Picture Books

Big Cat Pepper
Elizabeth Partridge
E FIC PAR

Big Cat Pepper has always been part of the family, but after he grows very old and dies, the boy who loves him comes to understand his mother's reassurance that "his spirit is forever and can fly, fly, fly."

subjects: Stories in Rhyme, Cats, Death

Birds
Kevin Henkes
E FIC HEN

Fascinated by the colors, shapes, sounds, and movements of the many different birds she sees through her window, a little girl is happy to discover that she and they have something in common.

subjects: Birds

Call Me Gorgeous!
Giles Milton
E FIC MIL

Fun and unique, like the fabulous beast it conjures up, Call Me Gorgeous! celebrates diversity and the beautiful differences between all creatures.

subjects: Animals, Diversity

The Curious Garden
Peter Brown
E FIC BRO

Liam discovers a hidden garden and with careful tending spreads color throughout the gray city.

subjects: Gardening, City and Town Life

Doodle Bites
Polly Dunbar
E FIC DUN

Doodle the alligator awakens feeling "bitey," and soon all of the animal friends are in tears.

subjects: Behavior, Animals, Friends

Duck Tents
Lynne Berry
E FIC BER

While on a camping trip, five little ducks pitch tents, go fishing, toast marshmallows around a campfire, and face frightening night noises.

subjects: Stories in Rhyme, Camping, Ducks

Duck! Rabbit!
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
E FIC ROS

Two unseen characters argue about whether the creature they are looking at is a rabbit or a duck.

subjects: Animals - Identification

Feeling Sad
Sarah Verroken
E FIC VER

On a gloomy day, Duck feels sad until a frog gives him some advice that cheers him up.

subjects: Sadness, Mood, Emotions, Ducks

Flying
Kevin Luthardt
E FIC LUT

A boy's simple questions about why he cannot fly lead to an imaginative journey with his father.

subjects: Flight, Fathers and Sons

Hello, My Name is Bob
Linus Alsenus
E FIC ALS

Bob the bear feels very boring, especially compared to his lively friend Jack, but in the end he realizes that every bear is different and the two of them can still be friends.

subjects: Individuality, Self-Acceptance, Friendship, Bears, Self-Perception

The Hermit Crab
Carter Goodrich
E FIC GOO

Absorbed in his search for food, a shy hermit crab, disguised in a fancy new shell, inadvertently rescues a flounder caught beneath a trap and wins the admiration of the other marine animals.

subjects: Hermit Crabs, Crabs, Marine Animals, Humourous Stories,

Higher! Higher!
Leslie Patricelli
E FIC PAT

One child. One swing. An obliging dad. The inevitable plea to go "Higher! Higher!" How high can it go? Higher than a giraffe? Taller than a mountain? Is Earth the final frontier?

subjects: Swings

It's a Secret!
John Burningham
E FIC BUR

"Where do cats go at night?" Marie-Elaine wonders. So when she sees him at his cat door dressed to the nines, she begs to come along. And amazingly, Malcolm agrees as long as she puts on her fancy clothes, gets small, and keeps it all a secret.

subjects: Cats, Secrecy

Kiki's Blankie
Janie Bynum
E FIC BYN

Kiki the monkey has many daring adventures with her polka-dot "blankie," but when it sails away without her and lands above a sleeping crocodile, she may not be brave enough to come to the rescue.

subjects: Blankets, Monkeys, Courage

Let's Do Nothing!
Tony Fucile
E FIC FUC

Frankie and Sal have run out of things to do: "We've played every sport ever invented" and "baked enough cookies to feed a small country--" Then Sal hits upon a solution: "Let's do nothing!" How hard could that be?

subjects: Amusements, Play

The Lion and The Mouse
Jerry Pinkney
E FIC PIN

In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable set in the African Serengeti, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when she rescues the King of the Jungle.

subjects: Fables, Folklore, Lions, Mice, Cooperation, Animals, Stories without Words

Looking Like Me
Walter Dean Myers
E FIC MYE

Jeremy sets out to discover all of the different "people" that make him who he is, including brother, son, writer, and runner.

subjects: Families, Harlem, Individuality, Family Life, African Americans

Magic Box: A Magical Story
Katie Cleminson
E FIC CLE

Eva receives a very special box for her birthday. When she climbs inside, she becomes a master magician! For her best trick, Eva wishes for a pet named Monty and she gets even more than she imagined.

subjects: Magic, Magic Tricks, Birthdays, Bears

Mouse was Mad
Linda Urban
E FIC URB

Mouse struggles to find the right way to express his anger, modeling the behavior of Hare, Bear, Hedgehog, and Bobcat, only to discover that his own way may be the best way of all.

subjects: Anger, Individuality, Mice, Animals

Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors
Joyce Sidman
E FIC SID

Nature displays different colors to announce the seasons of the year.

subjects: Color, Nature, Seasons

Rhyming Dust Bunnies
Jan Thomas
E FIC THO

As three dust bunnies, Ed, Ned, and Ted, are demonstrating how much they love to rhyme, a fourth, Bob, is trying to warn them of approaching danger.

subjects: Rhyme, Dust, Humourous Stories

Silly Tilly
Eileen Spinelli
E FIC SPI

Tilly drives the other barnyard animals crazy with her silliness, but after gruffly telling her to stop, they discover that they miss her old ways.

subjects: Stories in Rhyme, Domestice Animals, Geese, Humourous Stories

Sylvie
Jennifer Gordon Sattler
E FIC SAT

When Sylvie, the pink flamingo, learns her color comes from the little pink shrimp she eats, she decides to expand her choices, trying everything under the sun and, unfortunately, overdoing it.

subjects: Flamingos, Birds, Food, Colors

There was an Old Monster
Rebecca Emberley
E FIC EMB

In this variation on the traditional cumulative rhyme, a monster swallows ants, a lizard, a bat, and other creatures to try to cure a stomach ache that began when he swallowed a tick.

subjects: Folk Songs - English, Nonsense Verses, Children's Songs

Tillie Lays an Egg
Terry Blonder Golson
E FIC GOL

In search of the perfect place to lay her egg, Tillie the chicken leaves the barnyard and explores the farmhouse.

subjects: Chickens

Tortuga in Trouble
Ann Whitford Paul
E FIC PAU

When Tortuga arrives at Abuela's house to bring her supper, Abuela looks suspiciously like Coyote. Includes a glossary of Spanish words used.

subjects: Fairy Tales, Turtles, Desert Animals, Grandmothers,

Two at the Zoo
Danna Smith
E FIC SMI

A grandfather and grandchild go to the zoo, where they count animals from one to ten.

subjects: Stories in Rhyme, Grandfathers, Zoos, Zoo Animals, Counting

What Can You Do With a Rebozo?
Carmen Tafolla
E FIC TAF SPA

A spunky, young Mexican American girl explains the many uses of her mother's red rebozo, or long scarf. Written in Spanish and English.

subjects: Mexican Americans, Scarves, Stories in Rhyme, Shawls

When I Grow Up
Leonid Gore
E FIC GOR

At his drawing table on a rainy day, a boy imagines all the ways in which different things might grow up, and comes to the conclusion that he will grow up to be just like his dad. On die-cut pages.

subjects: Toy and Movable Books, Growth, Fathers and Sons

Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed
J.C. Phillips
E FIC PHI

Although ninjas should be silent and use stealth, Wink finds his enthusiasm gets him into trouble with his teacher until he finds the perfect way to express both traits.

subjects: Ninjas, Schools, Japan