Book Finder

Clothes on lines and a rhyming description ask readers to figure out what job the wearer might do. The first is a mail carrier who delivers to community workers until all come together for a rocket launch in a presentation with crisp illustrations on white pages and simple clues.

Short, imaginative poems combine with brief facts and handsome, full color photographs to introduce a variety of insects. Fact or fiction can be shared independent of the other to find out about everything from the common house fly to the colorful lovebug and many more insects.

When a boy meets a robot they became fast and caring friends who worry about each other and share everyday activities and play. Simple language and bright, precise illustrations combine to present a fantastic and very gratifying friendship.

For four glorious years, Davy had Mom & Dad all to himself. But things changed when not one but 12 brothers arrived. Line drawings add expression and comedy to the understated text for a laugh-out-loud sheep tale sure to be enjoyed by those with — or without — new siblings.

Each type of train makes a slightly different sound from the “clang, ting” and “bing” of a freight train to the “zooosh” of the diesel. The long format is reminiscent of a track to support the colorful trains rushing by as well as their onomatopoeic sounds in varied typeface.

A rhyming text and soft, idealized illustrations present a young child’s pleasure in summer activities — from shooting “straight down the slide” to a picnic in the shade with her parents. The small size of the book makes it ideal for sharing one-to-one.

A small chick, born “on the move!” named Pipsqueak wants to fly regardless of what the other animals say and continues trying until (with a little help) he succeeds. Pipsqueak is then on to the next challenge! Comic illustrations bounce across the pages in this lively barnyard tale.

Poetic language introduces a moonlit evening when “Moonlight slides like butter”, touching sleeping rabbit, “butters Rabbit’s dreams/…/shakes him out of bed…” to dance in the field. Darkly hued illustrations touched by butter yellow evoke the gentle night and its wonder.

The city is filled with trucks, trains, and more things that go and “vroom”, “beep”, “honk” and more. Young machine aficionados are sure to appreciate them as presented in deeply colored illustrations and alliterative text. Questions asked are answered with a flap lift.

Lola is excited that she’s going to become a big sister. She and her parents are prepared for Leo’s arrival — especially Lola who reads to him on every occasion! Warm paintings illustrate this gently, recognizable look at one family’s everyday goings-on.

Little Llama zips and zooms, swishes and slides on the playground with his friends seen in uncluttered illustrations and limited text. In Llama Llama Hoppity-Hop, Llama hops, jumps, thumps right into Llama Mama’s embrace.

A family leaves their city for an overnight camping trip. Up the mountain they travel, make camp, hike, and enjoy each other and the beautiful scenery. The straightforward story highlights prepositions in natural language, made meaningful in verdant, textured illustration.

A young boy digs a garden, plants seeds, waters and waits but forgets — until sprouts and ultimately plants emerge! Simple staccato, rhythmic language combines with realistic illustrations in a small format just right for introducing gardens to young children.

The ever popular dinos are back, this time making and eating cookies always using their best manners. Rhyming text and outrageous illustrations are humorous. Two recipes and “scratch & sniff” are extras presented in this brief board book.

Stunning, textured illustrations and simple, patterned language present a fish with a wish to be other animals with different abilities. When a bug is eaten, the fish decides “It is good to be a fish.” Not only will the book be enjoyed by listeners as well as emerging readers.

Letters and words are all around as even the youngest child will see as they travel in a car (or on a bus). There are signs for every letter of the alphabet, from Airport to Z-z-z-z, shown in arresting, high contrast graphic art and crisp letters.

Lots of animals and insects sport spots, others have stripes. In rich colors on sturdy pages, a flap folds out to reveal one or the other. Rich, patterned language and appealing illustration are used in this and in Animal 1 2 3, a clever counting book also sure to surprise and engage.

While on a visit to her aunt and uncle in Illinois, the narrator and her family unexpectedly find a field of growing soybeans which begins a 40-year tradition. Based on the author’s experiences, text and child-like illustrations reveal a caring, surprisingly modern family story from times past.

Cora wants to learn how to cook, but she’s too young to do the jobs her older siblings do. One day, however, after the older kids have all gone out together, Cora asks her mother what they can cook together. To her surprise, Cora’s mother asks her what she would like to make, and Cora chooses her favorite Filipino noodle dish, pancit. This family story about the importance of sharing tradition is brought to life by Kristi Valiant’s charming illustrations and includes a bilingual glossary of Tagalog words.

Marisa gets to help make dumplings this year to celebrate the New Year, but she worries that no one will eat her funny-looking dumplings. Set in the Hawaiian islands, this story celebrates the joyful mix of food, customs, and languages from many cultures.

Where on earth did Yum Yung get the urge to have a bagel? He has no idea, but desperate for one, he sends a message from his Korean village via pigeon to New York City for someone to send him one. While he waits, he asks the farmer, the fisherman, and the honeybee keeper for help, but none of them have ever heard of a bagel. Charming gouache illustrations evoke the intricate and colorful patterns found in Korean fabrics.

Mike’s Korean grandmother is still adjusting to her move to the U.S. While Mike helps her learn English, she helps the family, which owns a food cart, beat stiff competition. The family once did a good business serving pizza, bagels, and hot dogs on a busy corner, but now two other carts serving similar fare have moved in. Mike’s idea — to serve delicious Korean specialties that only Grandma knows how to make — saves the business and also helps Grandma feel at home. — Booklist

In this short book for beginning readers, a young Korean boy and girl share all of the different ways they like to eat rice, which are presented in colorful illustrations done by Grace Lin. A teacher’s guide with early reading activities is available from the Lee and Low website (opens in a new window). Also available in Spanish.

Eleven-year-old Dini loves everything about movies — especially Bollywood movies. So she would have been really excited about her family’s move to India…if they were moving anywhere near Bombay, the center of the Bollywood universe and home to Dini’s all-time most favorite favorite star, Dolly Singh. But no. Dini’s now stuck in a teeny, tiny village that she can’t even find on a map. But small villages can have surprises! Uma Krishnaswami’s joyful, lively, tale is full of preening peacocks, mischievous monkeys, delicious confections, and the wondrous, magical powers of coincidence.