In We Are the Builders!, Ramla, a young woman wearing a hijab, walks through a diverse neighborhood identifying ways people young and old can make a difference in their communities. Each of ten identified community roles is described in poetic verse and includes an invitation to join in helping through that role. The book recognizes that improving a community requires the engagement of multiple roles.
The endpapers explain that We Are the Builders! is a picture book version of the authors social change ecosystem map. Through identifying the role that best fits our interests and strengths, we can change the world for the better.
Jenny Chow just can’t get the hang of chopsticks and everyone in her family knows it. Her struggle has her feeling like an outsider in her extended family. Jenny’s cousin is having a party featuring the family’s annual chopstick challenge. Some onomatopoeia and Chinese characters accompany her unsuccessful practice attempts. Jenny realized that trying the same thing again and again will not help her improve.
Jenny gains inspiration from a set of tongs and fashions her chopsticks with a rubber band and folded star; acting like a training wheels. Through persistence and practice Jenny successfully participates in the chopstick challenge, an important family tradition. Her family is there to cheer on her success.
Tricky Chopsticks is a story highlighting family traditions and ingenuity when faced with a challenge.
Neighbors Sophia and May are best of friends who know they can always rely on each other to be there. One day their adventures together take them beyond their yards to a nearby field. There they find a wild blooming field of sourgrass. May shares, “My mom says it show up every spring, keeping a promise.” Sharing sourgrass becomes a sweet representation of their deep bond.
May moves away, straining their bonds of friendship, withering their joyful connection, and leaving Sophia with only their imaginary friends. Frequent letters soon dwindled to nothing. Sofia begins to wonder if she has been forgotten. Spring brings the promised return of the sourgrass and with it all of her wonderful memories. Inspired by the sourgrass’s promised return, Sophia reaches out again to May by letter hoping that the promise of their friendship will also be kept. The story ends with a return letter from May and a glimpse of a little redheaded girl who could fill the void of May’s absence.
Sophie is a dark skinned girl with cornrows and May, a light skinned girl with brown hair. Pastel illustrations convey the connection and the feelings of the two friends.
curated by Dr. Tamara Pizzoli & illustrated by Desire Cesar “El’Cesart” Ngabo
Each beautiful, bold set of pages in this book share an inspirational quote and a brief explanation of the quote in context for these 50 trailblazers. Highlighted men in the book come from many fields: politics, music industry, film, sports, the arts, and civil rights activists. I am not a black man (or woman), but most of the quotes spoke to me as a human and I could relate to most of the inspirational thoughts. They address resiliency, self-awareness, inspiration, and many more very human needs. I found the artwork throughout gorgeous, bright swashes of color emphasizing a portrait of each man. Illustrations by Desire Cesar “El’Cesart” Ngabo make this book a treat to read cover to cover or just browse a few page. This book begs to be on display, perhaps opening to a different set of pages each day, until some intrigued patron scoops it up to read cover to cover! While it does not give much biographical information on each person, I think it will motivate readers to investigate more and exposes them to a nice breadth of modern & historic personalities.
This book tells the true story of the very first car trip across the United States. In 1903, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson made a bet that he could drive a car from California to New York in less than three months.
Dr. Jackson did not know how to drive, and there were no highways back then. He hired a bike racer to help fix the car, and they took their dog Bud along for the trip.
The trip was hard! They had to cross streams, drive through mud, and wait for car parts. Their car had no doors or roof, so everything bounced around on the bumpy roads.
This story is great for kids to learn about early cars, trying hard, and fixing problems. The pictures are bright and fun, making the trip easy to imagine.
Cranky Chicken and Speedy the worm are back with more fun and silly adventures! This book has three stories about friendship, caring, and going on a camping trip.
In the first story, a new little turtle joins their family, but Cranky Chicken isn’t sure how to be her friend. Then Speedy gets hurt and becomes cranky, so Cranky has to cheer him up. Finally, they all go camping and face funny challenges like bugs and strange night sounds.
With lots of jokes and cute pictures, this book is great for kids who love stories about friends helping each other. It’s perfect for young readers who enjoy funny graphic novels.
Hope in a Jar is another picture book that follows Llewellyn the bunny and his friends as they collect their hopes and dreams—big and small—in jars. Their dreams range from learning new skills to imagining faraway adventures, showing children the importance of aspiration.
When a storm destroys their jars, the bunnies face loss and wonder if dreaming is worth it at all. This story explores themes of setback, grief, and resilience, emphasizing the power of friendship and support to help us start again.
This book is an excellent tool for teaching social-emotional skills such as coping with loss, perseverance, and hope. It offers educators a sensitive way to discuss challenges and encourage students to keep believing in their dreams.
Papilio is a fun and easy-to-understand picture book about a caterpillar named Papilio who wants to become a butterfly. The story is told in three parts by three different authors and has bright, colorful pictures.
Papilio learns how to fly, find food, and make friends. She also faces problems but keeps trying and learns to believe in herself.
The book also has facts about butterflies in the backmatter, which could be helpful for lessons about life cycles and growing up. This book may helps kids learn about change and being brave. Papilio is written in a fun way for readers, but may not be a first choice for learning about butterflies.
Echo by Adam Rex is a funny and smart book about friendship and learning to accept disagreement. Junior loves hearing how great he is, especially from his echo. But when a new neighbor disagrees with him, Junior learns that friends don’t always have to agree—and that’s okay.
With humor and bright illustrations, this book is great for teaching kids about respect, listening, and admitting mistakes. It’s perfect for classroom discussions about social skills and friendship.
Home is a touching and beautiful picture book by Newbery Medal winner Matt de la Peña and bestselling illustrator Loren Long. This book explores the many ways we can think about “home”—not just as a place, but as a feeling.
The text is poetic, helping readers see that home can be a sound, a smell, or a moment with someone you love. It can be a family sharing a meal, a grandparent fishing, or even nature itself. The pictures are full of emotion, showing many different types of homes and families.
This book is a great way to start classroom discussions about what home means to each student. It encourages empathy, reflection, and appreciation for both differences and shared experiences. The rich language also makes it useful for lessons on poetry and descriptive writing.
Home is a warm and thoughtful addition to any classroom library, perfect for building community and making students feel seen and valued.
The Monarch is a beautiful picture book about the amazing journey of the monarch butterfly. Written by Kirsten Hall and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, this book uses fun, rhyming words and bright, colorful pictures to tell the story.
Students will enjoy following the butterfly as it flies through the sky. The words are simple and poetic, great for reading out loud. The pictures show nature in a soft, gentle way that keeps young readers interested.
This book is a good way to teach about butterflies, their life cycle, and why we need to protect them. It also helps children care about nature and the world around them.
The Monarch is perfect for lessons in science, reading, and art. It’s a lovely and meaningful book to add to your classroom.
The Most Magnificent Team is another book by Ashley Spires about a girl and her dog who want to build something. But when they get to their favorite spot, they find the neighbor and her cat are already there! So they decide to work together.
At first, it seems like a great idea. But the two girls work very differently. One likes to move fast and just try things. The other likes to measure and plan. Soon, they start to get frustrated.
This story shows that working as a team can be hard, but it’s also worth it. The girl learns that mistakes are okay and teamwork takes patience. With funny pictures and an important message, this book is a great way to learn about trying your best, not giving up, and working together.
Chalk the Walk is a fun and happy book about two kids who use chalk to make art on the sidewalk. As they draw, more people from the neighborhood join in. Everyone works together to make something beautiful. The words in the book rhyme, and the pictures get more colorful as the story goes on. The drawings show how art can bring people together. This book is great for young kids. It shows how a simple piece of chalk can help you use your imagination and have fun with others.
Girls on the Rise is a powerful picture book by Amanda Gorman, the famous poet from the presidential inauguration. Her poem celebrates girls for being brave, strong, and kind. It shows that girls are amazing on their own—but even stronger when they support each other.
The pictures by Loveis Wise are colorful and full of life. They show girls from all over the world being proud, bold, and hopeful.
This book is great for young readers. It’s easy to understand, fun to read out loud, and reminds all girls that they can do great things—together.
This intense thriller novel is one that will surely keep readers on their toes and wondering what is the real truth.
Harlow Ford has spent her whole life running with her mom, Cora, never truly knowing what they are afraid of. As they wound up in a car accident and are faced with tragic decisions, Cora tells Harlow to never stop running before she dies, forcing Harlow to make a choice; keep living in secrecy, or finally face the truth?
The eye-catching mystery is great at keeping you wondering if what they are saying is true. You never expect what the next page may hold for you. In addition, the wonderful atmosphere and setting of the novel embraces the readers completely. It feels as if you are inside of Harlow’s mind and feeling it with her.
I like the plot of the book. At first, I thought it would not be that interesting or surprising but as I went on, it did shock me a little.I was not expecting the ending or all of these hidden twists and that was pretty exciting. The characters were also well-developed. They were not good or bad but just human. It was great to see characters who truly feel human and are well-rounded people. I dislike how the book is paced. It felt as if the first 3/4 of the book were the same thing over and over. Obviously, it is a mystery so they cannot hand you the answer to everything right away. But, I felt like this was a little excessive. Harlow kind of only had the same knowledge the whole time and it got very repetitive. The story itself is intriguing but the pacing makes it a little less enjoyable. It was almost like a dump of information once we got to the end and it made sense but it was still annoying.
If you like thrillers and horror, I would recommend this book. It encapsulates you completely and brings you into the atmosphere of the novel.
The book Bunny Hop by Sarah Hwang is a Ready To Ready Pre-Level One book about a pink bunny on an adventure to find food, eat all the food, and feel the effects of all that food on the bunny’s tummy!
The illustrations, also by Sarah Hwang, really make this book. I love the cute style of the pink bunny and the feelings the illustrations convey when the bunny eats different foods. Such an expressive bunny with so few lines! I think kids in kindergarten will enjoy this book, although I think some of the words will be quite challenging for them. For a Pre-Level One book, words like sour, healthy, and squishy will give them a hard time. However, the sentences are short enough that, with adult support, the student will be able to read it independently after a few repetitions.
This illustrated picture book about loving books, baking and friendship by Blanca Gómez is fabulous. The illustrations are simple yet each page contains so much that each time you read it you’ll notice a new title on a book spine, a picture in a frame, the time on the clock. In this book two friends, Bookie and Cookie love to hang out together, but never at Bookie’s house/page. You see, Bookie lives on the left hand page and Cookie lives on the right hand page! The line: “I don’t like what I don’t know” is such an important conversation starter for kids – model thinking outloud with: “This makes me wonder if I have ever felt this way. Have you?” And start the conversation with kids about why we might be afraid of what we don’t know, and how we handle it.
This amazing friendship story is beautiful, real, and funny. My own children quote Bookie and Cookie often and get so excited when they see the very recognizable cover in stores and libraries around town.
If you want a great friendship story, beautiful art that gives Christian Robinson vibes, and a read aloud with great conversation starters, then this is the book for you.
Stop that Mop! is a Ready to Read Level 1 book focusing on the short o sounds in words like mop, slop, and stop. The colors, movement of characters, humor and repetition in the story lines make this a perfect Level 1 book. The pages are set up with 1-2 story parts on a page, mimicking a early graphic novel style without defined boxes. The characters are illustrated with alot of movement and are very inviting to young readers with the colors and expressions.
The words are repetitive and simple, helping the reader gain confidence as they go. The key words are presented in both capital letters and lowercase, helping the reader with letter identification.
This book will be a great addition for our Kindergarten and early first grade readers.
Wren’s Nest is a heartwarming picture book about a girl named Wren who loves watching birds with her grandpa. When she was a baby, wrens built a nest outside her window. Every spring, she and her grandpa watched baby birds grow. But when Wren moves to the city, she misses the meadow and the wrens—until she finds a new bird family nesting on their porch.
This story is about change, love, and the beauty of nature. The soft, colorful pictures help tell the story in a calm, peaceful way. The book also includes facts and tips about birdwatching and what to do if you find a nest. Great for lessons on nature, birds, and family connections.
This Book Is Not for You by Howard Pearlstein, with fun pictures by Susanna Covelli, tells a silly story through a grumpy narrator who says the book is boring and has nothing cool in it. But the pictures show the opposite—there are monsters, aliens, ninjas, and more! Kids will laugh at how wrong the narrator is and enjoy spotting all the exciting things happening around him.
The book is fun and playful, especially for read-aloud time. But the joke gets repeated a lot, and some students might lose interest. It’s good for a quick laugh and to talk about point of view, but it’s not the strongest book for deeper lessons or repeated reading.
Robots Don’t Make You Go to Bed by Laurel Gale, illustrated by Susanna Covelli, is a humorous and heartfelt story that encourages students to reflect on the value of family and the emotional support caregivers provide. When Owen builds a robot mom to escape rules and routines, he soon learns that while robots might skip bedtime and chores, they can’t offer the love, comfort, and connection that real parents do.
With its engaging illustrations and light science-fiction twist, this book is a great tool for discussions about family roles, emotions, and even early STEM topics. It’s especially effective when exploring themes of empathy and gratitude.
Steve: A Pretty Exceptional Horse by Kelly Collier is a funny and easy-to-read graphic novel that attempts to help kids learn an important lesson—being yourself is what really makes you special. Steve the Horse wants to stand out, so he finds a shiny horn and tries to show off. But his friends remind him that he doesn’t need fancy things to be important. This book could be used for classroom discussions about confidence, friendship, and what it means to be “exceptional.” Early readers may enjoy the humor, but the message misses the mark.
Lights Out by Jessica Stremer is a simple story with a big message. It tells the story of a young girl who finds a bird that got lost in the bright lights of the city. She learns that too much light at night can confuse birds that are trying to fly home. So, she asks her neighbors to turn off their lights—and they do!
This story shows how small actions, like turning off a light, can help animals and protect nature. With beautiful pictures and an easy-to-follow message, Lights Out is a great book to start conversations about helping the environment.
Megan Fullmer Perry’s The Overlook Book uses layered paper collage and shifting visual viewpoints to help students understand how perspective shapes understanding. By showing scenes from multiple angles, the book encourages critical thinking, empathy, and open-minded discussion around themes like friendship, inclusion, and kindness. A valuable resource for social-emotional learning and classroom conversations about seeing beyond first impressions. This book is a creative tool for teaching perspective and empathy.
Where to Hide a Star by Oliver Jeffers is a heartwarming tale perfect for sparking classroom conversations about friendship, imagination, and empathy. When a beloved star goes missing, the Boy embarks on a space-bound adventure that introduces a new character and a powerful message about sharing what brings us joy. With its rich illustrations and gentle humor, this book is an ideal read-aloud and a valuable addition to social-emotional learning lessons. Where to Hide a Star is a stellar story of friendship and wonder.
