019, but the paperback was released this year.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Avocado Magic

by Taltal Levi (Author)

Summary: Ellie celebrates her birthday and is upset that her feet still do not reach the floor when she sits at the kitchen table. Her father shows her how to suspend an avocado seed with toothpicks into a glass of water.

He parallels Ellie’s slow growth to that of the seed, emphasizing that both need patience. Slowly the seed sprouts. It gradually develops into an avocado plant and grows alongside Ellie until it’s time both move out of the house.

When Ellie marries and has children, she brings the tree with her to plant in her own yard.

Comments: The metaphor for growth is absolutely beautiful!

The back section has instructions on how to sprout your own avocado.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A young girl with a short orange ponytail and pink headband with white polka dots is holding a plant with her yellow dog placing its paw on the plant

Love Grows

by Ruth Spiro (Author), Lucy Ruth Cummins (Illustrator)

Summary: A young girl’s auntie sends her a plant per month with a tag of information about the plant. By the end of the year, the girl has a plant garden.

Comments: The front and back-pasted end pages outline the twelve plants with the Latin name, origins, and light preference.

This story is done in rhyme. The illustrations are gouache, colored pencil, and crayon.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A tree's leaves with various sets of eyes looking at us from the background

The Tree That Was a World

by Yorick Goldewijk (Author), Jeska Verstegen (Illustrator), Laura Watkinson (Translator)

Summary: This is a collection of whimsical and clever short stories, each about a creature living in or near an ancient tree, and how they are all interwoven. We learn about their thoughts and their actions.

Comments: I think these short stories are more for intermediate elementary students, as they are best suited to understand the humor and philosophy of the creatures.

This is an excellent book to use for examples of different viewpoints, perspectives, and anthropomorphism.

This book was originally published in the Netherlands in 2024 and translated into English in 2025.

The illustrations were created with mixed media. There is at least one illustration in each story.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a free copy of this book.

City Beet

by Tziporah Cohen (Author), Udayana Lugo (Illustrator).

Summary: Mrs. Kosta and Victoria plant and nurture a beet seed until it ripens. The woman begins to harvest the gigantic beet but cannot remove it from the ground, no matter how hard she tugs. Several neighbors stop by the garden to help pull, creating a line out to the sidewalk until the vegetable is uprooted with a big “SPROING!!”

Comments: There is an Author’s Note and Raw Beet & Garlic Salad Recipe in the back.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

For more details or to buy, click here.

Picture book cover of Cool Green with a grandfather carrying his granddaughter on his shoulder while walking in a forest

Cool Green: Amazing, Remarkable Trees

by Lulu Delacre (Author, Illustrator).

Brief summary: A landscaper teaches his granddaughter why he loves trees. Each tree is described in a poem.

Back pages include sections: A Note From the Author-Illustrator, Why Trees?, Cool Facts About the Trees in This Book, For Further Exploration, and A Bibliography.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

For more details or to buy, click here.

Book cover of A Dandelion with dandelion plants at various stages of the flower. A sun and moon are at the top of the cover with a blue background.

n are in the sky

A Dandelion (A Day in the Life Of)

by Ruth Owen (Author)

Summary: This narrative nonfiction picture book explains the life cycle of a dandelion from being a yellow flower to when it changes into seeds. The wind carries them to another location where they start over.

Comments: This is a smaller picture book about 8″ x 8.”

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

The Weedflower

by Elizabeth Davaze (Author), Marianne Ferrer (Illustrator)

Summary: Sam notices a dandelion during recess and through her care and appreciation of it, several other students notice it as well. They nuture it, but soon find out that not everyone sees it as a beautiful flower.

Comments: This would make a nice read-aloud and discussion of nature all around us in our everyday lives.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Book cover to Doe's Dandelions with a doe carrying a basket full of dandelions while on the green grass full of dandelions and daffodils

Doe’s Dandelions (Woodland Friends)

by Laura Renauld (Author), Jennie Poh (Illustrator)

Summary: In this Woodland Friends series, Doe is growing daffodils for the Spring Pedal Parade but keeps coming across annoying dandelion “weeds.” She soon learns from her friends how much joy and use they are to them.

Comments: This is a wonderful tribute to the benefit of some of the plants that are called weeds. Students can learn that all plants have value.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Don’t Touch that Flower!

by Alice Hemming (Author), Nicola Slater (Illustrator)

Summary: Squirrel wakes from spring to find a new flower growing. He decides to protect it by not allowing any water to get on it, from bees landing on the petals, and even, putting it under a bucket.

Bird educates Squirrel about his good intentions are harming the flower instead.

Comments: This is a humorous read-aloud that opens a discussion of what plants need to thrive.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A Flower is a Friend

by Frieda Wishinsky (Author), Karen Patkau (Illustrator)

Summary: An animal/creature is paired with a flower in the garden, and readers are asked why they coexist so well. Answers are in the book of how they benefit each other.

Comments: This is an excellent resource for introducing the concept of symbiosis. The illustrations made it clear and concrete.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Cover for Log Life which has a fir tree growing from a nurse log. A mouse, snails, beetles, mushrooms are on the fallen log.

Log Life (Tiny Habitats)

by Amy Hevron (Author, Illustrator)

Brief summary: This book is a narrative nonfiction that educates young readers about the life cycle of a giant fir tree that falls to the ground and transforms into a nurse log. As the log slowly decays in the forest, it becomes a source of nourishment for fungi, plants, insects, animals, and birds throughout the first year until it completely decomposes many decades later.

Comments: I had never heard of the term “nurse log” before and found it fascinating to learn about what happens to a fallen tree.

The illustrations were created using acrylic, marker, and pencil on Bristol board and then digitally collaged.

The back sections are More About Nurse-Log Habitats, Selected Sources, and Additional Reading.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Poetry picture book cover of Trees with a child sitting on a branch of a tree looking into a lake

Trees: Haiku from Roots to Leaves

by Sally M. Walker (Author), Angela Mckay (Illustrator).

Brief summary: This is a collection of haikus about a tree’s life cycle and the changes of every season. There are many two-paged illustrations.

The back pages have information about a tree’s life, including wild and urban forests. There is also an author’s note and a glossary.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

For more details, click on this book’s Amazon page.

Willow

by Elisabeth Sophia (Author), Anita Bagdi (Illustrator)

Summary: This anthropomorphic story is about a tree creature standing by a lake going through all of the seasons with the insects and birds that consider her their home. A severe storm breaks her limbs and her soul. A flock of yellow birds helps rebuild her.

Comments: This is such a beautiful metaphor of grief and resilience. Teachers could ask how it feels when a storm comes into their lives. This would be a great book for SEL, exploring the healing process. I think it could also be shared as a way to explain how community (yellow birds) can help heal.

Rating: 4.5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Orchards (Trip to the Farm)

by Ursula Pang (Author)

Brief summary: There are many orchards (farms where trees grow)producing fruit, nuts, seeds, syrup, and Christmas trees. Young readers will learn about each type of orchard.

Comments: I placed this book in the fall section as when I think of orchards, I think of apple or fruit orchards because those are the ones in my area that are harvested in the fall. I also had those teachers book requests for fall units before they went and visited a nearby apple orchard.

I enjoyed reading and learning about the different types of orchards and when they were harvested.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The Tree and the River

by Aaron Becker (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: This wordless picture book begins with a tree growing on the banks of a river. It observes humans throughout the many decades changing with the seasons and years that have gone by.

Comments: Aaron Becker brilliantly captures the Mother Nature vs. humankind aspect through these detailed and thought-provoking illustrations.

This book can be used as a writing exercise of the perspective of the river during a specific time or over a time as it changes.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

See a Pumpkin Grow (See It Grow!)

by Kirsten Chang (Author)

Brief summary: Young readers will learn the pumpkin’s life cycle and what uses there are with this fruit.

Comments: Words and photos are large, with many nonfiction text features. The back sections are Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.

This book also comes in library binding.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

This is part of the See It Grow! series.

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Molly is looking through the leafy vines at a large pumpkin. Bee is flying around

The Pie That Molly Grew

by Sue Heavenrich (Author), Chamisa Kellogg (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Molly plants a pumpkin seed and transplants the sprout to watch it grow into a vine with yellow flowers. After all of the care she has given to produce the ripened pumpkin, Molly bakes a pie.

Comments: Cumulative story of the pumpkin’s life cycle.

The back pages have four additional informative sections: American Pie, How to Turn a Pumpkin Into Pie, When You’re Ready to Make the Pie…, and No Bees.No Pie.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Zoo animals sitting on a gigantic pumpkin

Pumpkin Day at the Zoo

by Susan Meissner (Author), Pablo Pino (Illustrator)

Brief summary: It’s Pumpkin Day at the zoo when the zoo animals receive yummy pumpkins to eat from families who donate their uncarved and unpainted pumpkins.

Comments: The illustrations are vivid and humorous. The text is a mix of fonts and sizes that are fun to say aloud with many descriptive adjectives, alliterations, and all in rhyming sentences.

The back page does have a word about pumpkin donations to zoos.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A little old lady is picking up a pumpkin with a black bird and black dog next to her.

There Was an Old Lady Who Picked a Pumpkin!

by Lucille Colandro (Author), Jared Lee (Illustrator)

Brief summary: There was an old lady who went on the school bus to a farm looking for a pumpkin patch. She and the students follow the sign and see many farm items before finding the patch. Each child picks out a pumpkin and hops back onto the bus.

Comments: This is a fun fall early reader in rhyme. The book is not the usual cumulative “There was an old lady” who eats something book.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

One Day This Tree Will Fall

by Leslie Barnard Booth (Author), Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator)

Comments: The illustrations were created using gouache, colored pencil, and Photoshop.

The back sections are A Tree’s Story Never Ends, Trees and People, Glossary, and Selected Sources. 0

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Insect Picture Books

May 18, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Insect picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Insect Picture Books– https://amzn.to/3RfLIPc .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Log Life (Tiny Habitats)

by Amy Hevron (Author, Illustrator)

Comments: I had never heard of the term “nurse log” before and found it fascinating to learn about what happens to a fallen tree.

The illustrations were created using acrylic, marker, and pencil on Bristol board and then digitally collaged.

The back sections are More About Nurse-Log Habitats, Selected Sources, and Additional Reading.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The Monarch insect is on the milkweed. A field of bright flowers with the butterfly at different stages.

Milkweed for Monarchs

by Christine Van Zandt (Author), Alejandra Barajas (Illustrator)

Brief summary: There are two types of text teaching readers about monarch butterflies. There is a lyrical, rhyming text and informative text boxes on each page.

Monarchs migrate back north after it warms to lay eggs on milkweed plants. We learn the stages of the butterfly from egg to adult.

Comments: The back sections include the Author’s Note, Monarchs Need Our Help, How You Can Help, Fun Facts, The Senses, and Selected Bibliography.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants

by Philip Bunting (Author)

Brief summary: The ant’s life cycle and fun facts are explained in this nonfiction book for kids. Each ant has a role in the colony.

Comments: Nonfiction texts often include helpful features that aid in understanding the information presented. These features may include charts, diagrams, captions, and labels.

I really enjoyed the puns and humorous language used in the text.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Butterfly on the Wind

by Adam Pottle (Author), Ziyue Chen (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Aurora is feeling nervous the day before her talent show. Sitting in her family’s garden, she practices hand-signing for the play she wrote. While she’s rehearsing, a butterfly lands on a flower and Aurora signs “butterfly,” creating a small wind. This little wind continues to other children around the world, who all start signing “butterfly” too, and the wind grows stronger. Will this wind help Aurora on the day of her talent show?

Comments: An Author’s Note and an ASL chart are in the back.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page .

A blond hair girl with glasses is looking at various insect species while outside in the garden.

The Girl Who Loves Bugs

by Lily Murray (Author), Jenny Løvlie (Illustrator)

Summary: Evie loves picking up insect species and other creepy crawlies. She enjoys looking at them with her magnifying glass and putting them in her pockets. Her family does not share her passion and tells her to leave them, as it’s time to go home.

Evie decides to take them inside and place them in her room.

Her extended family comes to visit the next day. What could possibly go wrong?

Comments: The illustrations are digital. The back pages share ideas for helping bugs and a brief biological sketch of Evelyn Cheesman, an entomologist who inspired the book.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The Bumblebee Garden

by Dawn Casey (Author), Stella Lim (Illustrator)

Summary: Ben and his grandpa spot a bumblebee in the garden. Grandpa educates his grandson about the bumblebee’s life cycle, explaining its activities in each season as the book unfolds.

Comments: There is a back section titled The Life Cycle of a Queen Bumblebee.

The illustrations were handcrafted using watercolor and colored pencils, finishing with digital methods.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Immigration Picture Books

May 18, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Immigration picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Immigration Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/1QY1XULXXMBVE?ref_=aipsflist.)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

A daughter, mother, and grandmother are talking with one another

My Mother’s Tongues: A Weaving of Languages

by Uma Menon (Author), Rahele Jomepour Bell (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Sumi’s mother speaks two tongues–Malayalam and English. The little girl notices how her mother is able to go back and forth between the two languages but only has one tongue in her head. Sumi has learned both languages and uses them at different times in her daily routine and when her family go to visit relatives in Kerala, India.

She learns that some people have several tongues and can communicate with more people. This inspires her to learn more languages.

Comments: These lovely illustrations were created using mixed media.

This book would be a wonderful classroom share with students to teach how having multiple languages is an advantage.

It should be noted that this picture book was created by a sixteen-year-old who I hope to see more books from in the future.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Home Is a Wish

by Julia Kuo (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: A young girl, her mother, and Amah leave their home for a new one in a different country where everything feels unfamiliar. Over time, they work together to create a new home.

Comments: A gentle book about immigration that would be a wonderful read aloud.

The illustrations were created using Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom tablet.

Rating: 4.5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Thread by Thread

by Alice Brière-Haquet (Author), Michela Eccli (Illustrator), Sarah Ardizzone (Translator)

Brief summary: A family of mice have their knitted home come apart when more and more yarn unravels. They run away from a fire breathing dragon and go across the water in a knitted red boat to a land where they slowly knit their house back together with the help of other animals using different colored threads until they make a new safe home.

Comments: A wonderful allegory to teach elementary students about refugees and escaping to a new land that is safe.

This story was originally published din France in 2023 and translated to English in 2025.

The illustrations were created with drawing, photography, and yarn.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a free copy of this book.

A Star Shines Through

by Anna Desnitskaya (Author)

Brief summary: At the beginning of a war, a young girl and her mother flee their country. They settle in a new land with an unfamiliar language and cuisine. Amidst their new surroundings, the girl constructs a cardboard lamp, which she places in the window. It is reminiscent of the one from their previous home, establishing a connection between her past and present.

Comments:

I think this book would comfort those ESL students who realize what they have like the star lamp in the story that makes their new home feel a little bit like their old home.

The Author’s Note recounts her family’s necessity to emigrate due to the war in their home country, Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine.

The illustrations were created with hand-drawn contours and Photoshop.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I was sent a complimentary copy of this book.

Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States

by Rajani LaRocca (Author), Huy Voun Lee (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Some people are U.S. citizens by birth, while others arrive from different countries and choose to become naturalized citizens. This picture book offers a meaningful way to introduce the many paths to citizenship and the personal stories behind why people choose to become Americans.

Comments: The illustrations are created with paper samples and Procreate.

The author’s note in the back shares about the author’s own immigration from India and becoming a naturalized citizen.

On a personal note: My mother is an immigrant, and I still remember her carefully reading her workbook, studying for the citizenship test. I watched with pride as she raised her hand to take the Oath of Allegiance, standing alongside others in a naturalization ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus.

This book could be shelved in the picture books or in the nonfiction section of 304.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a free copy of this book.

Home in a Lunchbox

by Cherry Mo (author and illustrator)

Brief summary: Jun moves from Hong Kong to America and only knows four English words on her first day of school: hello, thank you, I don’t know, and toilet. As the week progresses, she has many frustrations as she learns a new routine, language, and group of people, but lunchtime is when she feels the love of home that helps her to persist.

Comments: This book is a great resource for helping students understand the experiences of new students from other countries. It includes a heartwarming story about students bonding over their favorite foods at lunch, which helps them form deeper connections. This book is particularly valuable for ESL teachers and school counselors to share with new students at school. There are not many words and the story is mainly told with large, colorful illustrations.

I could not find anywhere on the book or her website saying how the illustrations were created for this picture book. The back sections explain Jun’s words on her hand and the food in her lunchbox.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Grandparent picture book of a grandson standing with his grandfather behind him

At the Drop of a Cat

by Élise Fontenaille (Author), Violeta Lópiz (Illustrator), Karin Snelson (Translator), Emilie Robert Wong (Translator).

Summary: A grandson visits his Grandpa Luis every Wednesday and Sunday. His grandpa is not only a talented artist but can make anything grow, creating the beautiful garden where they spend their days. The six-year-old is learning to read and write and tells us that his Grandpa does not know how as he was an immigrant from Spain to France who had to work in the fields as a child.

Comments: This is a French translation and captures the two kindred spirits. I like the mixed-up idioms and how the grandson narrates how he is getting to know Grandpa Luis.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

For more details or to buy, click here (in ENGLISH).

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Humorous Picture Books

May 18, 2026May 25, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Humorous picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Humorous Picture Books–https://amzn.to/3PmGel7 .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

That’s Not Funny, David!

by David Shannon (Author, Illustrator)

Summary: David is a comedian who tries to make everyone laugh, but he discovers that not all of his antics are funny to everyone. Ultimately, he still has his mother’s unconditional love.

Comments: He’s back! I missed David. I’d recognize that giant head and triangular teeth anywhere. Children identify with the antics of this little boy and laugh out loud.

A must for every library.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Pepper and Me

by Beatrice Alemagna (Author)

Brief summary: A young girl falls on a cobblestone and ends up getting a bloody knee. Her father gives her first aid, telling her she will have a beautiful scab.

It is NOT beautiful.

She asks her mother when it will go away. The woman answers, “In a few days.”

But it does not.

Thinking it will never leave, she calls it “Pepper”.

Days pass until one day, the scab falls off.

What will she do with it? ??

Comments: This would make a hilarious read-aloud that all kids could relate to and share stories about their scabs.

The illustrations used are gouache, oil, collage, and wax pencils.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A bird with a chef's hat and spatula in hand is barbecuing hamburgers on a grill laughing. He has an apron on with #1 Dad on it.

Dad Jokes: The Cheesiest, Corniest Joke Book Ever!

by Highlights (Creator)

Summary: This nonfiction collection of 900+ Dad jokes includes a table of contents and funny illustrations.

Comments: This is a collection of riddles, jokes, and knock-knock jokes, especially for kids.

These jokes would work so well with students throughout the day to foster humor, homophones, and figurative language.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A penguin standing in the snow with a toy on his backside; cover of Have You Ween Mikki Olsen?

Have You Seen Mikki Olsen?

by Alex Macdonald (Author)

Brief summary: Penguin loves his teddy, Mikki Olsen, and does everything together, including chores. After chopping wood, he goes straight to bed, only noticing that Mikki Olsen is missing the following day.

Penguin looks all through the house and outside in the snow, retracing his steps from yesterday. Will he ever find his beloved teddy?

Comments: This is a cute and humorous story that young readers can relate to when losing a precious plush or toy.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Friendship Picture Books

May 11, 2026May 24, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Friendship picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Friendship Picture Books– https://amzn.to/3PCSYnH .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Echo

by Adam Rex (Author)

Summary: Junior Junior grew up on the side of a mountain and made friends with the echo. He loved that they agreed on everything he said. One day, a girl on the mountain across from him told him to stop shouting. She did not agree with everything he said. Junior Junior decides to run away to the valley to meet the echo and decides he doesn’t like someone who agrees with everything he says. Will he be friends with the girl on the hill even when she points out that he can be wrong at times?

Comments: I loved the humor in this book!

Great read aloud to emphasize manners, emotions, and how to agree to disagree.

The illustrations were created digitally in Procreate and Photoshop.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Evergreen

by Matthew Cordell (Author)

Brief summary: Evergreen, an anxious squirrel, lives in Buckthorn Forrest with her mother who has asked her to take soup to a sick Granny Oak who lives on the other side of the forest. Although frightened, Evergreen leaves the tree and heads towards Granny Oak’s, encountering several forest animals along the way.

Comments: This picture book is divided into a new chapter for each animal Evergreen meets. The illustrations are done with a 005 Micron Pen and painted with watercolors.

Students will be in suspense with each forest animal encounter wondering if the squirrel will be eaten.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗 1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Like You, Like Me

by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw (Author)

Summary: Tulsi lives in America, and Vanessa lives in Tanzania. The girls become pen pals and learn about what is different and alike in their cultures.

They learn that even though they are continents apart there are things they both share. They have brothers, enjoy music, have pets, and like Nature.

The things that are different are also shared and help to bring on friendship across the globe.

Comments: The phrase “Like You, Like Me” is throughout the book to emphasis what they have alike even if sometimes it’s a bit different.

The illustrations were made with painted papers and oil sticks.

I would share this book before a pen pal project or for making a Venn Diagram of their likes and differences.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

The Quiet One

by Yiting Lee (Author)

Summary: Milly is an introvert and tends to be quiet in class. With Show and Tell approaching Friday, she is feeling anxious about it. At home, she has a special place where she enjoys tinkering and has created a robot named Arnold. Her new friend goes to school with Milly and helps her share her passion with the class.

Comments: This book is great for reading aloud. It could help kids learn about quiet individuals who enjoy sharing their interests. It also shows shy people that it’s okay to be themselves.

The illustrations were created using watercolors.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

*I received a free copy of this book.

Revony Rhinoceros is a baby rhino holding up a smiling and frowning signs. There is a lake with hills behind.

Revony Rhinoceros Starts to Smile: A Lesson in Body Language

by Patricia Bardina (Author), Joanne Burgess (Author), Paul Sharp (Illustrator)

Summary: Revony Rhinoceros is at Bixby Baboon’s birthday party. The little rhino sits sulking and frowning by a tree, unsure how to play with the other invited guests. After the party, Revony’s mother discusses body language with her child. She explains that understanding friendly and unfriendly body language can help make friends. They then walk around the park, observing the other animals and how their body language reflects their feelings.

Revony Rhinoceros feels confident and uses friendly body language to make new friends at the park.

Comments: This book could be an introduction for school counselors, PreK, or K teachers to read aloud to explain nonverbal communication skills/body language and how that could impact friend-making.

This book was published in 2018, but it remains relevant today.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page

*I was sent a free copy of this book.

Three kangaroos dress in taekwondo uniforms have rescued a joey. They are standing with the sky above them and the field below. Cover of Rescue at Rattling Ridge

The Taekwonderoos: Rescue at Rattling Ridge

by Michael Panzner (Author), Lora Look (Illustrator)

Summary: Three gray Australian kangaroos were practicing taekwondo kicks in the desert when they heard a joey trapped on a cliff in the distance. They come together and cross the dangerous terrain to rescue the baby kangaroo.

Once they got to the top of the cliff, they had to figure out how to get back down using their skills and teamwork.

Comments: This picture book is illustrated with bright and bold colors of the desert.

The kangaroos did have on taekwondo uniforms–white shirts with black sashes.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page .

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Food Picture Books

May 10, 2026May 23, 2026 The Retired School Librarian1 Comment

Food picture picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook

by Emma Bland Smith (Author), Susan Reagan (Illustrator)

Summary: In the late 1800s, Fannie Farmer developed a passion for cooking. Despite contracting polio at the age of sixteen, she enrolled in the Boston Cooking School, where she excelled and eventually became the principal. Fannie’s teaching focused on precise measurements and exact cooking methods, ensuring success for home cooks.

She rewrote the school’s cookbook with precision, which became incredibly popular. Fannie also gave lectures nationwide and even taught at Harvard Medical School.

The back sections contain photos and additional information about Fannie and the Boston Cooking School and how Ms. Farmer really improved cooking through precise and detailed recipes.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

How Do You Eat Color?

by Mabi David (Author), Yas Doctor (Illustrator), Karen Llagas (Translator)

Summary: A boy and girl spend a day exploring and tasting various fruits and vegetables, grouped by color.

Comments: This is translated from Filipino.

The illustrations were created using oil on paper.

The back sections are A Rainbow of Colors(which highlights food from different colors, explaining how they benefit the body, and ways to eat them), Why Should We Eat A Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables?, and How Families Can Eat More Colors Together.

This book could supplement an elementary-level food or color unit.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Cover of India on a Plate with a plate of food with various Indian food. One a table with a child peeking over it

India on a Plate!: Indian Food from A to Z

by Archana Sreenivasan (Author)

Summary: Young readers will enjoy seeing and learning foods of India in this brightly illustrated ABC board book.

Comments: Each letter has a fun rhyming three-lined verse describing the food.

There is a pronunciation guide after each food.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

A and B foods with a grandmother and grandson sharing achaar and a father and daughter sharing a plate of biryani.

Jollof Day

by Bernard Mensah (Author), Annalise Barber-Opp (Illustrator)

Summary: A young boy and his dad wake up before the rest of the family on Jollof Day to prepare a special stew. They joyfully chop the ingredients and let the stew simmer. When the rest of the family wakes up, everyone sits down together for the special meal.

Comments: The recipe for the jollof rice dish is in the back of the book.

The bright and dynamic illustrations were created using watercolor paints, gouache, colored pencils, and digital edits in Photoshop.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Flower Picture Books

May 7, 2026May 21, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Flower picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Flower Picture Books– https://amzn.to/49yyhQq .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

A Dandelion (A Day in the Life Of)

by Ruth Owen (Author)

Comments: This is a smaller picture book about 8″ x 8.”

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

The Weedflower

by Elizabeth Davaze (Author), Marianne Ferrer (Illustrator)

Comments: This would make a nice read-aloud and discussion of nature all around us in our everyday lives.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Doe’s Dandelions (Woodland Friends)

by Laura Renauld (Author), Jennie Poh (Illustrator)

Comments: This is a wonderful tribute to the benefit of some of the plants that are called weeds. Students can learn that all plants have value.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Don’t Touch that Flower!

by Alice Hemming (Author), Nicola Slater (Illustrator)

Bird educates Squirrel about his good intentions are harming the flower instead.

Comments: This is a humorous read-aloud that opens a discussion of what plants need to thrive.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

A Flower is a Friend

by Frieda Wishinsky (Author), Karen Patkau (Illustrator)

Summary: An animal/creature is paired with a flower in the garden, and readers are asked why they coexist so well. Answers are in the book of how they benefit each other.

Comments: This is an excellent resource for introducing the concept of symbiosis. The illustrations made it clear and concrete.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Earth Day Picture Books

March 28, 2026May 23, 2026 The Retired School LibrarianLeave a comment

Earth picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.

(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Earth Day Picture Books– https://amzn.to/4lz4b4n .)

❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗

Cover of the picture book The Day the River Caught Fire with three children looking at the river on fire

The Day the River Caught Fire: How the Cuyahoga River Exploded and Ignited the Earth Day Movement

by Barry Wittenstein (Author), Jessie Hartland (Illustrator)

Summary: In the summer of 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire when sparks from a passing train ignited the debris in the water. It was not the first time the river caught on fire.

Comments: Young readers will learn about how the river became so polluted and what happened to change the pollution from worsening.

The narrative nonfiction story continues to reveal how polluted rivers across the country sparked widespread protests and ultimately led to the creation of the first Earth Day.

Back pages include sections: Author’s Note, Environmental Time Line, Clean Water Act, To Learn More, and a Bibliography.

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

The picture book cover of Black Beach with Sam holding a picket sign saying "Save our planet." Marine animal life are with her while the oil rig is spilling oil onto the water

Black Beach: A Community, an Oil Spill, and the Origin of Earth Day

by Shaunna & John Stith (Author), Maribel Lechuga (Illustrator)

Summary: While in class in Santa Barbara, Sam notices her teacher’s concern after a quiet exchange with the principal, leaving her uneasy. At home, her parents explain that Union Oil has caused a spill nearby. When the family visits their favorite beach, they find it covered in black oil. The community comes together to clean the shoreline and rescue affected animals

Comments: This narrative nonfiction title connects a specific historical event to the origin of the national Earth Day holiday which was held on April 22, 1970.

There are several sections in the back of the book: Author’s Note, Selected Bibliography, Timeline, Earth Day Today, Earth Day Every Day, and How to Become an Environmental Activist.

Teachers and homeschooling parents could share this book as a supplement in addition with Earth Day activities.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

For more details or to buy, click here.

A boy and girl are under a tree with squirrels and birds and butterflies around them as they stand on grass an d flowers.

Happy Earth Day! (My Little Golden Book About…)

by Deborah Hopkinson (Author), Jennifer Zivoin (Illustrator)

Summary: In this narrative nonfiction, young readers learn about the history of Earth Day, what the holiday is, and why it is important.

Comments: This book discusses environmental conservation with facts and resolutions done in a sensitive and gentle way for children. The back matter includes ways to help the Earth.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

The Night Before Earth Day

by Natasha Wing (Author), Amy Wummer (Illustrator)

Summary: The diverse neighbors work together to make a better earth by creating a community garden, planting trees, and recycling, to name a few activities.

Comments: This rhyming style is in the classic Christmas poem. This book would make a great introduction supplement to Earth Day or environment units of study. Emphasis is on how people work as a team to take care of the planet.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.

Cover for Dino Earth Day with various dinosaurs in bright colors picking up trash in a park and recycling

Dino-Earth Day (Dino-Holidays)

by Lisa Wheeler (Author), Barry Gott (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Dinosaurs come together on Earth Day to help clean up the park, plant a garden, recycle, and do other things to help the planet.

Comments: This rhyming book with bright colorful illustrations is perfect for young dinosaur lovers .

Lisa Wheeler does school visits. When I was teaching, we had her as our guest author, and the students and teachers loved her presentation.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Four crayons holding hands while standing on top of the Earth

The Crayons Love Our Planet

by Drew Daywalt (Author), Oliver Jeffers (Illustrator)

Brief summary: The crayons celebrate the different parts of the Earth they make. Each one is proud of what is drawn, especially Beige, who keeps trying to add wheat to every scene.

Comments: This is a small hardcover book (about 6″ x 7″) which would be a nice book in the little hands of toddlers or preschoolers that gently teaches about the beauty of Earth.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

My Friend Earth

by Patricia MacLachlan (Author), Frenci Sanna (Illustrator)

Brief summary: This book is a personification of Earth as a young girl who follows the changing seasons of the world as she tends to all of the animals, causing rain and snow, and tending the plants.

Comments: This is such a wonderful book to read and explore. It is interactive with die-cut pages that layer over one another to show different parts of the ecosystem. There are flaps and curved pages. The cover is raised so that one can touch the outlines of the illustration. The poetic text of Patricia MacLachlan beautifully ties it all together.

The illustrations were created in pencil, ink, and digital painting.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Earth Day: Ready-to-Read Level 1 (Robin Hill School)

by Margaret McNamara (Author), Mike Gordon (Illustrator)

Brief summary: The first grade students in Mrs. Connor’s class are thinking of big ways to save the planet for Earth Day but Emma feels overwhelmed and is concerned that her everyday contributions may not be enough. Her father and Mrs. Connor help Emma understand that small, daily actions can have big results for the Earth.

Comments: This beginning reader book helps to examine the topic of environment issues gently and focuses on empowering kids by teaching them small actions they can do.

Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day: A Springtime Book For Kids (I Can Read Level 1)

by Jane O’Connor (Author), Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)

Brief summary: Fancy Nancy learns about being green at school and decides to try what she learned at home, not realizing that she is overstepping. She learns that not being so rigid all of the time is helpful.

Comments: This beginning reader is in classic Fancy Nancy humor and fancy vocabulary words. The back matter includes the new words and also some catchy slogans such as “Less than a mile? Then bike in style.”

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.

Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.

Behind My Doors: The Story of the World’s Oldest Library

The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook

Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World

Gifts from Georgia’s Garden: How Georgia O’Keeffe Nourished Her Art

A Grand Idea: How William J. Wilgus Created Grand Central Terminal

Everybody’s Book: The Story of the Sarajevo Haggadah

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

The Wolf Effect: A Wilderness Revival Story (A Voice of the Wilderness Picture Book)

One Day This Tree Will Fall

Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons

Rise to the Sky: How the World’s Tallest Trees Grow Up

Special Delivery: A Book’s Journey Around the World

Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius: A True Story About an Amazing Swimmer

Poop for Breakfast: Why Some Animals Eat It

Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider

The Forest Keeper– The True Story of Jadav Payeng

Nobody Likes Frogs: A Book of Toadally Fun Facts

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

A Fish Like Me

Swimming Season

Serafina Makes Waves

Ripples

Judgy Bunny and the Terrible Beach

Big Family Beach Day

Dawn Patrol: A Father and Daughter Surfing Story

Everybelly

Just One Wave

My Dear Sea

Our Lake

Our Pool

When You Can Swim

A Dive Into the Blue

Waiting on Mr. Sloth

Facing Your Fear of Water (Facing Your Fears)

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Baller Ina

Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World

Ride Beside Me

The Queen of Chess: How Judit Polgár Changed the Game

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Winter Is Wonderful

Just Us

The Voice in the Hollow

I’m Going to Build a Snowman

The Snow Man: A True Story

On a Flake-Flying Day: Watching Winter’s Wonders

Just SNOW Already!

Wonder & Awe

The Christmas Snow Globe

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

My Powerful Hair

Harriet’s Reflections

Clara’s Big Discovery

Buffalo Fluffalo

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Will the Pigeon Graduate?

Big Kids

Fish Don’t Go to School

Maybe Just Ask Me!

Recess

Sammy and Sunny’s First Day of School

Sunnyside School: A Community Helpers Book

Trusty Bus

You Can Sit With Me

Goodnight School