Recommended Reads

Bored with rain, sun, fog, and snow, King Derwin of Didd summons his royal magicians to create something new and exciting to fall from the sky. What he gets is a storm of sticky green globs called Oobleck, which soon causes a royal mess. But with the assistance of the wise page boy Bartholomew, the king (along with young readers) learns that the simplest words can sometimes solve the biggest problems.

 In the same zany way that the Cat wreaks havoc in The Cat in the Hat, the darling blossom that springs from Mayzie’s head sets off a series of madcap reactions that will leave young readers (and their lucky parents) giggling with glee.

Words, sentences, and even worse, paragraphs fill up books. Ugh! So what's a reluctant reader to do? Actor Max Greenfield and New York Times bestselling illustrator Mike Lowery bring the energy and laugh-out-loud fun out for every child (and parent) who thinks they don’t want to read a book. This clever and playful read-aloud breaks the fourth wall and will have all readers coming back for laughs again and again!

How can Leopold, goat and bookstore owner, find the perfect book for a fellow goat—one the visitor will enjoy reading, not munching?

Leopold the goat owns a delightful bookstore, and he has a talent for matching his customers with the ideal book—an adventure story for the girl in the rain boots, a novel about gnomes for the man who loves to laugh, and a book of birds for the woman in the feathered hat. But one day, another goat arrives and proceeds to eat every book Leopold offers. Can Leopold find just the right one to tempt this reluctant reader? This funny, charming tale of the transformative power of books is a celebration of that first special story that sparks a child’s love of reading.

Sheila sat down to eat her first book and the strangest thing happened . . . The book ate HER. One by one, cousins Sheila, Gerald, and Geraldine Grunion are eaten . . . by their books. This peculiar turn of events flings them far and wide. Sheila escapes the weight of the world entirely, while Gerald braves the wonder of seeing it up close. And Geraldine, well, Geraldine turns as terrifically terrible as she possibly can. Join the Grunions on adventures no child can resist!
 

In this book a young girl pens a love letter to libraries and books, and powerfully expresses the need for diversity and the importance of representation in stories!

There was just this one thing, this nagging suspicion, that I didn't meet the criteria for a heroine's condition. In the books that I read, an absence of melanin was a clear omission.

A voracious young reader loves nothing more than going to the library and poring through books all day, making friends with characters and going off on exciting adventures with them. However, the more she reads, the more she notices that most of the books don't have characters that look like her, and the only ones that do tell about the most painful parts of their history. Where are the heroines with Afros exploring other planets and the superheroes with 'locs saving the day?

This celebration of the power of books is a rallying cry for letting imaginations soar.

We learn important stuff from books.
We learn to speak and think.
We learn why icebergs stay afloat . . .
and why Titanics sink.

Have you ever wanted to climb to the top of Everest with one hand behind your back? Kiss a crocodile all by yourself on the Nile River? How about learning how to bottle moonlight, or track a distant star? There are endless things to discover and whole universes to explore simply by reading a book. But books are only smears of ink without the reader's mind to give their letters meaning and bring them to life. With a rollicking, rhyming text and delightful artwork, poet and storyteller Allan Wolf and illustrator Brianne Farley remind us that books, no matter how they may be consumed, give readers of every background an opportunity to expand their world and spark their imagination. With infectious enthusiasm, No Buddy Like a Book offers an ode to the wonders of language--written, spoken, and everything in between.

In this laugh-out-loud book that begs readers to break the rules, silliness and hilarity reign supreme! Perfect for fans of The Book with No Pictures.

Wait--are you reading this book? Even though the cover asked you not to?

Well, if you're going to read it, then you'll have to follow the rules, or you're going to have WAY too much fun. And you don't want to have FUN, do you? DO YOU?!

That's what I thought. So definitely, positively, DO NOT read this book!

Join along for zany antics, silly sounds, and endless fun in this breaks-the-fourth-wall book that will have readers coming back time and time again--regardless of what the title says.

 

Stanley has stocked his bookmobile with lots of great books to take to the local park. Everyone stops by to borrow a book that Stanley selected just for them, and later at the main branch, he hosts an out-of-this-world author visit from Agatha Mouse!  After a hard day at work, Stanley winds down his day with a familiar supper and bath routine that makes this series a great pick for bedtime reading!

 

A stunning new picture book from Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet! This New York Times bestselling duo has teamed up for the first time to bring you How to Read a Book, a poetic and beautiful journey about the experience of reading.

Find a tree—a black tupelo or dawn redwood will do—and plant yourself.

With these words, an adventure begins. Kwame Alexander’s evocative poetry and Melissa Sweet’s lush artwork come together to take readers on a sensory journey between the pages of a book.

A visit to the library can be full of surprises. When the librarian is late for story time, the children go off to look for her and follow mysterious paw prints to find a bear sitting at her desk. Is the bear a new librarian? Not exactly. The new LiBEARian opens a book about bears and utters a loud growl. The kids love it! Then the real librarian appears and sends the bear back into the book he came from. A fun twist at the end rounds out this winsomely illustrated tale of a universal childhood experience--story time at the library--infused with magic.

With the help of Miss Brooks, Missy’s classmates all find books they love in the library—books about fairies and dogs and trains and cowboys. But Missy dismisses them all—“Too flowery, too furry, too clickety, too yippity.”

Still, Miss Brooks remains undaunted. Book Week is here and Missy will find a book to love if they have to empty the entire library. What story will finally win over this beastly, er, discriminating child? William Steig’s Shrek!—the tale of a repulsive green ogre in search of a revolting bride—of course!

Barbara Bottner and Michael Emberley pay playful homage to the diverse tastes of child readers and the valiant librarians who are determined to put just the right book in each child’s hands.

Find out how wacky words can be with Dr. Seuss and the Fox in Socks in this classic hardcover picture book of tongue tanglers!
This rhyming romp includes chicks with bricks, chewy blue glue, a noodle eating poodle, and so much more! Just try to keep your tongue out of trouble! Seuss piles his the energetic rhymes into a mountain of hilarity that the whole family will enjoy. Rhyming has never been this fun!

 

Dr. Seuss presents three modern fables in the rhyming favorite Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. The collection features tales about greed (“Yertle the Turtle”), vanity (“Gertrude McFuzz”), and pride (“The Big Brag”). In no other book does a small burp have such political importance! 

Barack Obama is known by many as the first Black president of the United States. But readers might not know that President Obama likes to collect comic books and play basketball! In this title, young readers are introduced to Barack Obama's life and presidency through leveled text and high-quality images. Special features include a map, a timeline, and a thought-provoking question.

Traces the life of Thomas Edison, one of the most influential inventors in American history, from his early childhood and education through his sources of inspiration and challenges faced, early successes, and the many inventions for which he is best known.

When Nikola Tesla arrived in the United States in 1884, he didn't have much money, but he did have a letter of introduction to renowned inventor Thomas Edison. The working relationship between the two men was short lived, though, and the two scientist-inventors became harsh competitors. One of the most influential scientists of all time, Nikola Tesla is celebrated for his experiments in electricity, X-rays, remote controls, and wireless communications. His invention of the Tesla coil was instrumental in the development of radio technology.

It started the summer of 2002, when the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo.

In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly introduces birds and beasts to this new something called reading. She finds the perfect book for every animal—tall books for giraffes, tiny ones for crickets. “She even found waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter.” In no time at all, Molly has them “forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks,” going “wild, simply wild, about wonderful books.” Judy Sierra’s funny animal tale coupled with Marc Brown’s lush, fanciful paintings will have the same effect on young Homo sapiens. Altogether, it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys!