Book Finder

When an autistic child joins a mainstream school, many children can find it difficult to understand and cope with a student that is somewhat ‘different’ to them. This story encourages other children to be mindful and patient of the differences that exist and to also appreciate the positive contribution that an autistic child can make to the group.

A young girl sits next to a boy named Louis at school. Louis has autism, but through imagination, kindness, and a special game of soccer, his classmates find a way to join him in his world. Then they can include Louis in theirs.

Sparkle, Lucy’s unicorn, becomes a bit jealous when Cole comes over to play. Dance and a drum bring the three friends together in this gentle but illuminating story of friendship.

Though well-meaning, the good deeds just don’t turn out quite right when Clifford the big red dog tries to help Mary Elizabeth and her neighbor Tim around town. This vintage edition uses limited color illustration in a humorous modern classic.

After Nicky’s uncle gave her a dog. Barkus became a trusted member of the family, a classroom dog, and he even adopted a small kitten named Baby. Barkus and Nicky’s adventures are told in short chapters and colorful illustrations.

The residents of Sprout Street welcome a new neighbor from Hawaii in A New Arrival. They travel to France in Bon Voyage. Each of these episodic, short, and easier to read novels are lighter reading for summer and beyond.

Colette’s loses her imaginary parrot but finds friends in her neighborhood while the children help her search for it. Sequential art expressively tells the story in mostly blacks and grays punctuated with yellow. Limited text completes the appealing package. 

Triangle — a triangular shape with big eyes and stick legs — decides to leave his triangular house to play a trick on square. But turnabout is fair play in this whimsical but sardonic tale. The illustrator’s signature style are textured, deceivingly simple, and placed on open pages.  

When a girl and her brother return to the park to retrieve the forgotten jump rope, they discover a group of foxes jumping rope. They watch from afar until soon, foxes and children are jumping rope together. Wishes do come true in this mellow fantasy of talking animals with illustrations bathed in soft color.

A young girl and an older woman, Honey, bond over Honey’s garden and her chickens. When Honey must move away, the narrator is devastated until new neighbors move in and the girl can show them how to maintain the garden. An author’s note reveals that her story is loosely based on a Talmudic story about the value of effort not simply the harvest.

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.  

Can the three friends — Eni, Hopper, and Josh — foil the dastardly principal to save the day? How can coding help? In this third installment of Secret Coders, information and adventure combine to create another exciting story. 

It’s hard to make lemonade out of lemons when your mother has died and you’re stuck living far away from everything familiar. But that’s just what Lemonade Liberty Witt must do when she goes to live with her grandfather in Willow Creek, California, the Bigfoot Capital of the World. There she meets Tobin Sky, an odd boy who is the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives, Inc. Together, they solve a mystery, perhaps even meet a Bigfoot, and find that making lemonade can sometimes occur unexpectedly.   

Four very different kids each with unique problems and personalities, come together over a short period to find a lost boy, come to appreciate each other, and discover new friendships. Each character is recognizable, likeable, and when they come together create a fast-paced story sure to engage young readers.

After the mother skunk is killed, Bixby “Bat” Alexander Tam’s veterinarian mother brings home its kit to be kept only until its old enough to be released. Who would have thought Bat would want to keep the baby skunk, named Thor? Is it really okay for a skunk to become a pet? Bat is a unique character and the story offers a deeply heartfelt glimpse into the life of a boy on the autism spectrum, presented realistically in this touching (and surprisingly informative) novel.

Barker and Purdy are best friends but very different. Not only is Barker a dog and Purdy a cat, but their personalities are quite dissimilar: one is hardworking, the other rather lazy. But differences are made to be appreciated as Barker and Purdy come to appreciate in this illustrated, episodic and charming book first published in Finland.

Getting a new pup means getting a new friend but it also means getting to know each other. At first, the small brown and white dog is shy and kind of scared but that changes. Sometime dogs and kids are sloppy, smelly and noisy but it’s all worth it!  Simple illustrations and straightforward text combine to present a warm story of friendship.

Ruby builds with her red blocks while Benji uses his blue blocks. An argument erupts when Benji tries to take one of the red blocks. Tugging and pulling makes a mixed up mess of blue and red blocks that creates cooperative construction! What will happen when Guy joins them with green blocks?  Uncluttered illustrations and straightforward text present the recognizable tale.

One day a small black cat came to live with a big white cat. The white cat taught the little one a great deal. One day, the big white cat now old, left and didn’t come back. Soon, however, a small white cat joined the black cat. Strong, simple lines illustrate this gentle tale which is sure to be interpreted in many ways by young children.

Hattie McFadden is a born explorer. Every morning she grabs her life jacket and paddles out in her canoe to discover something new on the lake, singing a little song on her way. When her singing draws up from the depths a huge mysterious beast, everyone in town is terrified — except Hattie, who looks into the creature’s friendly, curious eyes and knows that this is no monster.

Seventh grader Olive is tired of feeling left out at school because she prefers acting in the drama club rather than playing a sport. Her school is so sports crazy that the principal never acknowledges any of the other clubs during the morning announcements. Olive decides it’s time to take action and embarks on a game plan to ensure that her drama club and other groups at school get the attention they deserve. A perfect book for Readers’ Theater!

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.

Only the green egg remains unchanged after the pink, blue and yellow eggs hatch; three small birds wait and wait and wait for the fourth egg. After the long wait, a distinctly un-avian creature emerges and a unique friendship begins. Strong lines, soft colors with rounded shapes and repeated images with minimal language tell this distinctive tale of an egg.

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. This wordless picture book is about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.