Book Finder

Lily and her mom miss their own garden. When they visit the public garden they find their neighbor preparing the soil. Soon Lily and her friends are helping Mr. Sam plant and tend a vegetable garden. A concluding activity for an easy home garden ends this informative, easier to read book.

Even as a kid, Max had a good arm. He even pitched while he served in the Navy where he struck out Joe DiMaggio. The next time he pitched to the star, Joltin’ Joe hit a homerun which is when Max’s career as a baseball clown really started. Meet Max Patkin and follow his unusual baseball career in comic illustrations and straightforward text.

A new year starts every month somewhere in the world. Join the celebrations from Russia to Spain, from Jordan to Chile (plus many more) in lively poems and textured, colorful collage illustrations. Additional information about the celebrations and different calendars concludes this lush, unique fête.

Meet bowhead whales in this slim but fact-filled volume. Dramatic illustrations add detail and drama beginning on endpages. This brief, accessible introduction may inspire further examination of these fascinating sea mammals.

When Jack and Annie don the magic baseball hats given to them by Morgan, they find themselves back in 1947 as batboys. There they learn a lot about the game, a player named Jackie Robinson, and how history was made. Readers may also want to find out more in the accessible nonfiction companion, Baseball (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker) (opens in a new window) which introduces more about the people and players of the period.

Who is Baby Monkey? Well, he’s a baby and a monkey but one with a job: he’s a Private Eye! Readers will solve the mysteries with Baby Monkey as they carefully examine signature monochromatic sketches interspersed with narrative. The format is wholly original as is the humor and art. (For the less keen-eyed, a key to the visuals is included.)

Nora announces that she and her toy giraffe Jeff are bored. Reluctantly, she takes her grandmother’s advice and soon discovers a Tiger with whom to explore grandma’s lush, jungle-like garden. Richly colored and well told, this is a tale of the power of imagination and play.

A colorful line-up of simply shaped animals opens this book. Sharp-eyes will see the one that is hiding, angry, sleeping, and more on each double page spread. Some are sure to recall “Who’s Who?” on the black pages with only eyes showing. An answer key is provided for the impatient or less observant.

Tasty treats create shapes which turn into an array of creatures with just a few additional lines and a lot of creativity. Baklava Squirrels are made from the edible Greek parallelogram; oval jelly beams make colorful butterflies, and more in this original – and appetizing – look at shapes.

The third brother was a different kind of dinosaur. Rather than a more typical stegosaurus, he was a stegothesaurus who knew lots of words and loved to use them. Then he met an equally loquacious allosaurus and learned how this meat-eater acquired his words! Words and wordplay and simple, silly illustrations will delight both non-dinosaur and dinosaur aficionados.

In this companion to Triangle (opens in a new window), Square’s block is seen and greatly appreciated by Circle. Circle declares that Square is a genius, but is he? This second installment in Barnett’s trilogy is sure to amuse as well as confound.

“Millions of year ago, dinosaurs walked the Earth.” Some were small, some walked on two legs, others on four. An easy text and colorful but simple, dramatic illustrations on double page spreads present a variety of the ancient creatures each clearly labeled. Even today, you can see their bones at museums. Endpapers are used to further extend the informative presentation.

Sapphire was not like other dragons. She had no desire to “crush castles or capture princesses.” But the local residents of a forest shun Sapphire until other fierce and fiery dragons destroy the woods. Almost translucent illustrations in rich, layered colors move the satisfying story to its dramatic conclusion.

Kayla loses a tooth but now can’t find it! Will the Tooth Fairy still visit her? Can her trusty canine, King, help solve the mystery of the missing tooth?  The latest installment is sure to delight fans and stands on its own as a recognizable, satisfying, everyday mystery just right for newly independent readers.

Yumi and Grandma really wanted to see each other. As Yumi travels by bus toward Grandma, Grandma travels by train to visit Yumi. Back and forth they go until they accidentally but happily meet in the middle. Humor abounds in the simple illustrations and gentle narration in an elongated format that highlights Yumi and Grandma’s treks back and forth.

Say hello to a dazzling array of animals presented in intriguing groupings. Starting with “Hello Hello/Black and White” all the way to “…Roars,/Peeps, Chirps/and Chants/Hello Song,/and Hello Dance…” the bouncy, rhyming text and animated illustrations is sure to engage. A final note about the animals’ status and a key to who readers have greeted conclude the book.

Even goldfish can use a vacation as three children learned. They let their fish, Barracuda, Patch, and Fiss, — as well as many other kids’ fish — vacation in a fountain built by the architect of Grand Central Station!  At the end of the summer, the goldfish returned to their homes and children. The “perfectly true made-up story” is based on actual events in NY City,

Beaver doesn’t think about his neighbors downstream while he’s building his dam. Frog bravely tries to make Beaver understand but Beaver just doesn’t listen. Only when disaster strikes do all of the animals figure out how to make homes for everyone. Gentle wisdom and cartoon illustrations tell a satisfying story.

Two dudes, a platypus and a beaver, paddle out to ride a wave but see a threatening fin nearby. Is the huge shark a threat or a friend waiting to be made? This wacky, almost wordless tale is told in large spreads and smaller panels of expressive characters complemented by the equally expressive typeface of the few words used. Get it, dude!?

A child visits his grandfather but has trouble communicating; they literally don’t speak the other’s language. That is until they find another way to share thoughts and feelings through art. As each of them expresses himself creating unique superheroes, two generations are drawn together. Universal emotions are placed in a specific but nonetheless moving context.

If you don’t blink, you don’t have to turn the page; you therefore don’t have to go to bed. Each time a blink occurs, however, the closer the end gets in this humorous, participatory book with a big-eyed owl as a guide (who, by the way, is asleep by book’s end).

Lucy always wanted a dog but Bear becomes a bit of a problem. In addition to sleeping for months, he is messy and eats endless bowls of porridge. When Bear runs away, both he and Lucy find out that friendship overcomes most things. Readers will immediately recognize the mistaken identity seen only in the simple illustrations and enhanced in humorous dialog.

Family life is busy for the young narrator until after dinner when he and his dad share the Magic Hour. As day wanes but before being tucked in, father and child take a magical neighborhood walk enjoying small pleasures along the way. Gentle text and handsome illustrations combine to reveal one family’s loving and lovely tradition.