A boy goes for a walk one morning in search of a couple of things for his breakfast. With the curiosity of a young child, he investigates a gate, a truck, a tractor, a haystack, a cow, a sheep, and a pony. None of these interesting objects lay the eggs he wants for breakfast. All the while, a chicken follows him. Retrieving eggs in the chicken coop, he shows he always knew where to find the eggs.

The illustrations give the book a classic feel. The lines of the sweet illustrations are reminicent of Robert McCloskey and the playful colors bring to mind Gyo Fujikawa’s characters.

A young hawaiian boy grows up hearing his grandfather sing. As they spend time at the ocean and evenings singing grandfather encourages his grandson to listen for a good song. The boy tries again and again as he grows and moves away from home to hear the song. Time passes and so does his grandfather. Still he can’t hear the song. In his sadness, he heads to the ocean, lying back he lets it lull him. In his dreams he hears the whisper of his grandfather on the wind. And he hears the “good song”. Now when the boy hears singing and the strumming of the ukulele he feels the love of the good song in his heart.

The Good Song is a touching story that encourages a reader to slow down, listen, and connect to both the surrounding world and his/her inner heart. The story reflects the culture of the Hawaiian people.

Endpapers include a short biography of IZ (Israel Kamakawiwoʻole), a Hawaiian muscisian famous for his medley of Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World as well as the song lyrics.

Identified as a graphic novel chapter book, this book offers a hybrid reading experience for young readers.

Snail is happy in his rusty bucket home and doesn’t want to ever leave. When he’s dumped from the bucket, his friend ladybug encourages him to look for a new house. Together they explore the different parts of the yard looking for the perfect snail house. Along the way snail makes friends with a gopher and a rabbit too. After narrowly escaping a chicken who wants to eat him for lunch, he discovers the apple orchard is the perfect place to make his home.

A book that incorporates friendship and problem-solving in an adventure to find snail a new home.

In this sweet story, Ninita a rare pygmy marmoset was born not able to hear. Due to her disability, she was abandoned by her parents when she was just 3 weeks old. A rescue found her, brought her inside and became her new family. Now people kept her safe, groomed her fur, and fed her just like a family should. When she reached adulthood, Ninita was moved to a habitat and introduced to another pygmy marmoset, Mr. Big. Ninita may not be able to understand Mr. Big’s sounds, but she understand friendship – closeness, shared experiences, and affection.

Use when discussing disabilities, pygmy marmosets, or when studying animal sanctuaries and rescues.

Spanning almost 120 years, Together We March details how marginalized populations organized protest marches to bring attention to their struggle. The book celebrates this long history – reminding us that protests are not a new phenomenon. The majority of the examples are from the United States, but protest marches in India, Bulgaria, South Africa, Kenya as well as worldwide protests are included. While some physical opposition is outlined, the focus of the narratives is on peaceful, non-violent movements.

Each two page illustrated spread provides background information about the situation and the people involved, a description of the event, and an analysis of the impact of the protest.

In Together We March the multiple examples of organized protest remind students that their peaceful actions in defense of issues that matter to them can make an impact on the world. Pair it with Equity’s Call or Rise Up!: The Art of Protest for a unit on grassroots movements that lead to change.

Interesting and ambitious investigation of different aspects of the night. The book is divided into four sections; human sleep, nocturnal animals, plants at night, and the night sky. Each section contains solid detailed information supported by illustrations and graphics. While all topics involve the night, there is little connection between the different topics. It makes more sense to view each chapter in isolation as each addresses a unique concept (human health, animal senses, plants, and astronomical features visible at night).

Curious young scientists will enjoy the diverse investigations found In the Dark.

With vivid colorful illustrations and rhythmic rhyming text, McGinty and Harris explore the majesty of the sea. The rich descriptive language helps form a picture of the ocean for young learners.

The sea knows stars in shallow pools
Below, it knows alluring jewels
The sea knows worlds of red and gold
The sea knows bright / The sea knows bold.

Use to start a study of the sea or to practice descriptive language. The appendix contains an explanation of each phrase and offers a starting point for further investigation.

Whether good or bad, “things” go away. A bird, sleep, lice, a bad thought The big and small aspects of our everyday life do not stay the same.  Yet one thing will always remain. The hug that concludes the book shows the “thing” that will never pass, move on, or change is love. This is a comforting book that will bring a smile to your heart.

Beatrice Alemagna cleverly uses a see-through page with a black drawing to illustrate change as the image moves, fades, or is transformed with the flip of the page. A close look at the illustrations can guide a closer look at what changes in our lives.

As Christian Robinson portrays a circular path of interconnection, he reminds us that we all matter. Starting and ending with little stuff too small to see, Robinson’s text and illustrations remind us that our place in the world, how we are perceived by others, or our successes or failures cannot change the fact that at the most basic level, each part of our world matters. Even compared the magnitude of space and the breadth of time we matter. The powerful words interspersed with the refrain “you matter’ circles back to the small stuff.

A must have for all libraries and an excellent tool to support Social Emotional Learning lessons.

Lubaya is a quiet child who appears to sit on the sideline whether it’s at school, with friends or home with family.  Yet, while not engaged as you would expect from a child, she takes the world around her and merges it with her imagination.  This imagination finds an outlet on the back of old protest posters. Upsetting news on the TV has her family reclaiming the protest posters for another march.  In this way, Lubaya’s truth and dreams in artistic form become part of the message of the protest. The beauty of this message is Lubaya’s quiet roar.

In a time when protests are regularly on the news, Lubaya’s Quiet Roar reminds us that the loudest voices don’t necessarily have the most to say. We all have the potential to listen, look, dream and illustrate a different, better world.