Book Finder

Young Amadou’s enthusiasm for a class field trip to the zoo cannot be dampened by rules. Instead, his imaginative exploration adds color and joy for the teacher and children alike.

Limited colors and simple shapes encourage young readers to see a flower, a lion, and a sun. Each two-page chapter brilliantly introduces a tale that calls on imagination and encourages reader participation.

A boy is not happy about moving but while exploring his new home, he finds a large roll top desk. There he discovers imaginative, surprising stories. The Argentinian author/illustrator has created a memorable fantasy juxtaposing the real world and extraordinary adventures held in the found journal. Surreal illustrations are presented in sequential art, calling to mind a graphic novel.

As the day begins, “All is quiet. Or is it?” If you listen closely, the sounds of the day emerge. From dawn darkness, the day gradually lightens in the subtle illustrations that depict city and country, inviting readers to “fill the world with your song.”

While visiting the beach, the narrator declares that she will build a sandcastle — one with turrets and more. Build she does, which attracts royal visitors who become disenchanted with their sandy food. Imagination reigns in the detailed illustrations, until a wave allows the girl to begin anew.

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.

A child looks out from an apartment window assured that the wind and sky will be there if she wants to fly. The lyrical reassurances continue as children continue on different adventures, imaginatively portrayed in the artist’s signature bold, childlike style. Altogether, this is a comforting, cozy book to share again and again.

A father warmly and creatively answers his child’s endless questions: “Why is the ocean blue?” (“Because every night fish play sad songs and cry blue tears.”) The final question, “Why do we have to sleep?” is answered, “Because there are some things we can only see with our eyes closed.” Stylized illustrations suggest a timeless quality to a child’s curiosity and a parent’s patience.  

As Jamie builds on the beach she hums; the ocean swishes. Passersby ask her various questions, which she only vaguely answers. Another artist, a painter, sets up nearby but asks no questions. In companionable silence they continue until they show each other and readers their creations. Brief, poetic text combines with lush, evocative paintings that celebrate a beautiful summer day and the creative process.

What can you do with a pencil? Create lines that skate across a page with a single figure in a red hat and mittens. When lines become too chaotic, an eraser smooths them and a new skater is introduced. Just imagine what happens when more lively but delicate lines, skaters, and erasures come together in the last pages of this inventive book.

Lila’s inventive play doesn’t stop as she and her mother prepare to visit Lila’s grandfather, depicted on alternating pages. What is seen as a table on one page becomes Lila fighting a fearsome sea monster on the next. Lively language and animated illustrations depict Lila’s adventures  soon joined by her granddad!

Creativity, wonder and more all starts with an open book, “a little gift from me to you.” It grows beyond walls, into the whole, wide world. Child-like watercolors accompany the text, inviting readers to celebrate the joys of imagination.

Lines drawn by two boys connect and so do the boys in joyful play. An accidental tug-of-war, however, causes a rift until a smile and additional creativity bring them together again. Though wordless, watercolor illustrations speak volumes and are certain to ignite storytelling.

A mistake: a splat of ink.  In fact, “it started with one mistake.” That mistake became a pattern, then a good idea, then ultimately into a remarkable work of imagination. Don’t let the format let you race through this book. Slow down; examine each double page spread to discover the hidden treasures in it — and maybe inspire your own book of mistakes.

Join a mother and her children on an imaginative journey to places where bears ride bicycles and wear scarves, lions read books, and buses are fish that fly through the clouds. Highly detailed, inventive black and white illustrations with splashes of red move the journey along until the very satisfying conclusion.

A boy in a fedora uses his pen to travel, grow, “make giants of old men/who have seen better days” (an homage to his late father, Walter Dean Myers), and visit places real and imagined. Black and white line drawings and sophisticated, poetic language effectively convey the power of art and imagination and are sure to spark conversation.

This magical story begins on an island far away where an imaginary friend is born. He patiently waits his turn to be chosen by a real child, but when he is overlooked time and again, he sets off on an incredible journey to the bustling city, where he finally meets his perfect match and-at long last-is given his special name: Beekle. (2015 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Join three children who find a magical piece of chalk that begins an exciting series of events to figure out “what next.” This might be fun to use together with Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon.

When the story-loving small white dog – the owner of a bookstore (first introduced in Dog Loves Books (opens in a new window)) — receives a blank book, he’s puzzled. Inside, there’s a note from Dog’s aunt saying that “the lines [Dog] draws open a door to some wonderful adventures.” His imagination and creativity sparkle as Dog tells a story with line and color. Dog’s engaging story within a story is sure to inspire art and artists.

Her classmates laugh when Margo becomes the sun with her new yellow birthday tutu worn as a headdress. That is, until her friend, Pearl, comes to the rescue, recognizing the playful potential and dons her pink tutu similarly. Fanciful, engaging illustrations capture the child’s world, enhancing this recognizable story.

A cub is bored, claiming there’s nothing to do. Together with an adult bear, they are awakened by a jumping cub, go on a walk, find a stick, and share an imaginative adventure until they return home for a cozy welcome. Spare text and simple line drawings on creamy paper make this fresh jaunt, and a book to be shared more than once.

When is a brown box not a box? When it’s being used by a small rabbit as a racecar, a mountain, or a burning building being rescued by the fire fighter, of course! Straightforward illustrations and minimal language convey the power of imagination and play in this contemporary classic.

A little girl misses her grandfather’s old house where he would tell her about the flowers. Sadly, his new apartment has only a balcony but together they create an imaginative, artistic garden one brush stroke at a time. Warmth abounds in this gentle tale.

Alexander Calder — Sandy — had a vivid imagination and a fascination with the circus; his sketches of the circus became 3-dimensional. Vivid illustrations combine with an informal text to introduce a man whose art continues to inspire and intrigue.