Book Finder

Ms. Brandt’s class gets an assignment to write about all of the U.S. presidents. Basic information about who can be the president and what the job really entails is followed by a one-page overview of each president. Several blank pages and a space to fill in information at the end of George W. Bush’s term will keep this book, which has the informal look of a child’s journal, current beyond this year’s election.

Even though the ancient Greeks conceived the Olympics, it was a small Frenchman “with a shrill voice and a bushy mustache” who almost single-handedly brought the modern Olympics to life again. This revealing, clear, and handsome book provides an engaging and authoritative overview of the summer Olympics.

Take a tour through four national aquariums and learn how they are set up, the educational displays they offer, and what sort of things a visitor will see.

The planetarium is closed for repairs, so the Magic School Bus blasts off on a real tour of the solar system. After their previous field trips, the children in Ms. Frizzle’s class are rather blasé about landing on the Moon, Venus, and Mars. A first-class introduction to the planets, fine for pleasure or purpose reading.

Fiestas often involve puppets, masks, and piñatas. Meet Tío Rico, the elderly piñata maker in a Mexican town, whose artful creations are shown from start to finish in this handsomely photographed book. The text is presented in both Spanish and English.

This straightforward introduction to the summer Olympics and their origins provides basic information and history for capable readers.

The “beautiful 200-year-old mansion on 18 acres of land right in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C.,” is better known as the White House. It’s where most, though not all, U.S. presidents have lived. Fun and fast, this lighthearted look at the residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is presented in sound bites and illustrations reminiscent of political cartoons.

Enjoy Van Gogh, Picasso, primitive and contemporary art, sculpture, and more with a boy, a girl, and their family as they visit an art museum. Reproductions and original artwork combine in this attractive and engaging introduction to visiting a gallery or museum.

The history of voting in the United States is presented using a town’s mayoral election as the framework. Even the town dogs have their say in the whimsical, cartoon-like illustrations which provide additional information for the reader.

Can you be tricked into seeing something that’s not really there? Your eyes can be deceived more easily than you think. If you don’t agree, take a hard look at these full color photographs, then read how you were mislead! The creator of this tricky book is also the creator of the popular I Spy series.

What are presidents made of? These collage portraits take this question quite literally. Theodore Roosevelt is made of “endless energy,” created with wire and a light bulb, while Ronald Reagan’s picture uses the jellybeans he was so fond of. This unusual book concludes with an official portrait of all the presidents and their dates in office.

This fictionalized story tells of a slave who lived and worked in Colonial Williamsburg. The straightforward text and dramatic photographs bring the history of the time to life.

Wilma Rudolph not only overcame polio, she went on to become the first woman to win three Olympic gold medals in Rome in 1960. Semiabstract paintings convey her power and personality in this accessible picture book biography.

Anyone can be president, whether fat (William Howard Taft) or tiny (James Madison), relatively young (Teddy Roosevelt at 42) or old (Ronald Reagan at 69). Hobbies, sports, virtues, and vices all get a tongue-in-cheek airing in this fascinating collection of presidential trivia.

The real and truly amazing size of animals from the sea and land are shown in a way that children can understand and appreciate. Textured collage illustrations are used to show the actual size of a gorilla’s hand, a giant squid’s eye and much more. Additional information on each animal is included in an afterward to allow reading on several levels.

Travel with Canadian naturalist Brian Keating on a journey around the world to meet some of the animal inhabitants of the different continents. From kookaburras and kangaroos in Australia to the Arctic’s wolf population, this book’s informal, diary-like approach creates an exciting armchair expedition with photographs, facts, and more.

Two well known women sneak away from the White House for an aerial adventure in this handsomely illustrated story based on real people. Though fictionalized, readers will appreciate the common interests and similar personality traits of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and aviatrix Amelia Earhart.

Handsome illustrations of Shange’s evocative poem, “Mood Indigo,” pay homage to the many African American icons and visionaries who came to the author’s house when she was a child. From W.E.B. DuBois to Duke Ellington, the people we now know as luminaries are seen from the perspective of a young girl. This book is sure to generate discussion.

Children are encouraged to explore their world and their five senses in this informative and engaging introduction to sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound.

This story of a true and faithful dog so touched the people of Japan that a statue of Hachiko was erected in the train station where the dog went daily for almost ten years after his master’s death. Told from the point of view of a young boy, the book includes an afterword that provides additional details about this true story.

Jackie loved to pitch baseball. Her long practices paid off when at 17-years old she pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts in a demonstration game against the New York Yankees. Jackie struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig — and forever changed baseball’s rules. The excitement of Jackie Mitchell’s story is well-paced, illustrated with slightly exaggerated and altogether winning illustrations.

The creator of this book visited the Inagua National Park in the Bahamas to tell a dramatic story of how the elegant pink flamingos live, thrive, and even survive a hurricane on their protected island home. Dramatic paintings and a vibrant narrative will inform and inspire young readers.

Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison uses more than 50 archival photographs, many of children, to take readers on a journey to remember “the narrow path, the open door and the wide road” to integration of American schools before and after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision in 1954.

The Great Sphinx has amazed and intrigued since it was first created some 4,500 years ago. Those secrets that have been revealed, and others that remain cloaked in mystery, are the subject of this well written, handsomely illustrated, and thoroughly engaging book.