Content Area Picture Books

SCIENCE:
See It Grow Series (1st and 2nd grade reading levels)

Apple - Dawn Bluemel Oldfield
In this book, readers learn how apples grow from seed to fruit.


Coconut - Jackie Lee
Readers will discover how a coconut seed turns into a coconut palm that bears lots of new coconuts in clear, simple steps in this basic introduction to plant development.


Cranberry - Jackie Lee
A cranberry is full of fruity goodness. It is smooth, round, and red. How did it get that way? Beginning readers will discover how a tiny cranberry seed turns into a vine that forms flowers and then fruit in clear, simple steps in this basic introduction to plant development.

Oak Tree - Joyce Markovics
Discover how oak trees grow from seedlings to large, leafy trees that produce flowers and new acorns.


Pumpkin - Jackie Lee
Discover how pumpkins grow from small seeds to seedlings to vines that produce flowers and big, ripe pumpkins.

Sunflower - Joyce Markovics
A tall plant with a huge yellow flower grows in a field. It was once a small seed. So how did it get so big? Beginning readers will discover how a seed turns into a sunflower in clear, simple steps in this basic introduction to plant development.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs - Linda Sue Park
Presents animals acting out the verbs made from their names, including hogs hogging, slugs slugging, and other creatures demonstrating homographs, words with different meanings that are spelled and pronounced the same.


MATH:

Measuring Penny - Loreen Leedy
Lisa learns about the mathematics of measuring by measuring her dog Penny with all sorts of units, including pounds, inches, dog biscuits, and cotton swabs.




FICTION:
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music - Margarita Engle
Follows a girl in the 1920s as she strives to become a drummer, despite being continually reminded that only boys play the drums, and that there has never been a female drummer in Cuba. Includes note about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, who inspired the story, and Anacaona, the all-girl dance band she formed with her sisters.
Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Winner, 2016

Buddy and Earl Go Exploring - Maureen Fergus
Buddy is just settling in for the night when Earl announces that he's going on a trip. Before buddy knows it, he and Earl are off on another grand adventure. While exploring the wilds of the kitchen, they see wondrous sights, make delicious discoveries and even encounter a couple of unusual monsters.

More Than Enough: A Passover Story - April Halprin Wayland
Illustrations and simple text portray children and their family as they prepare for, then celebrate, a Passover seder with foods, games, songs, and even a sleepover.

CHRISTIAN CHILDREN'S BOOKS:

The Lightlings - R.C. Sproul
Charlie's fears of the dark are calmed by his grandfather's story of the Son of the King of Light brought into the world so that people need never fear the darkness.

Paul's Travel's - Tim Dowley
Through this fully illustrated guide, children discover the fascinating story of Paul—his life, journeys, and letters—with a letter stored in its own pocket for each chapter.

Picture Books

Cat the Cat series - Mo Willems

Let's Say Hi to Friends Who Fly!
An exuberant cat cheers on her friends as they demonstrate whether or not they can fly.

Time to Sleep Sheep the Sheep!
Cat the cat has a slumber party with her animal friends.


What's Your Sound Hound the Hound?
Cat the Cat's animal friends make many different sounds.

Surf's Up - Kwame Alexander
Surf's up! Not yet, Dude! Books are boring! Not this one! Bro and Dude have very different ideas about how to spend the day at the beach. But as Bro continues to gasp and cheer as he reads his book (Moby Dick), Dude can't help but get curious. Before you can shout 'Surf's up!' both frogs are sharing the same adventure, that is, until they get to the beach.

Hannah and Sugar - Kate Berube
Every day after school, Hannah sees her classmate's dog, Sugar. Hannah politely declines to pet Sugar, because Hannah is afraid of dogs. But one day, Sugar goes missing, and it's Hannah who finds him.


Spot, the Cat - Henry Cole
In this wordless picture book, a cat named Spot ventures out an open window and through a city on a journey, while his owner tries to find him.

Teeny Tiny Toady - Jill Esbaum
Oh, no! Teeny's mama is stuck in a bucket! What's a toad to do? Hurry home for help, of course!


K is for Kick: A Soccer Alphabet - Brad Herzog
Examines the history and lore of soccer from A for a game played "all over the world" to Z for "Zinedine Zidane," a French star named the world's best.


Hop - Jorey Hurley
A day in the life of a rabbit family, from sleeping to grazing to hiding from danger.

Treat - Mary Sullivan
After performing endless tricks and futile searches, a treat-obsessed little dog finally makes a tasty discovery.

Little One - Jo Weaver
Follows a new bear cub and his mother as they discover the world together, through every season.

Nonfiction

Stella Writes Series - Jan Wagstaff

Stella: Poet Extraordinaire
Stella and her teacher, Ms. Merkley, take readers on a journey through the process of writing poetry, from finding inspiration by taking a poetry walk to a final Poetry Jam where all the young poets share their work.

Stella and Class: Information Experts
Do you know what it's like to be inquisitive? To have your mind racing with questions? Stella does! When Stella's class gets curious about chameleons, their teacher, Ms. Merkley, is happy to oblige. Join Stella and her friends as they become chameleon experts, and experts in informative writing. Sharing what you learn; that's what informative writing is all about.

Stella Tells Her Story
She has a story to tell. (Ms. Merkley says everyone does.) Today, Ms. Merkley announced, is the perfect day to start writing narratives. Max has the story about his puppy, and Tineka is ready to retell her catfish adventure. But what topic will Stella choose? The time she got cupcake batter in her hair? Her trip to the amusement park? And how will she write it? What happened first, next, last . . . ? Stella loves to write. Go with her on a writing journey as she relives and retells a heartwarming story.

Stella Writes an Opinion
Meet Stella. She has lots of opinions. Like, the best food is ice cream and kids should be allowed to bring toys to school and Ms. Merkley is the nicest teacher in the whole world. So, when Ms. M. tells the class they get to write an opinion, Stella gets excited. But how will she choose what to write about? Go with Stella on her writing journey and see how one kid's opinion can change a school. What could be more fun than to write what you think about an important topic. Now that's power!

Picture Books for Math

The Greedy Triangle - Marilyn Burns
Dissatisfied with its shape, a triangle keeps asking the local shapeshifter to add more lines and angles until it doesn't know which side is up.

It's Probably Penny - Loreen Leedy
After learning about probability at school, Lisa has to complete an assignment and find things that fit into the categories of will, might,  and cannot happen.

Biographies

The William Hoy Story - Nancy Churnin
All William Ellsworth Hoy wanted to do was play baseball. After losing out on a spot on the local deaf team, William practiced even harder--eventually earning a position on a professional team. But his struggle was far from over. In addition to the prejudice Hoy faced, he could not hear the umpires' calls. One day he asked the umpire to use hand signals: strike, ball, out. That day he not only got on base but also changed the way the game was played forever. William "Dummy" Hoy became one of the greatest and most beloved players of his time!

How Kate Warne Saved President Lincoln - Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
Relates the events of an important early case for American female detective Kate Warne, describing how she went undercover as a society lady on a mission to thwart an assassination plot against the sixteenth president.