Book Finder

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,

Signs of summer pop up with each page turn and are briefly described, sure to delight adult and child alike. Bright color and engaging text encourage involvement with all things summer. While not terribly fragile, young hands may need a reminder to handle with care.

Warmer, longer days signal a change in season: spring has arrived! Animals and insects become active again, plants and flowers grow. Spring also holds April Fools’ Day and Earth Day among other celebrations. Crisp photographs and short, sprightly text, and easy activities combine to engage readers.

Two small cats gather all that is needed to plant a garden. In addition to vegetables, they plant flowers just right for other visitors like birds and bees. The gentle text and soft illustrations are likely to inspire young gardeners to create their own garden and celebrate its success at the end of the season.

Two children walk across an autumn landscape greeting birds, animals, leaves and more. Gradually, the season changes and the now-bundled up kids greet the signs of winter. Soft illustrations and lyrical text gracefully evoke the evolution of seasons.

Fox realizes that winter is coming as the first snowflakes fall on its nose. Forest dwellers from the smallest to the largest offer advice, but when the fox meets its companion, they do what foxes do in winter: dance! Textured illustrations accompany the well-paced narration to suggest animal behavior and simple delight.

Remember “the middle of Fall, when the leaves have already turned” and the air is chilly, apples and pumpkins are ready to pick. Soon, the leaves will be gone and the sky will change again, filled with snowflakes. Lyrical language and richly hued paintings evoke the season and the changes that accompany it.

Lyrical language and handsome color photographs combine to present a portrait of the changes that occur in autumn. Different seeds dance in the wind or twirl to the ground while animals find shelter, hibernate or migrate. Autumn is also a season of celebrations which lead to the “shortest day of the year, and winter…” 

From A to Z, all things Halloween are presented. Beginning with apple (bobbing) all the way to zombie, children will enjoy familiar (and some not so) sights and creatures associated with the autumn celebration each complemented and extended with child-like illustrations  

As seasons change, fall becomes time for school. In a rhyming text a girl reminds her reluctant brother of all the fun and learning that it will bring. From history to mystery, arithmetic to astronomy, the pair heads to school.Swirling, bolding colored illustrations fill the pages with autumn images and what the children will see and study.

Summer adventures begin when “the days stretch out like a slow yawn…” and “bumblebees bumble around in flowers.”  Then it’s time for flip-flops, lemonade stands, camping trips and more. Double-page spreads with jaunty, child-like illustrations combine with a rhythmic text to evoke the sights, sounds, smells, and even tastes of summer.  

Readers are encouraged to participate in planting a tiny seed, wait, care for it, wait, then watch it grow into a beautiful zinnia. The rhyming text is illustrated as though from ground level with straightforward depictions of an emerging garden. Directions on planting the zinnia seeds (which may be found in the book) briefly expands information on gardening.

Pig and Goose become friends one spring morning when Pig decides to enjoy a picnic near a pond. Their growing bond is seen in each episode told in three chapters. Lightly lined and colored illustrations complement the tone of each as the friends recognize each other’s individuality.

The narrator was born on May 17th, a “sunny spring day!” On May 19th, she ate lots of aphids but on June 2nd ate one of two brothers. The life of the praying mantis begins in spring, ends in October, with its own description of life in between. Inviting illustrations illuminate the understated text. Endpages fill in information about a praying mantis’ life cycle.

Stunning, full color photographs combine with rhythmic, lyrical language to celebrate the signs of the new season. Celebrate with children depicted basking in spring’s new growth, holding baby animals, watching and listening to “Spiders spin/Butterlies flit./Bees buzz.” — and preparing gardens for planting. A glossary of terms concludes this handsome book.

In this almost wordless picture book, a host of woodland creatures take a child’s sled for a nighttime joy ride. Their whimsical ride is gorgeously depicted in bold watercolor, complemented by humorous expressions and pitch-perfect sound effects.

Winter is a season of questions and of waiting. How do animals live during the cold winter? How do snowflakes form? What is it we wait for in the winter? But all the waiting and wondering come to an end and “wonderful winter makes way for … spectacular spring.” Photographs and an informal text plus a few activities just right for the season make this a cozy book. 

Scratchboard illustrations accompany an invocation, a poem that invites something to happen. Here a girl wants the world to slow down just a bit so her pilot mother doesn’t have to leave. What happens before morning? A huge snowfall slows everything down. Dark lines and rich shapes of a winter cityscape unfold along with the poem, leaving room for the reader to imagine. 

Lyrical rhymes and gorgeous color photographs capture the magic of winter. The combination of image and word also explores the water cycle and animals in the winter. This handsome book is a worthy companion to the author’s Raindrops Roll (opens in a new window).

A young child hears something outside — “pit; pit; pit against the window.” It’s the first snow! She dons her clothes and goes out to play. In a dreamlike sequence, she and other children make multiple snowmen before the girl returns to her own backyard. Touches of red are added to variations of black, white and grey for a sweet portrait of a first snowfall.

When the little penguins see snowflakes, they wonder how many? There are many! They dress for the weather and go play in the snow, tired and content when it’s time for bed. Bold forms of round-headed, dark penguins that play in the snow stand out until they recede in the night of their own room. This is a charming, whimsical, wintery tale.

What do animals do in winter? In simple language and color photographs, animal habits are examined. New readers will find the introduction in this series accessible and may use it as a springboard to explore topics in greater depth. Other subjects in the Bullfrog Books series include machines at work, as in the book Diggers (opens in a new window) by Cari Meister.

Autumn is a special time of year; it’s plentifall, eventfall, and a time to be thankfall. The play on words is the title of each short, engaging poem complemented by boldly shaped, fall-colored scenes. It’s a feast for the eye as well as the ear when read aloud.

No matter how you look at it, this pumpkin is not a pumpkin: it smiles, it frowns. Of course, it’s a jack-o-lantern! Young children will view the orange gourd in parts and as a whole on open pages in this playful board book that of course concludes with a very expressive jack-o-lantern.