Picture Books
by Gideon Sterer
In the secret spaces of the woods, there is a giant tree house. It is so big that it could be considered not a house but a town. Here, kids and animals live, work, and play together. They invent contraptions, create games, and express themselves through visual, musical, and performing arts. Treehouse Town is a place of imagination, friendship, and whimsy.
The text is presented in simple rhyming couplets. Most of the story is "told" through beautifully intricate illustrations, which will appeal to both young artists and engineers-in-the-making. This book is often labeled "diverse," but only because the pictures include children of different nationalities and physical abilities.
Maria Gianferrari
A young birdwatcher wakes in the morning and grabs her binoculars, eager to see the daily habits of a pair of neighborhood raptors who have built a home nearby. She spies the mother bird perched in the nest and the father scouting the land for the day's food. She patiently waits and checks back throughout the day. By evening, the father hawk catches a squirrel and brings it back to the nest, where the mother and her chicks await dinner.
This living literature book will teach readers about the behavior and habits of red-tailed hawks. The facts are gently incorporated into the story, and the bird's-eye-view watercolors beautifully illustrate ornithological science.
Please note: One picture shows the father hawk landing on a squirrel, and another shows him flying into the distance with the squirrel clutched in his talons. Although accurate to the hunting habits of carnivorous birds, the pictures might be troubling to some sensitive readers.
by Suzanne Slade
As he watched Thomas Edison invent one great gadget after another, Henry Ford became discouraged. On a mission to create an affordable horseless carriage, Ford continued to fail time and time again. Instead of seeing Edison as his scientific rival, however, Ford valued the light man's contributions and looked to him for advice.
Throughout their careers, Edison and Ford spurred each other on. And although they worked in separate fields of science, their shared curiosity changed the world. This is the story of their professional friendship.
by Sarah Stewart
The year is 1957, and Isabel has just legally immigrated to America with her family. They have settled near Lake Michigan, which feels like a world away from her former home in Mexico. She is nervous about starting school because she does not know English well. To cope with her new surroundings, Isabel uses large cardboard boxes to create a safe retreat for herself. Eventually, she makes friends, and her "quiet places" fill with many new faces.
The book is an epistolary story told through letters that Isabel writes to her Aunt Lupita back in Mexico.
Leveled Readers
by Molly Coxe
Cat wants a snack, so Cat sets a trap. But every time the trap is set, it catches something that is not a snack--a bug, a duck, a dog, and even Cat himself. It's not until his owner comes home that Cat finally gets the right kind of snack: chow!
This Level 1 reader has one to three simple sentences on each page. Many lines are repetitive and include one and two-vowel words, making it an excellent book for early emerging readers.
by Sally M. Walker
The British are coming! Lettie and her family must hurry to a family friend's farm. In their haste, they can not gather Solomon the gander and all 18 of his geese. Fearing for their lives, Lettie writes a note, pleading with the men not to harm her feathered friends. Will the enemy soldiers kill the treasured flock she's raised since they were goslings?
This Level 3 book is told from a child's perspective and uses age-appropriate language to introduce young readers to the hardships of the Revolutionary War.
Illustrated Chapter Books
by Eve Titus
In an English cellar lives a protege to the famed sleuth Sherlock Holmes, a mouse named Basil. Like Holmes, this four-legged detective notices things that other mice don't. Piecing scraps of information together, he solves critter crime. One day, a frantic couple enters his office. Their twin daughters have been kidnapped, and it's up to Basil and his trusty sidekick, Dr. Dawson, to discover who is behind their disappearance and bring the two little mice safely home.
This is the first in a delightful, language-rich eight-book series. The books stand alone and do not necessarily need to be read in any particular order. If possible, listen to the audiobooks. The narrator's many dialects are perfection!
Please note: the final book in the collection contains what is believed at the beginning of the story to be a ghost.
by Susan E. Goodman
Usually, Cora loves riding with her father to visit his patients across the prairie lands of Iowa. She helps him by administering medicine during surgeries, caring for little ones while mothers deliver babies, and comforting those who are sick. But one day, on their way to see a feverish infant, the pair get trapped by a fire that engulfs the grasses around them. They must keep their horses calm and create a fire break so the flames go around their wagon, not through it. Naturally, Cora fears for their safety. But as Pa's assistant, she must be brave.
Based on a true story, this book is perfect for young Little House on the Prairie fans.
Parents, Be Aware
by Kara LaReau
Brothers Louie and Ralphie Ratso are determined to be tough, just like their old man, Big Lou. Tough means bullying, pulling pranks, and creating misfortune for others. Trouble is, every time they try to act tough, their actions backfire, and they accidentally end up doing something kind. In fact, they do enough "kind" things that the principal sends a note home to their father, commending the boys for their good deeds. In the end, the trio learns that it's nice to be nice.
Things to know: While the story ends with a lesson in the value of kindness, the first three-fourths of the book glorifies naughty behavior with the brothers intentionally stirring up trouble. One illustration includes two coffee mugs that say, "Slug someone today" and "Bug someone today." Overall, this is an example of an author assuming that the "ends justify the means."
Just for you, Mom
The Woman They Could Not Silence
by Kate Moore
Amid the war between the states, Elizabeth Packard faces a different kind of enemy. He sits across from her at the breakfast table every morning and sleeps under the same roof every night. Her husband of over twenty years, who happens to be the pastor of her church and father to her six children, is threatened by her intelligence and popularity among his parishioners. In retaliation, he has her committed to an insane asylum, a shocking act that is entirely within his legal rights.
Once inside the state mental institution, Elizabeth realizes that she's not the only wife held captive against her will because of the false accusations of a disgruntled husband. The asylum is filled with intelligent, capable, and perfectly sane women living in horrific and abusive conditions. She resolves not just to earn her own freedom but to earn the freedom of all her "sisters" who have been unjustly imprisoned.
This is a narrative nonfiction about an Illinois housewife who takes on a board of directors, a state assembly, and eventually, Congress to ensure the liberties of married women in the United States. Much of the dialogue within the book is taken directly from Packard's journals, newspaper articles, and court records.
Please note: There is one use of "d*mned" in the text.