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.
Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter
A child and his mother see the moon peek in and between the buildings as they take a nighttime walk. Though it appears in different places, it is the same moon that watches over the sleeping child when he returns to go to bed. Dark pages with uncluttered forms are punctuated by light to delight.
City Moon
When a whale becomes caught in fishing net, the father is concerned about how he will provide for his family. His son, however, is determined to set the huge mammal free. Against his father’s wishes, he returns to the entrapped whale and successfully frees it. Shimmering illustrations present a compelling story of compassion and courage.
The Boy and the Whale
Even the worst bad seed can become better. Just ask the sunflower seed who became a seriously BAAAAD seed when the petals fell and he was almost eaten by a giant! Now he again says thank you and at least tries to be better. Readers will appreciate the broad humor in overstated text and illustration and just might see part of themselves in the bad seed.
The Bad Seed
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.
Winter Dance
Large pages are used to present animals from around the world. Lyrical language and lush mixed media illustrations generate wonder and appreciation for a host of animals from habitats in the sea, land, and air.
Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals
Updated information about tigers, leopards, and other big cats is presented in a readable text and full-color photographs. Where to find additional information is included at the end of this large formatted, handsome book.
Big Cats
Calpurnia Tate and her grandfather, both naturalists, travel on the San Marco River to observe nature in and around the river. When they rescue a sick owl from the water Callie and her grandfather must figure out what’s wrong with the owl before it’s too late to save it. This is a worthy addition to the Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet series.
Who Gives a Hoot?
Eleven-year old Fern lives near an old-growth forest which her family relies on to forage for food. The forest, however, is threatened by a company that wants to use hydraulic fracturing that will require a wastewater pond. How Fern finds friendship, family, and a resolution within a splintered town is plausible and heartwarming.
The End of the Wild
Whose bones are pictured in white on black pages? Turn the page to see the fleshed out creature in full color and learn more about it, where it lives, and its size. Comparisons are clever and familiar (e.g., the skeleton of a particular shrew is the size of a paperclip) for a fun and informative examination of animals and their structures.
Book of Bones: 10 Record-Breaking Animals
Photographs and factual information combine with comical illustrations and lighthearted (though accurate) asides about a range of creatures. Some are familiar, others are not, but all are fascinating and expand the concept of what makes a monster – including humans!
What Makes a Monster? Discovering the World’s Scariest Creatures
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.
In the Middle of Fall
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…”
Hello Autumn!
The Vietnam war is over, and Grandfather and young Nam dream that the new dikes will restore the wetlands, bringing home the beautiful cranes that once filled the winter sky. But other villagers think that growing rice is a more practical use for the land.
Grandfather’s Dream
Poetic language provides an introduction to squirrels, their habitats, and behaviors. Collage illustration enhances the information and the energetic tone. Additional information finishes this attractive and informative book.
Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep
Examine each double page spread in this oversized book. See the realistically pictured animals and where they live. Make up or find a story about them. If you’re curious, you can look in the back for the names of the real animals. Handsome scenes from different natural environments make this a book to examine again and again.
Story Worlds Nature
“Giant Whale or Giant Hoax?” headlines read in the opening of this mostly wordless book. The adventure continues as two young people prepare to find and record the massive mammal through wordless, realistic, highly detailed monochromatic illustrations. Their breathtaking escapade continues until the final spread depicting another newspaper, announcing that the boys have solved the mystery of the spotted whale.
The Whale
A year in the life of Vixen, a red fox, reveals how these canine omnivores live, hunt, and reproduce. A muted palette allows Vixen to stand out as she moves throughout her territory. Additional information and resources conclude this attractive, evocative, and informative book.
The Secret Life of the Red Fox
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.
The Forever Garden
Endpages show swimming tadpoles; turn the page and the progression from tadpole to frog appears within brief frog facts. There are over 5,000 kinds of frogs that live all over the world. Turn the page and some of them are introduced in lively but short text and dramatic, colorful illustrations. Alliterative, onomatopoeic frog sounds are effectively incorporated into page designs of this informative and engaging book
Fabulous Frogs
The life cycle of a monarch butterfly begins with an egg and a feast by caterpillars; each colorful leaf and creature is hidden beneath a well-hidden flap on bold black and white pages. The journey continues in lyrical language with colorful surprises beneath well camouflaged flaps, sure to inspire close observation and interest.
The Butterfly Garden
A conversational tone and flaps to lift on each double page look at different biomes are sure to inspire further examination. Freshwater, desert, rainforest and other ecological communities of plants and animals are handsomely illustrated and presented on sturdy pages.
Wilderness: An Interactive Atlas of Animals
Rocks tell stories of constant changes in the earth. And volcanoes show the changes to earth’s surface, often to the benefit of its inhabitants. Join Aurora, her classmates and teacher to explore the forces at work on our planet. Fact and fiction combine in this engaging comic book presentation.
Volcanoes: Fire and Life
A poem about the well-known Great White begins this handsomely illustrated collection of poems each about a different sea-dwelling shark. Readers will meet the Wobbegong, a nurse shark, the goblin shark, and more. Different poetic forms combine with splendid illustrations that evoke the depths of the creatures’ habitats.