Book Finder

A girl and her family visit their little blue cottage by the bay every summer as she grows. Lyrical language and gentle illustrations expressively depict time passing until the girl, now grown, returns with her own family, implicitly diverse and intergenerational.

Apis Mellifera, the worker honeybee, does a lot during its short life. Poetic language and highly detailed illustrations provide an up-close look at the bee, its hive, and expansive travels, cleverly seen in a double gatefold. Backmatter and further reading conclude this stunning book.

A father gently awakens his child to begin their day outdoors. As they leave home, the scenery changes, becoming more tranquil and natural where they begin their hike. At the end of the day, they head home. The joy of an outdoor afternoon and the pleasure of an outing with dad are elegantly conveyed with few words. 

From the window in his favela, the narrator shares what he sees: neighbors working, playing, the changing weather, and more. Based on the author’s experience growing up in Brazil, everyday experiences are illustrated in a colorful, naïve, folk style. 

It’s dark in the lighthouse home; everything is quiet, until it is not! Everyone in the large, extended family gets into the silliness — even the dog — until everyone falls asleep. Lively rhythmic language combines with energetic illustrations for a fun book to read and share.

The wind sweeps away the umbrella that elephant uses to shelter himself and other small animals from rain. The same wind carries the umbrella away from other animals until it winds up back where it started. Engaging illustrations and simple narration create a folktale-like story.

Twins Erin and Ellis are good at many things, especially looking for trouble. They look everywhere and finally find their cat, Trouble! The surprise ending creates a minor mystery as the children creatively search for Trouble through simple illustrations and a straightforward text.

Very Big Crab reassures Little Crab when they leave their tiny tidal pool for the large sea. Few details are needed as illustrations swirl expressively across pages as the pair makes their way to the joys that they find in the ocean.

Everyone has seen a housefly and many other familiar insects in this collection of short, lighthearted poems. Illustrations are humorous, adding verve and humor to the poems.

A small white dog and his human dad move in with a cat and a large dog and their human mom. Though the transition is tough, they make it — until a “Waaah!” joins the family. Understated, comical, and relatable, this experience is presented with expressive illustration and limited language.

Travel the world through the lens of a photographer while exploring basic concepts. Interesting enhancements to some images create an unusual, sophisticated way of seeing opposites.

Black cat. White cat. One is stretching out, and the other is crouching. When both perch in a window, one tail is straight, the other one curly. With a mouse to entertain them, variously lost and found, they move through the day, until one cat is awake and the other asleep. The pure color and simple shapes of the stylized illustrations reveal an elegant use of negative and positive space.

Two dogs on a trike turn into three dogs on a scooter until they get to 10 on yet another vehicle then back again to one. Is the tenth dog really a canine or could it be the feline who goes off on a trike? Animated illustrations and a rhyming narrative make a memorable counting adventure.

With a spin of a sturdy wheel, familiar words in different languages appear in a die-cut window atop each photograph. Babies and older people say “hello” and “goodbye” with 18 other commonplace words in-between.

A red crab hides in order to surprise the blue fish, green sea turtle, and other colorful unsuspecting sea creatures until something bigger comes along. The rhyming text and bright illustrations are sure to inform and delight young readers.

Animals can be found in forests, under the sea, and even on a safari. But in this sturdy book, one has to lift a flap — maybe two — to find them.

How do you feel when you see red? Does pink make you feel differently? Explore feelings with colorful animals in rhyming text and simple illustrations, easy to find with color-coded felt tabs.

Can you find the monkey hiding in the grocery store? Join shoppers as they find and hide the small animal in this sturdy, interactive jaunt to the store. 

Hattie, a small rabbit, is a magician with many tricks in her hat. With an “Abracadabra, katakurico” an amazing array of animals emerge from it. Simple illustrations and repeating language make this a magical book to share.

Harris is a “very small hare with very big feet.” His grandfather helps him realize that those big, strong feet will carry Harris around the world and back. Elegant illustrations use different perspectives to show the distance the younger and older hares travel as Harris gains confidence.

Lush, textured illustrations introduce animals on tall, sturdy pages. When flaps are opened, the illustrations expand and a bit of factual information is presented for a unique way to present fascinating creatures. Also by Jenkins: Sea Creatures Swim (opens in a new window).

This picture book explains the concept of choosing, individually, and as a group, from making a simple choice: “Which do you like better, apples or oranges?”, to selecting a class pet, to even more complicated decisions, like electing community representatives. “If you don’t vote, you don’t get to choose.” Backmatter includes information about the United States electoral process.

A hopeful middle grade novel in free verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States. “A realistic portrait of the strength it takes to move to a new country, as well as of the complicated dynamics between first- and second-generation immigrants.” (Horn Book)

In this winter fable about where snow comes from, Little Snow, who wears snowflake pajamas, gets a new featherbed for the long, cold winter nights. But Mommy says this bed is for sleeping, not jumping, but when she leaves the room, he jumps and jumps on his bed … until one day it rips, sending feathers flying. A page turn reveals that his feathers are snowflakes, falling on a nghttime city block.