Book Finder

This collection of poems, first published in 1956, reveals the heroes we see in our everyday lives. Vibrant paintings add a fresh, new dimension and bring the poet’s Chicago neighborhood to life.

Trash isn’t gross with Mr. Gilly at the wheel of the collection truck. In fact, he is proud of his job picking up the trash around town — from the school to the pizza parlor. Boldly colored illustrations and a catchy rhyme tell the story of this Trashy Town — and how we all helped make it so!

As a barren landscape begins to fill with people, trees, buildings, and more, readers can count the changes beginning with zero. The increasingly detailed, handsome watercolors encourage readers to counting and sort during the evolution of the countryside, much like the United States census.

Reenie and her mother often fish along a river nicknamed Jim Crow, where they often see Peter and his father fishing, too. Since Reenie is black and Peter is white, they never speak — until Reenie reaches out to bridge a divide even wider than the river. A hopeful ending concludes this expressively illustrated recollection of the author’s childhood.

All the grown-ups from the zookeeper to the President are sleeping and “you know who should be sleeping, just like the sun?” Mama’s “sweet little one,” of course. Night-toned illustrations with lots of detail and short rhyming text create a bedtime story that holds up to multiple readings.

Travel with a community helper from an earlier time as Mr. Plimpton delivers milk and other dairy products along with a good deal of good will and care to the homes along his route. Richly-colored, highly-detailed illustrations highlight the changes as daylight grows and Mr. Plimpton completes his work.

A fuzzy green ball is accidentally dropped by a large lumpy dog into a hole inhabited by prairie dogs. All of this causes great excitement. The prairie dogs not only make fashion statements, but discover that fancy fuzz can cause trouble. Spirited illustrations in a large format are as vivacious and funny as the text.

In spite of looming war, librarian Alia Muhammed Baker was able to save the books from the library of Basra by moving them to safety. Simple forms and deep colors in a naïve style evoke the war without being explicit. The bravery and action of one person celebrates both everyday heroism and books as a unifying force.

While on a family excursion to Africa, the Lazardos find a dinosaur and bring him home to their small town. Dinosaur Bob becomes part of their family and the town’s best baseball player.

By all accounts, Eloise is an extraordinary child. Who else has spent her lifetime in New York’s Plaza Hotel with all of its amenities? Eloise charms us with her precocious nature and her ability to transform an adult world into a giant playground. This 50th anniversary edition also provides a glimpse at her creator and illustrator.

Carla’s book about the first Thanksgiving survives the fire that destroys her apartment. When she and her mother move in to their new building, Carla is determined to bring the residents together in a Thanksgiving no one will ever forget.

A collection of poetry conveys the joys of a young girl.

Miss Clavel has her hands full with her young students: twelve little girls of whom the youngest is Madeline. Madeline’s fearlessness often causes Miss Clavel great consternation as they travel around Paris in two straight lines!

Cassie doesn’t have to actually go to the beach; she’s got her very own “tar beach” on the roof of her Harlem apartment building. From there, her imagination takes her on a journey through time and space. The artist’s quilt story was successfully adapted into this modern classic.

A beautifully illustrated, sentimental tale about a king who only takes and a master quiltmaker who only gives. The story tells of the true benefits that come from both giving and receiving.

Mr. Willowby, the unwitting hero of this Christmas classic, looks quite a bit like the little mustachioed mascot from Monopoly. But as befits a Yuletide tale, this diminutive millionaire turns out to be a good bit more generous.

Joe and John Henry are friends who have many interests in common, including swimming. But because John Henry has brown skin and Joe’s is the “color of pale moths,” they cannot swim together in the town’s pool. Told by Joe and eloquently illustrated, the emotions and power of friends trying to understand an unfriendly world are timeless.

Celebrate America’s birthday with a family in a small town. Animated and often funny illustrations and verse present this special day’s activities starting with a read, white, and blue breakfast and culminating with fireworks.

A young girl learns to find beauty in her sometimes gritty urban neighborhood, showing how the way one sees makes a difference that affects others. Luminous watercolors detail the child, her neighborhood, and suggest what she sees around her.

Mild-mannered paperboy Henry collides with a sparrow and turns into Sparrowboy just like his hero, Falconman – a superhero who not only delivers the paper but also helps out the neighborhood. When Henry returns from his comic-strip fantasy, things seem just a bit better than before.

A boy and his dog, each with his own thoughts, begin to deliver newspapers before the sun rises. Deeply hued, evocative illustrations document their journey through the quiet morning. As the sun comes up, boy and dog return to bed, satisfied that the job was well done.

Rosalba imagines flying over New York City with her much loved abuela. The young girl uses a lovely mix of English and Spanish to describe their journey, moving from the busy streets of Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty. Brightly colored illustrations detail what Rosalba and her grandmother glimpse as they fly, and the rich tales of Abuela’s memories.

Kingsville, on the border of Mexico and Texas, comes to life in words and pictures in this book. Readers will share the simple joys of eating, dancing, and celebrating as the artist remembers her own childhood. Her stories, presented in both English and Spanish, are accompanied by her bright paintings.

When the winter settles on Saranac Lake in New York state, the community comes together to prepare for the winter carnival. A ten-year old girl narrates this fictionalized account of the annual two-week celebration that she and her father help plan and her uncle (as well as other prisoners from a nearby correctional facility) help build. Highly realistic, full-color watercolors depict the excitement and activity, which is further explained in an endnote.