Recommended Reads from the Children's Collection @ the Education Library

Abdul loves to tell stories. But writing them down is hard. His letters refuse to stay straight and face the right way. And despite all his attempts, his papers often wind up with more eraser smudges than actual words. Abdul decides his stories just aren't meant to be written down...until a special visitor comes to class and shows Abdul that even the best writers--and superheroes--make mistakes.

Kindergartner Alaina is excited about thanking the audience at the end of the second-grade play, but she is overwhelmed by the performance and has to share her enthusiasm, center stage.

Ozzy loves attention. And the person she wants it from most of all is her music teacher, Ms. Bomba. So when it's time to choose an instrument for the school recital, Ozzy picks the biggest, loudest, most attention-grabbing one of all: the DRUMS! It's hard to stay on beat, though, when all you want to do is stand out. But getting in tune with her classmates--with a little help from her favorite teacher--just might turn out to be even better than a solo in the spotlight.

Despite her struggles with reading and writing caused by her dyslexia, Beatrice is a natural and brilliant storyteller. With the help of a kind-hearted teacher, Beatrice uses an old-fashioned tape recorder so she can speak her words and them play them back, as a technique for learning in whole new way. With her new approach, Beatrice is able to show her classmates who she really has been all along.

When Daniel sees a sign on the park gate that says "Poetry in the Park, Sunday at 6," he wonders, "What is poetry?"-and is surprised when a spider tells him- "To me, poetry is when morning dew glistens." This leads the curious little boy to seek out other park animals and pose the same question.

Africa's grandmother was a double Dutch legend, and Africa knows she can become the same. Her brother scoffs when she signs up for a double Dutch competition, though--how can she hope to compete when she's never done it before? But Africa has all the tools she needs.

It's time for this year's Going Places contest! Finally. Time to build a go-cart, race it--and win. Each kid grabs an identical kit, and scrambles to build. Everyone but Maya. She sure doesn't seem to be in a hurry...and that sure doesn't look like anybody else's go-cart! But who said it had to be a go-cart? And who said there's only one way to cross the finish line?

Join a young girl and her grandmother as they embark on a holiday adventure to see The Nutcracker together! Her grandmother, known as Grand Jeté, was once a prima ballerina and danced in The Nutcracker herself, and now she's sharing the magic of this special ballet.

Sunny is the grandmaster's daughter. She sweeps the floors, waters the plants, and practices with her nunchucks--sometimes she even makes mistakes! And she teaches other young students how to kihap. When their kihaps grow loud and bold enough to shake the mountains, Sunny leads her friends in defending the dojang against magical creatures . . . or perhaps that's just in their imaginations. It's up to you to decide!

While the world tells us to sit still, to follow the rules, and to color inside the lines, Happy Dreamer celebrates all those moments in between when the mind and spirit soar and we are free to become our own true dreamer maximus!

When the child gets caught painting everything from the ceiling to the floor, Mama says "Ya ain't a-gonna paint no more!" But nothing will keep this artist from painting! Written to the familiar tune "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," the text bounces alongside vibrant stylized pen-and-ink drawings, while page-turns offer up a fun read-aloud guessing game in which kids will delightfully participate. What will the child paint next?

In If I Built a Car, imaginative Jack dreamed up a whimsical fantasy ride that could do just about anything. Now he's back and ready to build the house of his dreams, complete with a racetrack, flying room, and gigantic slide. Jack's limitless creativity and infectious enthusiasm will inspire budding young inventors to imagine their own fantastical designs.

One scorching hot summer day, a spunky young girl decides to sell lemonade . . . only to find there are too many other young entrepreneurs on her street with the same idea. So she sets off with her lemonade stand and ends up at the river's edge, where she discovers a most unexpected, quirky, and very thirsty clientele.

A little girl imagines her best friend who comes to life one magical afternoon.

What will you choose to be? A free spirit? A weaver of words? A star dancing across the night sky? A limitless galaxy? The possibilities are endless in this uplifting ode to the power of potential.

Claude Monet is one of the world's most beloved artists--and he became famous during his own lifetime. He rejected a traditional life laid out clean and smooth before him. Instead he chose a life of art. But not just any art- a new way of seeing that came to be called impressionism.

Once upon a time, a magical elephant traveled around the Earth, taking on the characteristics of everything it encountered--sand, trees, clouds, and even a teacup. At the end of the elephant's long journey, it transforms one final time into a colorful village where today life is quiet and wonderful.

In this surreal collection of short vignettes, we are transported to the world of Sato the Rabbit: a world very much like our own, yet one that is imbued with an added dimension of wonder and curiosity, in which ordinary objects and everyday routines become magical encounters.

This cookie has never felt like a smart cookie no matter how hard she tries, especially in comparison to all the clever cupcakes and brilliant rolls in the bakery. Will a dash of creativity and a sprinkle of confidence be enough to help her learn that perfect scores and having all the answers aren't the only ingredients for intelligence?

A young boy wants to write a story, just like his big sister. But there's a problem, he tells her. Though he knows his letters, he doesn't know many words. "Every story starts with a single word and every word starts with a single letter," his sister explains patiently. "Why don't you start there, with a letter?" So the boy tries. He writes a letter. An easy letter. The letter I. And from that one skinny letter, the story grows, and the little boy discovers that all of us, including him, have what we need to write our own perfect story.

What do you do with an idea? Especially an idea that's different, or daring, or a little wild? This is the story of one brilliant idea and the child who helps to bring it into the world.

Langston likes basketball okay, but what he loves is to dance--ever since he saw the Alvin Ailey Dance Company perform. He longs to twirl into a pirouette, whirl into a piqué. He wants to arabesque and attitude, grand battement and grand jeté. When he walks, the whole street is his stage.

When two curious kids embark on a "wonder walk," they let their imaginations soar as they look at the world in a whole new light. They have thought-provoking questions for everything they see: Is the sun the world's light bulb? Is dirt the world's skin? Are rivers the earth's veins? Is the wind the world breathing? I wonder . . .

A celebration of thinking outside the box--or cage! The Great Bird Circus is headed to a big show, but they run into trouble when they reach the border. Paloma and the ringmaster are allowed to cross--but their birds need paperwork, and lots of it! The situation seems hopeless, unless ... what if there's more than one way to get across?

In the inspirational sequel to Andrew Larsen's A Squiggly Story, a boy meets a blank page in this fun exploration of the writing process, celebrating self-expression, self-discovery and letting your imagination roam.

From the first stanza, readers are invited to pay attention--and to see that paying attention itself is poetry. Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido's playful text and Melissa Sweet's dynamic, inventive artwork are paired together to encourage readers to listen, feel, and discover the words that dance in the world around them--poems just waiting to be written down.

When both grandpas, Abuelo and Opa, visit at the same time, they can't understand each other's language and there is a lot of silence. The grandson's clever thinking helps find a way for everyone to share the day together as two cultures become one family.

The entire history of the greatest works in painting, sculpture, and photography, from the first strokes of paint on prehistoric caves to contemporary street art in the 21st century, are included in this comprehensive and colorful tour through time.

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author and American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland comes an illustrated nonfiction collection celebrating dancers of color who have influenced her on and off the stage.

Discover the true stories behind amazing creations, from the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient analogue computer, to the Baghdad Battery. Who invented the piano, the telescope, and Monopoly? Who was Gutenberg, Edison, Alan Turing and Samuel Morse? Participate in the original creative process, like building a telescope using the same rudimentary methods used by the inventors.

An illustrated collection of comically irreverent rhyming poems for readers of all ages, ranging in topic from avocados and anacondas to zombies and zebras (dressed like ghosts).

Deeply influenced by her religious beliefs and fired up by the social justice causes of her day, artist, designer, and educator Corita Kent was a nun like no other! Unapologetically holding true to herself and her beliefs, Corita spread a powerful message of love, hope, and justice with her work, as it evolved from figurative and religious art, to serigraphs incorporating the sacred and the ordinary, to a sparser, more introspective style. This timely story will draw readers into the life of a singular woman whose work and commitment invite us all to seek joy in the everyday, to observe the world with open eyes, and to question and see beyond the existing frameworks of society.

This picture book celebrates jazz icon Sonny Rollins and how he found an inspired spot to practice his saxophone when his neighbors complained. His story celebrates striving to be your very best self, an inspiration to music lovers young and old.

Fourteen-year-old Tyler Gordon's journey from a regular kid growing up in San Jose, California, to a nationally recognized artist wasn't without its challenges. But after painting a portrait of Kamala Harris and posting it on social media, now his art is everywhere. Here is a debut picture book by Tyler Gordon, featuring his bold paintings of over 30 icons--musicians, artists, writers, civils rights leaders, sports legends, change-makers, record-setters, and more--alongside short explanations of how these people inspire him. If Tyler can make art and follow his dreams, you can, too. We all can.

This picture book tells the story of the renowned artist Yayoi Kusama and her quest to cover the world in polka dots - from here to infinity!

Welcome to a neighborhood of kids who transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes, and their ordinary block into cardboard kingdom. This is the summer when sixteen kids encounter knights and rogues, robots and monsters--and their own inner demons--on one last quest before school starts again. In the Cardboard Kingdom, you can be anything you want to be--imagine that!

Meet Maximus Todd! He's the kid who can't sit still. Max gets a case of the Super Fidgets on a school trip to the art gallery. He decides to focus on the colour green to distract himself. It's not easy but he's determined to win the challenge he has set. Max finds that while it's not always easy being a kid -- especially if you're a bit different -- inspiration sometimes strikes at the most unexpected times.