Drum Dream Girl
by Margarita Engle
Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule —until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongos. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at last her dream-bright music was heard, everyone sang and danced and decided that both girls and boys should be free to drum and dream. Inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers, Drum Dream Girl tells an inspiring true story for dreamers everywhere.
Rain School
by James Rumfrad
Children in Chad (Africa) build a schoolhouse that washes away during the rainy season after the end of each school year. James Rumford, who lived in Chad as a Peace Corps volunteer, fills these pages with the vibrant colors of Africa and the spare words of a poet to show how important learning is in a country where only a few children are able to go to school. (scholastic.com) “I wanted to give readers today pause for thought, a moment of appreciation for the school down the street and the men and woman who make education so easily available in our country.”
Wordy Birdy
by Tammi Sauer
Self-centered Wordy Birdy talks a lot, about everything. She doesn't listen to anyone, even when she should. On a walk through the deep woods she babbles along, ignoring every sign of danger, the repeated warnings of her friends, and their sage advice such as "Run for your life!" In the end we learn the importance of listening!
Interrupting Chicken
by David Ezra Stein
It’s time for the little red chicken’s bedtime story - and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But the Chicken can’t help herself! Will we be able to hear the whole story with all these interruptions?
Red A Crayon’s Story
by Michael Hall
Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let's draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can't be red, no matter how hard he tries! Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He's blue! This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone.
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Do dinosaurs burp, throw their food, blow bubbles in their milk and more during meals? Of course they don’t. They have good manners at mealtime, as demonstrated in the final pages of the book. The author includes the name of each dinosaur both on the end papers and on each page, although one has to search the page to find it making the story interactive and exciting to follow!
If I Were a Jungle Animal
by Tom & Amanda Ellery
Morton is bored playing baseball all the way in the outfield. But if he were in the jungle, he could be a lion or a zebra or a hippopotamus! Yeah, if he were a jungle animal, then things would be exciting. But maybe too much excitement is too distracting! After all, a ball could be coming right toward him!
The Gruffalo
by Julia Donaldson
When Mouse takes a stroll through the woods, he meets a fox, an owl, and a snake who all want to eat him! So Mouse invents a gruffalo, a monster with "terrible tusks and terrible claws, terrible teeth, and terrible jaws." But will Mouse's frightful description be enough to scare off his foes? After all, there's no such thing as a gruffalo . . . is there?
The Day You Begin
by Jacqueline Woodson
National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner Rafael López have teamed up to create a poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone. There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you. There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it. Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text and Rafael López's dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.
Carmela Full of Wishes
by Matt De La Pena
When Carmela wakes up on her birthday, her wish has already come true--she's finally old enough to join her big brother as he does the family errands. Together, they travel through their neighborhood, past the crowded bus stop, the fenced-off repair shop, and the panadería, until they arrive at the Laundromat, where Carmela finds a lone dandelion growing in the pavement. But before she can blow its white fluff away, her brother tells her she has to make a wish. If only she can think of just the right wish to make . . .With lyrical, stirring text and stunning, evocative artwork, Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson have crafted a moving ode to family, to dreamers, and to finding hope in the most unexpected places.”
The Cloud Spinner
by Michael Catchpool
One small boy has a special gift—he can weave cloth from the clouds: gold in the early morning with the rising sun, white in the afternoon, and crimson in the evening. He spins just enough cloth for a warm scarf. But when the king sees the boy's magnificent cloth, he demands cloaks and gowns galore. "It would not be wise," the boy protests. "Your majesty does not need them!" But spin he must—and soon the world around him begins to change.