Book Finder

Each member of the Bunny family has a job to do as they prepare for their trip. The challenges of packing and walking are forgotten when they arrive at the family reunion and the fun starts! Children and adults will see themselves in this colorfully illustrated rhyming tale.

Graciella’s father leaves his family to pick fruit far away, but calls every Sunday. The surprise he sends for Graciella’s seventh birthday is lost as is the child’s hope of seeing Papi — at least temporarily. This realistic, universally appealing story told from the child’s point of view is gently illustrated.

Eleven year old Marty must decide whether or not to return an abused beagle to its rightful owner, an unkind man. His dilemma includes hiding the dog, Shiloh, telling his parents the truth, and more in this riveting, award-winning novel which is ideal to read aloud with slightly sophisticated listeners. It was adapted into a live action film in 2000.

Visit the town of Cranbury, nestled between Boston and New York, where the very talented Pye family lives. The Pyes have recently acquired an intellectual dog named Ginger Pye — that is until someone steals this captivating hound!

When brother’s hands tap, sister’s hands clap and “Itty-bitty Baby’s hands CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!” The entire family gets involved in the music and movement — until that tired baby “sleeps deep, deep, deep.” Words and pictures swirl and swoop all over the pages of this energetic, musical family jaunt.

Hondo and Fabian, dog and cat friends, are back. Here, their days take very different looks as Fabian the cat goes outside to play with “friends” while Hondo stays in with the baby. Softly lined and hued illustrations create humor to show what really goes on with an escaped cat and a dog-chasing toddler!

Emily can do magic — but how? With words like please, thank you, hello, and more! Emily uses her magic words with friends and family alike. Uncomplicated illustrations create the magic, while the straightforward language makes the useful and pleasant point.

Poetic text and handsome illustrations create gentle reminders for children of what parents find special about them. From a nose to a hand, “ordinary” is celebrated in gentle language and soft illustration.

Join a Latino celebration of Christmas from A to Z, enjoying the sights and symbols of the holiday. Spanish words and additional explanations conclude this energetic book with animated illustrations.

Fancy Nancy (still decked out in her amazingly fancy outfits) and her family decide to get a dog. Of course, Nancy wants a posh papillon, a small and delicate canine. However, they find the perfect pup at the pound — to everyone’s delight. Fans of Fancy Nancy will delight in her newest and quite fancy adventure.

Little Night is not ready for sleep, even after Mother Sky follows each of their bedtime rituals. Spirited, richly hued illustrations combine with a sumptuous, evocative text to create a heavenly bedtime tale.

The drive is long and the farm of the dad’s childhood looks old and tired. What will the siblings document with disposable cameras and journals? The real memories are kept in their heads and hearts when the extended family gathers and the true fun begins.

Julie loves to hear her grandfather’s larger-than-life, highly imagined tales of long ago when he emigrated from Russia to New York City. Grandma, however, recalls the same events in a very different way. With fresh illustrations, these 25-year-old tales remain humorous and vivacious.

Conversations with families provide insight and information into how books are created and the intergenerational impact of illustrating and writing them. From the Rockwells, the Crews/Jonas family, the Pinkneys, the Myers’, and the Hurds — talent seems to run in the family!

When first born, this small offspring of a circus bear was small enough to fit in one hand. Brought to the Berlin Zoo, Knut the baby polar bear went on to capture the hearts and imaginations of many people around the world. His story is told through full color photographs and gentle text.

It is the summer after sixth grade and Jack and his offbeat family have relocated to Barbados. But even in a tropical paradise, Jack is plagued by misadventure.

Image and text combine in a unique presentation to tell the story of an orphan boy who lives between the walls of a Paris train station and repairs its clocks. Monochromatic illustrations change perspective and move in and out, and alternate with text to tell this mysterious, breathtaking, and riveting tale. Winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal. (2008 Caldecott Medal Winner)

For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie’s been shuttled between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up on her late uncle’s homestead claim in Montana. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends through letters and articles for her hometown paper.

Braid Beard’s band of pirates has bad teeth, bad breath, and bad manners — and now, in order to get their treasure they have Jeremy Jacob’s baby sister with a dirty diaper. Shiver me timbers and aargh! It’s enough to gross out a grown pirate! This fantastic adventure is fun, fast — and not a little odiferous.

It’s Sunday and the family is on an outing in the car, when the mama hears the dreaded, “Oh no, gotta go” — and so begins the frantic search for a bathroom. The romp is funny and fast, with words in Spanish and English that turn a familiar experience into an introduction to another language.

A bulbous little boy and his buccaneer dad share a day afloat on their pirate ship shouting things like ‘avast!’ and generally enjoying all of the gross things that pirates do. But as the boy is tucked into bed, his Pirate Papa reminds him that there’s nothing more important to him than his little pirate boy!

Jack and his family are moving to North Carolina now that his father has joined the navy. In school there, nine-year-old Jack falls hopelessly in love with his new teacher. Told through Jack’s crisp, often funny, sometimes poignant narration in a format that emulates a journal, this is the prequel for the Jack series.

Young Bud runs away from the latest and worst foster home in search of his father. Though he doesn’t find his father, Bud (not Buddy) does find family, music, and more on his long trek across Michigan during the Depression. In this Newbery-winning novel, both humor and Bud’s naive voice make difficult issues accessible to younger readers. (2000 Newbery Medal Winner)

Fifteen-year-old Luther’s mother, The Sarge, rules an empire of halfway houses and slums. Luther himself is a much more ordinary guy, though he is caught between being a typical teen and being the Sarge’s son. Luther’s peculiar problems are resolved in a way that is sure to satisfy readers.