A preschooler marks the progress of her day, not by the clock but by what happens after lunch, after nap, after swimming, after the library, and after Daddy comes home. She doesn’t map her neighborhood by street signs, either. Her morning walk to see dogs in the park takes her past the cat outside the deli, past her friend Errolyn’s building, and the daycare where she used to go when she was little, and down the block to the bagel store. The sounds, tastes, smells, and sights of a multiethnic Brooklyn neighborhood, as seen through a child’s eyes are captured through the text and illustrations.
What Happens on Wednesdays
A lighthearted look at a family from different viewpoints. The five members of the household, both human and feline, share many traits with one another while maintaining their individuality. The narrator (and only child in the group) sorts the five by their various commonalities from hair color to leisure activities to food preferences. “Three who like to hide in boxes./Four who have a knack with yarn”
Five Creatures
What is your family like? Is your big brother as big and respected or your little brother “flighty and a dreamer”? How would you describe your cousins or even your best friend? The narrator characterizes each member of her “Wild Family” in descriptive language that is accompanied by a bold, energetic illustration which includes an animal that meets the description.
My Wild Family
The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. (2011 Newbery Medal Winner)
Moon Over Manifest
A full cast voices this production which brings to life the summer of 1964 and the changes that were taking place in Greenwood, Mississippi.
Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy)
Spring holds many surprises for each of the Penderwicks in this latest adventure.
The Penderwicks in Spring
It is a family that makes a house a home described here in rhythmic language and depicted in idealized, soft illustrations.
The House That’s Your Home
How young Sadie manages to deliver the elephant to her Great-Aunt Josephine makes for a laugh inducing romp. The silly story is told through comic illustration and an unassuming text with lots of sound effects.
Special Delivery
Bob is a very talented pup who lives with the young narrator and his family. Bob, however, is not a showoff, demonstrating his talent for his family only. The understated, easy-to-read text and lightly colored cartoon line drawings emphasize the humor of Bob’s humility and his family’s affection for him.
My Dog, Bob
Mia must share her room with Abuela but she and her grandmother can’t even speak the same language! How they grow comfortable with each other and learn to communicate – even without language – is affectionately conveyed through Mia’s narration and gentle, warm illustrations.
Mango, Abuela, and Me
Sona’s grandparents travel to America from India for the wedding of Sona’s sister. The Hindu wedding traditions are followed including the game in which the younger sibling hides the groom’s shoes. Richly hued illustrations depict the activities and the fun of a family celebration.
Sona and the Wedding Game
While at a sleepover at Nan’s house, Lulu must keep her hamster safe from Nan’s cats – and a secret from rodent-fearing Nan. Lulu’s latest adventure can stand alone and is as gently humorous and graciously illustrated as others in the series.
Lulu and the Hamster in the Night
Reyna accidently breaks her abuelo’s vihuela and tries to fix it before her family finds out. Told in both Spanish and English, young readers will recognize the girl’s predicament and revel in the resolution in this realistically illustrated tale.
Finding the Music/En pos de la musica
Delphine is now twelve years old in this third (and final book) about her, and her younger sisters. The girls are sent to Alabama where they are supposed to come to know their grandmother, great grandmother, and other family members. Instead, the girls are caught up in a family feud and learn that adults, too, have issues. Things change radically when Vonetta goes missing during a tornado. Family history and sibling loyalty are strong themes in this engaging conclusion.
Gone Crazy in Alabama
Since his grandparents disappeared on an iceberg, Archer’s mother won’t let the well-mannered boy out of the museum-like house. Still, he finds unique adventures and companionship in this fast-paced, charming, witty and well written novel presented in a handsomely illustrated format.
The Doldrums
You live in your home…but where is your home? It’s in your neighborhood…but where is your neighborhood? It’s in your town, which is in your state, which is in North America, which is on the planet Earth, which is in the solar system, which is in a galaxy of stars called the Milky Way.
Where Do I Live?
Swim!
A sister and brother walk over the hill to spend Sunday afternoon with their French-speaking grandmother. Licking spoons, milking the cow, shaking cream into butter, and setting the table are all part of the fun. Meanwhile Grammy, seemingly without effort, produces a wonderful feast for all. When their parents come to pick them up, the children look forward to the following Sunday gathering.
At Grammy’s House
This story reads like a series of intersecting vignettes, all focused on 14-year-old Debbie and her friends as they leave childhood behind. The descriptive, measured writing includes poems, prose, haiku, and question-and-answer formats. Perkins brings a great deal of humor to this gentle story about a group of childhood friends facing the crossroads of life and how they wish to live it. (2006 Newbery Medal Winner)
Criss Cross
Identical twins Sammie and Charlie are starting out seventh grade at a brand-new school. As they make new friends, and join different clubs, the sisters (and once inseparable best friends) start to grow further and further apart. Told from Sammie’s point of view, this moving yet funny story will be gobbled up by middle-school girls! This is the first book in the Almost Identical series.
Almost Identical
Meet Daniel Funk, a regular guy who’s stuck living in a house full of girls. Why couldn’t he have a brother instead of all those sisters? That would be so cool. When Daniel shrinks to the size of the fourth toe on his left foot, he discovers that he actually does have a brother. A little brother. A very little brother. He’s Pablo Funk, Daniel’s tiny twin, who is a toeful of trouble. When Daniel and Pablo decide to have some fun at their sisters’ party and let loose a giant hissing cockroach just to watch the girls scream, they find out that it’s dangerous to be so small. This is the first book in the Daniel Funk series.
Attack of the Growling Eyeballs (Who Shrunk Daniel Funk?)
It’s 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. This coming-of-age story is populated by a cast of vivid family characters and it explores the things that tear them apart and the things that bring them back together. The book includes an Author’s Note with photographs and additional background on World War II, Internment camps, and 1950s America.
Penny from Heaven
Twelve-year-old tomboy May Amelia Jackson, the youngest of seven children and the only girl in a Finnish immigrant family, lives in the wilderness along the Nasel River in Washington State in 1899. Through May Amelia’s travels, readers witness the diverse ways of life in the expanding West: peaceful relations with the Chinook Indians, the dangers posed by the neighboring logging camp, her aunt’s life in the nearby boomtown of Astoria, Oregon, as well as the rhythms of the seasons.
Our Only May Amelia
In 1935, jobs are hard to come by, and Turtle’s mother is lucky to find work as a live-in housekeeper. When she learns that her employer can’t stand children, she sends her 11-year-old daughter from New Jersey to Key West to live with relatives. Turtle discovers a startlingly different way of life amid boisterous cousins, Nana Philly, and buried treasure. This richly detailed novel was inspired by Holm’s great-grandmother’s stories.