Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Dear Earth: From Your Friends In Room 5 by Erin Dealy (illustrated Luisa Uribe; Harper Collins, 2020) is an inspiring environmental activism picture book told through a series of letters between the students in room five of a school and the earth (who receives the letters through the wind). The students tell how they have
Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me by Russell M. Nelson (Desert Book, 2023) is a collection of teaching, stories, and spiritual insights from pioneering heart surgeon and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a member of that Church, I sustain him as a prophet
Courage Like Kate: The True Story of a Girl Lighthouse Keeper by Anna Crowley Redding (illustrated by Emily Sutton; Random House 2022) is based on the true story of Kate Moore, the first official female lighthouse keeper. In order to help her father, young Kate takes care of the lighthouse for him. Illustrations are created
I’m always excited to find picture books that would work well as writing prompts for elementary school kids, so I was extra excited to find Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle by Joseph Coelho (Candlewick, 2023). This volume has stories that are each, as the title suggests, just ten-words long. With a variety of
In My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press, 2005), thirteen-year-old Anna sues her parents for bodily autonomy. Although she’s not sick, she’s had a dozen hospital stays and medical interventions throughout her life, all in the name of saving her older sister, Kate, who has leukemia. To complicate matters, her mother and father
With a rhythm and rhyme of just a few syllables per page, Bloom Boom by April Pulley Sayre (Beach Lane Books, 2019) provides not just a simple read-aloud for young children but also a great book of inspiration for finding flowers and other blooming plants that one enjoys. This book of flower photography is a
The Dream Coach by Anne Parrish (illustrated by Dillwyn Parrish; Macmillan, 1924) is a collection of a poem and four stories that are named the dreams of four children around the world. The children include a princess, a boy from Norway, a young Chinese boy “emperor,” and a French boy in the countryside. Each story
Oscar and the Bird: A Book about Electricity by Geoff Waring (Candlewick Press, 2011) has a fictional frame for an otherwise instructional book about electricity basics. The fictional animal characters makes an otherwise difficult concept easy to approach. When Oscar the cat accidently turns on the windshield wipers on the tractor, a bird explains to
History in the Making by Kyle Ward (The New Press, 2006) is a nonfiction volume of curated and categorized passages from a variety of high school American history textbooks, from the early days until 1999, showing the ways various stories from history have been told to students over the years. The lengthy subtitle of the
As the title suggests, Fungi Grow by Maria Gianferrari (illustrated by Diana Sudyka; Beach Lane Books, 2023) is a nonfiction picture book focusing on the growth, spread, and purpose of fungi through the world. With realistic illustrations, a variety of fonts, and both a storyline and sidebar facts, this picture book provides a welcome and
The premise of Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Anne Carroll Moore (published 1924) sounds so promising. An eight-inch sprite-elf-boy (not sure exactly what he is) comes to Manhattan from the Netherlands for a Christmas to remember! After doing all sorts of Christmas shopping and visiting, he has a midnight party in the library, where
Because of an Acorn by Lola and Adam Schaefer (Chronicle Books, 2016; illustrated by Fran Preston-Gannon) has pretty pictures and simple text to show the connection between an acorn growing and the other types of life surrounding it. Birds, fruit, deer, chipmunks, and other animals all are able to live. They also contribute to adding
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